In the lofty valley of the Oued Mader we now reach the N. fringe of the Sahara Atlas, between the spurs of the Bellezma Mts. on the W. and Jebel Bou Arif (5728 ft.), a range parallel on the N. with the Aurès Mts. (p. [278]).
62½ M. El-Mader-Pasteur (2851 ft.) is the station for El-Mader, the Roman Casae, a village with a little Byzantine fortress, situated 5 M. to the S.E., at the foot of Jebel Bou Arif. A road leads from this station also to (8 M.) Pasteur and (19 M.) Zana.
The village of Pasteur (two inns), on the Oued Seriana, was the ancient Lamiggiga. In the market are Roman and early-Christian relics.
Zana (no inn), the Roman Diana Veteranorum, a considerable colony of veterans, has several interesting ancient buildings. A triumphal arch of 165 A. D. is well preserved with the exception of the attica. An arch of Macrinus (217 A. D.) formed afterwards part of a small Byzantine fortress. The portal of a temple is still standing. The ruined Byzantine church in the forum was built chiefly of materials from Roman ruins.
The train mounts a steep gradient to (66½ M.) Fesdis (3032 ft.), in a defile scantily overgrown with bushes, between Jebel Azeb (4485 ft.; on the left) and the Bellezma Mts.
73 M. Batna.—Rail. Restaurant, déj. 3, D. 3½ fr., good.—Hotels (sometimes crowded in the season): Hôt. des Etrangers, Rue de Sétif. R. 3–4, B. 1½, déj. 3–3½, D. 3½–4, omn. ¾–1 fr.; Hôt. de Paris, Rue de Constantine, next the town-hall, R. 2½, B. 1¼, déj. 2½, D. 3, omn. ½ fr., plain but good; St. Georges, Rue de Sétif, unpretending (attentive host).
Batna (3412 ft.; pop. 7500, incl. 2400 Mohammedans and 700 Jews), founded in 1844 as a military base for the advance upon Biskra, and now the chief military station in S. Constantine and the key to the important Sahara pass of El-Kantara, is a peaceful country-town with regularly-built streets, and offers no attraction save perhaps the ‘Village-Nègre’ (comp. p. [181]), to the S.E. of the Quartier Militaire. It lies near the sources of the Oued Mader in a broad valley, often very cold in winter, between the wooded Bellezma Mts. on the W., Jebel Azeb (see above) on the N.E., and the spurs of the Aurès Mts. (p. [278]) on the S.
Tho finest point of view is Jebel Touggour or Pic des Cèdres (6870 ft.), to the W. of tho town, a grand pyramid belonging to the Bellezma group. A rough road (mule 4–5 fr.), leading close past the station, ascends the valley to the W. and then the Ravin des Gardes, between Jebel Touggour and Jebel Bou Merzoug (5840 ft.), to (7½ M.) the Maison Forestière Oued Hamla. Thence a bridle-path on the richly wooded S. slope of Jebel Touggour; lastly a climb, towards the N.E., through ancient but neglected cedar-forest (p. [210]), to the (4 hrs.) summit. The immense panorama embraces tho Bellezma group and the distant Hodna Mts. (p. [270]) to the W., the Plateau des Sbakh and the Tell Atlas near Constantine to the N.E., the long range of the Aurès Mts. to the S.E. and S., and part of the Sahara to the S.W.
From Batna to Lambèse and Timgad, see R. 45.
Beyond Batna the train crosses the watershed (3543 ft.) between the Plateau des Sbakh and the Sahara. Far away to the S.W. are seen Jebel Metlili and the depression of the pass of El-Kantara (see below). 80 M. Lambiridi (3527 ft.), near the scanty ruins of the Roman town of that name.