Kasbah of Algiers the Islamic Citadel

In the midst of one of the finest coastal sites on the Mediterranean stands the famous Kasbah of Algiers, which is a unique kind of medina commonly called Islamic city.

Kasbah the term derives from the Arabic or Al Qasbah which means “citadel”, also known as fortress or medina.
The Kasbah of Algiers is the first district of Algiers, the old capital city of Algeria. It was built ten centuries ago to 125 meters high on a hill overlooking the sea and today remains completely oblivious to the growth of modern Algeria.

The Islamic citadel includes a triangle of 50 hectares of area in the labyrinthine streets dominated, steep stairs and especially its bright white buildings for which he earned the name? Algiers, the white?.

The Kasbah was its urban development and historic century XVI and since 1992 is included in the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO. It has suffered several attacks but still hides great architectural treasures.

The Kasbah of Algiers was founded on the ruins of old Icosium, a Phoenician commercial outpost called which later developed into a small Roman town. It is a small city which, built on a hill, goes down towards the sea, divided in two: the High city and the Low city.

One finds there masonries and mosques of the 17th century; Ketchaoua mosque (built in 1794 by the Dey Baba Hassan) flanked by two minarets, mosque el Djedid (built in 1660, at the time of Turkish regency) with its large finished ovoid cupola points some and its four coupolettes, mosque El Kébir, mosque Ali Betchnin, Dar Aziza, palate of Jénina. In the Kasbah, there are also labyrinths of lanes and houses that are very picturesque.

It was accessible by five gates: Bab El Oued Bab Admira (now defunct), Ba Azoun, Ajdid and Bab el Bahari. We also found remains of the citadel, old mosques, theater, palaces and Ottoman courts. Undoubtedly, a large urban complex facing the sea beauty is worth visiting.

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