75 M. Tiaret (3577 ft.; Hôt. d’Orient or Lecat; Hôt. des Colonies, R. 1½–3, déj. or D. 1½–3, pens. 4–6 fr.; pop. 7200; Mon. market) lies on a mountain-pass not far from the fertile Plateaux du Sersou, on the S. margin of the Tell Atlas, a cold but healthy site, once occupied by Tingartia, the capital of W. Algeria in the Byzantine period. New Tiaret, the capital of the Kharijite sect of the Ibadites (p. [323]), probably lay below the present town, in the direction of Takdempt.—About halfway on the road from Tiaret to (35 M.) Frenda, among the hills to the S. of Tiaret, are the *Djedar, step-pyramids in the style of the ‘Tombeau de la Chrétienne’ (p. [238]), but on square foundations, tombs apparently of forgotten Christian Berber princes of the 6–7th cent., composed partly of materials from 5th cent. buildings. Three of these, all in a very ruinous condition, are on Jebel Hadjar; ten, including the largest (52 by 49 yds.), lie on the Colline de Ternaten, 3¾ M. farther to the S.
The Algiers Railway, running to the N.E., at some distance from the Sebkha de Relizane or de Sidi Bou Chiane, enters the desolate lower plain of the Chélif (p. [215]), the ancient Chylimath (Arabic Kelmitu). 98 M. St. Aimé or Djidiouïa (243 ft.), with a petroleum-refinery for the oil-springs of Aïn-Zeft (Taghia), lies on the Dahra, the coast-hills to the N. of the Chélif. The train crosses the Oued Djidiouïa.
104 M. Inkermann or Oued-Riou (263 ft.; Hôt. des Voyageurs; Hôt. d’Inkermann; pop. 5200, of whom 4200 are Mohammedans), with large quarries and a Wednesday market.
The little Berber town of Mazouna, 18 M. to the N. of Inkermann, on a branch of the road to Renault, superbly situated, the capital of the W. Algerian beylic before Mascara (p. [200]), is one of the quaintest places in the Algerian Tell Atlas. Home industries (burnouses, haiks, etc.) are much in vogue. Interesting Thursday market.
The train crosses the Oued Riou. 110½ M. Le Merdja, the last station in the province of Oran.
117½ M. Charon or Bou-Kader, a little town of 5200 inhab., almost all Mohammedans, lies in the province of Algiers (Thurs. market). On a low hill, 2 M. to the N., are Roman ruins, called El-Aouna by the natives. At Touchaïd, 3 M. to the S.W., is a cavern in the rock, 330 ft. long, consisting of a number of low passages, and containing huge layers of bats’ guano. The Trou du Diable, 4 M. to the S. of Charon, is another object of interest.
We cross the Oued Sly, with its barrage, to (122 M.) Malakoff or Oued-Sly, and then pass through a wood of Aleppo pines and carob-trees.
131½ M. Orléansville (410 ft.; Hôt. du Palais, pens. 5 fr.; Hôt. des Voyageurs; pop. 4900, of whom 2300 are Mohammedans), founded in 1843 on the site of the Roman Castellum Tingitanum, is a smiling oasis, irrigated by a conduit from the Chélif, but one of the hottest places in Algeria (maximum 125½° Fahr.). The chief sight is the early-Christian Basilica in the Place de la Mosaique, discovered in 1843, and recently further excavated. It was built in 324, and is the oldest Christian church in Algeria. The foundation walls are alone preserved. It consisted of a nave and double aisles, without a transept, with two entrances from the outer aisles and a rounded W. apse, to which was added in 475 a second choir-recess at the E. end, containing the tomb of Bishop Reparatus. Considerable fragments of the mosaic pavement also have been preserved. The town has also a Mosque (1894) and a Carpet Making School. The Saturday market is important. From the N. ramparts we have a fine view of the Chélif ravine and the Dahra Mts.
A Road (railway in course of construction) leads from Orléansville to Ténès (33 M.; diligence in 6 hrs., at 2, from Ténès at 6 p.m.). It crosses the Chélif and beyond the suburb of La Ferme, hidden among trees, leads through a eucalyptus avenue, and then to the N.W. across a plain to (8½ M.) Warnier (394 ft.), at the mouth of the Oued Ouahran Valley. Then to the N., through the Dahra Mts., inhabited almost solely by Berbers, to (17 M.) Les Trois-Palmiers (525 ft.), with its gypsum quarries, and across the (19½ M.) Col de Kirba (1476 ft.) to the valley of the Oued Allala and (30 M.) Montenotte, with its orchards and iron-mines. 32½ M. Vieux-Ténès, picturesquely situated above the gorge of the Allala, said to have been founded by S. Spanish Moors in 875, was notorious as a den of pirates in the Turkish period. 33 M. Ténès (164 ft.; Hôt. des Arts; Hôt. de l’Univers, etc.; pop. 5000, Berbers 3300), founded in 1843, is perched like Mostaganem on the edge of a plateau rising above its little frequented harbour, which is fairly sheltered on the E. only by the huge rocky Cape Ténès (2093 ft.; lighthouse visible for 40 M.). Of Cartenna, the earliest settlement here, originally founded by Phœnicians, a few Roman cisterns only have been preserved. At the W. end of Ténès there are also some rock-tombs belonging to an early-Christian cemetery.
A second Road (36 M.; ‘courrier’ on Mon., Wed., and Frid. at 6 a.m., in 8 hrs.) leads from Orléansville to the S.E., through the Ouarsenis Mts., viâ (33 M.) Boucaïd, with the zinc and galena mines of the Belgian Vieille-Montagne Co., to (36 M.) Beni-Hindel (3825 ft.) at the S. base of the triple-peaked Ouarsenis (6512 ft.). To Teniet el-Haâd, see p. [211], 210.