Algeria, the central part of Barbary (Arab. Jezirat el-Maghreb) and since 1830 a French colony, covers an area of about 77,500 sq. M., or, including the S. territories (p. 170), about 342,500 sq. M., and contains 5,232,000 inhab. (4½ million Mohammedans and 730,000 Europeans, mostly of French, Spanish, and Italian origin). It extends from Oued Kiss, which was substituted for the Mulûya (p. 93) by the Morocco treaty of 1845, to Cape Roux (p. 131), the boundary of Tunisia, and from the Mediterranean to the Highlands of Ahaggar in the interior of the Sahara. The arbitrary division of N. Algeria into the three départements of Oran, Alger, and Constantine is a survival of the Turkish administration. The orographical regions, sharply defined except towards the E., are the Tell Atlas (p. xxx), the E. prolongation of the Rîf Mts. (p. 93), the Great Steppe, and the Sahara Atlas.

The Tell Atlas (Atlas Tellien), the most important part of this vast territory, consists of two parallel ranges of folded hills of recent origin, which intersect a great basin stretching from the Atlantic to the bay of Tunis. The highest points of the range next the coast are the Traras (3727 ft.), the Dahra (5181 ft.), the Atlas of Blida (5345 ft.), the Jurjura Chain (7572 ft.) in Great Kabylia, and the Babor Range (6575 ft.) in Little Kabylia. In the interior rise the Tlemcen Group (6047 ft.), the Ouarsenis (6512 ft.), the Jebel Dira (5938 ft.), and the Hodna Mts. (6112 ft.), which last form the only considerable link between the Tell and the Sahara Atlas. The Littoral, 842 M. in length, with long, precipitous, and almost inaccessible stretches, has ever been dreaded on account of its storms; it is broken by the bays of Oran, Arzew, Algiers, Bougie, Philippeville, and Bona, but does not possess a single good natural harbour. Flanking the coast, in front of the Tell Atlas, are several ranges of lower hills (Sahel), as the Sahel of Oran, between Lourmel and the mouth of the Chélif, the Sahel of Algiers, and the Sahel of Collo, while the Edough Group (3307 ft.), composed of crystalline rock, forms an independent mountain. The extensive plains behind the Sahels, which at Oran are marshy (Marais de la Macta) and have besides the remains of great salt lagoons (Sebkha d’Oran and Salines d’Arzew), and especially the Mitidja near Algiers, once a bay of the sea, and the Plaine de Bône, are the most fertile and richly cultivated parts of Algeria.

The Hauts-Plateaux or Great Steppe, an almost unwatered region, was originally a deep depression between the Tell and the Sahara Atlas, which in the course of thousands of years was gradually filled up with the alluvial deposits of mountain-torrents, and thus converted into a great and monotonous undulating plain, 2300–3300 ft. above the sea-level. The saline and gipseous soil is very sterile and is only at a few places adapted for the culture of grain, but has proved suitable for sheep-grazing. In the depressions of the steppe lie a number of extensive shotts or salt-lakes, which in summer are dry and recognizable only by their dazzling snow-white incrustation. Among these are the Chott Gharbi (Rharbi) and the Chott ech-Chergui in Oran, the Zahrès Gharbi and Zahrès Chergui in Algiers, and the Chott el-Hodna at Constantine.

The Sahara Atlas (Atlas Saharien) forms the great barrier between Algeria and the desert. It is ‘a region of grand and wildly fissured gorges, partly caused by erosion in the pluvial period, of valleys worn by torrents, of lofty plains converted into mountains, and of marine basins now filled up’ (Theob. Fischer). The chief heights are the Montagnes des Ksour (7004 ft.), a prolongation of the much higher Morocco Atlas (p. 93), Jebel Amour (6467 ft.), the Monts des Ouled-Naïl (5295 ft.), and, beyond the depression of the Monts du Zab (4304 ft.), the Aurès Mts. (7634 ft.), which are wooded in their N. half, and next to Great Kabylia have the finest hill-scenery in Algeria.

The Sahara, which belongs to the Territoires du Sud or de Commandement, governed by the military ‘Bureaux Arabes’, consists of the Bassin du Gourara or Bassin de l’Oued Saoura on the W., a plateau 330–2600 ft. above the sea, and of the Bassin du Melrir, named after the Chott Melrir, on the E., lying partly below the sea-level. Within this desert region, which is divided by the limestone plateau of the Mzab, are distinguished the Hammadas, or lofty plateaux, with rocky or hard clay-soil, entirely waterless and sterile, and the Areg (sing. Erg), the extensive sand-hills rising a few hundred feet above the plains. From the Sahara Atlas and from the hills of the S. Sahara descend numerous water-courses, mostly subterranean, towards the plains, enabling the natives by means of irrigation to form a girdle of oases, which like the coast-plains are apt to be malarious in summer.

Climatically also Algeria is a land of striking contrasts. The rainfall in the provinces of Algiers and Constantine, on the coast, and especially in the higher parts of the Tell Atlas, is abundant (thus at Algiers 25 inches, at Blida 37, Bougie 41½, Fort-National 45 inches). Being partly sheltered from the rainy N.W. winds by the Tell Atlas, the Hauts-Plateaux have a lower rainfall (16–20 inches), which as in the Tell often takes the form of snowstorms. In the Sahara Atlas and the Sahara itself, where the dry trade-winds prevail during the greater part of the year, the rainfall diminishes considerably as we go southwards (thus at Biskra 7, at Goléa 2¾ inches). Even in the coast-lands, however, the prolonged drought of summer necessitates the use of artificial irrigation by means of barrages across the valleys. The temperature on the coast varies comparatively little (thus at Algiers 54½° Fahr. in winter, 74° in summer), but the moisture of the air renders it almost unbearably hot in summer. On the Hauts-Plateaux, on the other hand, in the Sahara Atlas, and notably in the Sahara, there are great extremes of heat and cold, the variations not only between summer and winter, but also between day and night (in consequence of the great evaporation after hot, cloudless days) being very marked (thus, minimum at Constantine 16° Fahr., at Aïn-Sefra 17½° at Géryville 8½° Touggourt 19½°; maximum at Géryville 109°, at Biskra 118°, at Touggourt 122°).

The fauna of Algeria is comparatively poor. The Barbary lion and the ostrich have been exterminated, and the panther is now rare; but we occasionally see camels, hyænas, jackals, maned sheep (p. 277), one species of ape (Magot, Macacus ecaudatus), a few poisonous snakes, and the unduly dreaded scorpion. The flora on the other hand is strikingly rich and varied. In the coast-zone occur all the usual Mediterranean plants. In the Tell Atlas there still exist, in spite of the wanton destruction of trees by the natives, remains of ancient forests of cork-trees (Quercus suber), evergreen oaks (Quercus Ilex and Quercus cenis), Aleppo pines, and occasionally of cedars (p. 210). In marked contrast to this vegetation is that of the great steppes, where the saline plants, the meagre dwarf-palms (Chamærops humilis), and particularly the alfa (halfa) or esparto grass (Macrochloa tenacissima), of which immense quantities are exported chiefly from the province of Oran, proclaim the proximity of the sterile and dreary desert. At Bou-Saâda (p. 270), in the hottest S. valleys of the Sahara Atlas, and in the oases of the Sahara we find the home of the date-palm (Phœnix dactylifera, Arabic nakhl), whose fruit is the chief food of the poorer classes and also an important article of commerce, whose sap yields palmwine, whose trunks afford building material, and with whose leaves are made the mats and bedding of the natives.

The majority of the native inhabitants, who in the S. regions, away from the oases, are chiefly nomadic, are Berbers (p. 94). These, however, since the immigration of the Beni Hilal and Beni Soleïm (p. 323), have mingled with Arabs much more than in Morocco, and outside of their mountain fastnesses have completely exchanged their own individuality for that of the Arab. The town populations, especially in the province of Algiers, are composed of a motley assemblage of Moors, descended from Spanish Moriscoes or from pirates (largely Christian apostates), of Kabyles (p. 252), Mozabites (p. 216), Biskris (p. 280), and lastly of Kuluglis, descended from Turks and Moorish women. The Jews, partly settled in Barbary since ancient times, partly immigrants from Spain, have enjoyed, unlike the Mohammedans, the full rights of citizenship since 1870, but, though thriving materially, they are hardly superior in culture to the less favoured inhabitants.

Down to the end of the middle ages Algeria was historically inseparable from Tunisia and Morocco (see pp. 95, 187, 188, 322). After the whole coast as far as the Atlantic had been colonized by the Carthaginians, and the whole of S. Algeria by the Romans, but with diminishing energy as they proceeded from E. to W., a period of decadence set in. Troubles began with the revolt of the Circumcelliones, and were succeeded by the party strife between Catholics and Donatists, by the religious persecutions under the Arian Vandal kings (p. 322), by the misgovernment of the Byzantines (534–698), and by the irruption of the Arabs (p. 322). During the Moorish period, as Algeria only formed an independent state for a time under the Ibadites (p. 323) and the Hammadites (p. 263), while in the W. regions the kingdom of Tlemcen (p. 188) was afterwards founded, it proved a constant apple of discord between the powerful dynasties of Morocco and Tunisia. The intrusion of the Spaniards (p. 178) next led to the intervention of the Turks and to the establishment of a piratical state by Horuk Barbarossa (comp. p. 221). Under the sway of France great improvements have been introduced; many of the most fertile regions on the coast and in the Tell Atlas have become state property and that of French companies or of industrious colonists (mostly Spaniards, S. French, Alsatians, and Lorrainers), and the long neglected seaports have awoke to new life. The whole country has been opened up by a network of excellent roads, and railways have been carried to the confines of the Sahara. In the towns, with the exception of Tlemcen and Constantine, most of the old Moorish and Turkish buildings have been superseded by French. While but few specimens of Moorish architecture have been spared by enthusiasts for improvement, there still survive in the Hauts-Plateaux some interesting relics of Roman buildings, recently unearthed from the oblivion of centuries, and now carefully preserved from further destruction.

For much fatigue and privation the traveller in Algeria will be compensated by many a glimpse of picturesque Oriental manners and costumes and by the varied scenery of the peaceful and luxuriantly fertile plains, the wild mountains, and the stony and sandy wastes of steppe and desert. Most striking of all are the wonderful effects of light and shade on land, sea, and sky, under the glorious African sunshine. Amid the manifold green hues of the rich subtropical vegetation, enlivened by a wealth of flowers and blossom, gleam the dazzling white Moorish country-houses and Mohammedan shrines (kubbas or marabouts) and the red-tiled roofs of the mountain villages and the European settlements. Travellers penetrating from the coast to the Sahara will marvel, especially in winter, at the extraordinary clearness of the atmosphere and the gorgeous sunsets, such as neither Italy nor Greece can boast of, awakening in every beholder an enthusiastic admiration for the desert.

Notwithstanding the considerable rainfall (p. 170) and the occasional gales to which it is exposed, the town of Algiers is a favourite winter resort. The best months for travelling on the seaboard and the Hauts-Plateaux are April, May, and November, and for the Sahara February and March. The favourite goals are, in the province of Oran: Oran, Tlemcen, and Figuig; in the province of Algiers: Teniet el-Haâd, Miliana, Hammam Rhira, Blida, Fort-National, and Michelet; and in the province of Constantine: Bougie, the Chabet el-Akra, Constantine, Timgad, El-Kantara, Biskra, and Tebessa.

The Railways, with the exception of the Chemins de Fer Algériens de l’Etat, belong to three private companies, the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée Algérien, the Ouest Algérien, and the Bône-Guelma (et prolongements). They are all single lines. The express on the chief line, that from Algiers to Oran, travels 26¾ M. an hour only; the speed of the ordinary trains is 12–19 M. per hour. On all the main lines dining and sleeping cars are provided. On the branch-lines the trains often have one first-class carriage only. For night journeys in the Hauts-Plateaux the heating by means of foot-warmers is inadequate. In E. Algeria the traffic is sometimes stopped for several days in winter by snow-drifts and cloud-bursts.

The time-tables are to be found in the Livret A. Jourdan (Indicateur des Chemins de Fer, de la Navigation, etc.; 50 c.), in the Livret-Chaix (Guide pour les Chemins de Fer de l’Algérie, de la Tunisie et de la Corse; 50 c.), or in the Indicateur Officiel (Guide-poche Algérien par L. Chappuis; 60 c.). Greenwich time (ca. 59 min. behind mid-European time), which has been recently introduced in France, is observed everywhere. Travellers should go to the ticket-office early, as the officials have much writing to do and their proceedings are slow. In the larger towns tickets may usually be taken and luggage booked beforehand at the town-office of the railway company. As in France each passenger is allowed 30 kilos (about 66 lbs.) of luggage. Return-tickets (billets d’aller et retour) for a distance of 50 kilomètres (31 M.) are valid for two days, for distances over 400 kilom. (248 M.) for at least seven days. The Indicateurs above named contain further information as to return-tickets ‘collectifs pour families’, ‘collectifs d’excursion’, and ‘demi-places’, which last only benefit those who make a stay of several months in the colony.

As the roads are good and the trains slow, those who can bear the expense will often find a Motor Car the swiftest and pleasantest kind of conveyance. Among fine motoring trips may specially be noted those from Oran to Tlemcen (comp. p. 184); from Algiers to Castiglione, Tipaza, Hammam Rhira, Affreville, and Teniet el-Haâd, returning viâ Blida and Boufarik; from Algiers to Cape Matifou, Ménerville, Tizi-Ouzou, Fort-National, and Michelet (Tazmalt); from Bougie through the Chabet el-Akra to Kerrata, or viâ Djidjelli and Mila to Constantine; also from Algiers or Constantine to Biskra. The maximum speed allowed in towns and villages is 15 kilomètres (9½ M.) an hour, on highroads 30 kilom. (19 M.) per hour. The cars offered for hire in the larger towns are generally good machines of 15–60 horse-power.

Where neither railways nor motor-omnibuses are available persons of limited means travel by Diligence (see time-tables in Jourdan’s Indicateur, mentioned above). Besides the ‘Courrier’, or postal diligence, there is sometimes a ‘Concurrence’, an inferior and cheaper vehicle. Careful inquiry as to time-table and fares should be made, and front seats secured beforehand. The officials sometimes charge strangers more than the legitimate fare. If the passenger prefers to walk or ride part of the way, he may arrange with the driver as to the carriage of his luggage.

Off the highroads and for mountain excursions Riding is often preferable to walking. A mule (mulet) or a donkey (bourricot) is more commonly used than a horse. The Arabian saddle with its high cantle and pommel gives a certain sense of security to the novice, but the experienced rider will prefer an English saddle, which may be obtained in the larger towns. The animals are badly kept by the natives, but are quiet and sure-footed. Instead of a saddle, mules and donkeys often have a kind of sack thrown over their backs, into which the rider thrusts his feet. The attendant has to provide food for himself and his beast, and he is always expected to walk except on very long excursions.

For excursions of any length in the Sahara the traveller must have recourse to the camel, the ‘ship of the desert’. The superior trotting camel (mehara) must be distinguished from the ordinary beast of burden, which only walks about 2½ M. per hour, but has wonderful powers of endurance, even in the most trying weather. In the case of the trotting camel the rider sits on a narrow saddle and crosses his feet (with shoes removed) on the animal’s neck. On the broad pack-saddle of the camel of burden is a seat for men, and right and left are others for ladies, for whom a kind of litter (attatouch) also is provided. While the rider mounts the kneeling animal the attendant usually puts his foot on one of its fore-legs to prevent it from rising too suddenly, as it is very apt to do. As the camel rises on its hind-legs first, tilting the rider forwards, it is advisable to lean well back at first, and then forwards, and to keep firm hold of the saddle. Practice alone will enable the rider to get used to the peculiar gait of the animal. The rider’s head should be well protected by a pith-helmet or other efficient covering. Luggage is best carried in two saddle-bags (gibera) of leather or carpet, for which the natives ask 20 fr., or even in ordinary sacks. As to provisions, see p. 97. Intending travellers are expected to present themselves at the Bureau Arabe before starting, where they may apply for a Saharien or Cavalier du Maghzen (p. 390) to accompany them. In some cases an escort is considered indispensable.

The Money for a tour in Algeria had better be taken in the form of notes of the Banque de France or the Banque de l’Algérie (for Algeria and Tunisia only) or in gold of the Latin monetary union. Bank of England notes and sovereigns are always readily exchanged in the larger towns and tourist-resorts. Circular notes are less convenient, but have the merit of being safer. Letters of credit addressed to the Compagnie Algérienne or the Crédit Lyonnais also form a safe vehicle for large sums, but the branch-offices sometimes require a week’s notice before paying. The banks and public offices are mostly open at 9–11 and 2–5 only, but the cashier’s office usually closes at 3.

Comfortable first-class Hotels, owned chiefly by French, Swiss, or German proprietors, are to be found at Algiers, Oran, Hammam Rhira, and Biskra. Those of the second class usually make a fixed charge (5 to 12 fr. per day) for room, déjeuner, and dinner. Charges vary greatly, however, according to the season and to the traveller’s nationality. The beds are very good as a rule, and the rooms fairly clean, but the sanitation is often defective and the servants inefficient. Under these circumstances the scale of gratuities is lower than in Europe.

As for food, the staple of almost every repast in Algeria is mutton. The wheaten bread is generally excellent. Among the best wines are the white of Médéa and Mascara, the red and the white of Tlemcen and Staouéli, and the red of Miliana, Margueritte, and Hammam Rhira. At the Cafés, which are often beset by shoe-blacks (cireurs; 10 c.), we may try a cup of ‘Nossi-Bey’ (50 c.), considered a specially good coffee. A cup of coffee or tea at the Moorish cafés costs one sou, but strangers are often charged two (no gratuities). A few good Restaurants are to be found in the larger towns, and food also is provided by the better brasseries. Tobacco and cigars are much cheaper than in France, there being no government monopoly here, but there is a duty of 36 fr. per kilogramme (2⅕ lbs.) on imported cigars.

The Post Office arrangements are the same as in France. A favourite way of sending small parcels is by sample-post (‘échantillons sans valeur’; 12–15 days from Algiers to England), up to 350 grammes (about 12¼ oz.). Inland postage for letters of 20 grammes (not quite ¾ oz.) or post-cards 10 c., foreign 25 c. (for 20 gr.) or 10 c.—Senders of registered letters and telegrams must fill up a form giving their name and address. Postal orders and parcel-post are not recommended.

Drawing or Photographing in fortified places, if not expressly forbidden, is at least inadvisable, nor should maps or plans be too closely studied in public places. With regard to intercourse with the natives, see p. xxv. The police arrangements are generally as good as in Europe.

The Mosques (p. xxv) in Algeria are all state property and may therefore be visited at any time except during prayer. A fee (20–50 c.) need only be given to the custodian for providing slippers or rendering special services. Smoking is forbidden in the forecourts, and of course in the buildings themselves.

The Moorish Baths (ladies’ hours 12–6) may be glanced at in passing.

Books (comp. also pp. vi, 325). Sir R. L. Playfair’s Bibliography of Algeria (London, 2 vols.) goes no further than 1895. Among works on the history of Algeria and its development may be mentioned: M. Wahl, L’Algérie (5th ed., Paris, 1908; 5 fr.); Hanoteau et Letourneux, La Kabylie (2nd ed., 3 vols., Paris, 1893; 25 fr.); R. L. Playfair, The Scourge of Christendom (London, 1884); Graham, Roman Africa, History of the Roman Occupation (London, 1902); Randall Maciver and Wilkin, Libyan Notes (London, 1901). For the history of art: Stéphane Gsell, Les Monuments antiques de l’Algérie (2 vols., Paris, 1901; 20 fr.); W. et G. Marçais, Les Monuments Arabes de Tlemcen (Paris, 1903; out of print). Delightful descriptions of the country and its inhabitants are contained in R. S. Hichens’s The Garden of Allah (London, 1904); Frances E. Nesbitt’s Algeria and Tunis (London, 1906; 20s.); Irene Osgood’s novel ‘Servitude’; Guy de Maupassant’s novel Au Soleil (nouv. éd., Paris, 1894; 3½ fr.); E. Fromentin’s Un été dans le Sahara (Paris, 1857) and Une Année dans le Sahel (Paris, 1859); Col. Pein’s Lettres familières sur l’Algérie (Châlons-sur-Marne, 1871; 3 fr.).

The French Carte de l’Algérie (of the ‘Service Géographique de l’Armée’) is completed for the N. districts only. Each sheet on the scale of 1:50,000 costs 1½ fr.; sheets on the scale of 1:200,000 cost 90 c. each. Since 1908 M. Jourdan, of Algiers, has been bringing out a new official map for the north (1:200,000) and the south (1:400,000) at 1 fr. per sheet.

28. Oran.

Arrival by Sea. The steamers of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (RR. 19, 18) are berthed at the Quai Bougainville (Pl. C, 1), those of the Transport Maritimes (R. 19) at the Quai de la Gare (Pl. C, D, 2), those of the Navigation Mixte (RR. 19, 18) at the Quai Lamoune (Pl. B, 1). Baggage is conveyed to the custom-house (Douane; Pl. B, 2), and thence to the cabs or hotel-omnibuses. The porters (portefaix), mostly natives, are notorious for their extortionate demands. Charges should be agreed upon beforehand.

Railway Stations. 1. Gare Centrale or du P. L. M. et de l’Ouest Algérien (Pl. E, 4; p. 173), Boul. Marceau (p. 181), for Perrégaux and Algiers (R. 33), Tlemcen (R. 29), and Aïn-Témouchent (p. 185).—2. Gare d’Arzew (Pl. F, 5), 1 M. from the hotels, for the line viâ Damesme (Arzew) and Perrégaux to Beni-Ounif de Figuig (R. 32).—The Gare de la Marine (Pl. C, 2) is the terminus of the harbour goods-line.—Town Office of the P. L. M. and Ouest Algérien railways, Boul. du Lycée 5.

Hotels. *Hôt. Continental (Pl. a; D, 3), Boul. Séguin 1, corner of Place des Armes, fine open site, with restaurant, R. 4–6, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 11–15, omn. 1 fr.—Hôt. Victor (Pl. b; D, 3), Rue d’Arzew 5 and Rue de la Bastille 8, R. 2½–5, B. ½¾, D. 3, pens. 7½–8½, omn. ½–1 fr., plain but good; Hôt. du Théâtre, Rue Bosquet, next the theatre (Pl. C, 3), new; Hôt. d’Europe (Pl. d; D, 3), Boul. Charlemagne 16, Hôt. du Progrès (Pl. f; D, 3), Rue de Belleville 14, both with restaurants, very unpretending.—Hôtels Garnis. *Royal (Pl. g; D, 3), Boul. du Lycée 3, with restaurant, R. 3–8, omn. 1 fr.; Central (Pl. h; D, 3), Rue de Belleville 13, R. 2½–4 fr.

Cafés. Continental (at the hotel), Riche, and de la Mosquée, all in Boul. Séguin (Nos. 1, 22, 19); du Théâtre, Place d’Armes 11; Nouvel Aquarium (p. 182), Promenade de Létang; Glacier, Place Kléber 3.

Restaurants at the hotels; also Nouvel Aquarium (p. 182); Brasserie Guill. Tell, in the Hôt. Royal, Boul. du Lycée 3, good; Brasserie de l’Etoile, Rue de Belleville 11; Brasserie Alsacienne, Boul. Séguin 18.

Night is reckoned from 11 to 6 (in summer to 5). Fares raised on Easter Monday and on race-days (see tariff). Luggage under 15 kilos (ca. 33 lbs.) free; trunk 25 c., over 40 kilos (ca. 88 lbs.) 50 c.

Motor Cars and Bicycles. Serviès, Boul. Magenta 28; L’Universelle (Schmitt & Co.), Rue d’Arzew 60; Palace Auto, Rue d’Alsace-Lorraine.

Tramways (from 6, in winter 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; 1st cl. 15, 2nd cl. 10 c.; transfer 20 or 15 c.). 1. From Quai de la Douane (Pl. B, 1) to Rue d’Orléans, Place Kléber (Pl. C, 3), Boul. Malakoff, Rue des Jardins, and Place d’Armes (Pl. C, D, 3).—2. From Quai Ste. Thérèse (Pl. D, 1, 2) to Rue Charles-Quint, Place Kléber, Rue de Turin, Rue Philippe, and Place d’Armes.—From Place d’Armes: 3. to Boul. Séguin, Rue d’Arzew (Pl. D-F, 3), and Gambetta (Pl. H, 2); 4. to Boul. Séguin, Rue de Mostaganem (Pl. D-G, 4), and St. Eugène (Pl. H, 4); 5. to Boul. National, Boul. Magenta (Pl. D, 4), Boul. Marceau (Pl. E, F, 4, 5); 6. to Boul. National, Boul. Sébastopol (Pl. C, D, 4), Rue Dutertre (Pl. D, 5), and Cimetière Tamazhouet (Pl. E, F, 5); 7. to Boul. National, Porte de Tlemcen (Pl. C, 5), and Eckmühl (Pl. B, 5).

Steam Tramway to Hammam Bou-Hadjar, see p. 184.

Omnibuses. Motor-omnibus from the Place Kléber (Pl. C, 3) every ½ hr. to Mers el-Kébir (p. 183); ordinary omnibus twice daily to Aïn-et-Turk, Bou-Sfer (p. 184), and El-Ançor (p. 185); etc.

Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. 9; D, 3), Rue d’Alsace-Lorraine 7; branches in the Dock No. 4, Quai du Sénégal, at No. 17 Boul. Malakoff, etc.

Steamboat Offices. Générale Transatlantique, Boul. Malakoff 28; Transports Maritimes, Place de la République 9; Navigation Mixte (Touache Co.), Rue Séguin 1.

Boats. For a row in the harbour (as far as the lighthouse), 1 pers. 50, 2–3 pers. 25 c. each, 4 pers. 20 c. each (there and back with stay of ¼ hr., 70, 35, or 30 c.); one hour for 1 or more pers. 1½, each addit. hour 1 fr.—Sailing Boat to Kristel (p. 184) about 6–8 fr. (according to bargain; should be ordered at the harbour in good time).

Baths. Beth, Boul. Séguin 1 (seaside of Hôt. Continental) and Rue d’Arzew 48; Dussap, Boul. Oudinot 22.—Moorish (p. 175): Bains Maures, Rue de la Mosquée 5, etc.—Sea Baths. Bains de la Plage Ste. Thérèse; Bains Flottants, Grande Jetée (Pl. D, 1), opposite the Quai Ste. Thérèse (ferry); Bains de la Reine (p. 183); also at Roseville (p. 183), St. André de Mers el-Kébir (p. 183), and Aïn-et-Turk (p. 184).

Banks (comp. p. 174). Banque de l’Algérie (Pl. 1; D, 3), Boul. Séguin; Comp. Algérienne, Rue d’Alsace-Lorraine; Crédit Lyonnais, Boul. Séguin 3; Crédit Agricole et Commercial Algérien (J. Thibaud), same street, No. 7.

Booksellers. Heintz, Boul. Séguin 4; Perrier, Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville 10; Fouque, Boul. Séguin 26.—Newspapers (5 c.). L’Echo d’Oran, Le Libéral, El Correo Español.

Shops. Maison Universelle, Boul. Séguin 27; Gradvohl, same boulevard, No. 20bis (Oriental goods).—Photographic Requisites. Luck, Rue de Belleville 9; Schnell, Boul. Séguin 14.—Picture Post Cards. Caspari, Rue d’Arzew 24; Craveya, same street, No. 20.

Tourist Offices. Lubin, Galerie Perez, Boul. Séguin; Syndicat d’Initiative, Hôt. de Ville (p. 180); R. Heckmann, Place de la République 7.

Consuls. British Vice-Consul, Thos. A. Barber, Quai Ste. Marie 4 (Pl. B, 2).—U. S. Consular Agent, A. H. Elford, Rue Charles Quint 14.

French Prot. Church (Temple; Pl. 13, C, 3), Rue de la Révolution; service on Sun. at 9.30 a.m.

Theatres. Grand Théâtre Municipal (Pl. C, 3), Place d’Armes; Théâtre-Casino (Pl. 14; C, 2), Rue Philippe; Cirque-Théâtre des Nouveautés (Pl. C, 4), Boul. National; Alhambra (Pl. D, E, 3), Rue d’Arzew 38bis.

Music (in winter, 4–5 p.m.). Sun., Promenade de Létang (p. 181), near the Restaur. Aquarium; Tues., at the Cercle Militaire (p. 180); Thurs. (fortnightly in both), Place de la République and Square du Palais de Justice; Sat., at the Hôpital Militaire (Pl. C, 2).—Concerts in the Salle Musicale (Pl. D, 3), Rue de Paixhans.

Two Days. 1st. In the forenoon, Place d’Armes (p. 180), Grande Mosquée (p. 180), Promenade de Létang (p. 181), Old Town (p. 179); afternoon, Belvédère (p. 182) or Plateau du Marabout (p. 183).—2nd. Forenoon, Mers el-Kébir (p. 183); afternoon, Promenade des Falaises (p. 184).—As to visiting the mosques, see p. 174.

Oran, Arabic Warân, the capital of the province of that name, with 110,000 inhab. (29,700 being foreigners, mostly Spaniards, 16,000 Mohammedans, and 13,200 Jews), is a strongly fortified place, the headquarters of an army corps and a torpedo-boat station, and has been an episcopal see since 1867. Next to Algiers it is now the greatest seaport and commercial place in Barbary. The town lies in 35° 44′ N. lat. and 0° 58′ W. long., on a bay of the spacious Gulf of Oran (p. 126), between Jebel Santon (1043 ft.; p. 183) on the W. and the Pointe Canastel (784 ft.; p. 184) on the E. side. At the W. end the quiet streets of the old town, overlooked by the bare limestone rocks of the Pic d’Aidour or Montagne de Santa Cruz (1221 ft.), ascend the ravine of the small brook Raz el-Aïn or Oued Rehhi to the hill of the Kasba, the ancient Moorish castle. The modern industrial quarters lie to the E. of the hill of Château-Neuf and beyond the ravine of the Aïn Rouina, extending far over the plateau of Karguentah (about 250–390 ft.), a tableland which descends abruptly to the sea and slopes gradually to the S. E. down to the plain of the Daya Morselli and the Plaine du Figuier (p. 185). The town is defended by several old forts of the Spanish period and by a number of modern coast-batteries, and, like most of the Algerian towns, is enclosed by a wall for protection against the natives. The chief suburbs outside the gates are Gambetta, St. Eugène, Lamur, and Eckmühl-Noiseux.

Oran is essentially a modern town, which is being extended and embellished with feverish zeal, but notwithstanding its French veneer it derives a certain individuality from the preponderating Spanish element in its population. The Mohammedan element is diminishing here even more rapidly than in Algiers. Owing to the scantiness of the rainfall the environs and their vegetation are quite African in character, and the neighbouring shotts, or salt-lakes, resemble those of the Hauts-Plateaux (p. 169).

The Gulf of Oran, where the Portus Divinus (Mers el-Kébir, p. 183) was the only Roman settlement, was unimportant in ancient times. Native tradition ascribes the foundation of the town of Oran to Moorish merchants of Andalusia in 902, but it was not till the late middle ages that the town began to thrive. After the rise of the kingdom of Tlemcen (p. 188) Oran superseded the neighbouring ports of Rachgoun (p. 185), Honeïn (p. 125), and Arzew (p. 199) as the chief staple of the W. Algerian coast, its trade being chiefly carried on by Italians.

Jealous of the successes of Portugal in Morocco (p. 96), and eager, after the capture of Granada (p. 75), to carry their crusade against Islam into African territory, the Spaniards sent an expedition against Melilla (p. 124) in 1496, while the all-powerful Card. Ximenez, archbishop of Toledo, proceeded to attack the Ziyanides (p. 188). In 1505 Mers el-Kébir, which had been twice occupied by the Portuguese in the 15th cent., was attacked and after a brave defence captured, and in 1509, on a second expedition, Oran fell into the hands of the cardinal. Thenceforth Oran formed the base of the further campaigns of the Spaniards, who in their victorious career soon captured all the important towns on the seaboard as far as Tripoli, and penetrated inland to Tlemcen. The Spanish governors succeeded in defending Oran against all the attacks of the barbarescos down to 1708, when the Bey Bu-Chlar’em bombarded the Spanish forts from Jebel Murjajo, captured them, and slew the entire garrison. A Spanish army under the Count of Montemar gained a brilliant victory over the Moors at Aïn et-Turk (p. 184) and recaptured the town in 1732, but the Spaniards soon found themselves again overmatched by their enemies. In 1790 the town was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake, and in 1792 the Spaniards at length withdrew their garrison.

Under the bey Mohammed el-Kebîr the town was erected into the capital of the province of W. Algeria; but in consequence of the earthquake, the interminable wars, and its entire separation from the inland regions during the centuries of the Spanish occupation, Oran had declined so lamentably that when it was occupied by French troops in 1831 it scarcely numbered 4000 inhabitants. Its rapid recovery since that period has been due to its favourable situation, its proximity to the Spanish coast and to the rich inland district of Tlemcen, and particularly to the extension of the Algerian railway system as far as the Sahara and to the promotion of trade with Morocco by the opening of free marts at Lalla-Marnia (p. 197), Aïn-Sefra (p. 202), and Beni-Ounif de Figuig (p. 203).

a. The Harbour and the Old Town.

The Harbour (Pl. B-D, 1, 2), 72 acres in area, is bounded on the E. side by the Quai Ste. Thérèse, 330 yds. long, and is sheltered on the N. by the Grande Jetée or Jetée du Large, a pier 1200 yds. in length, with a lighthouse at the end (Phare; Pl. D, 1). The shallow Vieux Port (Pl. B, C, 1, 2), now the S.W. bay of the new harbour bounded on the N. by the Quai Bougainville, was the harbour of the Moorish and Spanish periods. The rapid increase of the shipping trade (now exceeding 4 million tons annually) is being met by the construction of an outer harbour (Pl. D-G, 1, 2). The chief imports are sugar, coffee, rice, English coal, timber, petroleum, candles, and paper; the chief exports wine, grain, flour, fruit, early vegetables, alfa, ‘crin végétal’ (dwarf-palm fibre), tobacco, cattle, hides, wool, marble, and onyx.

From the Douane (Pl. B, 2) the Rue d’Orléans (Pl. B, C, 2; tramway No. 1, see p. 176) ascends in a curve, skirting the Quartier de la Marine and the Quartier de la Calère, the Spanish quarters, to the upper part of the town. Halfway up, to the right, on the parapet of the small Place d’Orléans (Pl. B, 2) are seen the Spanish Armorial Bearings (1789).

Beyond the Palais Consulaire (Pl. 8, C 2; Chamber of Commerce and Commercial Court) the street reaches the two chief squares of the old French part of the town, the Place de la République, with the Fontaine Aucour (Pl. C, 2; concerts, see p. 177), and the Place Kléber (Pl. C, 3). Adjoining the latter is the Boulevard Malakoff (Pl. C, 3), constructed over the vaulted channel of the Raz el-Aïn (p. 177), with a fine avenue of planes.

On the S.W. side of the Place Kléber, between Boul. Malakoff and Boul. Oudinot, rises the Préfecture (Pl. C, 3), the seat of the provincial government.

The Boul. Oudinot leads to the Magasin du Campement (Pl. C, 3; military stores; adm. by leave of the military authorities), in the garden of which we perceive the minaret of a Mosque (about 1800) dedicated to Sidi el-Hawâri, the chief saint of Oran.

The Rue Larrey leads past the E. side of the military stores to a terrace above the harbour-quarter, on which rises the—

Church of St. Louis (Pl. 12; C, 2), an unimportant edifice of 1839, whose choir-niche is a relic of the Spanish church of the time of the Count of Montemar (p. 178). The Wall of the Rue de Berlin (Pl. C, B, 2), which leads hence to the Porte du Santon (p. 182), is of Spanish origin.

We return to the Boul. Oudinot and glance at the Quartier de la Kasba, the oldest quarter of Oran, lying on the hill-side below the Kasba (Pl. B, C, 3; adm. on application at the guard-house), the old citadel. The old Moorish castle on this site was succeeded in the 16th cent. by the Spanish Castillo Viejo, the nucleus of the Spanish fortifications, and now occupied by French barracks. Above the Porte d’Espagne, a side-entrance at the end of the narrow Rue du Vieux-Château (Pl. C, 3), are still seen the arms of Spain.

The Rue de Madrid (Pl. C, 3, 2), a side-street of the Rue Larrey (see above), and the steps in the Rue d’Orléans near the S.W. angle of the Place de la République lead to the small public—

Musée Demaeght (Pl. 7; C, 2), Rue Montebello 9, founded in 1886 and named after its founder. Admittance, except on great festivals, daily 1–5, free. Catalogues of the antiquities and the ancient coins, 1¾ fr. each. Curator, Prof. A. Mouliéras.

In the vestibule are Roman mosaics from a dwelling-house at Portus Magnus (Saint-Leu, p. 199), freely restored in parts; Roman stelæ, milestones, inscriptions, etc. from the province of Oran.

First Floor. On the left, in Room C, natural history collections, including specimens of marble and onyx from the province of Oran.—On the right, in Room D, prehistoric relics from Barbary and ethnographical collections.

Second Floor. On the left, in Room E, casts from the antique; Moorish ornaments from Toledo and Granada; and a graphic collection.—On the right, in Room F, modern paintings.

Third Floor. On the left, in Room G, natural history collections.—On the right, in Room H, a fine collection of coins, Numidian, Mauretanian, Roman, Byzantine, Moorish, old Spanish, etc.; in the wall-cases small relics from Portus Magnus.

b. The New Town.

The loftily situated New Town is reached from the Place Kléber (Pl. C, 3; p. 179) by several steep lanes in steps (Rue de Gênes, etc.), but more easily by the Boulevard Malakoff (p. 179) and the Rue des Jardins (Pl. C, 3; tramway No. 1, see p. 176), or by the Rue de Turin (Pl. C, 3, 2) and Rue Philippe (tramway No. 2).

The Rue de Turin leads in a bend past the Marché Bastrana (Pl. 5; C, 3) and the Promenade de Létang (p. 181).

The Rue Philippe, which ascends direct, passes on the right the elegant Demeure de Hassan (Pl. 2; C, 3), which, apart from the fortifications, is the sole relic of old Oran. According to the inscription, it was built in 1700 and restored in 1900, and is named after one of its later owners, a tobacco-merchant who became Bey of Oran in 1812.

The adjacent Grande Mosquée, or Mosquée du Pacha (Pl. 4, C, 3; Arabic Jâma el-Pasha), erected by order of the Dey of Algiers after the withdrawal of the Spaniards in 1792, is now the only mosque in the town used for divine service.

The front building, erected in the form of a kubba, or saint’s shrine, at the sharp bend of the Rue Philippe, dates only from the French period (1864). The pretty Sahn, or court of the mosque, enclosed by a pinnacled wall, is planted with palms and bananas.

In the mosque itself, whose vaulting rests alternately on short pillars and clustered columns, is the Sedda or stage, under the great central dome, where at the Friday service the Mosammi, or leader of prayer, repeats the words of the priest (Imâm) for the benefit of worshippers at a distance. On the right, by the plain mihrâb or prayer-niche, is the mimbar, the pulpit for the Friday sermon.

At the back of the mosque, in the Rue de la Mosquée, rises the octagonal Minaret (Sauma), the tower from which the muezzin summons the faithful to prayer five times daily.

The pretty Place d’Armes (Pl. C, D, 3; 233 ft.), where the Rue des Jardins and the Rue Philippe end, is the business centre of the town and the chief tramway station (p. 176). A Monument here recalls the battle near the Kubba Sidi-Brahim (p. 198).

On the S. side of the square rises the Hôtel de Ville, or Mairie (Pl. C, 3), a building in the French Renaissance style, approached by a high flight of steps. On the W. side is the Grand Théâtre Municipal (p. 177), opened in 1908. The grounds of the Cercle Militaire (Pl. C, D, 3; concerts, see p. 177), on the N. side of the square, extend to the S. bastions of the Château-Neuf (p. 182).

On the margin of the plateau, to the S.W. of the Place d’Armes and W. of the Rue de la Révolution, lies the poor Jewish Quarter, with its dirty streets, of which the chief is the Rue d’Austerlitz (Pl. C, 3, 4). Here an interesting fruit and vegetable market takes place daily (Sat. excepted). The best time for a glance at the Jewish quarter is a Saturday morning, between 8.30 and 9, when the women in all their finery go to the synagogues (in the Rue de Ratisbonne, etc.).

At the N.E. angle of the Place d’Armes begins the Boulevard Séguin (Pl. D, 3, 4), now the main street, with the chief banks, shops, and cafés, a favourite evening resort.—In a side-street, the Boul. du Deuxième-Zouaves, rises the new Cathedral (Pl. D, 3, 4), begun in 1905 and now nearly completed. To the S. of it is the Palais de Justice (Pl. D, 4) in the pleasant square named after it (music, see p. 177).—From the S. end of the Boul. Séguin the Rue de Mostaganem and Boul. Marceau (Pl. D-F, 4, 5) lead to the new Gare Centrale (Pl. E, 4; p. 175), in the modern Moorish style (1907–9).

The S. quarter of the town, between the Barracks (Pl. C, D, 4, 5), built in the charming neo-Moorish style, and the town-walls, is the so-called Village-Nègre (Pl. C, D, 5), a growth of the French period. It consists chiefly of small one-storied houses, occupied by the natives, the working classes, and the poorer Mohammedans, with the Marché Arabe as its nucleus. A visit may be paid to it in the morning, or better on a Friday or Sunday afternoon. In an open site on the E. side of this quarter, near the Rue Dutertre (tramway No. 6, see p. 176), is the picturesque Marabout Sidi el-Bachir (Pl. D, 5; p. 172).

Near this is the Porte du Cimetière, leading to the Jewish Burial Ground (Pl. D, 5), to the Christian Cimetière Tamazhouet (Pl. E, F, 5), and to the suburb of Lamur occupied by natives.

The E. part of the new town is intersected by the Rue d’Arzew, passing the new Gallerie Audéoud with its row of shops, a little beyond which the Boul. de Tivoli diverges to the N. (left). In an open site at the end of this street rises the Vieille Mosquée (Pl. F, 3), built at the end of the 18th cent. (now being restored), with a minaret resembling that of the El-Hawâri mosque (p. 179).

The chief boast of Oran is the *Promenade de Létang (Pl. C, D, 2), the delightful grounds, shaded with palms, which flank the N. and W. sides of the Château-Neuf. They are reached from the Place d’Armes, either to the N.W. by the Rue Philippe, or to the N.E. by a road beginning between the Cercle Militaire and the Hôtel Continental. (To the E. of this road lies the Lycée, Pl. D, 3, a road to which crosses the ravine of the Aïn Rouina.) The two N.E. platforms, above the Fort Ste. Thérèse (Pl. D, 2), command a glorious view, especially towards evening, of the bold coast as far as the Pointe Canastel (p. 184) and of the double-peaked Jebel Kahar (p. 184). The terrace on the N.W. side, near the Nouvel Aquarium (music, see p. 177), affords a good view of the harbour, of Jebel Murjajo with the Plateau du Marabout and Fort Santa Cruz (see below), and of the bay of Mers el-Kébir (p. 183).

The Château-Neuf (Pl. C, D, 2; now military headquarters and barracks) was the Bordj el-Ahmar (red castle) of Moorish times, the chief fort of the town next to the Kasba, the Rosalcázar of the Spanish period, seat of the governor, and in 1792–1831 the residence of the Bey of the province of Oran. Admittance on application at the guard-house. The inconsiderable buildings date partly from the Spanish occupation; on the outer walls and the entrance gateway are an Arabic and several Spanish inscriptions.

c. Environs.

(1). The old Fort Santa Cruz (Pl. A, 2; 1221 ft.; now an observatory), on the Pic d’Aidour, the E. spur of the Jebel Murjajo, is reached by the Rue de Berlin (p. 179) and the Porte de Santa Cruz or du Santon (1¼ hr.). A very rough, shadeless path ascends to it, beginning on a stony slope to the right above the drilling-ground, crossing the road to Fort St. Grégoire, and passing the chapel of the Vierge de Santa Cruz (Pl. A, 1; 1024 ft.; view). It may be reached also by a bridle-path through the Ravin des Planteurs (Pl. A, B, 2, 3), the gorge at the beginning of the Bois des Planteurs. The fort was built in 1700, nearly destroyed by the barbarescos in 1708 and 1792, and restored in 1856. It has always been connected with the Château-Neuf (see above) by an underground passage, 3 M. long. The platform commands a fine view of Oran and the bay of Mers el-Kébir (custodian 30–50 c.).

The Belvédère is a more interesting point. We follow the road from the Porte du Santon (see above), passing the drilling-ground, and crossing the (8 min.) Ravin des Planteurs. Now called the Chemin des Planteurs (Pl. B, A, 3), the road ascends in windings through the Bois des Planteurs, a pleasant pine-grove on the S. slope of Jebel Murjajo, where jackals are sometimes seen. To the right, halfway up, a path (finger-post) diverges to the (10 min.) *Belvédère (Pl. A, 3; rfmts.), a kind of temple where we enjoy a superb view of Oran. We may now either go on to the Plateau du Marabout, or else return to the town by the very attractive S. branch of the Chemin des Planteurs (Pl. A, B, 4), which descends to the valley of Raz el-Aïn (p. 177) and leads along its left bank to the Porte du Ravin (Pl. B, C, 3).

The road to the Plateau du Marabout (about 1360 ft.; carr. in about 1¾ hr., 6–8 fr., according to bargain) ascends through the Bois des Planteurs (p. 182). From the end of the road a walk of 10 min. to the N.E. along the crest of the hill, through meagre brushwood, and offering a glimpse of the bay of Mers el-Kébir to the left, brings us to the Marabout Sidi Abd el-Kâder el-Djilâni, the chapel of a Persian saint much revered throughout Barbary as the founder of the Kadria brotherhood (p. 361). From this point, especially towards evening, we obtain a splendid *View of Oran, of Jebel Kahar and Jebel Orouze (p. 184) to the N.E., of the salt-lake and the bay of Arzew (p. 199). To the S. we see part of the Sebkha d’Oran (p. 185), backed by Jebel Tessala (p. 186).

From the plateau we may either descend, a few minutes’ walk beyond the Marabout, to the left to Ste. Clotilde (see below), or we may go straight on, across the saddle between the Jebel Murjajo and the Pic d’Aidour, to the (40 min.) Chapelle de la Vierge and the Fort Santa Cruz (p. 182).

(2). The excursion to Mers el-Kébir (motor-omnibus and carr., see p. 176; tramway to Aïn-et-Turk projected) is specially attractive in the morning. We leave Oran near the Douane (Pl. B, 2) and above Fort Lamoune (Pl. B, 1) skirt the bold E. slope of the Pic d’Aidour (p. 182). On the wooded N. slope of the hill we reach (2 M.) the Bains de la Reine, which have been in use since the time of the Ziyanides (p. 188), but owe their name to a visit paid them by Juana the Insane (p. 76). The plain bath-hotel lies on the road above; the saline spring (130° Fahr.) and the bath-house lie behind the rocks lower down. The baths are frequented, chiefly in spring, both by Europeans and natives.