The STATION (Pl. D, 4; _Rail. Restaurant_) for Algiers (R. 43), Biskra
(R. 44), Philippeville (R. 47), Bona (R. 48), and Souk-Ahras (Tebessa,
Tunis; RR. 49–51) is in the Faubourg d’el-Kantara, on the right bank
of the Rhumel, 15–18 min. from the hotels.
HOTELS (comp. p. 174). _Grand-Hôtel_ (Pl. a; B, 4, 5), Rue Nationale
2, corner of Place de Nemours, with good restaurant, R. 3½–5, B. 1–1½,
déj. 3½, D 4–5, pens. 10–12½ fr., omn. 1 fr.; _Hôt. St. Georges &
d’Orient_ (Pl. b; B, 4), Rue Caraman 9, R. 3, pens. 10, omn. ¾ fr.,
good cuisine; _Hôt. de Paris & Royal_ (Pl. c; B, 4), Rue Nationale and
Place de Nemours, R. 4, B. 1½, D. 4, pens. 9–11, omn. 1½ fr.—_Hôt.
Terminus_, near the station, for a short stay, R. 3, déj. or D. 3 fr.,
plain but quite good; _Hôt. Rouvière_ (Pl. e; B, 4), unpretending but
well spoken of.
CAFÉS. _Café Germain_, Place de Nemours; _Café Glacier_, Place du
Palais 8; _Café Honorat_, in the Hôt. de Paris, Place de Nemours
(music in the evening).—RESTAURANTS (beer). _Taverne Gambrinus_, Rue
Caraman 6; _Brasserie de l’Etoile_, Place de Nemours.
POST & TELEGRAPH OFFICE (Pl. 10; B, 5), Place de Nemours.
CABS (stand, Place de Nemours), first ½ hr. 1¼ (after 10 p.m. 1½) fr.;
for 1 hr. 2½, each addit. ½ hr. 1 fr.; half-day (6 hrs.) 10, whole day
(12 hrs.) 20 fr.—OMNIBUS from the Place de Nemours to the Station 10,
trunk 25 c.; also to the Faubourg St. Jean.
BATHS. _Bains Lyonnais_, Rue Damrémont; _Bains Rémès_, in the ravine
of the Rhumel (p. 302).
BOOKSELLERS. _Braham_, Rue du Palais 4; _Roubille_, Rue Damrémont
37.—NEWSPAPER. _Dépêche de Constantine._
THEATRE. _Théâtre Municipal_ (Pl. B, 5; Nov.–Feb. only), Place de
Nemours.
ONE DAY. Forenoon, _Place de Nemours_ and _Squares_, _Museum_, _Palais
de Hadj Ahmed_, _Jewish Quarter_, *_Quartier Perrégaux_ (pp. 299–301).
Afternoon, *_Gorges du Rhumel_ (p. 301). Guide quite unnecessary.
_Constantine_ (1752–2113 ft.; pop. 55,000, incl. 28,300 Mohammedans and
8300 Jews), Arabic _Ksantina_ or _Blad el-Hawa_ (‘cité aérienne’, ‘town
of air’), the capital of the province of that name and the seat of a
bishop and of a medersa (Mohammedan college), is the third-largest town
in Algeria. The old town, typically Berber in its difficulty of access,
lies on a chalky limestone plateau, descending to the S.E. and N.E.
almost perpendicularly to the _Ravine of the Rhumel_, and to the N.W. to
the bed of a brook, while on the S.W. it is connected by a narrow saddle
with the spurs of the long _Jebel Chettaba_ (4313 ft.). The town has
three suburbs, the small _Faubourg d’el-Kantara_ near the station, and
the faubourgs _St. Jean_ and _St. Antoine_ on the margin of the
_Coudiat-Aty_ (Pl. A, 5, 6), a hill recently almost levelled to form a
building-site.
Constantine is the centre of the Algerian grain-trade and has an
important wool-exchange. Several manufactures too are very active
(tanning, shoemaking, saddlery, and weaving). The chief centres of trade
and manufacture are still the native quarters, resembling the Kasba of
Algiers, the picturesque charm of which has so far been marred by the
construction of but few new streets. The gay costumes of the Mohammedans
and the mediæval attire of the Jewesses are specially interesting.
Constantine has but a poor climate. Spring is the best season for
visiting it. In winter the cold (p. 170) is very severe and the winds
are often bitter, while in summer and autumn the hot sirocco is more
prevalent than anywhere on the coast. The low ground flanking the Rhumel
is malarious from June to October.
Constantine, originally the Phœnician _Kartha_ (‘town’), afterwards
called _Cirta_ by the Romans, was the greatest inland centre of
culture in the territory of the Numidian kings, and under Syphax
became their residence. The first recorded conquest of the town was by
Jugurtha (p. 321), in B.C. 112, who wrested it from his cousin
Adherbal. Under the Roman empire Cirta, the chief of the four allied
_Coloniæ Cirtenses_ (Constantine, Milo, Philippeville, and Collo),
belonged to the _Diocesis Numidia_, the domain of the legate of the
Third Legion (p. 286). Having been destroyed by the troops of Emp.
Maxentius in 311, the town sprang up anew from its ruins the following
year; it then superseded Lambæsis as the capital of Numidia, and was
named _Constantina_, in honour of its patron Constantine the Great. In
435 it was the only town in Barbary that repelled the attacks of the
Vandal Genseric (p. 322), but it remained politically unimportant till
the Moorish period, when it was occupied by the Hammadites (p. 263),
and afterwards belonged in turn to the Almohades (p. 95), the
Merinides (p. 95), and the Hafsides (p. 323). In the middle ages it
rivalled Bougie as a seat of learning.
In the Turkish period Constantine was the capital of the E. Algerian
beylic, and for centuries groaned under the despotism of the beys. In
French military annals it was noted for its heroic defence by _Ahmed
Bey_, who after the fall of Algiers had become the independent ruler
of E. Algeria. In 1836 the first French attack upon the El-Kantara
gate from the hill of Mansoura proved a disastrous failure, over five
hundred of the besiegers being hurled into the ravine of the Rhumel.
The capture of the town in 1837, effected from the Coudiat-Aty, was
purchased with the death of generals Damrémont and Perrégaux.
During the first decades of the French domination all the Roman
buildings were destroyed except the aqueduct (p. 302), the Rhumel
bridge (p. 301), and the cisterns (p. 300). The buildings of the
Turkish period afford an instructive example of the sad decline of
late-Moorish art.
The railway-station (Pl. D, 4) is at present connected with the old town
by the iron bridge of *=El-Kántara= (Pl. D, 3; 1863), of one arch, 139
yds. long and 407 ft. above the Rhumel. Far below we see the Roman
bridge (p. 301), and upstream we have a fine view of the S. part of the
gorge. Much higher up is the _New Bridge_ (comp. Pl. C, 6), a marvellous
feat of engineering. It spans the Rhumel ravine, at a height of 330 ft.
above the river, with a single arch of masonry, 230 ft. in width.
From the former Porte d’el-Kantara runs the new RUE NATIONALE (Pl. C, B,
4), the chief thoroughfare of Constantine, leading through the whole
town to (½ M.) the Place de Nemours. Halfway, where the street bends and
is crossed by the Rue Perrégaux (p. 301), rises the new _Medersa_ (Pl.
7, C 4; see p. 297) in the Turkish-Moorish style; from its staircase we
enjoy an even finer view of the Rhumel ravine than from the crossroads.
Halfway along the upper part of the street, on the left, rises the
=Grande Mosquée= (Pl. B, 4, 5; Arabic _Jâma el-Kebîr_), which received a
new façade and minaret when the street was made. The very dissimilar
columns which support the timber ceiling in the interior are partly from
ancient buildings. Two antique Doric capitals recall the columns of the
mausoleum of Le Khroub (p. 273).
The noisy and dusty PLACE DE NEMOURS or _Place de la Brèche_ (Pl. B, 4,
5; 2054 ft. above sea-level), on the site of the _Bâb el-Djadia_ or
_Porte de la Brèche_, is the chief scene of the town’s traffic. A few
paces to the S.W., between the old town and the _Coudiat-Aty_ (p. 297),
are two public gardens. On the left, next the street leading to the new
bridge, is the pretty _Square No. 1_ (Pl. A, B, 5), with a bronze statue
of Valée; and on the right _Square No. 2_ (Pl. A, 5), with numerous
Roman antiquities. The latter affords a splendid view of Jebel Chettaba
(p. 297), of the lower valley of the Rhumel visible a long way down, and
of the distant heights of El-Kantour (p. 303). The road between the two
squares proceeds to the S.W. to the _Monument of Gen. Lamoricière_ (Pl.
A, 5) by Belloc (1909), in front of the _Halle aux Grains_.—From the
latter the new _Viaduct_ (comp. Pl. A-C, 5, 6; 490 yds.), now under
construction, will eventually lead to the New Bridge (p. 298).
Beneath the Hôtel de Paris et Royal (p. 297), at the E. corner of the
Place de Nemours, a flight of 90 steps descends to some interesting
_Grottoes_ (adm. 1 fr.), whose sparkling, rose-shaped crystals of gypsum
produce a very unique effect.—From the N. angle of the square the Boul.
de l’Ouest leads along the town-wall to the HÔTEL DE VILLE (Pl. 6; A, B,
4), of 1903, whose staircase and vestibule are enriched with onyx and
six kinds of marble from Aïn-Smara (p. 272). The first floor contains
the _Town Library_ and behind it the—
=Musée de Constantine=, comprising antiquities and natural history
collections. Adm. (except Sun. and Tues.) 9–11 and 3–5, 50 c.
Conservator, M. Ulysse Hinglais. Catalogue (1905) 1 or 5 fr.
On the STAIRCASE are Roman mosaics.
ROOM I. In the central cases are prehistoric finds from the Tell Atlas
and the Oued Rhir (p. 285); Byzantine and early-Moorish antiquities
from Morsott (p. 314) and Kalâa des Beni-Hammad (p. 270); natural
history specimens (incl. vegetable fibres utilized industrially). The
wall-presses contain fossils from the hill of Mansoura (p. 302) and
Jebel Sidi M’Cid; Phœnician and Roman antiquities from the
necropolises of the Coudiat-Aty, of Collo, Bulla Regia, etc. (clay
vases, fine Roman bronzes, a glass cinerary urn, trinkets, cut gems).
By the wall of exit are Spanish-Moorish, Italian, and Kabylian
ceramics, Moorish fayence from Tlemcen, Nabeul (p. 365), etc.; a
late-Moorish door; a Turkish executioner’s sword from Khenchela. Here
too are a map of the artesian wells in the province of Constantine and
a model of a boring apparatus.
ROOM II. The show-cases contain coins and medals. In the wall-presses,
natural history specimens; marble and onyx from Aïn-Smara. On the
walls, a small collection of pictures.
GALLERY (on the left of R. I). Large Roman clay vessels, neo-Punic and
Roman stelæ, Roman sculptures, Moorish fragments, casts.
From the Boul. de l’Ouest the Boul. du Nord (Pl. A, B, 4, 3; fine views)
and (to the right) the Rue du Rocher lead to the _Kasba_ (p. 300).
The busiest streets of the European quarter, where many of the
inhabitants are Italians and Maltese, are the RUE CARAMAN (Pl. B, 4)
with the Rue Chevalier, the Rue d’Aumale, and the RUE DAMRÉMONT (Pl. B,
4, 3), all to the N. of the Place de Nemours. Between these lines of
streets lies the spacious PLACE DU PALAIS (Pl. B, 4).
The =Palais de Hadj Ahmed= (Pl. B, 4; now military headquarters), on the
N.E. side of the square, built by Ahmed Bey in 1828–35, contains four
picturesque courts, adorned with tiles. The front court is decorated
with clumsy frescoes depicting chief towns of the Orient. The interior
is not shown. Concierge ½ fr.
The =Cathedral= (Pl. 2, B 4; _Notre-Dame des Sept-Douleurs_), on the E.
side of the Place du Palais, was once the Market Mosque (_Jâma Sûk
er-Rezel_), with its nave and double aisles, built in 1707. The women’s
galleries next the entrance-wall now contain the organ. The choir is a
modern addition. In the outer right aisle, in the middle of the E. wall,
with its well-preserved tile and stucco decoration, is the old mihrâb
(p. 180), now a chapel. The mimbar in the inner left aisle is now the
pulpit; behind it is a copy of the inscription on the Rocher des Martyrs
(p. 301).
The Rue Caraman, continued by the Rue Chevalier, and the Rue de France
(Pl. B, C, 4, 3) both lead to the N.E. to the PLACE NÉGRIER (Pl. C, 3),
in which rises the Mosque of _Sidi el-Kettani_ (Pl. 8; B, C, 3), built
by Sala-Bey. The first floor of the building contains a marble mimbar
executed by Italian sculptors. On the N. side of the square is a new
_Synagogue_ (Pl. 11; C, 3).
At the N. end of the town, partly on the site of the Roman capitol, is
the old =Kasba= (Pl. B, 3; 2116 ft.; 666 ft. above the Rhumel), now a
group of new buildings, including barracks and the military hospital. Of
the _Roman Cisterns_, originally a quadrangle of 164 by 39 yds., about
one-third has been preserved and is now again in use. The view from the
garden of the _Artillery Arsenal_ (Pl. B, C, 2, 3), at the N. end of the
Kasba, immediately above the ravine of the Rhumel, is justly extolled.
Adm. by leave of the military authorities (Palais de Hadj Ahmed; see
above). Entrance in the Rue Damrémont (p. 299). From the Kasba the new
_Suspension Bridge_ (‘Pont Suspendu’; Pl. C, D, 2, 3) crosses the Rhumel
at a height of 590 ft. to the _Hôpital Civil_ (Pl. D, 2).
The *=Native Quarters=, intersected by the upper Rue Nationale, with
their lively, picturesque, crooked streets, lie in the lower part of the
town, between the Place de Nemours, Rue Caraman, Rue de France, and the
Rhumel ravine (p. 301). The most interesting streets are those inhabited
by Mohammedan artisans, largely Mozabites (p. 216), between the Rue
Combes (Pl. B, 4) and the Rue Vieux (Pl. B, C, 4, 3), both of which lead
to the N.E. to the Place Rahbet es Souf (‘wool-market’) or Place des
Galettes (Pl. C, 4), with its _Market Hall_. Between this square and the
Boul. de l’Est (Pl. C, 3), a fine point of view, lies the _Jewish
Quarter_, which is worth seeing, especially on Saturdays.
Still more picturesque than these quarters is the purely Mohammedan
*_Quartier Perrégaux_, which descends the triangular S. part of the
rocky plateau, often in steep steps, from the Rue Nationale to the
Rhumel Ravine. Through this quarter runs the RUE PERRÉGAUX (Pl. C, B, 4,
5), the chief thoroughfare between the Rue Nationale and the old Turkish
_Porte Djebia_ (Pl. B, 5). Near this gate, at the corner of the Rue
Perrégaux and Rue des Tanneurs, is a _Mosque Portal_ with charming
tile-decoration.
From the Rue Perrégaux we may descend by the Rue de l’Arc and (to the
right) the Rue de l’Alma, or direct by the Rue Morland, under the new
bridge, to the small kubba of =Sidi-Rached= (Pl. B, C, 6; 1752 ft.).
From the adjacent rocky height we have a grand view of the upper Rhumel
ravine. Opposite, near the old _Pont du Diable_ (Pl. B, C, 6), is the
_Rocher des Martyrs_, bearing an old inscription in memory of the
Christian martyrs of 259.
* * * * *
The **=Gorges du Rhumel=, the grandest ravines in the Tell Atlas,
present a most impressive scene, especially during the melting of the
snow or after heavy rain, but in summer much of their charm is lost
owing to the lowness of the stream and the stench of the tanneries. The
gorge was first made accessible in 1895 by the _Chemin des Touristes_, a
path 1¾ M. in length, constructed by the engineer Fr. Rémès. From the S.
entrance (Pl. C, 6; 1811 ft.), near the new bridge, it descends parallel
with the Chemin du Rhumel (10 min. above the station), close past the
main entrance (see below) and under the El-Kantara bridge and the new
Suspension Bridge to the lower end of the ravine (1512 ft). It is to be
connected with the new N. entrance (Pl. B, 2), on the Corniche road (p.
302), by a side-branch. Tourists pressed for time may go direct from the
station to the S. entrance, walk down the gorge as far as the grottoes,
turn back there, and then leave by the main entrance. A ticket for the
day (2 fr., or for repeated visits ½ fr. each time) admits also to a
bath in the Bains Rémès.
The main-entrance, near the so-called Porte Vitruve (1730 ft.), is
reached from the Boul. de l’Est, 45 yds. to the N. of the old El-Kantara
gate (p. 298), by an uncomfortable path descending in steps; another
descends from the Corniche road on the opposite side (‘Entrée’; Pl. D,
3), 3 min. below the bridge.
Before entering the gorge we may glance at the remains of the _Roman
Bridge_, which crosses the river at the narrowest part, 66 yds. across.
The sculptures, two elephants and a weather-worn relief of Africa,
belonged perhaps to a still older bridge.
From the ticket-office we first walk upstream, on the right bank, by the
UPPER PATH, often up and down steps. The rocky sides of the gorge are
enlivened by numerous storks, pigeons, and hawks; far below us the river
dashes down its stony bed. High above peep the picturesque houses of the
native quarter. On the left bank are the _Bains Rémès_, with a hot
spring (90° Fahr.), and remains of a Roman _Aqueduct_. They are reached
by a side-path to the right, ca. 220 yds. beyond the ticket-office. The
baths, or _Piscinae_, originally Roman, have been entirely renewed.
Farther up (¼ hr.), a path in steps ascends to the left, under the new
bridge, not far from the Pont du Diable and the Pointe de Sidi-Rached
(comp. p. 301), to the S. entrance.
We now return to the chief entrance, and near the office descend to the
left, by a path with steps and iron stairs, to the *_Grottoes_, 230 ft.
high at places, through which the river flows, mostly underground, for a
distance of 330 yds.; the huge dome of rock is specially impressive when
viewed from the middle of the iron footbridge. A winding staircase next
descends to the LOWER PATH, with its wire-fence and benches. Passing
below the new Suspension Bridge (p. 300) we reach the last arch of rock
(retrospect of the grottoes) and in a few minutes the lower (N.W.) end
of the gorge, above the _Cascades_ (Pl. B, 2).
Those who do not care to return to the El-Kantara bridge may ascend
direct from the last archway to the Corniche road.
The Rhumel Fall, dashing over rock-terraces to a depth of 212 ft., the
precipice below the Kasba, and the Rocher Sidi M’Cid (see below) are
all admirably viewed from the =Moulins Lavie= (Pl. A, 2), on the left
bank, 10 min. from Square No. 2 (p. 299).
The traveller should not omit to take a short walk on the superb *=Route
de la Corniche= (Pl. D-B, 3–1), starting from the El-Kantara bridge.
Below the _Hôpital Civil_ (p. 300) two short tunnels carry the road
through the _Rocher Sidi M’Cid_, an offshoot of Jebel Sidi M’Cid (2575
ft). The finest point is (¼ hr.) a small projecting platform at a bend
in the road, whence we look down on the Rhumel Fall and the baths of
Sidi M’Cid.
In a dale at the N. base of the Rocher Sidi M’Cid lies the pleasant
_Hammam Sidi M’Cid_ (Pl. B, 1), with saline springs and two large
swimming-baths.
The ‘GRAND TOUR’ (1–1¼ hr.; carr. 3–4 fr.; bargain advisable) is a
favourite drive by the Route de Sétif (Pl. A, 5, 6; affording a fine
retrospect of the Quartier Perrégaux), and across the uppermost Rhumel
bridge, to the _Roman Aqueduct_ (p. 274); thence from the Route de Batna
to the right to the _Pépinière_, in a dale full of fruit-trees, and
charming in spring; lastly over the pine-clad _Mansoura Hill_, crowned
with a fort, and back by the Chemin de Mansoura (Pl. D, 5) to the bridge
of El-Kantara.
From Constantine to _Algiers_, see R. 43; to _Bona_, see R. 48; to
_Biskra_, see R. 44; to _Philippeville_, see R. 47; to _Djidjelli_
(_Bougie_), see R. 42; to _Souk-Ahras_, see R. 49; to _Tunis_, see RR.
49, 51.