A walk through Algiers (III)

The Casbah is a citadel within the capital, Algiers; It is divided into the Upper Casbah and the Lower Casbah and is just a step away from the more modern streets facing the Bay of Algiers, but when you take that step and enter the Casbah, it is like entering another world. The Casbah is a cauldron of colors, smells, sensations, where you can easily be transported to other times and let your imagination take you back to the times of the first inhabitants of the aforementioned citadel and from where wonderful and, at the same time, dramatic stories emerge, from feelings, struggles for freedom and stories about the dignity and will to live of a people.

The Casbah of Algiers dates from the beginning of the 4th century BC. C. and has been classified as a National Heritage Site since 1991 and in 1992 it was named by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

But to visit the Casbah and be able to feel it, understand it and admire it, the traveler joined one of the guided tours of the citadel. In this case, he chose a professional guide called Yacine Boushaki, who is the son of the Casbah and is passionate and proud of it and who knows how to convey the history wonderfully, show you the monuments and even entertain the visit with traditional music from a viewpoint from which you can admire the Casbah in its entirety.

After scheduling the visit with Yacine (who is easy to find on Facebook), the traveler met a group of tourists on a Saturday morning, around 10 am, in Plaza de los Mártires, at the entrance to the metro. The first thing Yacine did was put visitors in a situation, that is, tell the story of the Casbah's historical beginnings.

And once the origins have been discussed, the group enters the lower Casbah, where visitors discover a typical Moorish-style neighborhood with its winding alleys that contrast with the peripheral colonial urbanism. There, the stories of the streets, monuments and some places begin to unfold, such as the Malakoff café, on Bab el Oued Street, which is an emblematic café in the lower Casbah. Big names in Chaâbi music have passed through there and the photos you can see on the walls attest to this. There, professors and other intellectuals also met to have coffee. It's a place to visit and have a coffee with some typical sweets.

malakoff coffee

Malakoff cafe atmosphere

We pass (and stop) in front of the Katchaoua Mosque, whose dating origins are varied. The fact is that, after collapsing a few times, the current reconstruction dates back to 1794, during the government of Dey Hassan. In 1832 it was used for Catholic worship during French colonization, under the name Catedral de San Felipe de Algiers and with the independence of Algeria, in 1962, it became a mosque again. The traveler was amazed by the beauty of the facade with the two octagonal minarets facing the sea. The Temple is truly impressive and worth seeing.

Ketchaoua Mosque

Sale off

And between one place and another you find people on the streets, in crowded markets, in little shops that sell everything, grouped by neighborhood according to their specialty. They look at you, you look at them and there is a kind of friendly complicity that welcomes you to the Casbah, to this soul of Algiers with its streets and its people. You feel good and welcome.

The group arrives at Maison d'Ali la Pointe. Ali Ammar, better known as Ali La Pointe, and his fellow fighters Hassiba Ben Bouali, Mahmoud “Hamid” Bouhamidi and “Petit Omar”. Refusing to surrender, they died when the house was dynamited by French paratroopers on the night of October 8-9, 1957. This museum dedicated to this hero of the battle of Algiers and other martyrs opened in July 2006.

Maison d'Ali la Pointe

From there there was time to go to the upper Casbah area and have tea and some sweets in one of the houses from where we could enjoy unbeatable views over the Casbah and the Bay of Algiers while the guide delighted us with some typical songs to which brought together a large part of the public who attended the Casbah tour.

casbah

Source

Craftsmen in the Casbah

Continuing with the visit to the Casbah, it is worth visiting the Palace of Mustapha Pacha, dating from the 18th century and which houses the National Museum of Lighting, Miniatures and Calligraphy. This palace located in the middle of the Casbah is spectacular.

Mustapha Pacha Tiles

Mustafa Pasha

After continuing to walk through the streets and making stops at some craft shops, the visit to the Casbah came to an end and the traveler continued his tour of Algiers and, in order to take a break from the visit, headed to the mythical El Djazair hotel on your tour of the capital. Maybe this name doesn't sound familiar to you, but if we talk about its original name, Hotel St. George, it starts to have another story... And I'm talking about history because it is one of the 5 oldest hotels in Africa. This five-star hotel opened as a hotel in 1889, but the history of its construction dates back to 1514. Imagine what you must have experienced…. Furthermore, the advantage of its central location is that it is close to the Bardo Museum and the Martyrs' Monument and has spectacular views of the Bay of Algiers.

With this history, it must be said that it was used as the Headquarters of the Allied Troops between November 1942 and December 1943. This meant that personalities of the time such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Winston Churchill and many other people from the bourgeoisie passed through there . .foreigners, artists, intellectuals and politicians from that time until today and whose photographs hang in the cafeteria that overlooks the botanical garden. It is a very curious journey through history to be able to contemplate the photographs of those who stayed at this hotel.

Jardim São Jorge

Saint George. covered cafeteria

But whether you want to stay in one of its well-kept and comfortable rooms, celebrate an event in one of its impressive and historic halls or simply have a snack in the garden café, the hotel staff, from the helpful waiters to the friendly communications and marketing who dedicated a good part of his time to explaining the history of the hotel and showing us some of its most emblematic places, all of them with exquisite treatment and professionalism that will transport you, helped by the magnificent decoration and the appropriate environment , to other dreamy times, in this oasis located in the center of Algiers and where you can relax and recharge in a cosmopolitan environment and be able to prepare for your next trip from this wonderful and charming city of Algiers.

Author: Fernando Novo Lens

President of the Spanish-Algerian Cultural Association “Miguel de Cervantes”. ACUHA