Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. B, 2), Rue Saad 3.
English Church Service (Jan.-April) at the former Cercle Civil (Pl. 1; B, C, 2), Rue Graillet.
Amusements. Casino Dar-Diaf (Pl. B, C, 4; p. [281]), Route de Touggourt, with theatre and concert-room; varieties, dances of the Ouled Naïl, etc.—Ouled Naïl dancing-girls (originally of the nomadic tribe mentioned at p. [215]), and other native artists perform at the small native cafés in the Rue Arcelin and Rue Lapeyrouse (Pl. B, C, 3); visitors pay 1 fr. (incl. cup of Arabian tea or coffee).
Festivals. The Courses de Biskra, held for three days between 1st and 20th Feb., comprise camel-races (courses sahariennes de mehara), horse-races in the hippodrome of Beni-Mora (p. [283]), ‘Fantasia Arabe’ (equestrian performances, p. [99]), and processions of the natives.—The ‘grande prière’ on the Kasba Hill at the end of the fasting-month of Ramadan attracts many spectators.—To join the Falcon Hunts of an agha (see below) special permission is required.
Guides (p. xxvi; 4–5 fr. a day; 2 fr. for an evening only), like hawkers and beggars, are a local pest, but their services are entirely superfluous, even for drives or rides in the environs, where the drivers or attendants give information.
Climate. The season is Nov.–April. Lying at the S. base of the Sahara Atlas and on the margin of the desert, Biskra has all the characteristics of the Sahara climate (pp. [170], 171). The great fluctuations of temperature (mean winter maximum 65° Fahr., mean minimum 45°) are comparatively little felt, even by invalids, owing to the remarkable dryness of the air. The rainfall is very slight and sunless days are quite the exception. The dust, however, is sometimes troublesome, even in winter, and sand-storms, especially during the sirocco (S.E. wind), may occur at any season. When a cold N. or N.W. wind blows from the Sahara Atlas, the palm-oasis alone affords some shelter. As yet no special arrangements for invalids exist at Biskra.
Sights, when time is limited. On arrival, view from the belvedere of the Royal Hotel (p. [281]). 1st Day. Visit to Market (p. [281]) early, then Villa de Bénévent and *Old Biskra (p. [281]); in the afternoon, ride or drive to the Col de Sfa (p. [282]). 2nd Day. Excursion to Sidi-Okba (p. [283]).
The little town of Biskra (400 ft.; pop. 7400, of whom 6300 are Mohammedans, incl. Old Biskra) lies at the S. base of the low Chaîne de Sfa (p. [282]), on the right bank of the Oued Biskra, generally a very poor stream below the Barrage (p. [279]). Owing to its convenient situation at the end of the E. Algerian Sahara railway, and to its fine climate, it has grown into great favour of late as a winter resort and the ‘Nice’ of Algeria. The present town, with streets regularly built as in all the modern Algerian towns, has sprung up only since the French occupation of 1844. The mediæval Biskra, named after the small Roman settlement of Bescĕra, lay in the midst of the palm-oasis (p. [281]), on the top and on the slopes of a low hill, where, after the destruction of the town by Sala Reïs (1553), a Turkish fort (kasba) was built. The natives then settled anew in the still existing seven villages of the oasis.
Biskra is the capital and administrative centre of the Zab (‘oasis’, pl. ziban), the extensive girdle of oases on the S. fringes of the Monts du Zab (p. [170]) and the Aurès Mts. In accordance with their sites these oases are named Zab Dahraoui (N. Zab), on the margin of the Monts du Zab, Zab Guebli (S. Zab), on the Oued Djedi (p. [284]), and Zab Chergui (E. Zab), between the Aurès Mts. and the Chott Melrir (p. [284]). The natives of the Zab, who are under an ‘agha’ or chief, are mostly Berbers with a large infusion of Arabian and in some cases Turkish blood. Many of them, under the name of Biskris, are met with in the coast-towns as small traders.
The only business street is the Rue Berthe (Pl. B, C, 1–3), in the S. part of which there are a few small European shops. It intersects the whole town and connects the railway-station with the strangers’ quarter on the S. side.