35. From Algiers to Tipaza and Cherchell.
a. Viâ Castiglione.
Steam Tramway (p. [219]) from the station in the Quartier Bab el-Oued (Pl. B, 1 ; in connection with the electric tramway from Rue Waisse, Pl. C, 4) to (28½ M.) Castiglione; four trains daily in 2¾–3½ hrs. (fares 3 fr. 15, 2 fr. 30 c.).—Diligence from Castiglione three times daily to (5 M.) Bérard and twice daily viâ (43½ M.) Tipaza to (60½ M.) Cherchell. In order to visit the Tombeau de la Chrétienne we have to take a private vehicle (costing, from Castiglione to Tipaza, with a stay of 2–3 hours at the Ferme Seuillet or the Ferme du Rocher-Plat, about 12–15 fr.).
Interesting Round of Three Days: 1st. By early train to Castiglione; drive (taking provisions) to Ferme Seuillet (walk to Tombeau de la Chrétienne) and to Tipaza (see pp. [238], 239); there visit the E. hill, sending carr. on to the hotel.—2nd. Visit lighthouse and W. hill of Tipaza early; drive to Cherchell about noon (see pp. [242], 243).—3rd. Drive about noon to Marengo (see pp. [244], 243; lunch); take afternoon train to Blida, and evening train thence to Algiers.—Attractive but more costly, Four Days’ Round: 1st. By early train to Blida; by midday or evening train to Bou-Medfa; by omnibus to Hammam Rhira (p. [212]).—2nd. By carr. from hotel to (16 M.) Marengo, and thence by steam-tramway (see pp. [243], 244) or by carr. to Cherchell.—3rd. Drive about noon to Tipaza (see pp. [243], 242).—4th. Tombeau de la Chrétienne; towards evening by steam-tramway from Castiglione back to Algiers.—Tours by Motor Car, comp. p. [173].
From Algiers to (3¾ M.) Deux-Moulins (St. Eugène), see pp. [235], 236. Here begins the finest part of the coast-road, which will repay walkers as far as Cape Caxine or Guyotville. The spurs of Mont Bouzaréah (p. [235]), furrowed by many little ravines, come close down to the sea. The coast, undermined at places by the surf, presents a picturesque series of small headlands, bold cliffs, and rocky islets.
The most striking spot is the (5 M.) *Pointe Pescade (Restaurant), a headland crowned with the mouldering walls of a Turkish fort (1671), overlooking the blue sea and the coast as far as Cape Matifou and beyond.
By road and railway we next come to the (5½ M.) Bains Romains (Hôt.-Restaur.) and the Hôt. de la Fontaine Romaine, both sea-bathing places in summer, to (7 M.) Villas, lying below the Forêt de Baïnem (p. [235]), and to (8 M.) Cape Caxine, on the gneiss rocks of which rises a Lighthouse (210 ft.; visible 24 M. round).
Beyond the precipitous Grand Rocher lies (9½ M.) St. Cloud-sur-Mer, a sea-bathing place. The coast now grows flatter.
10 M. Guyotville (82 ft.; Hôt. des Touristes, humble), a village of 3500 inhab., with a colony of Italian peasants, who cultivate early vegetables and grapes on the sandy soil, protected from the sea-winds by plantations of Spanish reeds (Arundo donax) and in spring by narrow fields of rye. On the plateau to the S. of the village, in the territory of the tribe of Beni-Messous, a number of dolmens (see pp. [324], 229) still exist.
From Guyotville to the Forêt de Baïnem, see p. [235].
Near the low headland of Râs Acrata the road reaches the broad *Bay of Castiglione, much exposed to N.W. gales, which extends in a slight curve to Jebel Chenoua (p. [242]), a hill we sighted soon after leaving Guyotville. We have a view also of the pretty adjoining bay of Sidi-Ferruch. To the right, near (12½ M.) Les Dunes, part of the sand-hills is cultivated.
13 M. La Trappe and (14½ M.) Staouéli (Hôt. Malakoff, quite good) are stations for Staouéli-Trappe (p. [234]).
From Staouéli and from the (15½ M.) Station Sidi-Ferruch roads lead to the N.W. (one 2¼, the other 2 M.) to the small sea-bathing village of Sidi-Ferruch (49 ft.; Hôt. de la Plage, plain), at the end of a sandy tongue of land formed by the surf and by the deposits of the Oued Mazafran (p. [238]). It attracts also jackal-hunters and anglers from Algiers in winter. An inscription at the entrance to the Fort recalls the landing of French troops here in 1830 (comp. p. [234]). A little to the N.W. are the scanty remains of an Early Christian Church, with baptistery, etc.
As we proceed, the Atlas of Blida (p. [169]) is visible for a time. 18 M. Zéralda (62 ft.; Hôt. de Zéralda), an agricultural village, lies in a broad coast-plain, the lowest of four old beach-terraces which mount to the N.E. in gigantic steps to Staouéli-Trappe.
The road now leads between low sand-hills, with pines and underwood, to the Oued Mazafran (called in its upper course Oued Chiffa, p. [213]), through whose valley, deeply furrowing the Sahel, we have another glimpse of the Atlas of Blida.
22 M. Mazafran, on the left bank of the stream, is the junction of a branch-line to (6¼ M.) the little town of Koléa (460 ft.; Hôt. de France; Hôt. du Commerce), founded by Andalusian Moors in 1550, finely situated on the S. slope of the Sahel, and noted for its fruit-culture. The Jardin des Zouaves deserves a visit.
The next stations are for the use of villages situated above the line, on the N. margin of the Sahel plateau. 23½ M. Douaouda-les-Bains, 25½ M. Fouka-Marine, two small sea-bathing places. In the distance, on the crest of the Sahel, appears the Tombeau de la Chrétienne, resembling a haystack.
28½ M. Castiglione (128 ft.; Hôt. du Tapis-Vert, good; Hôt. de Paris; Hôt. de l’Oasis, humble) is a large village of 2000 inhab., on the vine-clad slope of the Sahel. Below are the unpretending sea-baths, where lodgings may be procured.
The High Road to (43½ M.) Tipaza, affording at first a beautiful view of the coast, of Jebel Chenoua, and the hills of the Dahra (p. [209]) beyond Marengo, leads viâ the fishing-villages of (30 M.) Chiffalo (founded by Sicilian fishermen from Cefalù) and (31 M.) Bou-Haroun, whose inhabitants are engaged in the anchovy and sardine fishery, to (33½ M.) Bérard (66 ft.; Café-Hôt. Bérard, poor), a banana-growing village.
36 M. Ferme Seuillet (102 ft.), a large farm, is the starting-point for the Tombeau de la Chrétienne. The rough road to the tomb (2½ M.) ascends in windings (partly avoided, after 10 min., by a short-cut to the left), at first through underwood, and then to the S.W. through vineyards.
The so-called *Tombeau de la Chrétienne (856 ft.; Arabic Kbûr er-Rûmia), the largest tomb in the Atlas regions and one of the most conspicuous of sailors’ landmarks on the whole coast of Algeria, stands on one of the highest points of the S.W. range of the Sahel. It was probably erected by Juba II. (p. [244]), in imitation of the Medracen (p. [274]), as a tomb for his family. The building consists of a low square pedestal, of about 70 yds. each way, and a circular substructure relieved by sixty Ionic half-columns and four blind portals, crowned with a pyramid rising in steps, of which 33 still exist. The present name is derived from the cruciform mouldings of the door-panels. The monument, originally 130 ft. in height, but now 108 ft. only, has suffered severely from the vandalism of native treasure-hunters, who bored two tunnels into it, and from bombardment by two deys of Algiers, bent on the same quest. Further damage was done by earthquakes in 1825 and 1867, and the masonry also has been loosened by the removal of its leaden cramps. The building is surrounded by dense underwood and is partly overgrown by it on the N. side. Key and candles at the keeper’s hut on the N.E. side (fee 50 c.).
The Entrance is under the blind portal on the E. side, where the original vestibule has almost disappeared. A short passage leads to the antechamber; in the wall on the right, near two rude reliefs (lion and lioness), is a passage, once closed by stone slabs, with a flight of seven steps. Beyond this is a winding gallery, about 165 yds. long, probably destined for funeral processions, with small wall-niches for lamps. The gallery leads to the two inner chambers, an ante-room, and the larger chamber, with three wall-niches, in the centre of the monument, probably the tomb of the kings, but now quite empty.
The Ascent of the monument, from the S. side, rather a toilsome climb, conveys a still more striking idea of its grandeur than the long groping in the inside. The *Panorama from the top embraces the coast, from Sidi-Ferruch to Jebel Chenoua; the hills of the Dahra, with Jebel Zaccar Chergui (p. [212]) to the S.W.; the broad Mitidja plain to the S.; and the Atlas of Blida with the ravine of the Chiffa.
We return to the Ferme Seuillet by the same route, or descend to the N.W. by the steep road to (37½ M.) the Ferme du Rocher-Plat (85 ft.).
The highroad next passes the (42 M.) Ferme Demonchy, intersects a beautiful eucalyptus-grove, and passes the E. hill of Tipaza (p. [242]). In approaching Tipaza we obtain a charming view of its little bay and the lighthouse.
43½ M. Tipaza.—Hotel. Hôtel du Rivage, prettily situated at the S. base of the lighthouse hill, with a small garden, R. 2½, B. ½, déj. or D. 2½–3, pens. 7 fr.
Tipaza, a small seaport of 2000 inhab., mostly Mohammedans, founded in 1854, stands on the ruins of Tipasa, a place with a Berber name, but originally an ancient Phœnician settlement, and from the time of Emp. Claudius (about 40 A. D.) a Roman colony. Thanks to its advantageous site near the Nador valley, the main outlet in Roman times of the densely-populated W. Mitidja, Tipasa became in the 2nd cent. one of the most prosperous seaports of Mauretania. The most glorious period in its history was at the close of the 4th cent. when Tipasa, famed for its staunch adherence to the Catholic faith, repelled the attacks of Firmus, the Berber prince (p. [244]); but after a century of prosperity most of the inhabitants fled to Spain in 484 in order to escape from the persecutions of Hunerich, king of the Vandals. Since its occupation by the Arabs the old town, already much impoverished, has disappeared from the page of history.
The site of Tipaza, secluded and peaceful, is strikingly picturesque. The adjoining coast is richly varied, and close by rise the great limestone rocks of Mt. Chenoua. At the same time there are remains of numerous Roman and early-Christian buildings around, all in complete ruin, and partly overgrown with luxuriant vegetation.
Ancient Tipasa, originally occupying only the central castle-hill, which now bears the lighthouse (see below), gradually extended over the coast-plain to the S. of the bay, and also along the slopes of the W. and E. hills. The late-Roman Town Walls, 2410 yds. in length, are still traceable at places. The busy trade of the port led, probably at an early period, to the construction of a broad Landing Place with substantial quays, the space for which was obtained by the levelling of the rocky terrace on the coast. The Roman Outer Harbour, behind the rock-islets near the E. hill, probably served as a place of refuge in stormy weather only. Since the middle ages the coast-line has been much modified by the encroachments of the sea.
We begin our walk on the N. side of the village, at the present Harbour, which occupies the site of the now submerged Roman landing-place. The huge rock (possibly used as a mausoleum), undermined by the sea, which rises in the middle of the harbour, was left untouched by the Roman engineers. During the construction of the new harbour the remains of a Roman Cistern and underground Conduits were unearthed.
From the harbour we walk to the N., round a small bay, to the Lighthouse Hill (112 ft.), gorgeous with flowers in spring, where a few vestiges of Roman streets, cisterns, and a temple are traceable (see above). At the Lighthouse (phare) we obtain a delightful view. Near it, on the N. margin of the hill, a precipice has been formed by a landslip.
The road connecting the highroad with the harbour and the lighthouse hill leads past the Hôtel du Rivage and through the *Thermæ, a grand bath-house of the 2nd or 3rd cent., rivalling the W. baths of Cherchell (p. [246]). Among the ruins, still 30 ft. high in places, extending into the Jardin Trémaux, the frigidarium on the E. side is still quite recognizable.
Near the hotel, to the left, we enter the Jardin Trémaux (adm. kindly granted), the garden of a private estate, adorned with antique and early-Christian relics. On the E. side, near the baths, we observe, protected by a roof, a fine late-Roman sarcophagus, bearing nuptial and sacrificial scenes. Near it is an old Christian sarcophagus, with Christ, the Good Shepherd (beardless); on the sides are lions tearing a gazelle to pieces.
In the middle of the grounds, to the left of the road, are a few relics of a Roman Amphitheatre (3rd cent.?), which even during the French period has served as a quarry.
The road, farther on, passes the Nymphæum (on the left), a sumptuous late-Roman fountain (3rd or 4th cent.), 26 yds. in breadth, backed with a semicircular wall. In front of it is a platform 6½ ft. high, once bedecked with Corinthian columns and with statues, over which the water descended into a narrow trough or basin.
Immediately behind the fountain is a well-preserved vault, once the Reservoir for the water brought to Tipasa by an underground conduit, 5½ M. long, from the valley of the Nador. A few paces away are the noteworthy ruins of a Roman Mausoleum (1st cent.?).
The Roman Theatre, at the exit of the gardens, to the right of the park-road, yielded the materials for building the hospital of Marengo. Several tiers of seats are still traceable.
From the W. Gate, of whose round towers alone a few relics remain, we follow the vestiges of the town-walls to the N. W. to the (5 min.) West Hill (about 100 ft.), the Râs el-Knissa (‘church promontory’) of the natives.
A few paces to the right of the town-walls, just above the undermined margin of the coast-terrace, some fragments of a wall and two arcades of an aisle mark the site of the Bishop’s Church of Tipasa. Erected in the 4th cent., the church was a basilica, 57 yds. by 49 yds., with nave and triple aisles; the nave, 14½ yds. in breadth, was afterwards trisected by the addition of two rows of columns; little remains of the semicircular choir-recess.
Of the square Baptistery, on the N. side of the church, there remain the round font, with three steps, and fragments of the external walls. An adjoining chamber has a fine mosaic pavement; several other rooms show traces of a heating apparatus.
On the left, to the W. of the town-walls, lay the early-Christian Western Cemetery, with countless rock-tombs, sarcophagi, and monuments sadly desecrated by herds of cattle. About a hundred paces to the N. of the church, in the rocks rising above the sea, are several Grottes Funéraires. Near them is a large round Mausoleum, once adorned externally with sixteen half-columns, containing fourteen wall-niches (arcosolia) for coffins and the slab of a table for love-feasts (agapai).
About 2 min. to the S. W. is the Burial Church of Bishop Alexander, built at the end of the 4th cent., a small basilica with nave and aisles, of irregular shape, of which the foundations only remain. On the E. side is a rectangular altar-niche with nine sarcophagi, containing, as the eulogistic inscription in the nave declares, the remains of ‘the nine righteous men’ (probably the nine predecessors of Alexander). The right aisle contains many sarcophagi and a semicircular table for love-feasts. At the W. end of the nave are a mosaic with fish in seven rows and an inscription in memory of the founder, who was probably buried in the W. apse, added later, and accessible by a narrow portal only.
We now return to the harbour, and ascend thence, close to the sea, past the remains of a small Roman Burial Ground, to the (10 min.) East Hill (115 ft.), outside the town-walls where thousands of graves indicate the great extent of the early-Christian Eastern Cemetery.
Here, beyond a few peasants’ huts, we reach the best-preserved ruin at Tipasa, the *Basilica of St. Salsa, the patron saint of the town. This church, built in the first half of the 4th cent, over the heathen sarcophagus of Fabia Salsa, was a square burial-chapel, about 16 yds. each way, with nave and aisles, but in the 5th or 6th cent. was prolonged westwards into a basilica 33½ yds. long, with a vestibule and with galleries over the aisles. At the same time the remains of the saint were transferred to a Roman sarcophagus, which was placed on a high pedestal in the old nave, now the choir of the enlarged church. The rows of clumsy columns in the nave are a later addition. The walls between the choir-pillars belong to a restoration of the 7th or 8th century. Among the ruins of the walls, still 10–12 ft. high at places, lie Ionic capitals and other fragments in picturesque confusion. Near the façade are preserved relics of the old stairs to the galleries.
The small Chapel and the square Hall (later a burial-place) on the S. side of the church date perhaps from the 4th century.
An *Excursion to Cape Chenoua will be found attractive. We first follow the Cherchell road for 1 M.; we then turn, beyond the Ferme Trémaux (p. [244]), to the right and cross the Nador valley to the small sea-baths of Chenoua-Plage, at the E. base of Mt. Chenoua. A narrow road leads thence, up and down hill, along the beautiful Baie du Chenoua to the Anse des Grottes, which owes its name to the numerous caves in the limestone rocks (Grottes du Nador). On the narrow coast-terrace between (7½ M.) Cape Chenoua and the Râs el-Amouch is the secluded settlement of a French contractor, who with a staff of Spanish hands carries on a cement-factory and quarries the red marble of the cape, which was already known to the Romans.
The ascent of *Jebel Chenoua is interesting, both for the sake of the view from the top and for the glimpse it affords of its peculiar, purely Berber inhabitants. From the hilly coast-road just mentioned the route ascends to Tenzirt and (2–2¼ hrs.) a Pass (about 2300 ft.) between the two chief heights of the Chenoua. Thence in 40 min. more we reach the E. peak (2976 ft.), crowned with the kubba of Lalla Tefouredj (Berber Lalla Tzaforalz). The path descending from the pass to Desaix (see below) will be found convenient.
The Road from Tipaza to (17 M.) Cherchell (diligence, see p. [236]) branches off to the W. from the Marengo road at (2 M.) Gué du Nador (p. [243]), crosses the stream, and leads past (3 M.) Desaix (p. [244]), through a bleak tract at the foot of Mt. Chenoua.
5½ M. Castellum du Nador, a late-Roman fortified country-seat (3rd or 4th cent.), was originally a quadrangular walled enclosure of 55 by 47 yds.; immediately to the left of the road there now remain the ruins of two round corner-towers and of a handsome gateway flanked with two square towers.
The road leads on to the watershed, from which one has a view of the Atlas of Blida behind and the Dahra mountain spurs (p. [208]) in front. Thence it dips into the valley of the Oued el-Hachem.
9½ M. Marabout Sidi-Ameur (164 ft.), on the left bank of the stream, at the junction of the Marengo road (p. [244]).
About ¾ M. farther on we observe, on the left, the *Cherchell Aqueduct, coming from the village of Marceau, the largest Roman work of the kind in Algeria, which, rising in three tiers to a height of over 100 ft., here bridges a side-valley.
Passing several hill-farms, owned by French families, the road next turns to the N.W. into the valley of the Oued Bellah. Beyond the (14 M.) Café de l’Oasis we pass under the aqueduct, of which twenty pillars and five arches, built of great blocks of limestone, are still standing here at the foot of the beautiful pine-wood.
Beyond the aqueduct begins the finest part of the road. At first it skirts a pine-clad slope and then, leaving Cap Blanc to the N. E., leads to the W., up and down hill, along the coast. Lastly it passes the fissured Cape Zizerin and two saints’ tombs.
17 M. Cherchell, see p. [244].
b. Viâ El-Affroun and Marengo.
Railway (Algiers and Oran Line, R. 33) viâ (31½ M.) Blida (p. [213]) to (43 M.) El-Affroun, six trains daily, in l–3/4–2¾ hrs. (7 fr. 75, 5 fr. 80, 4 fr. 25 c.).—Steam Tramway from El-Affroun viâ (12½ M.) Marengo to (30½ M.) Cherchell, two (as far as Marengo three) trains daily, in ca. 2¾ hrs.; fare 3 fr. 70 or 2 fr. 70 c.—For the combined visit to Tipaza and Cherchell, comp. also the diary on pp. [236], 237.
From Algiers to (43 M.) El-Affroun, see pp. [217]–213. From the railway-station at El-Affroun the Steam Tramway runs to the W., at the foot of a range of low hills, through the plain of Mitidja, which is here very monotonous. To the right, on the crest of the Sahel, is the Tombeau de la Chrétienne (p. [238]); in front of us rises Jebel Chenoua (p. [242]). We pass the two poor villages of (3½ M.) Ameur-el-Aïn, and (8½ M.) Bourkika (345 ft.), where the road from Miliana and Hammam Rhira (p. [212]) joins ours.
12½ M. Marengo (305 ft.; Hôt. d’Orient, Hôt. Marengo, both unpretending; carriages at the inns only; pop. 4300), a large agricultural village, has an important Wednesday *Market. About 5½ M. to the S. is the reservoir of the Oued Meurad.
The Road from Marengo to (8 M.) Tipaza (carr. 6–8 fr.) crosses the Oued Meurad and intersects the fine *Forêt de Sidi-Slîmân (‘Solomon’s Forest’), still primæval in character, with dense underwood and luxuriant ivy climbing to the tops of the trees.
At the Oued Nador, near the (6 M.) Gué du Nador, our road joins the Cherchell road (see p. [242]). At the (7 M.) Ferme Trémaux it leaves the valley of the Nador, whose estuary is flanked with low sand-hills, and leads to the E. to (8 M.) Tipaza (p. [239]).
The highroad (carr. 12–15 fr.) from Marengo to (16 M.) Cherchell (see below) ascends to the W. from the Mitidja through a hilly region and after about 6 M. turns to the N. It joins the road from Tipaza to Cherchell at (10 M.) Marabout Sidi-Ameur (see p. [243]).
Beyond Marengo the Railway crosses the highroad to Tipaza and then runs parallel to it to (17 M.) Desaix (220 ft.; p. [242]). We skirt the S. side of Jebel Chenoua (p. [242]).
20 M. Ruines Romaines. We cross the Oued el-Hachem (p. [243]).
23 M. Zurich (263 ft.). The thriving village of that name, with a fine avenue of plane-trees, lies about 1½ M. to the S. of the station and is inhabited chiefly by natives, who cultivate oranges and vines. The great Thursday market is well attended by the Beni Menasser (see below).
Beyond Zurich the train runs to the W. of the Cherchell highroad. To the left lies the Cherchell Aqueduct (p. [243]), while to the right Jebel Chenoua may be seen. 24 M. Bled Bakora; 25½ M. Bou-Hamoud; 27½ M. Oued-Bellah.
30½ M. Cherchell or Cherchel (108 ft.; Grand-Hôtel or Hôt. Nicolas, R. 2½, déj. or D. 2½ fr., plain but good, Hôt. Juba, humble, both in the Place Romaine; Hôt. de Valence; pop. 6800, incl. 4700 Mohammedans), a pleasant little seaport, lies on a narrow limestone plateau, an old coast-terrace, at the foot of green hills (750–800 ft.). Behind these hills rises a mountainous region, once well wooded, inhabited by the Berber tribe of the Beni Menasser.
Cherchell occupies the site of the ancient Phœnician colony of Iol. From the year 25 B. C. it took the name of Caesarea, and in the Roman imperial age it became the capital of Mauretania and residence of Juba II. (25 B. C. to 22 A. D.), one of the most learned and enlightened men of his time, under whom it rapidly rose to importance. Under Emp. Claudius it became the provincial capital, under the name of Colonia Claudia Caesarea, of Mauretania Cæsariensis, and in rivalry with Carthage and Hippo Regius (p. [309]) grew to be one of the greatest and wealthiest cities of N. Africa. After the erection of Mauretania Sitifensis (p. [271]) into a new province the prosperity of Cæsarea began to wane. About 371 its art and industry were almost annihilated by its capture and pillage by the Donatists (p. [172]) under the Berber prince Firmus, and it lost the last vestige of its ancient glory when the Vandals transferred their residence to Carthage. In the 10th cent. the town is mentioned under the name of Cherchell, but from the 11th cent. onwards it was entirely deserted. At length, at the end of the 15th cent., it was revived by Andalusian Moors, who brought with them their famed potter’s art. In 1516 it was occupied by Horuk Barbarossa (p. [221]), in 1531 it was unsuccessfully attacked by Admiral Andrea Doria (p. [115]), and lastly, after being taken by the French, it was enclosed by a wall in 1843. As the harbour affords but little shelter the town has now little or no trade.
Archæologists may like to examine the scanty remains of the Roman Fortifications (2735 by 1640 yds.), which extend over the crest of the hill-range with its fine views; but the chief attraction is the Museum of sculptures of the period of Juba II., which form the only certain memorials of ancient Cæsarea, ‘an oasis of Greek culture in the midst of the Berbers’.
The Place Romaine or Esplanade forms the nucleus of the little town. Among the trees here rises a Marble Fountain, composed of Roman architectural fragments found in the environs, remains perhaps of a palace of king Juba’s era (the four colossal masks are copies; see below). The Corinthian column and fragments of other columns at the back of the fountain were excavated in the Roman theatre (p. [246]). The parapet of the Place Romaine affords a survey of the harbour (p. [247]).
On the E. side of the Place Romaine rises the new *Museum, which consists of four galleries enclosing a central court. Among the sculptures exhibited here are admirable replicas of famous Greek works of the archaic and of the culminating periods of Greek art (5–4th cent.), which were executed by Greek masters for the adornment of king Juba’s residence. Adm. at any time; the custodian (½–1 fr.) shows also the Thermes de l’Ouest (see below). Catalogue (1902), 3 fr.; conservator, M. A. Munkel.
Passing through the Entrance Room (S.W. Pavilion; busts, statues, etc.) we enter the—
Salle Berbrugger (S. Gallery). 31. Marble statue of Venus; *1. Athena (torso), a copy in marble of a famous bronze by Alcamenes (5th cent.); 46. Torso of a youth or Dionysus, probably after a marble statue of the School of Praxiteles; 10, 13. Two torsos of Diana; 39 B. Female statue with the attributes of Ceres; 33 B. Aphrodite (or Proserpine); several draped female statues.—In the middle of this gallery are several marble heads on brackets: *64. Apollo, after an archaic Attic original (early 5th cent.); 69. Juba II. as a youth; without number, Agrippina.
South-East Pavilion. On the walls, mosaics (hunting-scenes, three Graces, etc.). In the centre, 11. Onyx statuette of Diana hunting; 109. Egyptian basalt statue of a king Thutmosis; 23. Marble group of Pan and a Satyr; 34. Venus.
The Salle Jonnart (E. Gallery) contains in glass-cases pottery, lamps, bronzes, glass, coins, etc. In the middle, casts of statues found at Cherchell but now in the Museum of Algiers.—We now cross the Central Court, with interesting architectural specimens, to the—
Salle Victor Waille (W. Gallery). 19. Hercules, after an original of the 5th cent.; *7. Dionysus; 19. Æsculapius, both after originals of the 4th cent.; *17G. Shepherd, replica of a work of Praxiteles; 21, 22. Two torsos of Hermes; *47. Torso of a youth.
North-West Pavilion. In the middle, draped female statue (Muse?), found in the theatre; numerous inscriptions; fragments of sculpture and architecture.
Salle Cagnat (N. Gallery). *39. Colossal female statue after a model by Phidias; 37. Canephor (archaic); 38. Hermaphrodite and a Satyr (Hellenistic). On the N. wall on brackets: Four colossal masks from king Juba’s palace mentioned above (Pergamenian School; 1st cent.).
North-East Pavilion. Inscriptions; several objects of Punic origin. In the centre, 68. Bust of Augustus; 49B. Muse.—Leaving this room by a door in the N. wall we enter a—
Court containing sarcophagi and numerous architectural fragments.
Leaving the Museum we cross the Place Romaine to its W. side, where we follow the third side-street (from the N.) to the W. and soon reach on the right, nearly opposite a little mosque, the *Thermes de l’Ouest (W. Baths), dating from the 2nd or 3rd cent., the grandest Roman ruins in the town, with walls still rising to a height of 10–13 ft. (concrete faced with brick) and bits of old mosaic pavement. Most of the antiques in the museum were found in these baths, in which they seem to have been collected in the early-Christian period.
The ancient Portico, on the E. side of the baths, once with granite columns 26 ft. high, is now embedded in the building of the Manutention, and on the S. side are several chambers hidden under the Prison Civile.
From the present entrance on the S. E. side we first come to a suite of five important chambers. The central hall, 26 by 16 yds., was probably the Frigidarium, which was flanked on three sides with smaller basins (piscinæ). The two narrow passages behind the S. and the N. basins show traces of the stairs that once ascended to the upper story.
On the W. side of the frigidarium is a room supposed to have been the Tepidarium, which, like its side-rooms, is accessible only by climbing over the walls. The hall behind the tepidarium, with its semicircular niche, was apparently the Caldarium.
The Baths command a delightful view of the sea and of the coast to the W., as far as Cape Ténès (p. [209]).
Proceeding from the Thermes de l’Ouest we take the side-street at the mosque mentioned at p. [245] to the S. and reach the Rue de Ténès, the principal street of the town which leads to the W. (right) to the Porte de Ténès (see below). We, however, turn to the E. (left) and then follow the Rue du Centre, the first S. side-street. In the first side-street of the last, on the right, is the entrance to the famous old Chief Mosque ‘of the hundred columns’, completed in 1573, now the Military Hospital. Into the original ‘house of prayer’ a corridor and four hospital dormitories have been built; the antique columns, which are said to have been brought from the W. Baths, have been disfigured by a coating of paint.
At the S. end of the Rue du Centre, on the right, is a brick wall, the sole relic of the Roman Thermes du Centre.
A few paces to the left, on the hill-side above the Rue du Caire, are the remains of the Roman Theatre, unearthed in 1905. The E. side-entrance (parodos), between the stage and the auditorium, still exists, but the 27 tiers of seats were used for building the neighbouring barracks in 1845.
The Barracks of the Tirailleurs, on the hill above the theatre, stand on six antique Cisterns, once fed by the Cherchell aqueduct (p. [243]). Passing through the Porte de Miliana, the S. gate behind the barracks, we may now follow a path through the fields to the ruined walls of the Roman Circus, once over 435 yds. long, which still lay within the ancient town-walls.
Outside the Porte de Ténès (comp. above), the W. town-gate, on the old Gunugu (Gouraya) road, lay several Roman Burial Grounds. A collection of objects unearthed here has been made by the commandant, M. Archambeau, at his country-seat ½ M. from the gate.
From the Roman Theatre we follow the winding street to the N. and reach the S. side of the Place Romaine at the Catholic Church, built in the pseudo-classical style. In front of the high-altar and at the end of the left aisle are two early-Christian mosaics.
We may go down to the Harbour, either from the Place Romaine or viâ the W. Baths (p. [245]), passing a large Roman Basin (piscina) and a ruined Turkish Fort of Horuk Barbarossa (p. [221]).
The very shallow harbour, scarcely 5 acres in area, lying behind the fortified Ilot Joinville with its lighthouse, is probably identical with the Roman Naval Harbour, where part of the Alexandrian and Syrian fleet was always stationed to defend the coast against pirates. The short pier at the point of the lighthouse-island and an old embankment on the cliffs on the E. side of the bay protected the ancient Commercial Harbour.
To the E. of the Place Romaine and the Porte d’Alger, at the S.E. angle of the Champ de Manœuvres, are relics of the Thermes de l’Est (E. Baths), including part of the chief hall, 22 by 13 yds., with two niches.
From the highroad, 5 min. to the E. of the drilling-ground, a short path to the right leads to the foundation walls of the Roman Amphitheatre, overgrown with dense scrub. Since 1845 the ruins have served as a quarry.