Come with me to the Casbah - Algiers, Algeria

The geographic proximity of the Iberian Peninsula to Africa has created a long history of conquest and expulsion between Spain and Algeria.  Barbarossa, a Turkish pirate/privateer helped turn Northern Africa into what became known as the Barbary Coast and brought Ottoman rule to the area. The French then ruled from 1830 until they were finally sent packing at the end of the bloody Algerian War in 1962.  Despite throwing off French rule, even now French is spoken along with Arabic and Berber.  As I listen to one of our guides speak in French to his colleague, I thought back to the beginning of this trip when I listened to the Polynesians in the Marquesas islands speak that language.  What diversity of people speaking the same language!

The Martyr's Memorial definitely dominates the skyline.

The Martyr's Memorial honors all those killed in action in the Algerian War of Independence from 1954-1962.  It was dedicated in 1982 commemorating the 20th anniversary of the end of the war.  The three stylized palm fronds stand 302 ft. high, and shelter an "eternal flame" (which was not lit when we visited).

 At the base of each frond are statues of soldiers in different eras of the struggle.

                                     We had a good view of the city from the memorial.

Algiers has a population of 3.5 million of Algeria's 40 million inhabitants.

Apparently Charles Boyer never said, "Come with me to the Casbah", in the 1938 film, "Algiers", just in the trailer.  Regardless, until this visit, it was my only reference, but informed my desire to go on the excursion titled, "Casbah Walk and Bahia House."  The word, casbah, means fortress or citadel. Many cities contain a casbah, but the one in Algiers is the most famous.  Our guide, Karim, who was born and raised in the casbah, told us it was built from the top of the hill, 400 ft. high, to the sea in a manner so that every dwelling had a panoramic view.  It is now  a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but sadly, he said it is only about 20% occupied.  

Our first visit was to the "Bahia House", purportedly typical of many of the houses in this district.  The exterior, except for the doorway, is very unassuming and belies the beauty within.   

It was two stories tall with all the rooms surrounding an open courtyard.  The roof was originally open to the sun and sky, but is now covered with glass to minimize weathering.  Our guide explained that every house had a kitchen, laundry, and bedrooms, but not a bath, as those were communal.  This house is not occupied, but it is used as a place to receive tourists and introduce them to the lifestyle of the casbah.

The colorful tiles and Moorish design of the architecture was very beautiful, but after climbing the total of 57 steep and uneven steps to the rooftop terrace to take in the view, some of us decided we wouldn't like to maintain this house.  There was also a comment made about the unforgiving tile floors--no dropped dish had a chance.  

Our hostess welcomed us, then demonstrated the traditional covering worn when the women ventured outside.  Karim said that the trend is slowly moving toward a less conservative culture.

After our visit to the Bahia House, we started the adventure of wandering through the casbah down countless steps and narrow winding car-less lanes.  Our visit was on Friday, the Muslim prayer day, so only three handicraft stores were open and most of the residents were inside their houses.  

 Local timber is used to support the cantilevered "jetties".  This allows the upper floors to have more room while allowing a wider passage on the street level.

 When we reached the bottom, we found this mural depicting the casbah.  We also saw one of the communal baths.

 One of the most ubiquitous features of Algiers was the satellite dish.  We were told that there is a movement afoot to take them all down since most people have moved on to cable.

At the base of the casbah is the Ketchaoua Mosque.  It was built during the occupation by the Ottoman empire in 1612. When the French ruled, it was converted into the St. Phillipe Cathedral in 1845 and remained so until Algeria gained it independence in 1962.  It has been recently restored and looks stunning.













The Djama’a al-Djedid Mosque, or Fisherman's Mosque, was just a block further toward the shoreline.  It caught my eye because of all the pigeons on it.  The other thing that struck me is that the clock was accurate.  As we stood in the Casbah Square, we heard competing calls to prayer from both of the mosques. 











In the distance on the eastern edge of the city the Djamaa El Djazair Mosque is under construction.  When complete, the 37 story high minaret will be the tallest in the world.  

Algiers is truly the place we never thought we would visit, but are awfully glad we did.