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.
The road next passes below (2½ M. from Oran) the villa-suburb of Ste. Clotilde (197 ft.; Hôt. Ste. Clotilde), with its charming gardens in the shade of the hill (path to the Plateau du Marabout, see above). Just beyond Ste. Clotilde, in the ravine of Salto del Cavallo, is the spot where Tâkhfîn ben-Ali (p. [188]) is said to have been slain when attempting to escape.