THE OASIS OF TOZEUR
One arrives at Tozeur via Sfax and Gafsa and the light narrow-gauge
railway belonging to the company exploiting the phosphate mines. Beyond
Gafsa the line runs to Metlaoui, peopled only by six hundred phosphate
workers of the mines, a mixed crew of Arabs, Sicilians, and Maltese,
speaking a veritable _jargon des ours_, which nobody but themselves can
understand. It is strange, this little industrial city of the desert,
but it is unlovely, consisting only of little whitewashed cubes of
houses, a school-house, a miniature church and mosque, and a few
miserable little shops.
Gafsa is the chief metropolis of the region of the _chotts_. It is
called by the Arabs the pearl of the Djérid, and is a military post, and
the _bled_, or market town, for untold thousands of desert nomads. The
same word _bled_, when used by the city dweller, means the desert. Such
are the inconsistencies of Arab nomenclature. They almost equal our
own.
Tozeur is reached from Gafsa by any one of a half dozen means. On foot,
on bicycle,--if you will, by automobile,--if you have the courage, by
diligence, _calèche_, or on horse, donkey, or camel back. If by either
of the latter means, you will of course be accompanied by a grinning
blackamoor who will respond to the name of Mohammed, and be thoroughly
useless except to prod the animal now and then. You and he will
understand each other by sign language, or by what might be called
phonetic French, and you will get on very well. Tozeur is eighty odd
kilometres from Gafsa over a "_route carrossable_," as the French
describe a carriage road,--sandy and rutty in places; but still a road
which ranks considerably higher than most of those of Ohio or Indiana.
There are no means of obtaining provisions, or even water, _en route_,
so the journey must be made either in a day, or arrangements made for
camping out overnight. With a good guide the journey might preferably be
made at night, for a nocturnal ramble in the desert is likely to awaken
emotions in the sentimentally inclined which will be something unique
among their previous experiences.
An Arab horse or mule will think nothing of doing sixty kilometres
between sunrise and sunset, but if a _calèche_ is to be one's mode of
conveyance, thirty-six hours is none too long to allow for the journey
from Gafsa to Tozeur.
The high-class Arab professes a contempt for the donkey or the mule,
though this indeed is no part of his creed, for we must not ignore that
it was a donkey that the Prophet most loved among beasts.
For the masses who have passed the _bourriquet_ stage, the mule is the
beast of burden par excellence. The Bey of Tunis, when he takes his
promenades abroad, has a team of six mules attached to his band-wagon
coach, and superb and distinguished-looking beasts they are; but the
desert Sheik will have nothing but an Arabian horse, not the "charger
shod with fire" of the drawing-room song, but a sound, sturdy, agile
beast, a good goer and handsome to look upon.
The _indigène's_ mule will amble along over a desert track fourteen or
sixteen hours out of the twenty-four, carrying his human burden in the
characteristic Arab saddle known as a _borda_, and scarcely seeming to
feel the weight.
The Arab is habitually kind to his beast of burden, at least he is no
more cruel to him than most lighter coloured humanity, and not nearly as
much so as the Sicilian and the Spaniard.
[Illustration: _El Oued_]
The little donkey to which the Prophet showed compassion was doubtless a
contrary little beast at times; but, since he is reputed to have been
able to go leagues and leagues without either eating or drinking, loaded
with burdens at which a full-grown mule and horse had balked, the
_bourriquet_ of the desert Arab must have had (and has) some undeniable
virtues. Not often is his lot an unhappy one, and the strangling curb
and bit and the resounding whacks from a spade or shovel, with which the
sunny-faced Italian usually regales his four-footed friends, are seldom
to be noted in North Africa. The Arab is voluntarily just towards all
living things, and if he sometimes forgets himself, and gives his camel
or his donkey a vicious prod, he, perhaps, has had provocation, for both
are contrary beasts at times.
_En route_ one passes many caravans, fifty or a hundred camels in a
bunch, half as many horses and mules, a score of donkeys, and a troop of
women, children, and dogs bringing up the rear. Most of them are making
for Kairouan or Gabès, coming from Algeria through the gateways of El
Oued and Ourgala. The camels march in Indian file, loaded down with
bales and barrels, a hundred, a hundred and fifty and more kilos to
each. No other means of transportation is so practicable for the
commerce of the desert, nor will be until some one invents a broad-tired
automobile that won't sink in the sand. The camel's foot, by the way,
doesn't sink in the sand, and that is why he is more of a success in the
desert than any other carrier. When the ideal automobile for the desert
comes, the ship of the desert will disappear, as the horse is
disappearing from the cities and towns of Europe and America.
Intermingled with the caravans are occasional flocks of sheep,
black-faced sheep and rams, with two, three, and even four horns apiece,
and fat, wobbly tails of extraordinary size, the characteristic, it
seems, of the sheep of the Sud-Tunisien. Like the hump and the six
stomachs of the camel, this fat caudal appendage of the Tunisian sheep
is a sort of reserve supply of energy, and when it is dry picking along
the route, they live on their fat. Other animals often starve under like
conditions.
Long before Tozeur is reached one wonders if the guide has not lost his
bearings. Probably he hasn't, but it is all like the trackless ocean to
the man in the saddle, and the mule or donkey or camel doesn't seem to
care in the least which way his head is turned so long as he is not made
to push forward at full speed.
If one encounters a native, the guide being momentarily hidden behind a
sand-dune, most likely a _bonjour_ or a _salut_ will be forthcoming; but
that is all. The native's French vocabulary is often small, and in these
parts he is quite as likely to know as much of Italian, Maltese or
Hebrew. One that we encountered looked particularly intelligent, so
after the formal courtesies of convention, we risked:
"Tozeur? loin?"
"Là-bas."
"Combien de temps?"
"Il en faut."
"Quelle distance?"
"Au bout."
Our interrogatory was not a success. Another time we should trust to our
guide and bury suspicion. The Arab has some admirable traits, but he
often does not carry things to a finish, not even for his own benefit,
and his acquaintance with French is apt to be limited and his
conversation laconic. The Oriental proverb on the life of the nomad
suits the Arab to-day as well as it ever did.
_Mieux vaut être assis que debout,_
_Couché qu' assis,_
_Mort que couché._
Finally a blue line of haze appears on the horizon, something a little
more tangible than anything seen before, unless indeed it prove to be a
mirage. If not a mirage, most likely it is Tozeur, or rather the palms
surrounding that sad, but interesting centre of civilization.
"Tozeur?" you ask again, of Mohammed this time, and that faithful Arab
with a curt assent breathes the words "_C'est bien ça_." Mohammed is
learned, has mingled with the world, and is suspicious that your
confidence in his powers is not all that he would have wished. "Well,
here we are," he thinks, "now what have you got to say?" "_C'est bien
ça: Tozeur! Oui! oui! Je n'ai trompé pas jamais, moi, Mohammed._" By
this time he has thought it all out and is really mad, but his mood soon
passes and he becomes as before, taciturn, faithful and willing. The
Arab doesn't bear malice for trivial things.
By contrast with the houses of Kairouan, Sousse and Sfax, which cut the
blue of the sky with a dazzling line of white, Tozeur is but a low,
rambling mud-coloured town of native-made bricks called _tobs_. The
impression from
[Illustration: _A Street in Tozeur_]
afar is one singularly sad and gloomy, for the architectural scheme of
the builders of Tozeur is more akin to that of the Soudanese than to
that of the Berber or Arab. In its detailed aspect the architecture of
Tozeur is remarkably appealing, quaint, decorative, and founded on
principles which the Roman builders of old spread to all corners of the
known world of their day. This may be the evolution of the architecture
of Tozeur or it may not, but certainly the flat-brick construction is
wonderfully like that of the baths and cisterns of the Romans.
Tozeur itself is melancholy, but its situation is charming and
contrastingly interesting to all who hitherto have known only the
Arabe-Mauresque architecture of the cities of the littoral, or the Roman
ruins of the dead cities of Lambessa, Timgad and Tebessa. The little
garrison which the French planted here some years ago has gone, and only
a few European functionaries remain, those in control of the _impôt_, a
doctor and an innkeeper, who doubtless means well, but who has a most
inadequate establishment. And this in spite of the fact that Tozeur is
the capital of the Djérid.
The Djérid itself is a great expansive region between the plateau
steppes and the desert proper. The natives are Berbers who have become
what the French call _Arabisé_, though many of their traditions seem to
be paganly Roman rather than Mussulman.
The hotel accommodations of Tozeur are endurable, but as before said
they are inadequate. Travellers are rare in this desert oasis, and two
or three sleeping-rooms scantily furnished--a bed, a chair and a
wash-basin--are the extent of the resources of Mme. Besson's apologetic
little hotel.
Tozeur's market is a mere alley of inverted V-shaped huts of reed,
wherein are sold--after much solemn bargaining and drinking of
coffee--all the small wants of the desert Arab, such as a morsel of
town-baked bread, hobnails for his shoes, a piece of tanned
leather--with the fur on--with which to make a new sole, a hank of
thread, a tin pot or pan, or a bandanna handkerchief--which however must
have stamped upon its border some precept from the Koran. The Arab's
personal wants are not great, and as he almost invariably carries his
worldly goods about with him they are accordingly not bulky.
Our only diversion at Tozeur was watching an hysterical fête or
pilgrimage to the neighbouring tomb of a marabout who died in recent
years richly endowed with sanctity. The history of this holy man was
told us as follows:
This man, Alfaoui, had lived all his life in Algeria, practising the
virtues of the Koran so assiduously that he was reckoned by his friends
and neighbours as one of the good and great. Having taken too active a
part in the insurrection of 1871, when the whole country--except
Kabylie--was ablaze with sedition, he fled precipitately from Algeria
and settled with his goods and chattels at Tamerza in Tunisia, one of
the oasis villages of Tozeur, arriving in time to great repute and
respect among the people.
Alfaoui's compact with Allah was not however so intimate but that he
occasionally conspired against the French, who, in the eighties, came to
occupy Tunisia, as they had Algeria fifty years before. His conspiracies
were in a way harmless enough, and consisted principally in "doing" the
French officials at every opportunity. He refused to pay his taxes, and
advised his followers to do the same; he smuggled tobacco, firearms and
matches, and trafficked in them among the natives, to the loss of a
certain revenue to the fiscal authorities, who, when they finally ran
him to earth _en flagrant délit_, found only some thousands of empty
match boxes with English labels,--but made in Belgium nevertheless,--the
kind of matches where you scratch three before you get one to burn, or
as the French say of their own abominable _allumettes_, it takes a match
to light a match.
Alfaoui was tried and condemned by the French tribunal, and it was this
ready-made "martyrdom by infidels" that caused the faithful roundabout
to elevate the meddlesome Alfaoui the Algerian to the distinction of a
marabout, and a house or _kouba_ was built for him entirely of brick
taken from the sepulchres of a neighbouring cemetery. Thus are holy
reputations made to order in the fanatical faith of the Mussulman.
Alfaoui's followers to-day are many, and without knowing why they
venerate him, thousands make the pilgrimage to his shrine, and wail and
chant and weep and have a good time generally. The government says
nothing. It fears nothing to-day, and since the Mussulman must have many
and convenient shrines for the excesses of his devotion to the
principles of the Koran, why that of a _contrebandier_ and agitator
serves as well as any other and no harm done.
The great date-palm plantations of Tozeur are watered by a complicated
system of irrigating canals whose flood-gates are opened every morning
by the authorities. A very deep spring gives an abundant supply of
sweet, limpid water which runs in miniature rivulets around and through
the tentacle-like roots of the Djérid's million palm-trees, bringing the
means of livelihood and prosperity to a conglomerate population of
thirty thousand souls. Thirty millions of kilogrammes of dates bring a
considerable profit to the cultivator, even if a goodly share does go to
the exploiter, the transportation company and the middleman. Four
hundred thousand frances in taxes and duties are collected yearly, from
this most fertile of all African date-growing regions.
All this is something to think about and marvel at when one is threading
his way slowly through the palisaded trunks of a grove of a million
palm-trees. The Arab knows the value of dates as a food product, but it
needed the European to exploit the industry profitably.
The Arab's veneration for the date-palm is great, and he affectionately
refers to it as "the tree which grows with its feet in the water and its
head in the fire of the sky."
There is another product of the palm-tree less beneficial to man, and
that is a sort of wine or sap which is gathered much as the Mexican
gathers _pulque_, or as the resin is sapped from the pine-tree. It's a
soft, pleasant, somewhat sticky liquid, seemingly innocuous, but its
after effects may be safely guaranteed as being of the "stone-fence"
variety. The Arab, by tradition, is a temperate person in food and
drink, but the European has taught him to drink white wine and he
himself has copied the French and taken (in small numbers fortunately)
to absinthe, and now he has got a ready-made distillery of _lagmi_ in
every palm-tree. The government proposes some sort of control of this
"moonshining," but the wheels of the law, like those of God, move
slowly, and the seed of dissolution may yet be sown among the Arabs of
Tozeur before the fiscal authorities find a way to levy a tax on
_lagmi_.
No one who ever saw the _indigène_ villages attached to a fertile
Saharan oasis will fail to remark that in spite of the proximity of the
cool, welcome shadow of the thick-growing palm-trees, the _adobé_
(_tob_) huts are invariably huddled together upon some blazing, baked
spot of ground with not so much shelter from the sun's rays as is given
by a flagpole. Why indeed is it so? The Arab may be like the Neapolitan
in his contempt for those who walk or live in the shade, but certainly
the sun-baked existence which most dwellers in Arab mud houses live for
twelve months out of the twelve must be enervating and discouraging, or
would be if the Arab ever felt the effects of heat and cold, which
apparently he does not. Perhaps this is the explanation of the motive
which prompts him to select his town sites where he does. The case is
not so hopeless though; the palm-tree grows quickly; and a dozen years
would transform the most dreary, monotonous Arab town of sun-cured mud
walls and roofs into a garden city which would rival Paradise. Perhaps
some day the "movement"--as we call the latest vogue in America and
England--will strike North Africa, and then we shall have graded
streets, lamp-posts on every corner and artificial lakes with goldfish
in them. And then where will be the rude picturesqueness of the Arab
town which charms us to-day?
Tozeur is not a lovely town, even as African towns go, but it is
interesting, comfortable, and accessible, after you have once got to
Sfax and Gafsa. It is altogether a little bit of mediævalism which even
the life of the Arab of to-day cannot change. And there is scarcely any
evidence plainly visible to indicate that Tozeur is not living three
centuries back in the past.
The environs of Tozeur offer views of ravishing beauty to the artist or
the more sentimentally inclined. From the height of the minaret of
Ouled-Medjed one commands a view of the entire oasis of Degach, with
here and there a clump of dismantled ruined habitations and on the
horizon the illimitable, miraculous desert mirage.
To the direct south is the great _chott_, so shallow that the trail to
Gabès can cross it at its widest part. To the four cardinal points one
frames his views of that marvellous African landscape; seen only at its
best from within a horseshoe-arched window, the invariable ogive
accompaniment of the true Arab replica of Moorish architecture.
The view from the height of Tozeur's mosque is a replica of that of
which Richepin sang. It is not Kipling, but it is good sentiment,
nevertheless.
"Loin, loin, toujours plus loin, la mer morte des sables
S'étalait sans limite, et rien ne remuait
Sur l'immobilité des flots infranchissables,
Sur l'immobilité de l'air lourd et muet."
Coming down to earth, and making our way gropingly back to Mme. Besson's
humble rest house, a storm broke over our heads. It came with the
suddenness of night; and sticks and stones and much sand, and
hailstones as big as plover's eggs, fell through a suffocating stillness
with blinding force. It was all over in a moment. It came and went like
the characters of the stage, without announcement and without adieu, and
Tozeur settled down again to its wonted calm.
The _muezzin_ calls to prayer at sundown and night falls brusquely on
the silent desert air as if an inky wave had engulfed all before it.
THE END.
Index
_Abd-el-Kader_, 241, 250
_Adam, de l'Isle, Villiers_, 1
_Adam, the brothers_, 98
_Aeneas_, 389
Africa, the granary of, 309
The palm-trees of, 33
The wheat of, 32
Ain-Beïda, 352
Diligence from, to Tebessa, 352
Railway from Kenchela, to, 352
Ain-Séfra, 221
_Alfaoui, the Algerian_, 339, 340
Alger, "La Blanche," 245
Highest peak in, province of, 53
Province of, 25, 51, 53
Algeria, 9, 22, 23, 36, 37, 38, 42, 44,
56, 57, 64, 65, 67, 68, 76, 78, 91, 93,
98, 99, 107, 113, 135, 144, 147, 170, 173,
174, 176, 197, 198, 200, 201, 203, 205, 207,
209, 212, 213, 214, 215, 228, 232, 235, 241,
256, 262, 263, 264, 281, 283, 315, 330, 333,
403, 408, 411, 417, 423
Algeria, Agriculture in, 55, 56
Arab of the, 264, 337
Arab chiefs in, 147
Arab and Berber, population of, 43
Climate of, 50-51, 54
Commercial possibilities in, 46
Currency in, 45-46
Forçats of, the, 347
Glimpse of real countryside of, 259
Goum of, the, 206
Hebrew of, the, 142
Kabyles, the Auvergnats of, 282
Koubas of, 106
Native Arab soldiery, 203-208
Nomad Arab, 332
Negro café in, the, 312-314
Of to-day, 42-56
One of the richest agricultural lands, 31
Population of, 42-44
Railways of, 54-55, 72
Regular soldiery in, the, 199
Revenues of, 42
Romantic character in history of, 200
Routes Nationales of, 55
Spahis and Turcos of, 202
Taxes in, 34
Tax on wine, in, 48
Tobacco, a source of profit in, 47-48
Trade between, and France, 31
Wild beasts killed in, list of, 24
Wine industry of, 55-56
Winter in, 51
Algeria and Tunisia, 4, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 23, 37
Arab town in, the, 406
Architecture of mosques in, 101
Barbary fig in, 33
Diligence of, 20-22
Divisions of native Mussulman population, 129
Foreign population in, 28
French policy in, 76
Horses seen in, 169
Immigration of Arab population of, 66
Jews in, 142-144
Marabout of, the, 90-91
Marabouts in, 92
Newcomers to, 193
Pilgrims from, 93
Ports of, 36
Roads of, 22
Sheiks of, 76
Story of, the, 4
Wines of, 34
Algerian, Arab horse, the, 171
Budget, the, 42
Coast, temperature on, 37-38
Gold coin, 45
Journal, account of divorce in, 161-163
Mountains, 288
Quick-lunch, 263
Wine, 35
Algiers, 1, 11, 12, 15, 17, 26, 37, 42, 44, 51, 67,
103, 105, 137, 138, 144, 164, 173, 178, 200, 212,
214, 228, 229, 231, 235, 238, 239, 240, 242, 252,
260, 264, 266, 273, 275, 281, 284, 288, 289, 290,
295, 299, 320, 328, 338, 359, 403
And beyond, 259-272
And its life, 247
Arabs of, the, 251
Arab town of, the, 249-250
Architectural charms, 248
Café d'Apollon in, 27
Environs of, 246
Grande Mosquée of, 246
Great White City, 245-258
Historical and romantic figures of, 254
Icosium of the Romans, the, 245
Jewesses of, 283
Kasba at, the, 245, 248, 249
Minarets of, 103
Mosque Marabout of Sidi-Brahim, at, 106
Pacha of, a (see _Salah Raïs_)
Place du Gouvernement at, 246
Population of, 253
Port of, 254
Shoeblacks of, 27
Streets of, 246
Suburban, 52
Veiled women of, 256-258
_Ali-ben-Embarek_, 241
_Ali-Bey_ (see _Si-Ali-Bey_)
Andalusia, 29, 35, 109, 220, 221
Arba, 178, 264, 265, 266
_Arnaud_, 3
Atlas Mts., the, 11, 49, 51, 92, 277
_Augustus_, 32, 237, 287, 392
Third legion of, 346, 348
Aumale, 47, 264, 266, 267, 268
Auzia, the, of the Romans, 267
Diligence from Algiers to, 266
Route Nationale from, to
Bou-Saada, 267
Temperatures at, 54
Aures, the, 310, 351
Auzia (see Aumale)
Bagdad, Kalif of, 78
Tomb of Sidi-el-Hadji-Abd-el-Kader-el-Djilali at, 93
_Balzac_, 92, 149
Barbary, Coast, the, 5, 339, 402, 413
Slaves of, 143-144
States, form of minarets in, 110
_Barberousse_, the brothers, 254
_Barrucaud, Victor_, 3
Bastion de France, 340
Batna, 52, 310, 315, 344, 345, 346
Guide at, 311-312
Hôtel des Etrangers et Continentals at, 311
La-bivouac, 345
Negro village at, 312-314
School for Arab children, 314-315
Tomb of Massinissa, 345
_Belisarius_, 393
Ben-Izguen, 333
Beni-Ferah, 317
Beni-Mançour, 275, 281, 287, 289
Beni-Ounif, 11, 221
Beni-Salah, Mts. of, 232
Beni-Souf, 234
_Bertrand, Louis_, 3
Beryan, 333
_Besnard_, 5
_Besson, Mme._, 422, 428
Biskra, 1, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 49, 225, 233,
289, 310, 317, 320-329, 334, 344, 369, 403, 411
And the desert beyond, 320-335
Café Glacier at, 323
Casino, the, at, 322, 329
Conquered by the Duc d'Aumale, 264
Danseuses of, 128
Excursions from, 329
From Constantine to, 309
Guides at, 322
Hôtel des Ziban, 323
The Moorish cafés of, 324-326
The Ouled Naïl dancers of, 323, 326-329
Plan of, 321
Rue Sainte of, 323, 327
Temperatures at, 54
Bizerta, 12, 61, 63, 400-401
Hippo Diarrhytus of the ancients, 400
Bizerte (see Bizerta)
_Blake_, 403
Blida, 51, 56, 217, 229, 231, 232-234, 243, 265, 289, 309
Bois Sacré of, 232
Excursions from, 243
Known as Khaaba, 232
Known as Ouarda, 232
Marabout of Sidi-Yacoub-ech-Chérif at, 232
Mauresques of, 234
Route de, 230
Bona, 52, 93, 213, 338-339
Basilica of St. Augustin at, 338
Hôtel de l'Orient at, 339
Kasba, the, at, 339
Road from, to La Calle, 340
Roman quais at, 36
The ancient Hippo Regius, 338
Tomb of Sidi-Brahmin at, 338
Bona-Guelma railway, 345
Bone (see Bona)
Bou-Chateur, domain of, 398
Bou-Noura, 333
Bou-Saada, 10, 11, 47, 49, 267-270
El Hamel 15 kilometres from, 270
From Aumale to, 267
Hôtel Bailly at, 268
Route Nationale to, 264
Boufarik, 227-231, 265, 289
Hôtel Benoit at, 228
Its market, 228, 230
Bougie, 281, 287-290
Off the beaten track, 288
Roman ruins at, 290
Saldae of the ancients, 287
Roman quais at, 36
Boumezou, the, 300
_Bourmont, General_, 200
_Bugeaud_, 201
_Burton, Sir Richard_, 3, 67
_Cabannes_, 5
_Cæsar_, 69, 293, 341, 392, 412
_Caïd of the Tell, the_, anecdote of, 138
Cairo, 16, 18, 26, 41, 60, 67, 101, 107,
122, 166, 173, 246, 252, 294, 299, 306, 322, 359, 360
Cape to, 10
Kalif of, 78
Minaret of Mosque of El Bardenei, 103
Minaret of Mosque of Kalaun, 103
Mosque of Hmrou at, 109
Mosque of Iba Touloum at, 109
Cap Bon, 13
Cap Carthage, 13, 339, 402
Cap Matifou, 245
_Caracalla_, Arch of Triumph of, 353, 354
Cart-hadchat (see Carthage)
Carthage, 13, 30, 61, 170, 238, 240, 337,
372, 374, 389-397, 398, 400, 405, 412
Basilica of St. Louis at, 389
Musée Lavigerie at, 394
Plan of, 395
Recent discoveries at, 396-397
Steam tram from Tunis to, 390
The glory that once was, 389-401
Vin blanc de, 35, 400
Carthago (see Carthage)
Casablanca, 206
Castiglione, 236
Tombeau de la Chrétienne, near, 236-237
_Cato_, 389
_Cervantes_, 254
Cesarea, capital of Mauretania, 239
_Chabannes, M._, 398
_Charles V_, 209, 255, 290, 399
Chelia, Mt., 53
Chellu (see Collo)
Cherchell, 229, 231, 235, 238, 239, 240, 241, 248, 338
Ancient port of, 239
From Tipazato, by road, 239
Grande Mosquée of, 240
Population of, 240
Road to, 235
Roman ruins at, 240
Roman quais at, 36, 240
Chiffa, Gorges de, (see Gorges de Chiffa)
Chio, 402
Chott Nefzaoua, 412
Chotts, the, 411-412, 414
Cirta (see Constantine)
_Clauzel, General_, 283
_Cleopatra_, 284
Col des Genets, 288
Col des Oliviers, 307
Collo, 287
Chellu of the ancients, 341
Roman quais at, 36
Colomb-Béchar, 224
_Columbus_, 211
_Constant_, 5
Constantine, 34, 42, 52, 234, 289, 309, 310, 320, 326, 328, 341, 344, 369
And the Gorge du Rummel, 291-308
Arab cemetery at, 303
Arab town of, the, 298, 299
Camel caravan from, 178
Cirta of the ancients, 294, 341
Danseuses of, 128
Environs of, 307
First glimpse of, 293
Monuments of, 295
Mosque of Salah Bey at, 295
Mussulman festival at, 301-306
Palace of Bey at, 295-296
Plague of locusts in, 47
Plan of tomb of Médracen, 343
Province of, 25, 51, 53
Railway from, to Biskra, 309
Rock of, 292
Roman remains at, 341
"Siège de," by Vernet, 291
Société Archéologique of, 355
Streets of, 294
Tomb of Constantine, near, 342
Tomb of Médracen on road from, to Batna, 344
Temperature, and rainfall at, 54
_Constantine_, tomb of, 342, 343
Constantinople, 6, 67, 101, 103, 166, 294, 299, 359, 373
Kalif of, 78
Minarets of St. Sophia at, 103
Sultans of, are religious heads, 75
_Cook_, 11, 16
Cordova, 92, 109
_Corot_, 233
Costechica, 211
_D'Annunzio_, 210
_De Amicis, Edmond_, 88
_De Nerval_, 2
_De Vegas_, 255
_Decatur_, 402
Degach, Oasis of, 428
_Delacroix_, 201
_Delattre, Père_, 396
Dellys, 287
Diana, Temple of, 346
Diana (see Zana)
_Dido_, 389, 393
_Dinet_, 5
Djeefa, temperature and rainfall at, 54
Djemel (see El-Djem)
Djerid, the, 69, 414, 421
Date-palms of the, 425
The "pearl" of the, 414
Tozeur, the capital of, 421
Djidjelli, ancient colony of Igilgili, 287
Djurjura, the, 245
Kabylie du, 287
_Don Juan of Austria_, 399
Dougga, ruined portal at, 336
_Duc d'Aumale_, 264, 267
_Dumas_, 7
_Duquesne_, 402
_Duval, M. Jules_, 277
_Eberhardt, Isabelle_, 3
Egypt, 30, 57, 78, 109, 111, 112, 113, 170, 172
El Ateuf, 333
_El Bekri_, 344
El Djem, 412-413
Amphitheatre at, 413
Thysdrus of the ancients, 412
El Guerrah, 137, 345
El Hamel, visit to Marabout of, 270-272
El Kantara, 315-319, 320, 329, 334
An artist's paradise, 317
Bridge of, 292, 300
Excursions from, 317
Gorge of, 310, 316
Hôtel Bertrand at, 315
El-Moungar, 197
El Oued, 234, 417
_Elissa_, 391
_Esculapius_, temple to, 347
_Fatmah_, sign of the hand of, 366
_Ferdinand_, 209
Fez, 60, 92, 111
Kalif of, 78
Kingdom of, 92
Sultan of, 75
Figuig, 12, 49, 221, 222, 224, 225
Grand Hôtel du Sahara, at, 11, 224
To Laghouat by caravan, 225
_Flaubert_, 389
_Flavius Maximus, Prefect_, 348
Fort National, 273, 275, 287, 288
Temperature and rainfall, 54
_Fragonard_, 233
_Fromentin_, 4
_Fronton_, 341
Gabès, 12, 23, 73, 192, 411, 417
Gulf of, the ancient Syrte, 412
Oases of, and Tozeur, 10, 411
Railway from Tlemcen to, 12
Trail to, 428
Gafsa, 109, 414, 415, 416, 427
Journey from, to Tozeur, 415-420
Railway to, 413
_Garner_, 150
_Gautier, Théophile_, 2, 102, 121, 201
_Gerhard, Paul_, work on butterflies of North Africa, 41
_Gérome_, 23
Géryville, temperature and rainfall at, 54
Ghardaïa, 11, 333
Gibraltar, 108, 400, 401
Strait of, 7, 113
_Gide, André_, 3
Goletta, La (see La Goletta)
_Gordian, Proconsul_, 412
Gorges de Chiffa, the, 243
Gorges de Maafa, 317
Gorges de Tilatou, 317
Goulette, La (see La Goletta)
Granada, 29, 107
Guerrara, 333
_Guillaumet_, 5
_Habib, the Algerian_, anecdote, 375-388
_Hadj-Ahmed_, last Bey of Constantine, 295, 297
Hamma, Valley of, 307
Hammam-Rm'hira, 11, 16, 243, 244
Its mineral springs, 243
Hammamet, 404
_Hannibal_, 389, 393
_Hanno_, 391
_Haroun-Al-Rachid_, 89, 357
_Harry, Myriam, Mme._, 3
_Hassan-ben-Nomane_, 394
_Herodotus_, 182, 412
Hippo-Diarrhytus (see Bizerta)
Hippone, 338
Hippo Regius, 338
_Houdin, Robert_, sent to Algeria, 264
_Hugo, Victor_, 2
_Hunéric_, the Vandal king, 238
_Hussein Dey_, 255
Icosium (see Algiers)
Igilgili (see Djidjelli)
Iol, Phoenician colony of, 239
(see Cherchell)
_Isabella_, 209
Jaffa, 6, 37
_Jeanne, "La Folle,"_ 209
Jerusalem, 37
Mosque of Omar, at, 109
_Jouanne_, 369
Jouggourt, incident at, 160
_Jubal II_, 237, 239
_Jugurtha_, 294
_Juno_, 347
_Jupiter_, 347
_Justinian_, 351, 352, 354
Kabylie, 11, 34, 51, 120, 248, 273, 275, 287, 288
And the Kabyles, 273-290
Des Babors, 287
Du Djurdjura, 287
Grande, 287-288
Mountain villages of, 273
Mountain women of, 283
Mountains of, 11, 52
Mountains of Grande, 53, 273, 310
Mountains of Petite, 273
Petite, 287
Story of wood-cutter of, 118-120
Kairouan, 10, 60, 101, 107, 330, 405, 408-411, 412, 417, 420
Cafés of, 411
Mosque of Okba Ibm Maffi at, 109
Mosque of Sidi-Okba, 410
Mosque of Sidi-Sahab, 410-411
Mosques of, 98
Kantara, El (see El Kantara)
The Oued, 316
Kano, 188
Kassar-Saïd, 63
Kef Cnecora, 301
Kenchela, 47, 352
Diligence from Timgad to, 351
Hôtel de France at, 352
Railway from, to Ain Beida, 352
Site of ancient Mascula, 352
Khaaba (see Blida)
_Khair Ed Din_, 255
Khoumir region, the, 340
_Kinglake_, 67
_Kings of Mauretania_, 237
_Kipling_, 428
Kolea, 234-235
Hôtel de France at, 235
"Vin Rosé" of, 35, 235
Korbus, 13
Kroubs, 342
Plan of tomb of Constantine, 342
Tomb of Constantine on road to, 343
Ksar-Baghai, Byzantine fortress at, 352
La Calle, 339-341
Coral fisheries of, 340
Sardine fisheries of, 341
The Tunizia of the Romans, 339
La Goletta, 13, 399
Canal to Tunis from, 356
La Malga, 391
La Marsa, 13, 62, 63, 391, 399-400
La Trappe, 51 (see Staouëli-La-Trappe)
Laghouat, 44, 47, 225
From Figuig by caravan, to, 225
Temperatures at, 54
Lake Tchad, 62
Lake Triton, 412
Lake of Tunis, 357
Lalla Marnia, 220
Fêtes of, 220
Numerus Syrorum of the Syrians, 220
Lambæsis (see Lambessa)
Lambese (see Lambessa)
Lambessa, 311, 336, 344, 346-348, 352, 355, 421
Aqueduct at, 348
Arch of Septimus Severus at, 347
Baths at, 347
Capitol at, 347
Forum at, 347
From Batna to, 346
Government penitentiary, 348
Lambæsis of the Romans, 346, 352
Plan of, 347
Prætorium at, 336, 346
Roman ruins at, 346
Third Legion at, 346, 350
Tomb of Flavius Maximus, 348
Lamiggiga, 345
_Livingstone, Dr._, 10
_Longfellow_, 315
_Lord Cromer_, 114
_Loti_, 4
_Louis XIV_, 255, 402
_Louis Philippe_, 201, 264
Lybia, 57, 68
Maafa, Gorges de (see Gorges de Maafa)
_Macrin, the Emperor_, 346
_Madghasen_ (see _Médracen_)
Mahdia, 109
_Mahomet_ (see _Mohammed_)
Maison Carrée, 259, 264, 265
Market of, 259-263
Majorca, 213
Mansourah, 217
Hills of, 307
_Marcus Aurelius_, 341
Marseilles, 1, 2, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 71, 196, 289, 409
_Maryval_, 3
Mascula (see Kenchela)
_Masqueray_, 5
_Massinissa_, 345
_Maupassants, the_, 5
Mauretania, 238
Province of, 239
Tomb of Kings of, 237
Mecca, 3, 80, 84, 95, 109
First Kouba at, 106
Pilgrimage to, 93
Médea, 217
Occupation of in 1840, 241
Road to, 243
Wines of, 35
Médenine, 73
Medina, 3, 109
_Médracen, tomb of_, 344
Melika, 333
_Merimée_, 2
_Messaoud-ben-Ghebana_, 317
Metlaoui, 414
Mila, 341
Mileum (see Mila)
Miliana, 229, 231, 241-242, 243
Mosque of Sidi-Ahmed-ben-Youssef at, 242
Zucchabar of the Romans, 241
_Minerva_, 347
Mitidja, the, 51, 227, 231, 264, 309
Agha of, 241
And the Sahel, 227-244
Moucharabias in the, 105
Mogador, 223
_Mohammed_, 77, 86, 306
_Mohammed-el-Hadi-Bey_, 59, 61
_Mohammed-en-Nacer-Bey_, 59, 63
Monastir, 71, 408
Bricks and tiles of, 72
Hôtel de Paris at, 408
_Montmaur_, 140
Monts des Ouled-Naïls, 332
Monts du Zab (see Ziban)
Morocco, 18, 22, 30, 61, 78, 109, 114, 170, 198, 206, 216, 262, 401
Jews in, 144
Kingdom of, 92
Marabouts in, 91
Morsott, 354-355
Plan of, 355
Ruins at, 354
Site of the ancient Theverte, 354
Moulouia, The, 339
Mount Chelia, 53
Mount Mourdjadja, 212
Mountains of Algeria, 53
Beni-Salah, 232
Grande Kabylie, 53, 273, 310
Kabylie, 11, 52
Petite Kabylie, 273
The Aures, 310
The Petit Atlas, 241, 245
Msaaba, Sheik of the, 11
Msaken, 134
Mustapha, 10, 16, 164, 245, 247
M'zabs, region of the, 332
Towns of the, 333
Nabeul, 405
Potteries of, 70, 405
Pottery of, 71
The ancient Neapolis, 405
_Napoleon_, Saying of, 190
Neapolis (see Nabeul)
Nédroma, 220, 221
Nefzaoua, The, 69
North Africa, 1, 2, 3, 4, 18, 28, 29, 50, 69,
170, 197, 220, 221, 229, 232, 273, 289, 312,
330, 334, 337, 346, 382, 409, 412, 417, 427
Arab of, the, 114
Arabian horse-flesh, rare in, 169
Arabs and Berbères Arabisés of, 79
Climate of, 37-38
Germans in, 40-41
Possibilities of trade with America and, 38-39
Races met with in, 129
Railways of, 1
Social system of races of, 142
Tlemcen, the most original city in, 213
Arab of most interest in, 144-145
Donkey's paradise, 173
Garden of, 227
Land of the burnous, 136
Mauresques of, 163-165
Moorish coffee shops of, 323-324
Path of the Roman through, 336
North African Arab, The, 251
Numerus Syrorum, (see Lalla Marnia)
Numidia, 53 (see Tell, The)
_Numidian Kings_, 341
Oasis of Degach, 428
Oasis of Gabès, 10
_Okba-ben-Nafi_, 329
_Okba-ben-Nofi_, 409
_Omar, The Khalif_, 109, 110
Oran, 12, 37, 42, 50, 129, 144, 206, 209-213
Cathedral of St. Louis at, 212
From, to the Morocco frontier, 209-226
Grande Mosquée at, 212
Markets of, 210
Population of, 209
Province of, 51
Ouarda (see Blida)
Ouardja, 234
Ouarsenis, The, 242
Oudjda, 220
Fêtes of, 220
Oued Bou-Saada, The, 272
Oued Kantara, The, 316
Oued-Righ, valley of the, 53
Oued-Souf, 10, 225, 334
Maison Française at, 11
_Ouida_, 18, 19
Ourgala, 417
Paris, 6, 11, 31, 42, 173, 196, 227
Passage des Roches, 300
Pasteur, 345
Site of the ancient Lamiggiga, 345
_Pedro Navarro_, 254, 290
_Percy's Reliques_, (anecdote), 101
Perrégaux, railway from, south, 221
Petit Atlas, The, 245
Mountains of, 241
Philippeville, 52, 213, 307-308
Rusicade of the ancients, 341
_Pliny_, 32, 182
_Point, Armand_, 5
Pointe Pescade, 164, 235
Pomaria (see Tlemcen)
Port Saïd, 6, 40, 101, 294
_Potter_, 5
_Pygmalion_, 391
_Rabelais_, 16
_Rhodes, Cecil_, 10, 62
_Richepin_, 428
Rovigo, steam-tram to, 264
Rivière des Sables, 300
Rocher du Lac, 301
Ruisseau des Singes, 243
Hôtel at the, 243
Rummel, The, 292, 300
Rummel, The Gorge of The, 293, 298, 299-301
Ruins of bridge across, 342
Rusicade (see Philippeville)
_St. Augustin_, Bishop of Hippo Regius, 338
_St. Cyprien_, 393
_St. Perpétua_, 393
_St. Vincent de Paul_, 399
_Saddok-Bey_, 59
Sahel, The, 67, 70, 71, 229, 231, 248, 254
The Mitidja, and The, 227-244
Saint Eugène, 164, 235, 245
_Salah Raïs_, Pacha of Algiers in 1555, 237
_Salah Bey_, Mosque of, 295, 342
_Salambo_, 393
Opera of, 389
Saldae (see Bougie)
_Salomon_, 354
_Sallust_, 293
_Salsa_, patron saint of Tipaza, 238
_Scipio_, 389
_Septimus Severus_, arch built under, 347
Seriana (see Pasteur)
Setif, 239, 289
Population of, 287
Seville, minaret of the Giralda, at, 111
Sfax, 12, 72, 93, 411, 412, 420, 427
Railway from, to Gafsa, 413
Railway from, to Tozeur, 414
_Si-Ali-Bey_, 59, 60, 61
_Sid Ben Gannah_, Grand chef of the Sud-Constantinois, 233
_Sidi-Ahmed-ben-Youssef_, the marabout, 242
Sidi-bou-Saïd, 13, 391, 398-399
_Sidi-Brahim_, the marabout, 106
Tomb of, 338
_Sidi-el-Hadji-Abd-el-Kader-el-Djilali_, 93
Sidi-Ferruch, 235
_Sidi Hassin_, 348-350
Sidi-M'cid, hills of, 307
Sidi-Okba, 329-330
Arab school at, 330
Café restaurant at, 329
Mosque at, 330
Shrine of, 329
Tomb of, at, 330
_Sinan Pacha_, 399
_Sittius_, 341
Souk-Ahras, 50, 345
Sousse, 72, 405-408, 409, 411, 412, 413, 420
By rail or road from Nabeul to, 405
Citadel of, 407
Kasba of, 407
Population of, 406
Souks of, 406
Spain, 2, 23, 35-36, 57, 92, 110, 112, 129, 176, 213, 292, 400
Arabs and Moors of, 115
Oran, a penal colony of, 211
_Stanley_, 10
Staouëli-la-Trappe, 236
Abbey at, 236
Stora, 307
A port of antiquity, 338
Gulf of, 307
Roman quais at, 36
Sud-Algérie, 34
Sud-Algerien, The goum of the, 206
Sud-Constantinois, 12, 225, 321
Sud-Oranais, 34, 221, 224
Spread of civilization in, 222
Sud-Tunisien, 62, 338, 412
Sheep of the, 418
Syrte, The (see Gulf of Gabès)
_Tacitus_, 182
Tamerza, 423
Tangier, 40, 111, 403
Tebessa, 336, 344, 345, 352-354, 355, 421
Arch of Triumph at, 336, 353
Byzantine walls, 353-354
Plan of, 353
To, from Ain-Beïda, 352
Temperature and rainfall at, 54
Tell, The, 52, 309, 336
A Caïd of the, 138
Roman cities of, 344
The Numidia of the ancients, 53
_Tertullian_, 393
Theverte (see Morsott)
Thamugadi (see Timgad)
Thusuras (see Tozeur)
Thysdrus (see El-Djem)
Tilatou, Gorges de (see Gorges de Tilatou)
Timgad, 311, 336, 344, 348-351, 352, 421
Byzantine fortress at, 351
Diligence from, to Kenchela, 351
Guide, 348-350
"Guide Illustré de," 351
Hôtel Meille at, 348
Plan of, 349
Thamugadi of the ancients, 350, 352
Tipaza, 237, 238, 248, 338
Population of, 238
Roman ruins at, 238
To Cherchell, 239
Tirourda, The pass of, 288
Tizi-Ouzou, 248, 273, 287
Diligence from, to Fort National, 288
Railway not beyond, 274
Troops of, 206
Tlemcen, 10, 11, 12, 16, 23, 53, 101, 213-220, 221, 268, 338
Camel Caravans from, 178
Legend of Mosque of Mansourah, 217-219
Minaret of El Mansourah at, 111
Minaret of Sidi-bou-Medine, 111
Mosque of Djama l'Hassen at, 215
Mosque of El Haloui, 216
Mosque of El Mansourah at, 109
Mosques in, 98
Pomaria of the Romans, 213, 338
Population of, 215
Railway from Oran to, 213
Siege of, in 3d century, 216
Temperature and rainfall in, 54
Touabet, Mt., 53
Touggourt, 11, 12, 44, 225, 411
The Touaregs south of, 190
Tozeur, 11, 12, 73, 225, 338, 420-429
Architecture of, 421
Hotel at, 422, 428
Journey from Gafsa to, 415-420
Market at, 422
Oases of Gabès and, 411, 414
Oasis of, 414-429
Thusuros of the ancients, 338
View from Minaret of Ouled-Medjed at, 428
_Trajan_, 350
Tripoli, 61, 62, 113, 170
Caravans in, 188
De Barbarie, 30
In Barbary, 12, 61, 114, 401, 403
Pacha of, 402
Pirates of, 403
Tunis, 1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 26,
30, 54, 58, 67, 70, 71, 72, 105, 129,
135, 144, 173, 246, 252, 268, 284, 289,
294, 299, 326, 411, 412
A city of consulates, 358
A Jew of (anecdote), 362-363
And The Souks, 356-370
Arab town of, the, 359, 367, 368
Bardo, 367
Bey of (anecdote), 124-126
Camel caravans from, 178
Danseuses of, 128
Dar El-Bey at, 296, 366, 367
En route from, to Bizerta, 397
Foreigners in, 28
Gates of Arab city of, 367
Jewesses of, 283
Jewish dancers of, 369
Kasba, 367
La Musique Beylicale at, 122
La ville, 67
Lake of, 357
Life of, 364
Minarets of, 103
Minaret of Ez-Zitouna at, 111
Minaret of the Kasba, 111
Moorish cafés, 368
Mosque of Djama Ez-Zitouna at, 109
Mosque of Sidi-Mahrez, 372
Old, 371
Population of, 365
Prosperity of, 67
Souks of the old town of, 371-372
Souks or bazaars of, 359-362, 398, 400, 403, 404, 409, 411, 412
Steam-tram from, to Carthage, 390
Tunisia, 22, 31, 46, 59, 63, 69, 78, 98, 99, 107, 113,
144, 147, 170, 176, 197, 262, 403, 408, 409, 411, 423
Army a necessity for, 60
Authorization for travel into interior of, 73
Efforts at colonizing the Régence of, 73
Greater prosperity to come to, 62
Kairouan, The Holy City of, 405, 408
Lybia of the ancients, 57, 68
Need of capital in, 69
Political status of native of, 64, 65, 66
Railways of, 72
Régence of, and the Tunisians, 57-73
Taxes in, 34
Vineyards of, in 1900, 68
Tunisia and Algeria, 24, 108, 114
Koubas in, 331
Tunizia (see La Calle)
Utica, 397
Plan of ancient, 398
Ruins at, 398
_Valée, General_, 292
_Vernet, Horace_, 201, 291
_Yacoub-el-Nansourd, The Sultan_, 111
_Yusuf_, 200
Zana, 345-346
Byzantine fortress at, 346
Diana of the ancients, 345
Temple of Diana at, 346
Triumphal arches at, 346
Zaccar-Gharbi, The, 241
Ziban, The, 53, 331, 332
Inhabitants of, 331
_Ziem_, 5
_Zorah-ben-Mohammed_, incident of, 269, 270
Zucchabar (see Miliana)
* * * * *
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
Sud-Algerie=> Sud-Algérie {pg 34}
compared wih California or Bermuda=> compared with California or Bermuda
{pg 37}
Kassar-Said=> Kassar-Saïd {pg 63}
Berberes Arabisés=> Berbères Arabisés {pg 79}
no eyes with which to sea=> no eyes with which to see {pg 127}
arcades and faiences=> arcades and faïences {pg 295}
Hamam-Rm'hira=> Hammam-Rm'hira {pg 436}
_Haroun-Al-Raschid_, 89, 357=> _Haroun-Al-Rachid_, 89, 357 {pg 436}
Sidi-bou-Said, 13, 391, 398-399=> Sidi-bou-Said, 13, 391, 398-399 {pg
440}
_Alfaoui, the Algerian_, 923, 924=> _Alfaoui, the Algerian_, 339, 340
{pg 431}