Cabs (stand in the Rue de l’Hôpital, behind the Place d’Armes). In town ½, to Sid-el-Kébir 3–5, Chiffa Ravine 8–12 fr. (according to bargain).
Sights. Forenoon, Jardin Bizot, Bois Sacré, cemetery of Sid-el-Kébir, and Stud Farm (‘la Remonte’); afternoon, trip to the Chiffa Ravine, either from Sidi-Madani or Camp-des-Chênes (p. [215]). If desired Algiers may be reached by train the same evening. The attractive mountain tours (Les Glacières, etc.) are feasible in summer only.
Blida (886 ft.; pop. 18,400, incl. 10,700 Mohammedans), one of the pleasantest provincial towns in Algeria, with a strong garrison, is charmingly situated at the N. base of the Tell Atlas, on the right bank of the Oued el-Kébir. To this so-called ‘great river’, as well as to the considerable rainfall in winter, the town is indebted for the splendid timber in its public grounds and the luxuriant vegetation of its orchards, notably the orange-groves between the N. suburbs of Joinville and Montpensier. The town is said to have been founded by Andalusian Moors in 1535; in 1825 it was destroyed by an earthquake; it has been rebuilt since 1838, but in 1867 was again much damaged by an earthquake.
From the station we proceed viâ the Avenue de la Gare to the Bab el-Sebt (Pl. A, B, 2), 5 min. to the N.E. of the Bois Sacré (see below), and within the town-walls we follow the Rue Lamy, called also Boulevard Trumelet, to the—
Place d’Armes (Pl. C, 3), which, with the adjoining Rue d’Alger (Pl. C, 3, 2), is the centre of traffic. This pleasant square is planted with plane-trees and has a fountain in the centre shaded by a great date-palm (a band plays here in winter). Adjacent is the Place Lavigerie with the Catholic church of St. Charles (Pl. C, 4).
The streets to the N. of the Place d’Armes, with the two small Mosques (Pl. 3 & 4; C, 3, 2), and the lanes near the Place du Marché-Indigène (Pl. C, D, 3; interesting Friday market) are inhabited mainly by Mohammedans and Jews. From the Place d’Alger, at the end of the Rue d’Alger, the Rue Zaouïa leads to the left to the large Stud Farm (Dépôt de Remonte; Pl. C, 1), where fine horses of the Arab and Barb breeds may be seen.
From the Place d’Armes the Rue and Porte Bizot lead to the S.W. to the *Jardin Bizot (Pl. B, 4), containing fine araucarias, palms, and magnolias. On the N. side of the Avenue du Champ-de-Manœuvres, 5 min. to the W. of the Porte Bizot, lies the famous Bois Sacré (Pl. A, 3, 4), where two picturesque tombs of saints are shaded by superb groups of Aleppo pines, araucarias, and olive-trees.
The Avenue du Champ-de-Manœuvres joins, near the drill-ground, the highroad to Boukirka (and Affreville; comp. p. [212]), from which, just before Chiffa (p. [213]), 5 M. to the W. of Blida, the road to the Chiffa Ravine and Médéa (p. [215]) diverges to the left. This route to the Rocher Blanc (p. [215]) is uninteresting and in summer extremely dusty (cabs, see p. [213]).
From Porte Bizot we may turn to the E. and walk round the town-walls through an avenue of carob-trees to the Bab el-Rabah (Pl. D, 4), the S.E. town-gate, which is reached also from the Place d’Armes by the busy Rue Tirman. To the S. of this gate the Avenue des Moulins, a broad avenue of planes, leads along a conduit with several mills into the pretty valley of the Oued el-Kébir. After 10 min. we diverge to the right by a shadeless road, passing pleasant orange-groves and crossing the stream twice, and then, just beyond (½ hr.) a mill, ascend a path to the left to the poor village of Sid-el-Kébir. Above the village are the Zaouïa and the picturesque Cemetery of Sid-el-Kébir, with the tombs of Ahmed el-Kebîr (d. 1560), the founder of Blida, and his two sons, to which on great Mohammedan festivals pilgrims flock from far and near. A second footpath to the N. descends hence into the valley.
The highest mountains of Blida, the Jebel Mouzaïa (p. [213]) and the *Pic des Beni-Salah or Jebel Sidi Abd el-Kâder (5345 ft.), are famed for their cedar-forests, where the natives, however, have made sad havoc, and for the grand panorama they command. The distant view embraces the Tell Atlas from the Ouarsenis (p. [209]) to Jebel Dira (p. [250]), the Dahra (p. [208]), and the whole of the Mitidja with the Sahel and the Jurjura chain (p. [258]). The ascent of the Jebel Sidi Abd el-Kâder viâ Aïn-Talazit takes 4 hrs.—Hardly less repaying is the ascent of the Kef Chrea (5085 ft.), to the S.E. of Blida, to which a bridle-path (mule 4–5 fr.) leads from the Avenue des Moulins (p. [214]), viâ the village of Les Glacières (3957 ft.; Hôt. d’Altitude, déj. 3 fr., good) in 4 hrs.