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Algeria
Africa’s largest country lies just a short hop from Europe. The north, with its snow-flecked mountains and stunning coastline, is home to urbane and charismatic cities such as Algiers and Constantine, as well as some of the most magnificent Roman sites in existence including Timgad and Djemila, both vast, perfectly preserved Roman towns with barely another tourist in sight.
Algeria’s other big draw is its extraordinary Saharan region. Whether it’s a glimpse of the sand seas that surround Timimoun, or the burnt-red mountains of the far south, these are the desert landscapes of legend.
But, for all its peach-coloured dunes and grand ruins, it's perhaps the Algerians themselves, who welcome visitors with warmth and curiosity, that are the real highlight of this nation. For accessible adventure and a complex, enthralling cultural odyssey, head for Algeria.
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Algeria.
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Tiddis
Hovering on a barren mountain slope, some 30km from Constantine, the ruined Roman town of Tiddis is perhaps the most impressively situated of all Algeria's Roman sites. However, the ruins themselves are fairly weather beaten and cannot compare with some of the more famous Roman cities around these parts. There's been a settlement on this site at least since the Neolithic Berbers, but it was the Romans who developed Castellum Tidditanorum, which, as its name suggests, was a castellum or fortress, one of a series of fortified villages that surrounded the larger settlement at Constantine (then Cirta) and protected its territory. The Romans arrived during the age of Augustus, but built much of what can now be seen in the 3rd century AD, adapting their fundamental rule of town planning – two straight central streets that cross at the heart of the community – to the curves of the site. Tiddis had no water sources, so one of the most interesting features of the houses here are the channels and cisterns. They were designed to preserve the rains that fell, on which the community depended during the long, hot summers. Tombs From the car park you are greeted by rock, striking red earth and the remains of several circular tombs, some of which are pre-Roman. The main entrance to the village is a classic Roman arch made of massive stones. You can still see where the gate hung and was locked. Much of what lies beyond the gate are little more than piles of rock, but there are still fascinating traces to be seen, including of houses; sanctuaries to the Roman gods Ceres, Vesta and Mithra; a solar god of Persian origin; olive presses; and later Christian baptisteries. Villa of Mosaics The cisterns can still be clearly seen on the upper part of the site: three large basins flowing into each other (between them they could hold some 350,000L of water). On the lower side of the site, the large Villa of Mosaics is marked by the pair of columns flanking its entrance, and here you can make out mosaics, the remains of an olive press, and baths that were later used as a pottery. The summit of the hill is topped with a sanctuary, originally dedicated to old African gods, rededicated by the Romans to their corn god Saturn, appropriate in a place where agriculture was so important. There is no public transport to the site. You could take a bus or collective taxi from Constantine heading to Jijel, and jump out at the appropriate place, but you are unlikely to find return transport. So if you don’t have a vehicle, the surest way is to arrange a private taxi from Constantine. The return trip, including an hour or two at the ruins, is likely to cost around DA2500.
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Casbah
The heart of the city is its ancient Casbah, a steep and narrow maze of streets just west of the Pl des Martyrs. There are several magnificent Ottoman palaces to explore here, most concentrated around the Djemaa Ketchoua at the end of Rue Ahmed Bouzrina; the finest is the Dar Hassan Pacha. This fiercely traditional neighborhood saw some of the most bitter fighting during the Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo's extraordinary film of the same name was shot in situ shortly after the war's end). Today the Casbah is fine to walk around, but exercise extreme caution with personal belongings and avoid going there at night. Hiring a guide (ask at your hotel) is not a bad idea.
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National Museum of Antiquities
The richness of Algeria’s heritage is brought home in this museum. The collection of antiquities is drawn from sites around the city and throughout Algeria. Among the early works are fine ivory carvings and large, totemic Libyan-period warriors on horseback. There is sculpture from Cherchell and mosaics from Tipaza, a room of bronzes including a wonderful fragment of a horse’s leg and hoof, and an extraordinary 3rd-century figure of a chubby child holding an eagle to its chest. There is also a collection of Islamic art from across the Maghreb. The museum sits within the same compound and entry is included with the same ticket.
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National Museum Cirta
Highlighting the numerous finds from excavations in and around Constantine and nearby Tiddis, there are some stunning pieces in this museum. The highlights include a seated terracotta figure from a 2nd-century BC tomb and an exquisite marble bust of a woman known as the 'beauty of Djemila'. Also worth finding is the beautifully cast bronze sculpture of winged 'Victory of Constantine', found by soldiers while excavating the streets of the Casbah in 1855. The museum also houses a small collection of paintings by Algerian and French Orientalists.
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Bardo Museum of Prehistory & Ethnography
The Bardo, which focuses on the prehistory of Algeria, is one of the best museums in Algiers. The collection is well-displayed with videos, models and excellent diagrams and information panels (in French) that reveal how the climate and environment of the region have changed over the eons and how that has affected human and wildlife development. There are lots of fossils, neolithic pottery, rock carvings and examples of Neanderthal paintings from the Sahara. Emerging from the museum, head up the tiled steps to the 'Summer Palace', an Ottoman-era palace of courtyards, fountains and sub-tropical gardens. It's within the same compound as the museum and included in the entry price.
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Dar Hassan Pacha
Carrying the name of its original owner, Dar Hassan Pacha, this is one of the city's grandest mansions. The building now houses a collection of illuminated manuscripts and contemporary calligraphy by artists from across North Africa and the Middle East. Hassan Pacha was the ruler of Algiers and a man with a sense of purpose – in 1795 he concluded a peace treaty with the fledgling USA guaranteeing their ships safe passage in Algiers' waters. Before that, around 1791, he began work building his palace on the edge of the Casbah, but away from the waterside, which was vulnerable and damp in winter. When Algiers fell to the French the house was turned into the governor's winter residence. Its facade was remodelled, and unlike most large houses here the Dar Hassan Pacha was given a European-style front, with rows of large windows and balconies and a grander entrance. During the occupation it played host to the great and good: the Emperor Napoleon and Empress Eugénie stayed during their 1860 tour.
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Palais des Raïs
This palace is in fact a row of several large waterfront houses, joined to form a single compound. It is now home to the Centre des Arts et de la Culture, which hosts some excellent art and photographic exhibitions as well as performing arts, but just as much pleasure can be had simply by exploring such a grand, Ottoman-period mansion. The main building was begun in 1750 and completed around 1798 by the Dey Mustapha Pacha, who used it as one of his residences. The French military occupied it for a while, after which it served as the American consulate, a school and a library before becoming the most successful restoration project in the city.
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Palace of Ahmed Bey
The palace of Hajj Ahmed, the bey or ruler of Constantine from 1826, is one of the finest Ottoman-era buildings in the country. With a series of courtyards surrounded by tiled arcades, it is filled with gardens of palm and orange trees, and decorated with Tunisian and French tiles and murals depicting Ahmed's pilgrimage to Mecca. Ahmed’s enjoyment of this wonderful place was short-lived. Two years after he moved in, the French chased him out and turned the palace into their headquarters and with independence the Algerian military moved in and set up camp.
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Sidi M'Cid Bridge
The Sidi M’Cid Bridge, also known as the Suspended Bridge, is Constantine’s iconic monument, its image defining the city. It is a 164m-long suspension bridge, opened to traffic in April 1912. The bridge links the Casbah to the slopes of Sidi M’Cid hill. Views of town and the gorge, 175m below, are stunning. Unfortunately, the bridge has gained a local nickname, The Suicide Bridge, as it seems that the majority of Constantine's suicides take place here.