20 M. STEAM TRAMWAY (p. 219), three trains daily (five on Sun. and
holidays) in ca. 2¼ hrs. (fares 2 fr. 30, 1 fr. 65 c.).—DILIGENCE from
Rouïba (p. 249) to (4½ M.) _Aïn-Taya_ twice daily, in 1 hr.—A pleasant
drive may be taken from Algiers to Aïn-Taya direct.
The STEAM TRAMWAY runs parallel with the railway through the S. E.
suburbs of Algiers (p. 232), past the _Jardin d’Essai_ (p. 232), and
through the little town of _Hussein-Dey_ (p. 233), to the
railway-station of _Maison-Carrée_ (p. 217). It then crosses the
_Harrach_ by a Turkish bridge of 1697.
7½ M. =Maison-Carrée= (66 ft.; Hôt. du Roulage, Hôt. de l’Harrach, both
humble; pop. 7300, incl. 2700 Mohammedans and 3200 foreigners, mostly
Spaniards), prettily situated on the right bank of the Harrach, amidst
hills rising some 200 ft. above the stream, possesses an agricultural
school and an interesting cattle-market (Frid.). It owes its name to the
square Turkish _Citadel_, built in 1746, now the _Prison de l’Harrach_,
used for native convicts.
About 1¼ M. to the N. of Maison-Carrée, near the sea, lies the
_Monastère St. Joseph_, the headquarters of the _Missions d’Afrique_
founded by Card. Lavigerie (p. 346), whose members owe their name of
_White Fathers_ (Pères Blancs) to their white gowns Arabian in
appearance. The monastery owns an ethnographical collection from the
interior of Africa.
From Maison-Carrée the steam-tramway mentioned at p. 219 runs across
the Mitidja to (19 M.) =L’Arba= (335 ft.; Hôt. des Etrangers; Hôt. de
l’Arba), a small town of 2300 inhab., with an important Wednesday
market (Arabic arbáa), and then along the foot of the Atlas, partly
through orange-groves, to (23 M.) =Rovigo= (361 ft.; Hôt. des
Eaux-Thermales; Hôt. du Commerce; pop. 4200, chiefly Mohammedan). This
is the station for (4½ M.) _Hammam-Melouan_ (about 720 ft.), a small
watering-place with hot saline springs, chiefly patronized by natives,
in the narrow ravine of the _Harrach_.
A picturesque hill-road leads from L’Arba to (59 M.) _Aumale_ (p. 250;
diligence in 12 hrs.) viâ (14½ M.) _Sakamody_ (2585 ft.), (47½ M.)
_Bir-Rabalou_ (2106 ft.), and (50½ M.) _Les Trembles_.
The Matifou road ascends to the top of the hill-chain and leads to the
E. to the village of (10 M.) _Retour-de-la-Chasse_ (75 ft.), 2 M. to the
N.W. of railway-station Maison-Blanche (p. 249), and to (15½ M.)
_Rouïba_ (p. 249).
The STEAM TRAMWAY follows the direct road from Maison-Carrée to the N.E.
to (12 M.) =Fort-de-l’Eau= (16 ft.; Hôt.-Restaur. du Casino, on the
shore; Hôt. de la Plage and others, plain), a small sea-bathing place
with many villas and a fine beach. Fine view of Algiers and the spurs of
Mont Bouzaréah. The old Turkish coast-fort, _Bordj el-Kifan_, of 1581,
stormed by the Foreign Legion in 1833, is now the Caserne de Douaniers.
The village, noted for its banana-culture, is inhabited chiefly by
‘Mahonnais’ (p. 233).
From the village we proceed to the N.E., a little inland from the bay,
which is now much choked with sand, through tame fields and underwood,
to the _Oued el-Hamiz_. Here we turn to the N., soon obtaining a view of
the broad Bay of Algiers and the distant Atlas of Blida, and traverse
the extensive plateau of _Cape Matifou_ (236 ft.; Arabic _Râs
Temendfus_).
17 M. =Matifou= (210 ft.), a poor village, lies about 1½ M. to the E. of
the site of the Roman town of _Rusguniae_, where, under the dense
brushwood, the remains of baths and the foundations of an
early-Christian basilica have been discovered. The church, originally
with nave and aisles, was rebuilt in the Byzantine period with double
aisles and a W. apse.
The small _Harbour_ beyond the village, where Emp. Charles V. embarked
the remnant of his army in 1541 (comp. p. 221), is now a quarantine
station for vessels and a port for pilgrims (Mers el-Hadjadjeh). The
Mohammedans returning from Mecca, usually including many Moroccans,
have to spend several days here in the large _Lazaretto_ built in
1884.
Besides the _Bordj Temendfous_, the interesting old Turkish fort,
there are also on the peninsula the French _Fort d’Estrées_, a
_Lighthouse_ (207 ft.), visible from 32 M., and a _Semaphore_. On the
shore, where there are traces of a breakwater, a large tunny-net
(_madrague_) is set in summer. The fishermen are mostly Corsicans and
S. Italians from the villages of _La Pérouse_ and _Jean-Bart_.
Beyond Matifou we skirt the E. margin of the peninsula, soon sighting
the fine coast of Great Kabylia as far as Cape Bengut (p. 254), and run
to the S.E., past some Roman ruins, to the village of _Aïn-Beïda_.
20 M. =Aïn-Taya= (131 ft.; Hôt. du Figuier, R. 2–4, B. ¾, déj. or D.
2½–3, pens. 6–7 fr., quite good), a pleasant agricultural village, is
inhabited chiefly by Spaniards. From the chief place a short avenue of
plane-trees and palms leads to the N.E. to the steep edge of the coast
and the fine bathing-beach.
From the S. margin of the plateau, on the highroad beyond Aïn-Taya, we
obtain a delightful *View of the E. Mitidja with its girdle of
mountains. The road then descends to (24½ M.) _Rouïba_ (see below),
whence we may take the train back to Algiers or else to Menerville (p.
250).