ALGIERS
ALGIERS
A scene near the busy market.
A Mediterranean trip to many travelers means Algiers (al-jeerz´), as far as the African coast is concerned, and the Riviera, with all the points on that beautiful north shore line. Then they must see Naples, of course, and after passing down the Italian coast they are likely to go straight on to Egypt. After passing through the straits of Gibraltar the attention of the traveler is soon centered on Algiers.
From the entrance to the harbor Algiers appears like a white diamond set in a circle of emeralds. The town consists of two parts, the French and the Arab quarters. To the visitor from the west Algiers is most interesting; for there he meets characters of all kinds, European peoples mixing with those of North Africa. The French quarters show that the Frenchman, when compelled to live in another country, takes a bit of Paris with him; for there is found the typical French café, with its little tables on the sidewalk, contrasting with the Arab café where natives, in their picturesque white costumes, sit and sip their coffee and gossip with wild gesticulation. Even in its African population Algiers is oddly mixed. Each tribe has its own peculiar costume, the marketplace often looking like a stage of a comic opera, only much more artistic and natural.
MOSQUÉE DE LA PÊCHERIE, ALGIERS
The “Mosque of the Fishery” was erected by Turkish architects in 1660. It is a cruciform building, with a large central dome painted inside, and a square minaret, now a clock tower.
TOMBEAU DE LA CHRÉTIENNE
This large tomb near Algiers, 108 feet high, was built as a tomb for Juba II and his family. It serves as a landmark for sailors. Its present name is derived from the cruciform moldings of the door panels.
The government house, and in fact all the buildings except those in the French quarters, are Moorish in design and generally whitewashed, so that they masquerade as glittering white marble. The town is beautifully situated, and is surrounded by a very interesting country filled with relics of Punic War times, and ruins of structures of even a more remote period. Near Algiers is the building called the “tomb of the Christian woman.” This is really the tomb of Juba II, who married Cleopatra Selene (se-lee´-nee), daughter of the celebrated Cleopatra and of Marc Antony. Juba II had a son, Ptolemy, and a daughter, Drusilla, who was the wife of Felix, procurator of Judea, who, it will be remembered, said to Saint Paul, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee” (Acts xxiv, 25).
A STREET SCENE IN ALGIERS
Showing three different styles of costume.
All the coast about Algiers is filled with just such interesting relics of Biblical times. Perfect French roads now make it possible to reach the most interesting places by carriage or motorcar.