were replaced with more ostentatious boutiques built in the architectural style of the Jewish houses of the Mellah, with many open balconies and outward ornamentation. Bab Semmarine itself was also altered and opened up to increase the flow of traffic. Elsewhere in the city changes were less dramatic. One unusual French policy was the designation of the Moulay Abdallah quarter as a red light district. The population of the city increased significantly over time (as elsewhere in Morocco): between 1936 and 1948, the population of the Moulay Abdallah quarter went from 5,508 to 9,500 and the population of Fes el-Jdid proper (i.e. the main area between Bab Semmarine and Bab Dekkakine) went from 9,622 to 26,500. By contrast, however, the Mellah also became steadily depopulated of its Jewish inhabitants, who either moved to the Ville Nouvelle, to Casablanca, or emigrated to countries like France, Canada, and Israel. In the late 1940s, estimates of the Jewish population include 15,150 in the Mellah and 22,000 in all of Fes. However, major waves of emigration after this have essentially depleted the Jewish community, with no functioning synagogues remaining in the Mellah. In 1997 there were reportedly only 150 Jews in all of Fes. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, King Hassan II ordered the creation of a new entrance to the Royal Palace at Place des Alaouites, at which time the now-famous gates of the palace were constructed here. Although no longer the primary official residence of the monarchy, the Palace is still used as a residence by the King of Morocco to this day. Layout Today, the layout of Fes el-Jdid appears complicated due to the multiple expansions and modifications of its districts and of the Royal Palace (Dar al-Makhzen) over the centuries. The area of the Dar al-Makhzen alone occupies about 80 hectares and is the largest division of the city within its walls. Southern area Approaching from the west (from the modern Ville Nouvelle or "New City"), the city's main entrance is at Bab al-Amer, on the western edge of the former Jewish Mellah. This is also the location of the modern Place des Alaouites ("Plaza/Square of the Alaouites") and of the famous Gates of the Royal Palace, which were built in the 1960s and early 70s but are much-celebrated for their craftsmanship. From this point, a main road (Rue des Mérinides or Rue Boukhessissat) runs eastwards between the