The four movements of this piece are named after various locations within the ancient city after which this piece is named - Qart Hadasht, meaning New City, in the punic tongue, better known in modern times by the anglicised version of its Greek and Roman name - Carthage. 

The Cothon was the great harbour from which the Carthaginians projected their power throughout the Mediterranean. It consisted of a rectangular commercial harbour leading into a circular military harbour.

The Agora was the marketplace and public square of the city. Trade, politics, and festivities would likely have taken place there, creating a lively, energetic atmosphere. 

Byrsa Hill was, in legend, the place where Elissa, also known as Dido, first founded the city after fleeing from Tyre. A fortified citadel sat atop the hill, in which the Temple of Eshmun was located at the end of a great staircase

The Megara was a district described by Appian as "planted with gardens and full of fruit-bearing trees divided off by low walls, hedges, and brambles, besides deep ditches full of water running in every direction". 

Across the piece I imagine moving through the city, starting from entering the commercial harbour from the sea and moving into the military harbour in Cothon, walking through the marketplace and public square in Agora, climbing the great staircase to the temple in Byrsa Hill, and travelling across the gardens and meadows in Megara.