Kasbah
Type of fortress in Arab or Islamic regions / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Casbah" redirects here. For other uses, see Casbah (disambiguation).
"Alcazaba" redirects here. For other uses, see Alcazaba (disambiguation).
A kasbah (/ˈkæzbɑː/, also US: /ˈkɑːz-/; Arabic: قَـصَـبَـة, romanized: qaṣaba, lit. 'fortress', Arabic pronunciation: [qasˤaba], Maghrebi Arabic: [qasˤba]), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city.[1][2][3][4] It is also equivalent to the term alcazaba in Spanish (Spanish: [alkaˈθaβa]), which is derived from the same Arabic word.[5][6] By extension, the term can also refer to a medina quarter, particularly in Algeria. In various languages, the Arabic word, or local words borrowed from the Arabic word, can also refer to a settlement, a fort, a watchtower, or a blockhouse.