From the Villa de Bénévent (p. [281]) walkers follow the right bank of the Oued Biskra, in the bed of which stands the kubba of Sidi Zerzour, to the (20 min.) village of M’Cid, the eastmost in the oasis, with its tall cypress, 130 ft. high, and its pertinacious beggars. The lofty minaret of the small mosque of Sidi Moussa or Sidi Malek (muezzin, 30–50 c.) affords a fine survey of the oasis, backed on the N.E. by the distant and usually snow-clad Jebel Chelia (p. [278]), and extending to the S.E. to Sidi-Okba (p. [283]).
About ¼ hr. to the S.W. of M’Cid is the picturesque village of Bab el-Dharb, infested by begging children, where, at the great lotus-tree near the two conduits, we enjoy a charming view of the palm-gardens. Close by is the mosque of Sidi Abd el-Moumen, whose minaret is another famous point of view (ascent toilsome).
Between Bab el-Dharb and the tramway-terminus (p. [279]; Café Petit Robinson) rises the Kasba Hill, crowned with the old mud-built Turkish fort, now partly washed away by rain, where the first French garrison was massacred by the natives in 1844. View limited.
The village of Bab-Fath, to the S.W. of the Kasba Hill, has a picturesque shrine, the marabout of Sidi Lahsen.
We return to Biskra by tramway on the Route de Touggourt, passing the poor Mohammedan Cemetery on the left and the Hôpital Lavigerie on the right; or we may choose the road (½ hr.) through the village of Ras el-Guéria, noted for the gaily coloured costumes of its inhabitants.
For Carriages (tariff, see p. [279]) the route prescribed for avoiding the narrow roads is viâ M’Cid to Bab el-Dharb, and back by the Route de Touggourt or viâ Ras el-Guéria. With this excursion may be combined a drive to the small oasis of Cora, with most characteristic Sahara surroundings, and to (6¼ M. from Biskra) the Dunes d’Oumache, or even to the (10 M.) Oase Oumache, where the ksar, defended by ancient moats, contains many remains of Roman buildings. Fine view at the marabout. The excursion to Oumache takes at least half a day. Provisions should be taken.
The (5 M.) *Col de Sfa, which has long been famed for its view, is a depression in the Chaîne de Sfa, between Jebel Bou Rezel (1322 ft.) and Jebel el-Mlaga (1302 ft.), on the shadeless road to El-Kantara and Batna. We drive (by the hour, see p. [279]), or (preferable) ride to the pass; in the latter case we may extend our trip from the pass to the (¼ hr.) ruinous Poste Optique, whence we survey the steppe of El-Outaya (p. [278]) to the N., and to the S. the endless undulating expanse of the yellow Sahara, spotted like a panther’s hide, as Strabo has described it, with its green oases (Chetma, Biskra, Sidi-Okba, etc.). Finest light towards sunset.
The (5 M.) Hammam es-Salahin (443 ft.; ‘bath of the saints’) or Fontaine-Chaude, the Roman Ad Piscinam, is most conveniently reached by tramway (p. [279]). The car runs through the whole of the Boul. Carnot (p. [281]), turns to the W. past a hill crowned with a disused Optic Telegraph (Pl. A, 3), and then passes the small oasis of Beni-Mora and crosses the streamlet Oued Zemour.
The Bath House (pens. with baths 10 fr.) attracts many visitors from Biskra, especially in summer. It lies in a most dreary region between Jebel Bou Rezel (p. [282]) and the sandy Jebel Maouya Gorah. The quadrangle, where the surprisingly copious salt and sulphur spring (115° Fahr.) bursts forth, is enclosed by cells for Europeans (1½ fr.) and men’s and women’s baths for the natives. The roof-terrace affords a good view of the environs. About 1 M. to the N. is a small mountain-lake of volcanic origin.
Jebel Maouya Gorah, the E. spur of Jebel Matraf, is a good standpoint for surveying the girdle of oases formed by the Zab Dahraoui and Zab Guebli (p. [280]), stretching to the distant Oued Djedi (p. [284]). The S. base of this range, where the building and paving stones of Biskra are now quarried, is skirted by the Route des Zibans, much used by caravans.