How do you draw a map of a city ? Like shown in (fantasy) novels ..?

Question:

How do you draw a map of a city ? Like shown in (fantasy) novels ..?

How exactly are maps of cities drawn , like one in this link ,(the second map)
http://wiki.autorealm.org/ar/usercreatio... ,
this is done by a software.

and also the maps of cities found in novels of the Malazan series (if u have read them , but otherwise the link should tell you what i have in mind. )
Are they done manually ? Can they be done manually?
But the one in the link is done by a software called autorealm.
I have no idea how it was done there...If anyone can help me as to how this is done manually or software guided ,id be really thankful. Im just desperate to know how it s done.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Of course you could do drawings like that manually. It would definately take some practice, but I think they would turn out good. They might actually look more convincing if they were drawn by hand. Some of the maps on that link look like they are drawn to show the topography of the land. If you wanted to get that kind of look, just practice drawing ovals and concentric circles and try modifying them to look like terrain. The only thing that topographic means is that it is a 2 dimensional view of the mountains. That is why sometimes they appear different colors, because the map is showing you the different elevations of the land. I used to draw maps of the woods I used to live next to. What is easy about what you are trying to do is that it is all in your head. You can make it whatever you want it to be. Just practice looking at some examples and go for it.