THE MEDITERRANEAN SEAPORTS AND SEA ROUTES INCLUDING MADEIRA, THE CANARY ISLANDS, THE COAST OF MOROCCO, ALGERIA, AND TUNISIA
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BAEDEKER’S GUIDE BOOKS.
Austria-Hungary, including Dalmatia, Bosnia, Bucharest, Belgrade,
and Montenegro. With 71 Maps, 77 Plans, and 2 Panoramas. Eleventh
edition. 1911
The Eastern Alps, including the Bavarian Highlands, Tyrol, Salzburg,
Upper and Lower Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. With
73 Maps, 16 Plans, and 11 Panoramas. Twelfth edition. 1911
Belgium and Holland, including the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg.
With 19 Maps and 45 Plans. Fifteenth edition. 1910
The Dominion of Canada, with Newfoundland and an Excursion
to Alaska. With 14 Maps and 12 Plans. Fourth edition. 1922
Constantinople and Asia Minor, in German only:
Konstantinopel und Kleinasien, Balkanstaaten, Archipel, Cypern.
Mit 18 Karten und 65 Plänen. 2. Aufl. 1914
Czechoslovakia, see Austria-Hungary.
Denmark, see Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
Egypt and the Sûdân. With 22 Maps, 85 Plans, and 55 Vignettes.
Seventh edition. 1914
England, see Great Britain.
France:
Paris and its Environs, with Routes from London to Paris. With
66 Maps and Plans. Nineteenth edition. 1924
Northern France from Belgium and the English Channel to the Loire
excluding Paris and its Environs. With 16 Maps and 55 Plans.
Fifth edition. 1909
Southern France from the Loire to the Pyrenees, Auvergne, the
Cévennes, the French Alps, the Rhone Valley, Provence, the French
Riviera, and Corsica. With 42 Maps, 63 Plans, and 1 Panorama.
Sixth edition. 1914
Algeria and Tunisia, see The Mediterranean.
Germany:
Berlin and its Environs. With 30 Maps and Plans. Sixth edition.
1923
Northern Germany, excluding the Rhineland. With 165 Maps and
Plans. Seventeenth edition. 1925
Southern Germany (Wurtemberg and Bavaria). With 37 Maps and
50 Plans. Twelfth edition. 1914
The Rhine including the Moselle, the Volcanic Eifel, the Taunus, the
Odenwald, the Vosges Mountains, the Black Forest, etc. With 128
Maps and Plans. Seventeenth edition. 1911
Great Britain.England, Wales, and Scotland. With 28 Maps,
65 Plans, and a Panorama. Seventh edition. 1910
London and its Environs. With 45 Maps and Plans. Eighteenth edition.
1923
Greece, the Greek Islands, and an Excursion to Crete. With 16 Maps,
30 Plans, and a Panorama of Athens. Fourth edition. 1909
Holland, see Belgium and Holland.
India, in German only:
Indien, Ceylon, Vorderindien, Birma, die malayische Halbinsel, Siam,
Java. Mit 22 Karten, 33 Plänen und 8 Grundrissen. 1914
Italy: I. Northern Italy, including Leghorn, Florence, Ravenna, and
Routes through France, Switzerland, and Austria. With 36 Maps,
45 Plans, and a Panorama. Fourteenth edition. 1913
II. Central Italy and Rome. With 19 Maps, 55 Plans and Views, and the
Arms of the Popes since 1417. Fifteenth edition. 1909
III. Southern Italy and Sicily, including Malta, Sardinia, Tunis, and
Corfu. With 64 Maps and Plans. Sixteenth edition. 1912
Italy from the Alps to Naples. With 25 Maps and 52 Plans
and Sketches. Second edition. 1909
The Mediterranean. Seaports and Sea Routes, including Madeira,
the Canary Islands, the Coast of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.
With 38 Maps and 49 Plans. 1911
Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, with Excursions to Iceland and
Spitzbergen. With 104 Maps and Plans. Tenth edition. 1912
Palestine and Syria, including the principal routes through Mesopotamia
and Babylonia. With 21 Maps, 56 Plans, and a Panorama
of Jerusalem. Fifth edition. 1912
Portugal, see Spain and Portugal.
Riviera, see Southern France.
Russia, with Teheran, Port Arthur, and Peking. With 40 Maps and
78 Plans. 1914
Manual of the Russian Language, with Vocabulary and List of
Phrases. 1914
Scotland, see Great Britain.
Spain and Portugal, with Excursions to Tangier and the Balearic
Islands. With 20 Maps and 59 Plans. Fourth edition. 1913
Sweden, see Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Switzerland, together with Chamonix and the Italian Lakes. With
80 Maps, 21 Plans, and 14 Panoramas. Twenty-sixth edition.
1922
Tyrol, see The Eastern Alps.
The United States, with Excursions to Mexico, Cuba, Porto Rico
and Alaska. With 33 Maps and 48 Plans. Fourth edition. 1909
Wales, see Great Britain.
THE MEDITERRANEAN
HANDBOOK FOR TRAVELLERS
BY
KARL BAEDEKER
With 38 Maps and 49 Plans
LEIPZIG: KARL BAEDEKER, PUBLISHER
LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN, 1 ADELPHI TERRACE, W.C.
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS, 153 FIFTH AVE.
1911
All Rights Reserved.
‘Go, little book, God send thee good passage,
And specially let this be thy prayere
Unto them all that thee will read or hear,
Where thou art wrong, after their help to call,
Thee to correct in any part or all.’
PREFACE.
v
The present Handbook to the Mediterranean describes the
chief routes along the Mediterranean coasts. In his endeavour to
unite within a single volume the chief points of interest in so vast
a region the Editor has naturally been confronted by peculiar
difficulties. These points are so numerous that little space could
be afforded for more subordinate matters, so that many details
have necessarily been omitted. Again as regards the selection of
routes, and of places to be described, opinions frequently differ.
The Editor ventures, however, to hope that on the whole he has
satisfied the requirements of most of his readers. As many of the
regions which are here grouped historically and geographically[1]
have already been treated of in several of his other Handbooks,
the Editor would respectfully refer the traveller to these for fuller
details[2]. The new subjects comprise Madeira and the Canary Islands,
the coast of Morocco, and Algeria and Tunisia, the materials
for describing which have been collected, in the course of much
travel, by several of the Editor’s friends and fellow-workers. The
chief Author of the German edition, which appeared in 1909, was
Dr. F. Propping, of Godesberg on the Rhine, who personally visited
most of the places described. The present English edition has
been prepared by the Editor’s old friend, emeritus Professor John
Kirkpatrick, formerly of Edinburgh University, who fifty years
viago (1861) translated the Handbook for the Rhine, and thus introduced
‘Baedeker’s guidebooks’ to the English public. In bringing
the information contained in the new Mediterranean volume up to
date the Editor has received valuable aid from British and United
States consuls and ministers, and from other authorities, who have
shown the utmost courtesy and willingness to assist. To all of
these the Editor expresses his grateful acknowledgments. Many
readers will be interested also in the geographical sketch by the
late Professor Theobald Fischer (d. 1910), one of the great authorities
on the Mediterranean coast-lands.
1. The volume contains six separable Sections. First: Introduction;
From England to the Mediterranean by the Portuguese Coast; Madeira and
the Canary Islands (pp. i-xxxvi and 1–48).—Second: Andalusia; Morocco
(pp. 49–110).—Third: Sea Routes in the W. Mediterranean (pp. 111–166).—Fourth:
Algeria (pp. 167–318).—Fifth: Tunisia (pp. 319–394).—Sixth: Sea
Routes in the E. Mediterranean; the Black Sea (p. 395 to the end of the
volume).
2. Comp. for the W. Mediterranean Baedeker’s ‘Southern France’,
‘Northern Italy’, ‘Central Italy and Rome’, ‘Southern Italy, Sicily, and
Sardinia’, ‘Italy from the Alps to Naples’, and ‘Spain and Portugal’; for
Trieste and Dalmatia, ‘Austria-Hungary’; for the E. Mediterranean, ‘Egypt’,
‘Palestine and Syria’, ‘Greece’, and ‘Konstantinopel und Kleinasien’ (at
present in German only); for the Black Sea, ‘Russland’ or ‘Russie’.
Special care has been bestowed on the Maps and Plans with
which the Handbook is furnished. Several of these are based on
materials hitherto unpublished, and others have been locally revised
and improved for the special benefit of the Handbook. In the case
of Algeria and Tunisia the French spelling has been adopted in
the letter-press as well as in the maps[3].
3. Note, however, that in the letter-press the English j is used in
preference to the French dj (as in jebel, mountain), and that the German
or Italian u is preferred to the French ou or the English oo (as in sûk,
market). So too, as a general rule, all the other vowel-sounds in the
proper names follow the Italian pronunciation.
Hotels. As in all his Handbooks the Editor has taken the
utmost care to recommend none but comfortable and respectable
hotels. From this, as from all his other Handbooks, advertisements,
direct and indirect, are absolutely excluded. Persons calling themselves
agents for Baedeker’s Handbooks are impostors and should
be handed over to the police.
As many matters treated of in the Handbook are liable to frequent
change and as, in the Orient particularly, trustworthy sources
of information are too often lacking, the Editor will warmly appreciate
any communications with which travellers may kindly
favour him.
CONTENTS. — Maps. — Plans. — Abbreviations. — International Hotel Telegraphic Code. — Bibliography.
Asterisks (*) denote objects of special interest and hotels that are
believed to be worthy of special commendation.
The number of ft. (1 Engl. ft. = 0.3048 mètre; 1 mètre = 3.281 Engl. ft.
or about 3 ft. 3⅓ in.) given after the name of a place shows its height
above the sea-level.
The number of M. (1 Engl. mile = 1.6093 kilomètres; 1 kilomètre =
0.6214 M.) placed before the principal places of a route indicates their
distance from the starting-point of the route.
The international association of hotel-keepers has agreed on the following
code: Alba, room with single bed; albaduo, room with double bed;
arab, room with two beds; abec, room with three beds; belab, two rooms
and two beds; birac, two rooms and three beds; bonad, two rooms and
four beds; ciroc, three rooms and three beds; carid, three rooms and four
beds; calde, three rooms and five beds; caduf, three rooms and six beds;
casag, three rooms and seven beds; danid, four rooms and four beds;
dalme, four rooms and five beds; danof, four rooms and six beds; dalag,
four rooms and seven beds; dirich, four rooms and eight beds; durbi,
four rooms and nine beds; kind, child’s bed; sal, saloon, private sitting-room;
bat, private bathroom; serv, servant’s room. The class of room
may be indicated by best, bon, or plain. Day and hour of arrival must
be notified (granmatin is midnight to 7 a.m., matin is 7–12, sera 12–7,
and gransera 7 to midnight), and also duration of stay (pass means one
night, stop means several days, but is not binding). Name and address
of applicant must be given; if prevented from coming, ‘cancel‘, with his
signature, suffices.
‘Mediterranean Winter Resorts’ by E. Reynolds-Ball (6th ed., London,
1908; price 6s.) although far from exhaustive, contains much useful and
practical information. The art of the Orient is admirably treated of in
the ‘Manuel d’Art Musulman’ by H. Saladin and G. Migeon (Paris, 1907;
30 fr.). Among excellent German books are Theob. Fischer’s ‘Mittelmeerbilder’
(2 vols., Leipzig, 1906, 1908; each 6 marks), and A. Philippson’s
‘Mittelmeergebiet’ (Leipzig, 1907; 7 marks).
Books on Algeria, see p. 175; on Athens, see p. 508; on Cairo, see
p. 444; on the Canary Islands, see p. 32; on Carthage, see p. 343; on
Constantinople, see p. 542; on Cordova, see p. 69; on Granada and the
Alhambra, see pp. 65, 80; on Jerusalem, see p. 473; on Madeira, see p. 20;
on Morocco, see pp. 97, 98; on Seville, see p. 61; on Tebessa, see p. 315;
on Timgad, see p. 289; on Tunisia, see p. 325.
INTRODUCTION. — I. Season and Plan of Tour. Health. — II. Money, Passport, Custom House. — III. Steamboats. — (1). Portuguese Coast (R. 1). — (2). Madeira and Canary Islands (RR. 3, 4). — (3). Gibraltar and Andalusia (RR. 1, 5, 6 b, 11). — (4). Morocco (RR. 13, 14). — (5). W. Mediterranean. — (6). Steamers to Algeria. — (7). Steamers to Tunis. — (8). Eastern Mediterranean. — (9). Black Sea. — IV. Intercourse with Orientals. — The Mediterranean Sea and adjoining Lands.
Season of Tour. The mildness of the climate (p. xxxv) makes
travelling pleasant in the Mediterranean lands at almost any season.
Even in the height of summer travellers who can stand a little
heat will find residence in many of the islands and seaside resorts
quite agreeable. Winter begins here much later and ends much
earlier than in Northern or Central Europe, but until the end of
March few regions are quite exempt from wintry days and falls
of snow. March is considered also the windiest month in the year
on the Mediterranean.
For the Portuguese coast, Andalusia, and Northern Morocco
(Tangier) the best seasons are from the middle of March to the
middle of May and the months of October and November. Granada,
which lies high, is suitable for a prolonged stay from April till
the middle of June. Seville and Cordova are often uncomfortably
cold in December and January owing to lack of heating appliances.
At Lisbon and Tangier winter is the season of the fertilizing rains,
which often last till the middle of March. With regard to the best
season for Madeira and the Canary Islands, see pp. 19, 32.
The weather is generally bright and genial in Algeria, Tunisia,
and Tripolitania in late autumn, till the end of November, and
also in March and April, though less settled. Winter is a dry
season only on the E. coast of Tunisia and in the Sahara, but is
sometimes cool and windy (see also pp. 170, 172, 321). It is still
hot in October in Sicily, in Barbary, and in Egypt, where the
sirocco (p. 321) is specially disagreeable in the early autumn,
while health is endangered by malaria (p. xvi).
xivOf all the Mediterranean regions Egypt alone offers a dry,
settled, and genial climate in winter. The traveller on the Eastern
Mediterranean who wishes to avoid extremes of cold and heat
should make his first stay at Cairo in January or February, start
for the Syrian coast at the end of February or early in March,
proceed to Palestine and Damascus after March has commenced,
and visit Asia Minor and Greece in April, and Constantinople and
the Black Sea in May. In autumn, from the end of September onwards,
the above order should be reversed.
Plan of Tour. The traveller is advised to draw up a careful
programme of his tour before starting. All the places described
in the Handbook may be reached by steamer, or partly overland,
at any time of the year, but during the winter season (from about
the end of October to the middle of May) much greater facilities
are offered by excursion-steamers (see pp. xviii, 1, 2), circular
tickets, and combined tickets. American travellers may sail direct
from New York or Boston to some of the Mediterranean ports (see
p. xviii). Travellers from Great Britain may start from London,
Liverpool, Southampton, or Dover, or if they dread a long sea-voyage
may proceed overland to Marseilles, to Genoa, to Naples, to
Brindisi, to Venice, or to Trieste (comp. p. xxiv), and begin their
Mediterranean tour from one of these points. Some may prefer the
overland route to Spain and Gibraltar, while others again may find
it more convenient to travel all the way to Constantinople (Orient
Express), to Constantza (Ostend-Vienna Express), or to Odessa
(viâ Vienna and Cracow) by railway, and thence explore the Mediterranean
from east to west. The railway routes will be found in
‘Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide’ or in the German ‘Reichskursbuch’.
For the ‘trains de luxe’ services tickets must be obtained
from the International Sleeping Car Co. (London, 20 Cockspur St.,
S.W.; Paris, 3 Place de l’Opéra; New York, 281 Fifth Ave.;
Berlin, 69 Unter den Linden). For the sea-routes, see p. xvii; for
particulars application should be made to the various companies
or their handbooks consulted. Excursion, circular, and combined
tickets are issued by Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son, Ludgate Circus,
and by other tourist-agents. It may be noted here that the ‘pleasure-cruises’
organized by many of the companies offer great attractions
at moderate cost, but at the almost entire sacrifice of personal
independence, while the fellow-passengers with whom one is associated
for weeks may not always be congenial.
As a general rule it is pleasanter and less expensive to travel
with one or more companions than alone. Apart from hotel charges
and railway and steamboat fares, the cost for two or three persons
is often no greater than for one. Moreover, when off the beaten
track the traveller thus escapes from monotonous and monosyllabic
conversation with native guides or drivers (comp. pp. xxv, xxvi),
xvand in case of illness or accident he is far more certain of obtaining
assistance and relief.
The most useful language in most parts of the Mediterranean
is French. In Portugal, Madeira, and the Canary Islands English
is much spoken, in Egypt it is the leading language. Italian is
very useful in Tunisia, on the coast of Tripolitania and Barca, in
Malta, throughout the Levant, in Greece, and at Constantinople.
On the other hand a slight knowledge of Arabic will be found most
useful throughout the whole of N. Africa, from Morocco to Egypt,
and in Palestine and Syria.
Some Hints on Health may be of advantage to the inexperienced
traveller from the north. As a rule an overcoat or extra
wraps should be put on at sundown, though they may often be
dispensed with an hour or two later. When heated with walking
the traveller should not rest in the shade. In hot climates like
those of Egypt and the Sahara he should never remove his pith-helmet
or other headgear in the sun. Grey spectacles or grey
veils shield the eyes alike from the glare of the sun and from dust.
Sunshades also are very desirable in hot weather. As a rule it is
advisable to stay within doors during the heat of the day. On the
other hand many places on the Mediterranean are cold in winter,
Lower Egypt and Cairo being no exceptions. Steamboat passengers,
too, will generally find warm clothing very desirable between
October and the middle of May. An extra coat or shawl should
be donned in museums, churches, mosques, and other buildings
with stone pavement, as the air is often very chilly.
When engaging rooms visitors should insist on a southern aspect,
which is almost essential for the delicate and highly desirable for
the robust. In every case, especially if the rooms do not face due
south, they should have a fireplace or else central heating. In the
Mediterranean regions, where many of the plainer hotels have stone
or brick floors, carpets are essential to comfort.
With regard to diet also a few general hints may be serviceable.
Oysters, fish, salads, and tinned meats should be absolutely avoided.
Raw fruit, except perhaps oranges and grapes, should be partaken
of very sparingly. Ices and iced drinks also are apt to be upsetting.
The contents of siphons, lemonade, and other ‘refreshing
beverages’ are not unfrequently composed of polluted water. The
safest liquids are boiled water, natural mineral waters, tea, coffee,
good red wine, and, in moderation, sound English or German beer.
Fairly good cognac or even whiskey may be obtained almost everywhere,
but for the time-honoured ‘soda’ or ‘potash’ it is safer to
substitute boiled or mineral water.
Colds, errors in diet, malaria, and over-exertion are the chief
sources of the sharp attacks of illness to which even the hardiest
travellers from the north are liable in the ‘sunny south’. Sunstroke
xviis another danger. Against all these the traveller requires to be
more on his guard than at home, where his nerves and his digestion
are much less liable to be overtaxed. Care and moderation in
sight-seeing and touring are therefore hardly less important than
attention to diet.
Before the journey is begun a supply of a few simple remedies
(see below) may be prepared with the advice of the traveller’s
physician. In cases of serious illness one of the properly qualified
doctors mentioned in the text should be consulted.
Diarrhoea, which may develop into dysentery, one of the commonest
complaints, generally results from catching cold or from eating unwholesome
food. The patient should first take a slight aperient and afterwards
several doses of bismuth. The diet should be arrowroot (which should
always accompany the traveller), rice or some other farinaceous food, and
milk; fruit, meat, fatty substances, and alcohol should be avoided. In
obstinate cases a change of climate is sometimes the only remedy.
Sprains are best treated with cold compresses; the injured part should
be tightly bandaged and given perfect rest. In the case of a snake bite
or scorpion sting the wound should be immediately treated with ammonia,
or better still, cauterized. Sunstroke is not common in winter, but may
easily occur as late as November or as early as April. The usual remedies
are rest and shade; cold appliances are used for the head and neck; in
case of high temperature these should be iced. The best protection for
the head is either a pith-helmet, or a tall perforated straw-hat, with
several folds of gauze round it and hanging down over the back of the
neck. When the eyes are irritated with glare or dust frequent washing
with a weak boracic or zinc lotion affords relief (comp. also p. xv).
Lastly a few simple and well-known remedies, most of which may be
obtained in a tabloid form, may be mentioned for other common ailments:
cascara sagrada, castor-oil, ‘Tamar Indien’, or Epsom salts for constipation;
a zinc or starch dusting-powder for chafed sores due to riding; tincture of
arnica, or Elliman’s embrocation, antiseptic wool, collodion, and sticking-plaster,
for bruises and wounds; ammonia (sal-ammoniac) or other antidote
(muscatol) to stings or bites; disinfectants, carbolic acid, insect-powder;
chlorodyne for neuralgia; quinine for cases of fever. Fever, be it noted,
especially in malarious regions (Sardinia, Sicily, Algeria, Tunisia, Greece)
is propagated by mosquitoes, especially by the female of the Anopheles
Claviger. Light curtains round the beds should therefore be used to ward
off the attacks of these troublesome insects. At dusk, and at night
when the room is lighted, the windows should always be carefully closed.
When a bite has been received the inflamed part should be at once rubbed
with ammonia.
It should, however, be added, in order to reassure the timid or nervous
traveller, that few of these elaborate precautions are necessary except
for enterprising explorers who often leave the beaten track or whose
tour extends beyond the usual winter season.
Money. A small sum of money to start with should be taken
in English or French gold, but large sums should always be carried
in the form of circular notes, care being observed to keep the notes
and the ‘letter of indication’ quite separate. These notes are issued
by the London and the Scottish banks and by Messrs. Thos. Cook
xvii& Son (Ludgate Circus). The cheques issued by the American
Express Companies, by the American Bankers Association, and by
the International Mercantile Marine Co. are also convenient. Wherever
the traveller lands he will find an ample supply of the small
change of the country very needful.
Passports are not absolutely necessary, except in Turkey and
in Russia; but consuls, and sometimes bankers, require more convincing
proof of identity than a visiting-card. Passports must be
shown at the post-offices also in order to obtain delivery of registered
letters.
Passports may be procured in England direct from the Passport Department
of the Foreign Office, Whitehall (fee 2 s.), or through any
tourist-agent.—In the United States they are obtained from the Bureau
of Citizenship, State Department, Washington, D.C.—Travellers may
generally get their passports visés for Turkey or Russia through one of
the steamboat-companies or by applying to their consulate at one of the
chief seaports, if they have omitted to take this step before leaving home.
The Custom House Examination at the various seaports and
frontiers is seldom very rigorous; but the traveller should be careful
to declare every new article not intended for personal use; and
he should note particularly that cigars, tobacco, and cigarettes,
weapons and ammunition (the import of the last four articles being
entirely prohibited in Turkey), playing-cards, matches, etc. are
liable to a heavy duty almost everywhere. These should therefore
be carried in very small quantities or dispensed with altogether.
It is rarely worth while carrying large supplies of any dutiable
article, as the formalities are tedious and the expenses heavy.
In Turkey a second custom-house examination of luggage takes
place when the traveller leaves the country, a small duty being
levied on exports, while the export of antiques without the authority
of government is forbidden. In Spain, Italy, and Greece
also permission must be obtained to carry away works of art. Persons
who have made large purchases, or have a superfluity of
baggage to send home, had better employ a goods-agent.
All the leading steamboat-companies are mentioned in the Handbook
in connection with the different routes. The great Oriental,
Australian, and other liners, of 5–12,000 tons’ burden and upwards,
touch at very few Mediterranean ports (Gibraltar, Marseilles, Genoa,
Naples, Port Said). Travellers desirous of visiting the Portuguese
coast, Madeira and the Canary Islands, Algiers, Sardinia, Sicily,
Tunisia, Athens, Constantinople, and many other places of interest
must generally be content with smaller and often very inferior
vessels. The sections of the following brief summary of the chief
lines correspond with those into which the Handbook is divided.
xviiiFrom the United States to the Mediterranean.—White Star Line.
From Boston about every three weeks to Gibraltar, Algiers, Naples, and
Genoa, in 14–15 days. From New York at irregular intervals to Gibraltar,
Naples, and Genoa, in 15–16 days. From Genoa viâ Naples to New York
or Boston at irregular intervals. Fares: 1st cl. from New York to Gibraltar,
Genoa, or Naples, from 16l., according to steamer; from Boston to
Gibraltar, Algiers, Genoa, or Naples, from 16l. 10s.; from New York to
Villefranche, from 19l. 10s.; 2nd cl. 13l.
Hamburg-American Line. From New York at irregular intervals to
Gibraltar, Algiers, Naples (or Palermo), and Genoa, in 13 days, and vice
versâ. Fares: 1st cl. from 17l. 10s., 2nd cl. 13l.
North German Lloyd Line. From New York on most Sat. to Gibraltar,
Algiers (not in summer), Naples, and Genoa, in 13 days, returning
on most Thursdays. Fares: 1st cl. from $87½, 2nd cl. from $65.
Cunard Line. From New York at irregular intervals to Gibraltar,
Genoa, Naples, Trieste, and Fiume, in about 20 days, returning viâ Palermo,
Naples, and Gibraltar. Fares to Trieste or Fiume, 1st cl. from 16l. 10s.;
to Gibraltar, Genoa, or Naples from 14l. 10s.; 2nd cl. fares from 12l.
Among the regular pleasure-cruises from the United States to the
Mediterranean may be mentioned those from Boston organized by the
Bureau of University Travel; for excursion-steamers from England to
the Mediterranean, see pp. 1, 2.
Pacific Line from Liverpool (31 James St.) fortnightly, for La
Rochelle-Pallice (for Bordeaux), Corunna, Vigo, Leixões (for Oporto),
Lisbon, and St. Vincent (Cape Verde), and thence to S. America.
Passengers for Madeira, the Canary Islands, and the Mediterranean
must of course tranship at Lisbon or St. Vincent.
Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., see p. xix.
Nederland Royal Mail Steamers (London office, 2 King
William St., E.C.) and Rotterdam Lloyd, both fortnightly from
Southampton to Lisbon, Tangier, etc.
Yeoward Bros. Line, see p. xix.
Hall Line, see p. xx.
Booth Line thrice monthly from Liverpool (office in the Tower
Building) to Havre, Vigo, Leixões (for Oporto), Lisbon, and Madeira.
Ellerman Line weekly from Liverpool to Lisbon and Oporto.
Peninsular & Oriental Co., see p. xx.
German East African Line (London office, 14 St. Mary Axe,
E.C.) once every three weeks from Southampton to Lisbon, Tangier,
Marseilles, Naples, etc.
Hamburg-American Line (London office, 22 Cockspur St.,
S.W.) and Hamburg & South American Co. several times monthly
from Southampton, calling occasionally at Lisbon.
Royal Holland Lloyd monthly from Dover to Boulogne, Corunna,
Vigo, Lisbon, etc.
Compañía Trasatlántica (Philippines Line) monthly from
Liverpool to Corunna, Vigo, Lisbon, Cadiz, etc.
xix
Union Castle Line (London office, 3 Fenchurch St., E.C.)
weekly from Southampton to Madeira; also fortnightly from London
and Southampton touching alternately at Las Palmas and Teneriffe;
also summer tours to Madeira, Las Palmas, and Teneriffe.
Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. (London office, 18 Moorgate St.,
E.C.) fortnightly from Southampton to Vigo, Lisbon, and Madeira;
also round voyages from London, see p. xx.
Peninsular & Oriental Branch Service monthly from London
(office, 3 East India Ave., E.C.) to Las Palmas.
Booth Line, see p. xviii.
Bucknall Line monthly from London (office, 23 Leadenhall St.,
E.C.) to Teneriffe.
Aberdeen (Thompson’s) Line monthly from London (office, 7
Billiter Square, E.C.) and Plymouth to Teneriffe.
Aberdeen (Rennie’s) Line about once every ten days from
London (office, 4 East India Ave., E.C.) to Las Palmas and Teneriffe
alternately.
German East African Line (London office, see p. xviii) once
every three weeks from Southampton for Las Palmas and Teneriffe.
Woermann Line monthly from Dover to Las Palmas and
Teneriffe.
New Zealand Line (London office, 138 Leadenhall St., E.C.)
and Shaw, Savill, & Albion Line (London office, 34 Leadenhall
St., E.C.), each monthly from London and Plymouth to Teneriffe.
Yeoward Bros. Line weekly from Liverpool (office, 27 Stanley
St.) to Lisbon, Teneriffe, and Grand Canary, calling on alternate
voyages at Madeira.
Federal, Houlder, & Shire Lines fortnightly from Liverpool,
calling at Madeira, Las Palmas, or Teneriffe.
Natal Line fortnightly from London (office, 14 St. Mary Axe,
E.C.) to Las Palmas.
Empreza Nacional de Navegação twice monthly, and Empreza
Insulana once monthly from Lisbon to Madeira.
Peninsular & Oriental Co. once weekly from London (office,
122 Leadenhall St., E.C.) to Gibraltar, etc. Comp. also p. xx.
Orient Royal Line fortnightly from London (office, 5 Fenchurch
St., E.C.) to Gibraltar, etc.
North German Lloyd fortnightly from Southampton (London
office, 26 Cockspur St., S.W.).
Anchor Line almost weekly from Liverpool (office, 17 Water St.)
or Glasgow (Anchor Line Buildings) to Gibraltar.
xxHall Line weekly from London (office, 31 Crutched Friars, E.C.)
to Lisbon, Gibraltar, Málaga, and Cadiz.
Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., see below.
Moss Line fortnightly (office, 31 James St.) and Papayanni
Line (office, 22 Water St.) occasionally from Liverpool to Gibraltar.
Vapores Correos de Africa from Algeciras to Tangier, Cadiz,
and Ceuta.
Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. fortnightly from London (office,
see p. xix) to Gibraltar, Tangier, etc., returning viâ Las Palmas,
Teneriffe, and Madeira.
Nederland Royal Mail and Rotterdam Lloyd, see p. xviii.
German East African Line, see p. xviii.
Peninsular & Oriental Co. sends ‘Vectis’ or other excursion
steamer from London (office, see p. xix) several times in spring
and summer to Lisbon, Gibraltar, and Tangier.
Compañía Trasatlántica (Canary Line) calls at Tangier (if
required also at Casablanca and Mazagan) once a month on the
voyage to and from Barcelona.
Bland Line, small cargo-boats thrice weekly from Gibraltar
to Tangier; also steamers from Tangier to Tetuán and Larash.
Oldenburg Portuguese Line fortnightly from Tangier to Rabât,
Mogador, etc.
Vapores Correos de Africa twice monthly from Tangier to
Larash, Rabât, Casablanca, Mazagan, Saffi, and Mogador.
N. Paquet & Co. weekly from Tangier to Rabât and Mogador.
Navigation Mixte weekly from Tangier for Melilla, Málaga,
and Oran.
Hungarian Adria monthly from Gibraltar to Tangier and Oran.
From Gibraltar to Genoa (R. 15a):—White Star Line (from
New York or Boston) 2–3 times monthly; North German Lloyd
(from Southampton) monthly; Cunard Line (from New York) occasionally;
Lloyd Sabaudo (from S. America) once monthly.
From Gibraltar to Algiers (R. 15b):—North German Lloyd
fortnightly; the Hamburg-American, the Austrian Lloyd, and the
German Levant, all less regularly; Navigation Mixte (Touache
Co.) to Oran (thence to Algiers by rail).
From Gibraltar to Marseilles (R. 17):—Peninsular & Oriental
(from London) weekly; Orient Royal (from London) fortnightly.
From Gibraltar to Naples (R. 16):—Orient Royal (from London)
fortnightly; North German Lloyd (from Southampton) twice,
also (from New York) once or twice monthly; Cunard and White
xxiStar (from New York or Boston), each two or three times a month;
Hamburg-American (from New York) once or twice a month.
From Marseilles to Naples (R. 23):—Orient Royal (from London)
fortnightly; North German Lloyd (from Southampton) fortnightly;
German East African Line once in three weeks; Messageries
Maritimes fortnightly; Hungarian Adria (cargo-boats)
twice weekly.
From Marseilles to Algiers (R. 20):—Générale Transatlantique
four times weekly; Transports Maritimes, twice weekly; Navigation
Mixte (Touache Co.) weekly, also cargo-boat weekly.
From Marseilles to Tunis (R. 21):—North German Lloyd
fortnightly (to Goletta only); Générale Transatlantique once
weekly (and thence on to Malta), and viâ Bizerta once weekly;
Navigation Mixte (Touache Co.) once weekly, and cargo-boats
viâ Bizerta once weekly.
From Genoa to Naples (R. 24):—North German Lloyd (from
Southampton) two or three times a month; Hamburg-American
once or twice monthly; Cunard and White Star, each once monthly;
Società Nazionale three or four times weekly; Italian Lloyd
once, twice, or thrice monthly; La Veloce and Lloyd Sabaudo,
each once monthly; Hungarian Adria twice weekly.
From Genoa to Tunis (R. 25):—Società Nazionale weekly;
North German Lloyd fortnightly to Bizerta.
From Naples to Palermo (R. 26):—Steamers of the Ferrovie
dello Stato daily; Società Nazionale weekly; Hungarian Adria
twice weekly; Lloyd Sabaudo monthly.
From Palermo to Tunis (R. 26):—Società Nazionale weekly,
also small cargo-boats weekly; Navigation Mixte (Touache Co.),
cargo-boats weekly.
From Naples to Messina and Syracuse (R. 27):—Società Nazionale
thrice weekly to Messina, and once weekly thence to Syracuse;
also steamers of the Ferrovie dello Stato weekly from
Naples to Messina, and of the North German Lloyd fortnightly
from Naples to Catania.
From Tunis or Syracuse to Malta (R. 64):—Società Nazionale
six times monthly; Hungarian Adria six times weekly. From
London to Malta: Peninsular & Oriental usually weekly. From
Liverpool to Naples and Malta: City Line about once monthly.
From Southampton to Algiers:—North German Lloyd once
or twice monthly direct; Nederland Royal Mail fortnightly viâ
Lisbon and Tangier.
From Marseilles to Oran (R. 19):—Générale Transatlantique
twice weekly; Transports Maritimes once, and cargo-boat once
xxiiweekly; Navigation Mixte (Touache Co.) once weekly (also
weekly steamers from Cette to Oran).
From Marseilles to Algiers, see p. xxi.
From Gibraltar to Algiers, see p. xx.
From Cartagena to Oran (R. 18):—Générale Transatlantique
once weekly.
From Tangier to Oran (R. 18):—Navigation Mixte (Touache
Co.) weekly, also cargo-boats fortnightly; Hungarian Adria once
monthly.
From Algiers to Tunis (R. 22):—Générale Transatlantique,
coasting cargo-boats, once weekly; German Levant Line two or
three times a month; Hungarian Adria once monthly to Tunis
direct. Several other lines are available for sections of the route.
From Marseilles to Tunis, see p. xxi; from Naples to Palermo,
and from Palermo to Tunis, see p. xxi; from Naples to Syracuse,
and from Syracuse to Malta and Tunis, see p. xxi.
From Tunis to Malta, see p. xxi.
From Tunis to Tripoli (R. 64):—Società Nazionale weekly,
and Navigation Mixte (Touache Co.) weekly, both coasting.
(From Algiers to Tripoli direct or viâ Malta, cargo-steamers of
the German Levant Line.)
From Tripoli to Malta and Syracuse (R. 64):—Società Nazionale
weekly, other boats fortnightly.
From Tripoli to Alexandria (R. 65):—German Levant Line,
cargo-boats, thrice monthly; Banco di Roma fortnightly.
From Tripoli to Constantinople (R. 66):—Società Nazionale
fortnightly.
From Marseilles, Genoa, and Naples to Alexandria (R. 67):—North
German Lloyd weekly from Marseilles to Naples and
Alexandria; Messageries Maritimes from Marseilles weekly to
Alexandria direct; Società Nazionale weekly from Genoa to
Leghorn, Naples, and Alexandria.
From Venice to Alexandria (R. 68):—Società Nazionale fortnightly,
viâ Ancona, Bari, and Brindisi.
From Trieste to Alexandria (R. 68):—Austrian Lloyd weekly
viâ Brindisi, and weekly viâ Gravosa and Brindisi.
Steamers to Port Said (RR. 67, 68):—All the great liners already
mentioned and others besides converge at Port Said. Of the companies
despatching vessels almost daily from British ports the
following are the chief: Peninsular & Oriental (calling at Gibraltar,
Marseilles, and Brindisi); Orient Royal and North German Lloydxxiii(calling at Gibraltar, Marseilles, and Naples); Bibby (calling at
Marseilles); City Line (calling at Naples and Malta); British India
Line (calling occasionally at Marseilles, Genoa, or Naples);
Nederland Royal Mail (viâ Genoa); Rotterdam Lloyd (viâ Marseilles);
Queensland Line; Japan Mail (viâ Marseilles); and
Compañía Trasatlántica (viâ Genoa).
Steamers to Palestine and Syria (R. 72):—Khedivial Mail,
Austrian Lloyd, Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co.,
Società Nazionale, all weekly from Alexandria to Port Said, Jaffa,
Haifa, and Beirut; Messageries Maritimes fortnightly from Alexandria
and Port Said to Beirut direct, and fortnightly calling at Jaffa;
German Levant, cargo-boats, twice monthly from Alexandria to
Jaffa, Haifa, and Beirut.
From Alexandria and Beirut to Smyrna and Constantinople
(RR. 72, 75, 76):—Khedivial Mail fortnightly from Alexandria to
Port Said, Beirut, Smyrna, and Constantinople; Russian Steam
Navigation & Trading Co., similar route, weekly; Messageries
Maritimes fortnightly from Beirut; La Phocéenne weekly from
Alexandria to Smyrna (Constantinople).
Steamers to the Piræus (Athens; RR. 76, 77, 78):—Khedivial
Mail, Rumanian Mail, Russian Steam Navigation & Trading
Co., all weekly from Alexandria to the Piræus; North German
Lloyd fortnightly from Marseilles to Genoa, Naples, Catania, and
the Piræus; Messageries Maritimes fortnightly from Marseilles
to the Piræus; Società Nazionale weekly from Genoa to Leghorn,
Naples, Palermo, Messina, and the Piræus; Società Nazionale also
weekly from Venice to Brindisi, Patras, and the Piræus; Austrian
Lloyd weekly from Trieste to Patras and the Piræus; also Greek-Oriental
and Thessalian lines of the same company, each weekly from
Trieste to the Piræus; Greek Panhellenios Co. weekly from Trieste
to Patras and the Piræus; Austro-Americana, New York line (quickest),
weekly from Trieste to Patras (for Athens).
From the Piræus (Athens) viâ Smyrna to Constantinople
(R. 80):—Khedivial Mail weekly; North German Lloyd, Messageries
Maritimes, both fortnightly; Austrian Lloyd weekly;
also Rumanian Mail, Società Nazionale, and Austrian Lloyd
(the three quickest routes), each weekly to Constantinople direct.
From Constantinople to Constantza (R. 82):—Rumanian Mail
(quickest) twice weekly; Austrian Lloyd alternate Fridays and
alternate Saturdays; Società Nazionale weekly.
From Constantinople to Odessa (R. 83):—North German Lloyd
fortnightly; Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co., direct
line, weekly; Syria and Egypt lines fortnightly; Anatolian line fortnightly;
xxivAustrian Lloyd fortnightly; Società Nazionale weekly;
Messageries Maritimes weekly.
From Odessa to Batum (R. 84):—Russian Steam Navigation
& Trading Co. weekly; North German Lloyd monthly.
From Batum to Constantinople (R. 85):—North German Lloyd
alternate Saturdays; Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co.
alternate Thursdays; Austrian Lloyd weekly; Messageries Maritimes,
N. Paquet & Co., and Società Nazionale all fortnightly.
Overland Routes. Travellers bound for the Central or
Eastern Mediterranean, and in particular those who wish to avoid
the long voyage to Gibraltar and thus to save five, six, or more
days, will choose an overland route to one or other of the Mediterranean
ports. Marseilles is reached from London by the ‘P. & O.
Express’, starting on Thursdays, or by the ‘Calais-Mediterranean
Express’, daily in winter, in 20–20¼ hrs., or by ordinary express
in 22½ hrs.—Genoa is 27 hrs. from London, viâ Paris and Mont
Cenis.—Venice is 32¼ hrs. from London viâ Bâle and the St.
Gotthard.—Trieste is reached in 43½ hrs. from London viâ Milan.—Naples
is 46 hrs. from London viâ Paris and Rome.—Brindisi
is reached in 45¼ hrs. by the ‘P. & O. Brindisi Express’, starting
on Friday mornings, or by ordinary express, viâ Boulogne and
Paris, in 54½ hrs.
Lastly, the traveller who proposes to explore the Mediterranean
from east to west, and who desires to economize time, should
consult Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Time Tables, or the German
Reichskursbuch, or Hendschel’s Telegraph, as to the great
Oriental expresses to Constantinople and the Black Sea.
Hints to Steamboat Passengers. During the height of the season
(in Egypt Jan. and Feb., in other parts of the Mediterranean March,
April and even May) passages often have to be booked a month or six
weeks in advance. Holders of return-tickets or combined tickets must
secure berths for the return-voyage also long beforehand.
Heavy Baggage, to be stowed away in the hold, should be sent on
board at least one or two days beforehand. Each passenger should
endeavour, for his own sake and that of others, to limit his requirements
for the voyage to one or two cabin-trunks of moderate size. Private cabins
should, as a rule, be kept locked, and small articles should not be left
lying about on deck unwatched.
Landing or Embarkation by small boat is often an unpleasant proceeding,
as the boatmen are apt to be extortionate in their demands,
especially when the sea is rough. The charge for each passenger with
his baggage should be ascertained beforehand and only paid at the end of
the trip, or the whole transaction may be entrusted to one of the hotel-agents.
Small articles carried in the hand should not be allowed out of
sight.
The Food is generally good. Coffee is served between 8 and 10,
lunch at 1 or earlier, dinner at 6 or 7. First-class passengers in the
British and German steamers dress for dinner.
The Fees vary according to circumstances. They are of course higher
if the passenger has been ill and has required much attention. The chief
xxvsteward or stewardess usually expects at least 1 fr. per day, and the
other attendants receive fees proportioned to the services rendered.
Medical Attendance and medicines, in case of illness, are nominally
free, but a reasonable fee is usually paid. Baths in the larger steamboats
are free, fixed hours being allotted to passengers on application.
Passengers may bring their own Deck Chairs or hire them from the
chief steward.
The objects and pleasures of travel are so unintelligible to most
Orientals that they are apt to regard the European traveller as a
lunatic, or at all events as a Crœsus, and therefore to be exploited
on every possible occasion. Hence their constant demands for
‘bakshîsh’ (‘a gift’). To check this demoralizing cupidity the traveller
should never give bakshish except for services rendered,
unless occasionally to aged or crippled beggars.
Small fees are, however, not unreasonably expected by drivers,
guides, donkey-boys, and others, over and above their stipulated
hire. Excursionists should therefore always be well provided with
small change. If no previous bargain has been made the charges
and fees stated in the Handbook are usually ample.
While the traveller should be both cautious and firm in his
dealings with the natives, he should avoid being too exacting or
suspicious. Many of those he meets with are like mere children
and often show much kindliness of disposition. In most cases their
attempts at extortion are comparatively trifling; but if serious, the
matter may be referred to the police or to the traveller’s consul.
On the other hand exaggerated professions of friendship should
be distrusted, loyalty towards strangers being still rarer in the
East than elsewhere. The natives are apt to make common cause
against European visitors. While their religion usually requires
them to address each other as ‘yâ akhûya’ (my brother), their brotherhood
does not extend to outsiders.
As the Orientals are often remarkably dignified and punctilious
in their bearing, the traveller should show corresponding respect
and consideration for their customs and prejudices. He should
never, for example, photograph a Mohammedan without his leave,
nor look too curiously at the veiled women, nor don Oriental costume.
Sacred places, such as mosques, chapels, and religious
houses and their schools, must not be entered without removing
one’s shoes or putting on slippers, lest the carpets and mats on
which prayer is offered be polluted. Korans must never be touched;
and when prayers are being recited, strangers must keep carefully
aloof. In every part of the Orient the traveller meets with ‘saints’
(often imbecile or insane), who go about in fantastic rags and sometimes
stark naked. Needless to say he will give them a wide berth.
xxviThe traveller may least obtrusively observe the various phases
of Oriental life by visiting the native quarters of the towns, the
bazaars and markets, and the popular festivals and recreations of
the Moslems. Story-tellers at the native cafés (reminiscent of the
Arabian Nights), jugglers, wrestlers, snake-charmers, barbers’
shops, and native schools are all objects of interest. In Turkey
and in Egypt the popular theatres with their shadow-scenes (kara
göz) are curious. Ladies may sometimes, by special introduction,
obtain admission to a private dwelling-house and get a glimpse of
the manners and customs of Oriental women. On Fridays they may
see the Moslem women raising their veils in the cemeteries (comp.
p. 220).
Gentlemen, when visiting an Oriental, knock at the door with an
iron ring. From within is asked the question ‘mîn’ (who is there)? On
being admitted, after the ladies who happen to be in the court have
retired, he removes his shoes lest the costly carpets be sullied, and uncovers
his head. The host approaches to meet him, one step or more
according to the honour he desires to do his visitor. The latter salutes
him in Oriental fashion by placing his right hand on his heart and then
moving it up to his forehead. Questions as to health are first asked,
but no allusion must be made to the ladies of the family, who are regarded
as under a veil (sitr). Coffee is always offered. The servant with
his left hand on his heart, hands round the little cups to the guests in
order of their rank. The guest holds the cup in his hand till it is taken
back by the servant. If the host wishes his guest to pay a long visit
he delays his order for coffee, and the guest must not leave before then.
It is considered highly impolite to decline a visit, and each visit
must of course be returned.
The Guides who proffer their services everywhere may generally
be dispensed with, except by novices or by travellers pressed
for time. Most of those at Constantinople and in Asia Minor are
native Jews, who speak a little English, Italian, French, or German.
All, as a rule, are ignorant and uneducated, and their ‘explanations’
of antiquities or works of art are worthless. When, as sometimes
happens, they assume a patronizing or a familiar manner, they
should be promptly checked and kept in their proper place. If
a purchase has to be made, or a carriage or horse to be hired, the
aid of a guide should be declined, as the sum demanded is then
considerably raised, and part of it given to the guide as commission.
On short excursions the guide usually walks, and it is quite
unnecessary to provide him with a mount.
In the large towns the guides and commissionaires are sometimes
in the pay of gambling-rooms or low places of entertainment.
Against such, especially at night, the traveller should be on his
guard.
xxvii
Geographical Sketch by the late
Prof. Theobald Fischer.
The shores of the Mediterranean, formerly visited in part only
and imperfectly known, now most deservedly attract, throughout
their whole extent, an ever increasing number of travellers and
explorers. No part of the earth’s surface can offer so marvellous
an intellectual feast. Land where he may, the traveller is almost
invariably struck with the beauty of the scenery, the richness of
the vegetation, and the wealth of historical memories. For three
thousand years the Mediterranean was the theatre of all history,
the cradle of all culture, to which the whole of humanity more or
less directly owes its modern civilization. It was here for the first
time that the nearness of the opposite coasts and the numerous island
stepping-stones, coupled with winds blowing gently for months
at a time, deprived the sea of its terrors and gave birth to a hardy
race of mariners. The stagnation of the continental peoples was
thus powerfully stirred and their ignorance gradually dispelled.
It was first in Egypt, and then above all in Greece and in Italy,
that those mighty intellectual weapons were forged which were to
conquer the whole earth, while from Palestine came the mightiest
of all religious and moral influences. The Mediterranean was the
school of almost all the mediæval geographers and navigators, such
as Toscanelli, Columbus, Vespucci, the Gabotti (the ‘Cabots’ employed
by Henry VII.), and others, who added a New World to the
old, and who brought Europe into touch with the great Asiatic
cradles of culture. The Italians were the first to educate the Spanish,
Portuguese, French, and even English mariners, and to introduce
them to that Ocean which was to become the world’s commercial
and intellectual highway.
The ancient Romans were fully aware, from a very early period,
that they could maintain their empire on land only by securing
their supremacy at sea also. Favoured by the central situation of
Italy, they gradually subjected the whole of the Mediterranean lands
to their sway, thus imparting to them a certain social and political
unity. The name of ‘sea in the middle of the land’, though of late-Roman
origin, still suggests the idea that both sea and land belonged
to Rome. But this unity was afterwards destroyed by the repeated
incursions of Germanic tribes from the north, followed by Arabs
and Turks from the south and east. Owing to the discovery of the
great ocean highways the Mediterranean was almost entirely neglected
in the 16–19th centuries, but since the opening of the Suez
Canal in 1869 it has become one of the world’s most important
xxviiiarteries of traffic. The establishment of the French in Algeria
(1830) and Tunisia (1881) and that of the British in Egypt (1884)
have still more effectually reunited Europe and Africa and promoted
the progress of civilization and commerce. With Asia also Europe
has been brought into closer touch since the Crimean war of 1854–6,
when the Black Sea was opened up, and new avenues to the Orient
were thus rendered available. While nominally belonging to three
different quarters of the globe, the Mediterranean with its shores,
being bounded on the north by a long wall of high mountains and
on the south by a vast and even more impenetrable expanse of desert,
possesses quite a unique individuality of its own.
Geologically considered the Mediterranean forms part of an
immense depression girdling the whole of the earth’s crust and
separating the northern from the southern parts. This depression
probably existed during the earlier geological periods, but in its
depths has not yet assumed a settled character, as is evidenced by
frequent earthquakes, mostly tectonic, and by continuous volcanic
activity. This great depression is believed by geologists to have
extended in the mesozoic period into Central Asia, far beyond the
limits of the present Mediterranean, forming an immense sea to
which the name of Tethys has been given. In its depths were deposited
those strata, chiefly calcareous and argillaceous, which
were afterwards raised and converted into dry land by means of
the centripetal motion of the earlier masses of rock and by lateral
pressure. In proof of this it may be noted that some two-thirds
of Italy and four-fifths of Sicily consist of subaqueous formations
of the tertiary or even a later period.
In the midst of this vast ‘Eurasian’ (European-Asiatic) region
of folded rock formation, some 930 miles in length, bounded on the
north by the solid primæval rocks of the continent of Europe, and
on the south by the great plateau of the desert, lies the Chief Basin
of the Mediterranean, embracing the Adriatic and the Greek
Archipelago, where the highly indented coast and the numerous
islands and peninsulas display a most striking variety of picturesque
scenery. On the other hand the smaller part of the sea, lying to
the south of a line drawn from the Lesser Syrtis, past the south
coasts of Crete and Cyprus, to North Syria, has been formed by
encroachment on the plateau of the desert (p. xxxiii), and is almost
entirely destitute of attraction. In the geological history of
the Mediterranean it is important to note also that three great rock-masses
of the earliest periods still survive. These are the Iberian
mass to the west, once probably connected with the kindred rocks of
the Atlas in Morocco; then the Tyrrhenian mass, in the centre, and
the Rumelian to the east. These three belong to the archæan and
palæozoic periods. Once towering to Alpine peaks, they were gradually
undermined by the action of the waves and by the subsidence
xxixof the land. Their bases were thus partly covered with their débris,
built up in new formations. By later movements of the earth’s crust,
however, these shapeless primæval masses were again broken up,
and by the pressure and counter-pressure of the fragments were
piled up anew into smaller mountain-ranges of considerable height.
Thus from the Iberian primæval rock sprang up, in the Castilian
range (Sierra de Gredos), peaks to a height of nearly 9000 feet; in
the Rhodope of Rumelia rise similar peaks to nearly 10,000 feet
high; and even amid the ruins of the Tyrrhenis (p. xxxi) still
towers the granitic Monte Cinto in Corsica to a height of 8900 feet.
Around these great primæval masses, deeply rooted in the
earth’s crust, were gradually built up the recent folded mountains,
out of materials forced aside and upwards by the débris of earlier
rock as it sank into the sea. Thus on the Iberian Pedestal, from
the north side, out of the depths of the great Biscay abyss, arose
the Pyrenaean-Cantabrian Folded Chain (culminating in the
Aneto or Maladetta, 11,168 ft.), the fan-like structure of which
has been due to lateral pressure coming from the Ebro depression
also. By similar pressure from the south side the Andalusian
Folded Mountains were piled up against the Iberian nucleus
(Meseta Mts.), and, though only 23 miles distant from the Mediterranean,
they tower in the Mulhacén of the Sierra Nevada to a height
of 11,424 feet, the greatest altitude in Europe apart from the Alps.
As the Pyrenees are fringed on the east, on the frontier of Spain
and France (near Port Vendres), with a deeply indented coast, so
too the Andalusian range is strongly marked by transverse fissures,
the eastmost of which have severed the Balearic Islands from the
mainland. Still more striking is the great westmost fissure or cleavage,
where the girdle of mountains takes a sharp turn from west
to east, where the action of tides and waves has hollowed out the
Straits of Gibraltar, and has further widened them within the
historic period. The Mediterranean is here separated from the Atlantic
by a submarine bar or threshold, at a depth averaging only
650 feet, extending from Cape Trafalgar to Cape Spartel, a distance
of 27½ miles, and forming the boundary between the inner
Alboran basin or depression and the outer or Andalusian. Thus,
on north and south alike the Iberian central bed-rock is bordered
with lofty mountains, whose seaboard almost everywhere repels
human traffic, and seems barred against Europe by the Pyrenees
and against Africa by the mountains of Andalusia. On the east
side, however, between the Pyrenees and Cabo de la Nao (p. 112),
the original rock-nucleus slopes gradually down to the Mediterranean.
Still more important is the western slope down to the
Atlantic, whose waves have penetrated into the lower estuaries
of primæval rock on the coast, thus forming a number of excellent
harbours, such as in particular that of Lisbon at the mouth of the
xxxTagus. Towards the Atlantic descend also the plains of Lower
Andalusia, the so-called Guadalquivir Basin, which lies between
the Iberian central pedestal and the Andalusian sedimentary and
contorted formations. In this basin lie Spain’s chief seaports for
traffic with Africa and America, the island-harbour of Cadiz, the
estuary-harbour of Huelva, the starting-point of Columbus, and
the river-harbour of Seville, accessible to large vessels at high-tide.
In North-Western Africa the Andalusian contorted formation
is continued by the Rîf Mts. of Morocco (p. 93) and by the Tell
Atlas (p. 169), extending to the south and then turning eastwards.
These ranges are characterized by deep fissures, formed by prehistoric
volcanic action and descending abruptly to the Mediterranean.
The whole northern coast of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia,
apart from numerous wave-worn beaches, is completely rock-bound,
forbidding all approach. Even the artificial harbours like that of
Algiers are maintained with difficulty. At the east end of this long
stretch of coast comes at last the welcome haven offered by the
Gulf of Tunis which runs inland at the mouth of the depression
between the Tell Atlas and the Sahara Atlas (p. 320), and on which
the Medjerda and other streams and several important roads converge.
Here, as in Lower Andalusia, a great avenue to the interior
was thus opened up. This favoured spot therefore became a great
focus of traffic, and as it lay on the Straits of Pantelleria (p. 396) it
was also of great political importance. The ancient Utica (p. 353)
was succeeded by the ‘new city’ of Carthage (p. 344), the predecessors
of the modern Tunis. From this base the Carthaginians, the
Vandals, and the Moors ruled Sicily and Sardinia. With such a
base as the admirable naval harbour of Bizerta, lately constructed
by the French, they in turn may perhaps some day become masters
of the Mediterranean.
The Straits of Pantellería, leading from the western to the
eastern basin of the Mediterranean and separating the Atlas from
the Apennines, have been formed, like those of Gibraltar and the
narrow side-portal of Messina, by transverse cleavage. Owing to
the subsidence of the flat offshoots of the Apennines and to the
erosive action of the waves the straits have been gradually widened
to about 90 miles. The Maltese Islands are fragments, now broken
up by fissures, of what was once a tableland, but they too are
being rapidly washed away by the action of the surf. On the other
hand the island of Pantellería, which has given its name to the
straits, rising to a height of 2743 ft. from the verge of the central
abyss and 3900 ft. in depth, is of volcanic origin. These transverse
fissures are indeed generally the scenes of volcanic action, and
they are usually situated at points where the mountains of recent
contorted formation take a sudden bend (as is notably the case in
the lower valley of the Danube).
xxxiItaly forms an immense bridge across the trough of the Mediterranean,
extending to Cape Bon in Tunisia. Like a lofty embankment,
rising over 18,000 ft. from the bottom of the sea, Calabria,
culminating in the Aspromonte (6424 ft. above sea-level), separates
the Tyrrhenian Sea (12,000 ft. deep, though of recent formation)
from the Ionian Sea. The latter is the deepest basin in the Mediterranean,
attaining a depth of 14,500 feet. The Apennines, deviating
in their southern course from the usual ‘Eurasian’ direction,
were probably influenced by the primæval Tyrrhenis. This ancient
nucleus of the Italian continent has been broken up by movements
of the earth’s crust which began in the mesozoic period, were still
more marked in the later tertiary period, and continue to this
day. Some of the solid blocks, as in Tuscany, Calabria, and Sicily
(the Monti Peloritani near Messina), have been incorporated in the
later rock structure of the Apennines; others again rise as isolated
masses from the abysses of the Tyrrhenian Sea, such as Corsica,
Sardinia, and Elba. The lines of cleavage, especially between
Cosenza and Palermo, were marked by great volcanic activity. In
a curve, parallel with the abrupt ramparts of Calabria and Sicily,
rise the volcanoes of the Lipari Islands (Stromboli) and Ustica in
succession. To the north the series is continued by Vesuvius, the
Epomeo, and the Ponza Islands near Naples, and by the Alban
Mts. near Rome. All these lie on the inner declivity of the Apennines.
To the south the series is continued by Mt. Ætna in Sicily,
lying outside of the Apennines. In the quaternary period the new
Apennine formations underwent an upheaval which imparted to the
range its present orographical unity. The result was that the
straits which once intersected Southern Italy, connecting the Tyrrhenian
with the Ionian basin, were filled up, with the exception
of those of Messina, while these last were narrowed to 2 miles and
shoaled at the north end, where they are only 335 ft. deep. The
intensity of the upheaval is evidenced by the fact that quaternary
deposits cover the terraces of the Aspromonte in Calabria to a
height of 3900 feet above the sea-level. That these movements of
the earth’s crust still continue is proved by the variations of level
in the Bay of Naples observed within historic times. The most
striking instance of this is the great subsidence in the island of
Capri which has taken place within the Christian era. In the Blue
Grotto there we find remains of a flight of steps of the time of
Tiberius, descending to the water, but the lowest step is now 19
feet below the surface.
Italy opens towards the west. On the west side lie its picturesque
bays and islands, as well as most of its great centres of culture,
Rome and Florence, Genoa and Naples, besides many others.
But the east side also is important owing to its close connection
with the south-eastern basin of the Mediterranean. The chief outlets
xxxiiin this direction are the lagoon-harbour of Venice, as great a portal
of continental commerce in the middle ages as Genoa is at the present
day, and the excellent harbours of Brindisi, Taranto, Messina,
and Syracuse. Were geographical advantages alone decisive,
Italy might again become mistress of the Mediterranean. Ethnographically
also she is highly favoured. Her population, densest
on the coasts, is about one-third of the scattered and heterogeneous
hundred million inhabitants of the whole of the Mediterranean lands.
Almost all along the coast of the north-western basin of the
Mediterranean the recent stratified and contorted headlands abut
most picturesquely on the sea. On the north-west only, on each
side of the Pyrenees, the basin is bounded by a coast of the primæval
bed-rock formation, and is easily accessible from the Iberian mountains
by the valleys of the Ebro, Jucar, and other rivers. Still more
important are the avenues afforded by the Aquitanian Plains and
the Rhone Valley. Hence it was that from a very early period the
streams of Roman culture flowed through Marseilles and Narbonne
to western and central Europe. But these, like the Straits of Gibraltar
on the west, the Carso or Karst near Trieste on the north, and
the Bosporus on the east, afford inlets also for the cold winds which
sometimes pour into the warm mountain-girdled basin of the Mediterranean
and force back the zone of southern vegetation (p. xxxv).
The southern margin of the north-western basin of the Mediterranean
lies in the same latitude (36°) as the northern margin of the
south-eastern basin (Cape Tænaron, on the south coast of Asia
Minor). This less favoured south-eastern basin sends two great
branches towards central Europe, the Adriatic and the Greek Archipelago,
both of which open out in the direction of the Suez Canal
and the Red Sea. From these branches run important roads leading
to the heart of Europe, in particular those from Venice and Trieste
into Austria, and that from Saloniki to Belgrade and up the Danube.
This last, as also the road from Belgrade to Sofia, Adrianople, and
Constantinople, traverses the Rumelian Primary Formation, to
which the greater part of the south-eastern European peninsula
belongs (Thrace and Macedonia, extending into Servia). To the
same period probably once belonged also the north-western part of
Asia Minor and Ægaeis, of which last the only surviving relics
are the islands of the Cyclades. Here, too, over the primæval bed-rock,
recent folded mountains have been gradually built up. The
Balkan is one of these ranges. Another is the Illyrian-Greek
Range, running in a different direction, which with its broad girdle
gives the peninsula its southern trend, while shutting it off from
the Adriatic and barring direct access to the north-west. As the
Balearic Islands belong to the Andalusian stratified formation, and
as Sicily and its adjoining islands form part of the Apennines, so
the western stratified girdle of the south-eastern European peninsula
xxxiiicrumbled, even within the historic period, into peninsulas
and islands, formed chiefly by very recent subsidence. Thus arose
Greece, a hill-country with an extensive seaboard, a new and unique
region which was one day to reign supreme in the intellectual world.
It is probable that the Greek range of hills was once prolonged
eastwards, as appears to be indicated by the lie of the Cretan mountains,
and that these in their turn were connected with the similarly
stratified Taurus Mountains in Asia Minor. Just as the south-eastern
peninsula of Europe, with Asia Minor, thus formed the great
stepping-stones of traffic which brought the ancient culture of
Europe into contact with that of Mesopotamia and Syria, so when
the railway from Constantinople to Bagdad is completed a great
future may yet be in store for the Orient.
The Eastern Mediterranean, the smaller south-eastern
basin to the south of Malta, Crete, and Cyprus (p. xxviii), lies within
the region of the great primæval desert-plateau of northern Africa
(apart from the Atlas regions), of Arabia, and Syria, and has been
formed by the subsidence of part of that plateau. In contrast to the
richly varied shores of the western and central basins its coasts, as
may even be seen from a glance at the map, are monotonous. Their
formation, whether perpendicular or horizontal, is featureless, and
there is an almost entire lack of islands, harbours, and rivers. The
Nile greatly relieves this monotony, but its sources lie within tropical
regions far beyond the limits of the desert. Alexandria possesses
almost the only natural harbour on this flat coast of early
formation. The old-world characteristics of the land, its inhabitants,
and their language at once strike the traveller on landing at
Tripoli. Yet even this part of the Mediterranean, especially the
Levant Basin, beyond the passage between Crete and Barca, contains
recent formations. The hill-region of Barca, the ancient
Cyrenaica (p. 413), averaging 1600 feet in height, is composed of
miocene marine strata. The bay now filled up by the Nile delta,
and at one time connected with the Red Sea, is of even later origin,
dating perhaps from the pluvial or glacial era. That the mouth of
the Nile once lay much farther to the north and watered Palestine
is evidenced by the identity of its fauna with that of the Jordan and
the Lake of Tiberias (crocodiles, for instance, occurring in the Nahr
ez-Zerkâ, to the south of Mt. Carmel; p. 468). Movements of the
earth’s crust also account for the peculiar conformation of that part
of the great desert-plateau which we call Syria. It is only differentiated
from the monotonous North Arabian desert by the great
Syrian Valley or trough, running from north to south, and ending at
the Gulf of Akaba in the Erythræan depression (the Red Sea), which
dates from about the same epoch. On each side of this long narrow
furrow, descending to a depth of some 2500 feet below the sea-level,
strips of land have been forced upwards so as to form lofty
xxxivmountains. These, in spite of subsidences and erosion, still attain
a height of about 10,000 feet in the twin-giants of Lebanon and
Anti-Lebanon in Central Syria. It is to this highly picturesque
mountain-wall, which condenses the vapours from the sea and remains
snow-clad till late in summer, that the Syrian seaboard,
10–16 miles in breadth, owes its luxuriant subtropical vegetation,
and Palestine its cultivability as far as its southern borders. Syria,
which may be regarded geographically and anthropologically as a
kind of peninsula of the Mediterranean, thus forms a bridge between
north and south, connecting Asia Minor and Mesopotamia
with Arabia and Egypt, and bounded by the sea on the west and
by the desert, only some 60 miles distant, on the east.
The Black Sea, which from the north-eastern angle of the
Archipelago runs far into the interior of the Old World, lies outside
of the Mediterranean regions. Like the inland Caspian Sea
it is a relic of the tertiary Sarmatic Sea, which was afterwards
broken up into lakes of brackish water. It was not till the diluvial
epoch that those subsidences which created the Sea of Marmora
brought the Black Sea also into connection with the Mediterranean.
Through the Sea of Marmora there must once have flowed a great
river, into whose valley the sea afterwards penetrated from the
south, forming the Dardanelles and the Bosporus of the present
day. Travellers on the Rhine will observe an interesting resemblance
between these straits and the Rhine Valley between Bingen
and Coblenz. Like these straits the Black Sea also is a great
trough hollowed out between lofty stratified mountains. On three
sides its bold rocky coasts are inhospitable and forbidding. On the
north it is bounded by the ‘steppe’, a plateau of primitive formation,
no less monotonous than the desert-plateau on the south
side of the Mediterranean, yet cultivable owing to its more northern
situation. At two places on this side, through gaps in the mountain
rampart, the sea has overflowed the plateau, forming the shallow
Gulf of Odessa and Sea of Azov. Two great routes of traffic were
thus opened up from the Black Sea into the heart of Eastern Europe
and even of Central Asia, enriching the world’s commerce with the
products of these regions, and at the same time forming the portal
through which Byzantine culture and Greek Christianity found
their way into Russia. Through these passages great masses of
cold northern air are poured into the Black Sea; but between them
the Peninsula of the Crimea, a relic of the broken-down mountain-girdle,
still stands boldly forth, giving shelter to an almost Mediterranean
vegetation on its southern coast. On that coast lies the admirable
harbour of Sebastopol. Nearer the Sea of Azov once lay
the flourishing Greek colonies of Pantikapaeon and Phanagoria,
and in the middle ages the Genoese settlements of Sudak (Kertch)
and Kaffa (Theodosia or Feodossiya). As the corn of Southern
xxxvRussia is now the chief export from Odessa to London and Antwerp,
so, from the 14th century onwards, quantities of Russian
caviare were brought by Italian merchants from Kaffa to Bruges,
which was then one of the world’s greatest markets.
The Climate of the Mediterranean is very equable. In every
age northerners have been attracted by the mildness of the winters,
when the occasional storms and heavy rains are of short
duration and are soon succeeded by bright sunshine. The heat of
summer is tempered everywhere, especially on the more southern
coasts, by refreshing sea-breezes. The farther south one goes, the
longer the dry season lasts. At Tripoli, for example, it lasts for
seven months and at Alexandria for ten. The subtropical maximum
air-pressure over the eastern Atlantic, by which rainfall and wind-movements
are determined, is usually continued in winter past the
southern limit of the Mediterranean (comp. p. 29), thus bringing
the whole of that sea within the zone of the changeable and rainy
winds of Central Europe. In summer the pressure lies farther to
the north, producing in most parts of the Mediterranean steady
northerly currents of air. The climate is tempered also by the
warmth of the sea itself. The bar at the west entrance of the Straits
of Gibraltar (p. xxix) keeps out the cold water of the deep Atlantic,
but allows the influx of the warmer surface-water to compensate
for what the Mediterranean loses by evaporation. This loss would
otherwise amount to a depth of 10–15 ft. per annum. The influx
of water from the Atlantic causes a current to flow along the North
African coast from west to east, but its thermal effects are soon
lost. In summer the surface of the Mediterranean is heated by the
sun up to 75–82° Fahr.; but the temperature diminishes rapidly
down to a depth of about 1000 feet, where it reaches a uniform
minimum corresponding with the surface temperature of February,
the coolest month in the year. This in the north-western basin is
55° Fahr. only, and in the south-eastern 56¼°, but it suffices to
temper the cold winds of winter, while additional warmth is brought
from time to time by the hot sirocco from the interior of Africa
(comp. p. 321). It may be stated generally that the winter temperature
on the Mediterranean averages 14° Fahr. above that of almost
all other regions in the same latitude. The warmest places are of
course those on the coasts facing the south and sheltered from the
north, while the average temperature rises gradually from south-east
to north-west.
The Vegetation is rich and varied. Evergreens abound, being
better able to stand the long droughts than deciduous trees and
shrubs. Among the forest-trees in the warmer regions the commonest
are pines, including stone-pines, and oaks of the evergreen
and other varieties. The underwood (macchia, maquis, or garrigue,
Grk. phrýgana) is composed of mastic-bushes (Pistacia
xxxvilentiscus), myrtles, arbutus-trees (Arbutus unĕdo), broom, tree-like
heaths (Erica arborea and scoparia), resinous and aromatic
cistus-shrubs with large blossoms resembling wild roses, and climbing-plants
of many varieties. Most prominent among trees in the
cultivated lands is the silver-grey olive, which, as well as the vine
and the fig-tree, has thriven here from the earliest times and is
the most characteristic feature in every Mediterranean landscape.
Most of the other fruit-trees also have been known here since
remote antiquity. The fruit of the date-palm attains perfection in
the oases of North Africa only (comp. p. 171), but the tree bears
fruit on the Spanish coast, and is very popular as an ornamental
tree on the French and Italian Riviera and in other sheltered situations.
Lemons were introduced by the Arabs, and oranges were
brought from southern China by the Portuguese about the middle
of the 16th century. Many other foreign trees and plants have
been introduced since then. Aloes and opuntias, which now grow
wild and are often regarded as characteristic of the Mediterranean,
were introduced from America. In the beautiful and luxuriant
gardens, especially in Italy, on the French Riviera, and in
Algeria, the flora of almost every quarter of the globe is represented.
No less varied and interesting are the Inhabitants of the
Mediterranean lands, who belong to three distinct continents, and
who differ widely in race and language, in religion and culture.
In remote mountain-regions there still exist peoples, like the
Basques and the Albanians, who belong to the oldest races in
Europe. In the south and the east dwell Arabs and Turks, comparatively
recent immigrants from the steppes of Asia. On one
side, as in Southern France, is witnessed the height of civilization;
on the other, as in Albania and many parts of Northern
Africa, the population is sunk in the depths of ignorance. The
dwellers in the west profess the Roman Catholic faith, those in
the east belong to the Greek Catholic church, while they differ
materially in culture also. Christianity again is antagonistic to
Islam, which prevails in Turkey, Asia Minor, Syria, and North
Africa. The inhabitants of the Atlas regions, of Tripolitania, and
of Barca are Berbers (p. 94), who are neither Arabs nor Turks,
but are more akin to the Europeans. The Osman Turks of the
Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor have been so blended with
Mediterranean races that they now retain little of their original
Mongolian character. Entirely distinct again from the Arabs are
the Aramaic Syrians, although they speak Arabic, and so too are
the Fellahin of Egypt. Most mixed perhaps of all is the blood of
the Modern Greeks.
I. FROM ENGLAND TO THE MEDITERRANEAN BY THE PORTUGUESE COAST. — 1. From England viâ Oporto and Lisbon to Gibraltar or Tangier ( Marseilles and Genoa ). — 2. Lisbon. [4] — a. Cidade Baixa, Lisboa Occidental and Oriental. — b. The Streets on the Tagus. Belem. — c. Excursion to Cintra.
1
Route
Page
1.
From England viâ Oporto and Lisbon to Gibraltar or Tangier (Marseilles and Genoa)
a. Cidade Baixa, Lisboa Occidental and Oriental, 10.—b. The Streets on the Tagus. Belem, 13.—c. Excursion to Cintra, 15.
1. To Gibraltar Direct. The chief Steamboat Lines (offices, comp.
pp. xviii-xx) are the Peninsular & Oriental Co., once weekly from London
to Gibraltar, Marseilles, Port Said, etc.; the Orient Royal Line, fortnightly
from London to Gibraltar, Marseilles, Naples, Port Said, etc.;
the North German Lloyd, fortnightly from Southampton to Gibraltar,
Algiers, Genoa, Naples, Port Said, etc.; the Anchor Line almost weekly
from Liverpool or Glasgow for Gibraltar, Marseilles, Genoa, Leghorn,
Naples, Palermo, Port Said, etc.; fares to Gibraltar in all these from
12l. 2s. downwards. Less expensive are the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co.’s
steamers, fortnightly from London; and from Liverpool, the Moss Line
fortnightly and the Papayanni Line occasionally; fares in all these range
from 6l. to 8l.
2. Coasting Steamers.Hall Line, weekly from London to Lisbon,
Gibraltar, Málaga, and Cadiz; the Pacific Line, fortnightly from Liverpool
to La Rochelle-Pallice (for Bordeaux), Corunna, Vigo, Leixões (for
Oporto), Lisbon, and St. Vincent (Cape Verde), and thence to S. America
(passengers for the Mediterranean requiring of course to tranship at
Lisbon or St. Vincent); the Nederland Royal Mail Steamers, fortnightly
from Southampton for the Mediterranean and Batavia, touch at Lisbon,
and so also those of the Rotterdam Lloyd, fortnightly from Southampton,
for Tangier, the Mediterranean, and Batavia; Yeoward Bros. Line, weekly
from Liverpool to Lisbon; Booth Line, thrice monthly from Liverpool to
Havre, Vigo, Leixões (for Oporto), etc.; Ellerman Line, weekly from Liverpool
to Lisbon and Oporto; the steamers of the German East African
Line, once every three weeks from Southampton, call at Lisbon, Tangier,
Marseilles, and Naples, on their way to Port Said; the Atlantic liners of
the Hamburg-American and Hamburg & South American Cos., calling
several times monthly at Southampton, also touch occasionally at Lisbon;
Royal Holland Lloyd, monthly from Dover to Boulogne, Corunna, Vigo,
Lisbon, etc.; the vessels of the Compañía Trasatlántica, monthly from
Liverpool, call at Corunna, Vigo, Lisbon, Cadiz, Cartagena, Valencia,
Barcelona, and Genoa, on their voyages to Colombo and Manila.
3. Excursion Steamers. Many of the above companies and others
besides organize Mediterranean cruises and circular tours at very reasonable
fares, whereby everything is made easy and comfortable; but the
2more enterprising and independent traveller will greatly prefer to piece
his tour together for himself, combining the various routes to suit his
own convenience, and often lingering for days in profoundly impressive
historic places or amid glorious scenery, where the hurriedly conducted
tourist can spend a few hours only. Among the excursion steamers may
be mentioned the ‘Vectis’ of the Peninsular & Oriental Co., which offers
a trip of 10 days from London to Lisbon, Gibraltar, Tangier, Málaga,
and Marseilles for 10–15 guineas, and another, of 21 days, from Marseilles
to Palermo, Constantinople, the Piræus, Naples, and Marseilles, for
21–40 gs. Similar cruises are offered by the Cunard Line, starting from
Liverpool for the Mediterranean and Adriatic, the Orient Royal Line from
London (20 days; fares from 18 gs.), and by ‘Continental Travel’ (5 Endsleigh
Gardens, London), some of the last-named (either from Southampton
or from Marseilles) extending to Egypt and the Holy Land, and lasting
from 13 to 34 days (fares 10–26 gs.).—The voyage from London to Lisbon
(about 1170 M.) usually takes 3½ days, and thence to Gibraltar (about
350 M.) one day more; but some of the steamers take longer, while much
of course depends on the number of ports called at and on the length of
stay made at each. For details as to the sailings, which, as well as fares,
are liable to frequent alteration, application should be made to the various
companies, or to Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son (Ludgate Circus, London,
E.C.) or other tourist-agencies.
To Gibraltar Direct. As indicated at p. 1, most of the great
steamers bound for Port Said, India, Australia, and other distant
parts steer for Gibraltar direct.
Of the Coasting Steamers to Gibraltar some touch at Lisbon
only, others at Leixões (or Oporto) and Lisbon, and others again
at various additional stations. All the important stations are here
mentioned in their order.
The Hamburg-American steamers call at Boulogne (see Baedeker’s
N. France) to take up passengers for Lisbon and America.
Most of the vessels pass the Cap de la Hague, a little to the
N.W. of Cherbourg, and the Channel Islands, which belong to
Great Britain. The first of these is Alderney (Fr. Aurigny); next
comes the islet of Burhou; beyond it, behind the dangerous rocks
called the Casquets, marked by a triple flashing light, lies Guernsey
(‘green island’), and farther away, to the left, is Jersey. The
coast of Brittany or Bretagne is visible in clear weather only.
All the steamers leave the English Channel near Ushant (Ouessant;
lighthouse), an island near the coast of Brittany, and steer
to the S.S.W. across the Bay of Biscay (Viscaya), where, even
in fine weather, the heavy swell of the open Atlantic is distinctly
felt. The steamers of the Pacific Line and of the Rotterdam Lloyd
touch at La Pallice, 3 M. from La Rochelle. From La Rochelle,
an interesting historic town, by railway to (145 M.) Bordeaux, see
Baedeker’s Southern France. The Bay of Biscay is bounded on the
S. by the N. coast of Spain, with which the W. coast of France
forms a right angle. In this angle, far to the E. of the steamer’s
course, lie Bayonne and the famous health resort of Biarritz. To
the S.W. of the latter is (8 M.) St. Jean de Luz, and 8 M. farther
is Hendaye, on the Spanish frontier (see Baedeker’s S. France).
3In Spain, 12 M. to the W. of the frontier, is situated San Sebastián,
a strikingly picturesque town and fashionable seaside
resort; 71½ M. farther to the W. lies Bilbao, famed for its iron
and steel, 74 M. beyond which is Santandér, with its important
harbour. About 280 M. farther to the W. are the N.W. headlands
of Spain which mark the S.W. end of the Bay of Biscay.
The steamers of the Pacific Line, the Compañía Trasatlántica,
and some others next call at Corunna, Span. La Coruña, a picturesque
and important seaport famed in history, and the chief arsenal
of N. Spain (see Baedeker’s Spain and Portugal; debarkation or
embarkation 1 peseta). Time permitting, passengers may spend
an hour or two on shore in walking through the new town (Pescadería)
and the loftily situated old town (Ciudad Vieja), and in
ascending to the Torre de Hércules (185 ft.; lighthouse), about
1 M. to the N. of the town, for the sake of the splendid view it
affords. Some 35 M. to the W. of Corunna lie the small Sisargas
Islands, beyond which all the vessels steer to the S., past Cabo
Villano (lighthouse), Cabo Toriñana (lighthouse), and Cape Finisterre.
To the E., in clear weather, we may descry the long outlines
of the Galician mountain-range (‘sierra’). Beyond Cape Finisterre
we pass a number of far-penetrating inlets (rias) which abound
on the W. coast of Galicia. Many steamers touch also at Vigo,
a seaport and sea-bathing place most picturesquely situated on the
Ria de Vigo, the southmost inlet of Galicia, which runs 19 M.
inland (debarkation or embarkation 1 peseta). Fine view near the
lofty Castillo del Castro, to the S. of the town. Some eight or nine
hours’ steaming carries us from Vigo, past the mouth of the Minho,
the boundary between Spain and Portugal, to—
Leixões (pron. layshŏengsh; Brit. vice-consul, T. Coverley),
the first Portuguese port, lying at the mouth of the little river Leça
and forming the outer harbour of Oporto. About 2½ M. farther to
the S. is the mouth of the Douro, usually entered by the smaller
steamers bound for (3½ M.) Oporto itself.
Passengers who wish to go ashore at Leixões are conveyed by motor-boat
or rowing-boat (about 225 reis or 1s., and half as much more for
luggage) to the custom-house. Visitors with heavy luggage require to
take the train (Leça station, near the Alfándega or custom-house) to
Oporto (Estacão da Boa Vista, in the N. of the town); others may take
the electric tramway (120 rs.), running from Leixões through the villa-suburb
of Leça da Palmeira and the watering-places of Mattosinhos and
São João da Foz, and up the right bank of the Douro, to Oporto (about
5 M., in 1 hr.). It goes as far as the Praça de Dom Pedro; but those in
haste will alight in the Rua do Infante Dom Henrique (comp. p. 4).
Oporto.—Hotels. *Hot. do Porto, Hôt. de Paris, Hôt. de Francfort,
etc.—Café-Restaurant International, Praça de Dom Pedro 14; Café
Suisse, same square, No. 122; Café Marques, in the Crystal Palace.
Cab 500 rs., or about 2s. 3d., per hour.
Consuls. British, H. Grant.—United States Consular Agent, W. Stüve.—English
Church (St. James’s), in the Campo Pequeno, to the N. of the
Crystal Palace.
4Oporto, or briefly Porto (‘harbour’) in Portuguese, is a busy commercial
town of 172,400 inhab., the industrial capital of N. Portugal, and the place
from which the famous wines of the upper valley of the Douro are chiefly
exported. It lies 3½ M. from the sea, on the lofty right bank of the
Douro, which has forced its passage here through the granite rock. The
old town, with its quaint balconied houses, whose walls are often faced
with coloured tiles, rises in terraces on the rocky slopes. The new town
lies on a lofty plateau to the N., E., and W. of the old.
To the N. of the Rua do Infante Dom Henrique is the Exchange
(Bolsa), with its showy hall in the Moorish style. To the E. of it stands
the Monument of Prince Henry the Navigator (p. 5). Adjoining the
exchange is the Gothic church of São Francisco (entrance on the W.
side), containing elaborate gilt wood-carving of the 17–18th centuries. Near
the E. end of the Rua do Infante Dom Henrique is the so-called English
Factory House (Associação Britannica), an imposing building erected by
an Englishman in 1785 and now used as a kind of club. The nearest
tramway-car conveys us to the Praça de Dom Pedro, the business centre
of the city, with an Equestrian Statue of Pedro IV. (p. 11) commemorating
the granting of the constitution (1826). We ascend to the W. by the
steep Calçada dos Clérigos to the church of Igreja dos Clérigos (427 ft.),
the tower of which (246 ft.; ticket of admission 100 rs.) commands a panoramic
view of the city, the river, and the coast. Adjoining the church
on the W. is the Campo dos Martyres da Patria, with the beautiful
grounds of the Jardim da Cordoaria. We next proceed by the electric
tramway ‘Palacio’ to the Crystal Palace (adm. 20, 50 or 100 rs.) with its
beautiful pleasure-grounds and superb view of the city, the river, and
the sea. The same electric tramway, now entitled the ‘Praça de Dom
Pedro’, returns viâ the Rua da Cedofeita to the Praça de Dom Pedro;
we, however, change tramway-cars in the former and proceed by the tramway
‘Campanha’ viâ the Praça de Dom Pedro to the pretty Jardim de São
Lázaro. From the S.W. angle of the garden the Rua das Fontainhas
descends to the Passeio das Fontainhas with a view of the river, its S.
bank, and both bridges. Following this promenade to the W. we reach
the Largo da Policia with a fountain, where remains of the City Walls
are to be seen. Hence the Rua de Saraiva de Carvalho leads us, before it
descends in an abrupt curve to the left, into the vicinity of the Sé, or
Cathedral, now almost entirely modernized. We may now traverse the
upper roadway (toll 5 rs.; tramway-car if desired) of the magnificent
Ponte de Dom Luiz Primeiro, spanning the Douro with a single iron
arch of 564 ft. On the S. bank, on an eminence immediately to the left,
lies the ruinous Augustine convent of Nossa Senhora da Serra do Pilar
where Wellington effected his celebrated passage of the Douro against
the French (1809). The view, especially from the dome of the church,
is very fine. We make our way, at first by steps, then by a steep
descent, to the lower roadway of the bridge. Returning to the N. bank
of the Douro we follow the Rua Cima do Muro to the Praça da Ribeira
which affords an insight into popular life and commands a striking retrospect
of the Ponte de Dom Luiz. In the neighbourhood we may take
the electric tramway ‘Leça’ which conveys us back to Leixões. In the
reverse direction we regain the Praça de Dom Pedro.—Comp. Baedeker’s
Spain and Portugal.
While the greater Ocean Steamers rarely sight the land, those
bound for Lisbon skirt the flat Portuguese coast for some 150 M.,
from Oporto to Cabo Carvoeiro, steering past the Berlengas Islands
(lighthouse), and then rounding the Serra de Cintra (p. 15),
which ends in the Cabo da Roca (472 ft.), the westmost point of
Europe, with its great lighthouse. Passing the Cabo Raso, we
now steer due E. into the Bay of Cascaes, the ‘Riviera’ of Portugal,
5and enter the month of the Tagus (Tejo), where the lighthouses of
Torre de São Julião and Torre de Bugio rise conspicuously. On
the left we next observe the Torre de Belem and the extensive
streets of Lisbon (see R. 2).
Leaving Lisbon, several of the great liners steer due W. across
the Atlantic to America. Other vessels head to the S.W. for Madeira
(p. 17), and others again due S., past the Cabo de Espichel, on
their way to Gibraltar or Tangier. About 120 M. to the S. of Lisbon
we are off *Cape St. Vincent (Cabo de São Vicente), the ancient
Promontorium Sacrum. This huge rocky plateau, with its
reddish-brown precipices rising sheer above the sea, presents an
imposing appearance. Just beyond it are an old monastery and a
lighthouse and then the Cabo Sagres. Between these capes we
obtain a glimpse of the dreary and sunburnt interior of the country,
with its few poor villages. Beyond the Cabo Sagres lies the
little town of Sagres, founded by Henry the Navigator (1421) as
headquarters for his voyages of exploration. Both before and after
rounding these two capes we sometimes obtain a pleasant view of
the Serra de Monchique (2963 ft.), and before leaving the coast
of Algarve we may distinguish the little towns of Lagos and Albufeira
and the Cabo de Santa Maria. Steering now due E., the
smaller trading-vessels call at Huelva, a little beyond the Spanish
frontier, noted as the shipping-port for the great Tharsis and Rio
Tinto mines, and as the starting-point of Columbus (pp. 115, 64)
for his voyage to America in 1492, while other vessels call at Cadiz
(p. 58); all the larger steamers however proceed direct across the
Bay of Cadiz to the S.E. to the Straits of Gibraltar, and either call
at Gibraltar itself, or pass it on their eastward voyage without
stopping; a certain number touch at Tangier (p. 98).
The *Straits of Gibraltar, anciently called Fretum Gaditanum
or Herculeum (comp. Map, p. 49), from Gades (p. 58) or from
the Pillars of Hercules (p. 54), date from the pliocene age, when the
action of tides and waves forced a passage from the Atlantic into
the great inland cavity of the Mediterranean. The straits are
widest at the W. entrance, between Cape Trafalgar (p. 58) on
the left, and Cape Spartel (p. 102) on the right. The narrowest
part (8 M.) is between the Punta Canales (p. 6) and Cape Ciris
(p. 123). The E. entrance, between Europa Point (p. 55) and the
Punta Santa Catalina (p. 123), is 12½ M. in breadth. Between
the ocean and the inland sea run strong currents, the upper and
lighter, from W. to E., sometimes setting at the rate of 5 M. an
hour, while the lower, being more strongly impregnated with salt
and therefore heavier, flows in the opposite direction. These currents,
coupled with the conflict of winds at the meeting of the
waters, often cause serious trouble to sailing-vessels.
To the right, far to the S.E. as we steer into the straits, appears
6the lighthouse on Cape Spartel, to the E. of which opens the
bay of Tangier (p. 98), bounded on the E. by Cape Malabata.
To the left, on the treeless coast of Andalusia enlivened only by
the numerous ancient watch-towers, lies the town of Tarifa, preceded
by an isthmus ending in the Punta Marroquí, the southmost
point of the mainland of Europe (36° N. lat.).
The steamers then pass the Punta Canales and Punta del
Fraile, round the Punta Carnero, the southmost spur of the Sierra
de los Gazules, and enter the broad Bay of Algeciras or Gibraltar,
where they usually anchor in the open roads of Gibraltar (p. 52),
to the N.W. of the government harbour.
From Gibraltar to Tangier and Mogador, see RR. 6 b and 14; to
Genoa, see R. 15; to Naples, see R. 16; to Marseilles, see R. 17.
Arrival by Sea. Steamers arriving from Europe (comp. R. 1) usually
anchor in the Tagus (Tejo) near the custom-house (Alfándega; Pl. F,
G, 5). Landing or embarking by boat (bote) ca. 500 rs., and 100–200 rs.
for each trunk or package, including transport to the custom-house
(bargaining necessary). Steamers from the South (Madeira and Brazil),
cast anchor opposite the quarantine station (Posto Maritimo de Desinfecção;
Pl. B, 5); passengers are landed in tenders (1600 rs.); for conveyance of
luggage to the custom-house each piece 200 rs. As soiled linen is sometimes
asked for, it should be packed in a separate bundle and given up in
exchange for a metal token. A declaration has to be filled up at the
custom-house (100 rs.); tobacco and unused articles only are dutiable. In
the case of the larger liners the through-passengers (passageiros em
transito) are conveyed without luggage to land, and thence back, by
tender; the place and time of return should be ascertained. Special
tenders are provided for the landing of travellers going no farther, and
for their luggage. As a rule, fully half a day is spent in landing and
other formalities prior to settling down in a hotel. Hotel-employés are
not permitted to convey passengers from the steamers. As the custom-house
is closed at sunset, passengers arriving by steamer in the evening
must stay on board till next morning.
4. Money. The monetary unit in Portugal is the real (equal to 0.549
of a centime, or roughly ¹⁄₂₀ of a penny or ⅒ of a cent), which is used,
however, in multiples (reis) only. The copper coins are 5 rs., 10 rs.,
and 20 rs. (vintem, pl. vintens). In nickel there are pieces of 50 and
100 rs. (tostão, pl. tostões). In silver there are coins of 200, 500 (corõa),
and 1000 rs. (um milreis, worth about 5 fr. or 4s. 2d. or $1). Gold is never
met with in ordinary traffic. The banknotes are for 5000 rs., 10,000 rs.,
and 20,000 rs. A sum of 1000 milreis is called um conto da reis.—Small
amounts are often reckoned in tostões and vintens.
The Central Railway Station (Estação Central or Lisboa Rocio,
Pl. F, 3; no restaurant), in the Rua Magalhães Lima, a little to the N.W.
of the Rocio (p. 11), is the station for all the through-trains and expresses
to Paris, Madrid, etc. Lisbon time is 37 min. behind Greenwich time, and
1 hr. 36 min. slower than mid-European.—Office of the International
Sleeping Carriage Co. (Companhia Internacional dos Wagons-Lits dos
Grandes Expressos Europeus) in the Avenida Palace Hotel (see below).
7Hotels (advisable to engage rooms beforehand). *Avenida Palace
Hotel (Pl. a; F, 3), adjoining the Central Station, pens. from 3000 rs.
upwards; *Hot. Bragança (Pl b; E, 5), Rua Victor Cordon, in a high
site, R. from 1200 rs., B. 350, déj. 800, D. 1100 rs.—Hot. de Inglaterra
(Pl. i; F, 3), Praça dos Restauradores 45, well spoken of; Hot.
Central (Pl. c; E, 5), in the lower town, commercial, déj. 800, D. 1000,
pens. from 2600 rs.; Hôt. de l’Europe, Rua do Carmo 16 (Pl. F, 4), pens.
from 2000 rs.—Hôt. Durand (Pl. k; E, 4), Rua das Flores 71, an English
family hotel in a quiet situation, pens. 2400–3000 rs.—Avenida Hotel
(Pl. h; F, 2), Avenida da Liberdade 67, good second-class house.
Cafés-Restaurants. *Tavares, Rua do Mundo 37 (Pl. E, F, 3), D. 800
and 1000 rs.; Impérial, Rua Magalhães Lima 124, opposite the Avenida
Palace Hotel, also superior, D. 700 rs.; Suisso, Largo de Camões 8, opposite
the E. side of the Central Station.—Beer.Cervejaria Jansen, entr.
near the Hot. Bragança (see above; side-entrance Rua do Alecrim 30);
Cervejaria Trindade, Rua da Trindade 110.
Post and Telegraph Office (Correio e Telegrapho; Pl. F, 5) in the
Praça do Commercio, corner of Rua do Arsenal, in which last is the entrance
to the poste-restante office. Also numerous branch-offices (estações auxiliares).
Postage of letters (cartas) for Portugal and Spain 20 rs.; post-cards
(bilhete postal) 10 rs.; for abroad (para o estrangeiro) 50 and 20 rs.
respectively; registration-fee (registado) 50 rs.
Cabs (Trens de Praça) in the principal squares, elegant vehicles with
two horses for 2 or 4 pers., but the tariff is high. The hirer should ask
the driver (cocheiro) for a ticket or token (senha). The tariff is called
tabella. ‘Impedido’ means engaged.
In the old town
To the suburbs
1–2 pers.
3–4 pers.
1–2 pers.
3–4 pers.
Per drive (por corrida)
400 rs.
500 rs.
1000 rs.
1200 rs.
Per hour (ás horas)
600 „
700 „
600 „
700 „
Two hours
1200 „
1400 „
1200 „
1400 „
Three hours
1500 „
1800 „
1500 „
1800 „
Four hours
1800 „
2200 „
1800 „
2200 „
The city boundary is the Estrada da Circumvallação (p. 9), and for
the W. suburbs Algés (beyond Belem). After the first hour the time is
reckoned by ¼ hours. If the cab is dismissed outside the town the
driver is entitled to a return-fare. At night (1 a.m. till sunrise) the fares
are doubled. Luggage up to 30 kilos (66 lbs.) free, up to 50 kilos (110 lbs.)
200 rs., over 50 kilos 400 rs.
Taximeter Cabs (Trens com Taximeter) are rather cheaper.—Motor
Taximeters (Automovies da Praça), stand in the Rocio (Pl. F, 3, 4), comp.
the tariff written in French.
Lifts and Cable Tramways (Ascensores or Elevadores), mostly
every 3 min., from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. The fare up is called subida, down
descida, return ida e volta.
1. From the Rua da Santa Justa (Pl. F, 4; near the Rua Aurea) to the
Largo do Carmo (Pl. F, 4). Fare up 20, down 10, return 20 rs.
2. From the Calçada da Gloria (Pl. F, 3; W. side of the Avenida da
Liberdade) to the Alameda de São Pedro de Alcántara (Pl. E, F, 3), 20 rs.
3. From the Praça de Camões (Pl. E, 4) to São Bento (Pl. D, 3) and
the Largo da Estrella (Pl. C, 2, 3), 50 rs.
4. From the Rua da Palma (near the Theatro Apollo; Pl. G, 3) to the
Largo da Graça (Pl. H, 3, 4); up 10, down 20 rs.
5. From the Calçada da Lavra (Pl. F, 3) to the Travessa do Thorel
(Pl. F, 2, 3), near the S. end of the Campo dos Martyres da Patria, 20 rs.
Tramways (Carris de Ferro) are to be preferred to cabs owing to
the hilly nature of the town and the badly paved streets. The starting
point of the tramway-lines important to the traveller is the Rocio (Pl. F, 3,
4); cars proceeding hence to the S. viâ the Rua Augusta return viâ the Rua
Aurea. To the W. cars follow the narrow Rua do Arsenal to the Largo
8do Corpo Santo (Pl. E, 5), where the line forks into an outer line skirting
the quay, and an inner line (comp. the Plan); on the latter the
‘Santo Amaro Pampueha’ car alone passes the museum (p. 14). On both
lines the ‘Belem’, ‘Algés’, or ‘Dafundo’ cars proceed to Belem (p. 14).—The
terminus of the route is indicated on the boards at either end
of the cars. On the return-journey, or, in the case of circular tramways,
in the reverse direction, cars have different name-boards (given
below in brackets). Boards in the streets bearing the word ‘paragem’
indicate stopping-places (beckoning necessary).—Fare, within the first
zone, 30 rs.; for every addit. zone 10 rs. extra.—The three following
circular lines are of special importance.
1. ‘Rio de Janeiro’ Car [‘Rocio’]: Rocio-Avenida da Liberdade
(Pl. F, E, 3–1; p. 11) - Rua Alexandre Herculano (Pl. E, 1) - Travessa São
Mamede (Pl. E, 2) - Rua da Escola Polytechnica (Pl. E, 2) - Jardim Botanico
(p. 11) - Praça do Rio de Janeiro (Pl. E, 2, 3) - Alameda de São Pedro de
Alcántara (Pl. E, F, 3; p. 11) - Rua do Mundo (Pl. E, F, 3, 4) - Rua do
Alecrim (Pl. E, 4, 5) - Rua do Arsenal (Pl. E, F, 5) - Rua Aurea (Pl. F, 5, 4) - Rocio.
Fare all the way (Circulação completa) 50 rs.
2. ‘Rua Gomes Freire’ Car [‘Graça’]: Rocio - Rua Augusta (Pl. F, 4) - Rua
da Conceição (Pl. F, 5) - Sé (Pl. G, 5; p. 13) - Largo do Contador Mór
(Pl. G, 4; comp. p. 13) - São Vicente de Fora (Pl. H, 4; p. 13) - Rua da
Graça (Pl. H, 3) - Largo dos Quatro Caminhos (Pl. H, 3), returning by the
same route as far as the Rua da Conceição (see above), thence viâ Rua
Aurea, Rocio, Rua da Palma, Rua de São Lazaro (Pl. G, 3, 2), Rua Gomes
Freire (Pl. G, 2, 1), Rua Conde de Redondo (Pl. F, 1), and the Avenida
(p. 11) to the Rocio. Fare 80 rs.
3. ‘Largo das Duas Egrejas’ Car [‘Estrella’]: Upper end of Rua
Garrett (Pl. E, F, 4) - Rua do Alecrim (Pl. E, 4, 5) - Rua Vinte e Quatro
de Julho (Pl. E, D, 5, 4) - Largo de Santos (Pl. C, 4) - Rua de São Domingos
(Pl. C, 4, 3) - Rua de Buenos Ayres (Pl C, 3) - Largo da Estrella (Pl. C, 3, 2) - Rua
Domingos Sequeira (Pl. C, 2) - Rua Ferreira Borges (Pl. C, 2, 1) - Rua
do Campo de Ourique (Pl. C, 1) - Rua São João dos Bem Casados (Pl. C,
D, 1) - Rua das Amoreiras (Pl. D, 1) - Largo do Rato (Pl. D, 1) - Rua da
Escola Polytechnica (Pl. D, E, 2, 3) - Jardim Botanico (p. 11) - Alameda de
São Pedro de Alcántara (p. 11) - Rua do Mundo (Pl. E, F, 3, 4) - Rua Garrett.
Steamers to and from London, Liverpool, Southampton, S. America,
etc. (comp. pp. xviii-xx and R. 1). Also the Messageries Maritimes from
Bordeaux to Lisbon; the Empreza Nacional de Navegação for Madeira,
and the Empreza Insulana de Navegação for the Azores (comp. also R. 3).
Agent for the Rotterdam Lloyd, German East African, Hamburg-American,
and Hamburg & S. American Lines, E. George (p. 9); for the Compañía
Trasatlántica, H. Burnay & Co.
Banks.London & Brazilian, Rua do Commercio 96; Crédit Franco-Portugais,
Rua Augusta 61; Banco de Portugal, Rua Aurea (entr. Rua
do Commercio 148); Weinstein & Co., Rua do Commercio 49 (1st floor).
Theatres (from end of Oct. to March; boxes are called camarotes,
stalls cadeiras, the pit platéa géral). Theatro de São Carlos (Pl. F, 4),
Largo de São Carlos, for Italian operas and ballet; Theatro da Republica
(Pl. E, F, 4, 5), Rua Antonio Maria Cardoso, for Spanish, Italian, or
French plays and operettas; Nacional (Pl. F, 3), Praça de Dom Pedro,
for Portuguese plays; also several places for variety entertainments.
Bull Ring (Praça de Touros; Pl. G, 1), reached from the Rocio by
the ‘Campo Pequeno’ or ‘Lumiar’ tramway-cars; parties should charter
cabs in good time (return-fare ca. 3000 rs.). Bull-fights, less cruel than
in Spain, Sun. and holidays (Easter to the end of June); tickets at Praça
dos Restauradores 18.
British Minister, Hon. Sir Francis H. Villiers, Rua São Francisco de
Borja 63 (Pl. B, 4).—U. S. Minister, Henry T. Gage, Largo do Carino 18
(Pl. P, 4).
Consuls. British, P. A. Somers Cocks, Travessa da Ribeira Nova 26;
vice-consul, H. E. Jones.—U. S. Consul-General, Louis H. Aymé, Avenida
9da Liberdade 196 (Pl. F, 1); vice-consul, H. E. Bradford.—Lloyd’s
Agents, Rawes & Co., Rua do Commercio 31 (Pl. F, 5).
Goods Agent.E. George, Rua da Prata 8 (Pl. F, 5).—Tourist
Agents, Thos. Cook & Son, Rua Aurea 52 (Pl. F, 5).
Churches.English (St. George’s), with cemetery (Pl. C, 2), Rua
da Estrella; services at 11 & 7; chaplain, Rev. E. P. Lewis, D. D.—Presbyterian
(Pl. B, 4), Rua da Arriaga 13; services at 11 & 7.30; minister,
Rev. R. M. Lithgow.
Club.Royal British Club, Rua de São Francisco de Paula 1 (Pl.
B, 4), also for temporary members.
Sights.The Churches, few of which are interesting, are open from
7 to 10 a.m., the Cathedral till 1 p.m.
Museu d’Artilheria (p. 14), on week-days 10–3, free.
Museu Nacional das Bellas Artes (p. 14), Sun., Thurs., and holidays,
11–4, free; on other days 12–2, by leave of the director obtained through
the attendant. When the main door is closed the entrance is to the left,
through the gateway of the barracks and the garden.
Museu Nacional dos Coches (p. 14), daily, exc. Frid., 12–5, free.
Visitors having only a few hours at their disposal on land should
avail themselves of one of the circular tramway-lines (p. 7) to obtain a
general survey of the town. The Graça Church (p. 13; *View) should be
visited in the morning (‘Graça’ tramway); in the afternoon, Alameda
de São Pedro de Alcántara (p. 11) or Estrella Church (p. 12). The trip
to Belem (p. 14) should on no account be omitted.
Two Days. 1st. Forenoon: Praça do Commercio and Rocio (pp. 10, 11);
Avenida da Liberdade (p. 11); *Alameda de São Pedro de Alcántara
(p. 11); *Botanic Garden (p. 11); Estrella Church (p. 12; *View). Afternoon:
Belem (p. 14).—2nd. Excursion to *Cintra (p. 15), requiring at least
half a day.—Bull-fights, see p. 8.
Lisbon, Portuguese Lisbóa, the capital of the new republic of
Portugal (comp. p. 10), the see of an archbishop, a fortress, and
also an important commercial city, with 357,700 inhab., lies in
38° 42′ N. lat. and 9° 11′ W. long., on the broad Bay of the Tagus,
which forms an excellent harbour just above the comparatively
narrow (1–2 M.) mouth of the river (see p. xxix). The town rises
in picturesque terraces, affording many charming views, while the
luxuriance of its public gardens is almost unrivalled in Europe.
Lisbon is certainly a very beautiful city, and its ardent admirers
have compared it even with Naples and Constantinople.
The town, which is girdled by the Estrada da Circumvallação,
a road 5 M. long, consists of several quarters. On the E. lies the
old town, or Lisboa Oriental, on the slope of the Collina do Castello.
On the low ground between the old town and the new is the
Cidade Baixa, which has sprung up since the earthquake of 1755.
To the W. is Lisboa Occidental, the modern quarter. Along the
Tagus extend quays and docks, constructed in 1887, and, after a
serious collapse, restored in 1894–1905. The harbour is entered
by 5000 vessels annually, one-third of them being under the British
flag, one-tenth under the French, and one tenth under the German.
The Portuguese vessels are chiefly engaged in trading with the
country’s African colonies and with S. America.
The ancient name of Lisbon was Ulisipo or Olisipo, which led early
Greek travellers and scholars to connect the place, but erroneously, with
10the legends of Ulysses. Under the Romans, thanks to its splendid harbour,
it ranked as the second city in Lusitania, and alternately with Mérida,
the capital, was frequently the residence of the Roman governors. From
407 to 585 it was occupied by the Alans, and from 585 to 715 by the
Visigoths, and after the battle of Veger de la Frontera (711) it fell into
the hands of the Moors, who called it Aloshbuna or Lishbuna. In 1147
it was retaken by king Affonso Henriques, aided by an army of Crusaders.
The bulk of these were Englishmen; and thus the siege of Lisbon is
doubly interesting as it was ‘the first instance of the close connection
between the two nations (England and Portugal) which has lasted down
to the present century’ (H. M. Stephens).
The importance of Lisbon began under Affonso III. (1248–79), who
transferred the royal residence hither from Coimbra (1260). The great
discoveries made by the Portuguese at the end of the 15th cent., and
the conquest of India by Francisco d’Almeida (d. 1510) and Affonso de
Albuquerque (d. 1515), greatly benefited the capital, which soon became
the richest town in Europe, and recovered rapidly even from the effects
of the earthquakes of 1531 and 1575. But the sixty years of Spanish
dominion (1580–1640), the defeats of the Spanish and Portuguese fleets
in the war with Holland, and the loss of India were severe trials. The
earthquake of 1755 laid half the city in ruins. The beginning of the
19th cent. brought the French invasion, the removal of the royal residence
to Rio de Janeiro, the Peninsular War, the loss of Brazil, and the utter
decadence of Lisbon. Since the period of revolutions, and since the
partial bankruptcy of the country in 1892, Lisbon has again risen from
a state of decay to be a great and handsome city, thanks largely to the
initiative of the German Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary,
consort of Queen Maria II., and to his sons, Pedro V. (1853–61) and
Luis I. (1861–89). Party strife in the next reign led to the dictatorship
of the minister João Franco, and on 1st Feb. 1908 Lisbon witnessed the
assassination of Carlos I. and the crown-prince Luis Philippe (comp. p. 14).
Carlos’s second son then ascended the throne as Manuel II. He had,
however, only reigned two years when the establishment of the Republic
forced him to go into exile (5th Oct., 1910). President of the provisional
government Theophilo Braga. The republican colours are green and red.
Most of the public buildings in Lisbon, erected almost exclusively
after the earthquake of 1755, are situated in the Praça
do Commercio (Pl. F, 5). In the centre of the square rises an
Equestrian Statue of Joseph I. (1750–77); on the S. side is the
Caes das Columnas, a quay affording a superb view of the bay of
the Tagus, with its busy shipping, and of the S. bank (Outra Banda),
with the castle-hill of Palmella in the distance.
To the N. of this square begins the rectangularly planned
Cidade Baixa (‘lower city’), once a bay of the Tagus, the three
chief streets of which, running to the N., are the Rua Augusta,
spanned by a triumphal arch, the Rua d’Ouro or Aurea (to the left),
and the Rua da Prata (to the right). These streets afford interesting
glimpses of the towering masses of the houses of Lisboa Occidental
(to the left), with the Carmo church, and of Lisboa Oriental
(to the right), with the cathedral and the castle of St. George. At
the N. end of the Rua Augusta and the Rua Aurea lies the—
Praça de Dom Pedro Quarto (Pl. F, 3, 4), commonly called
11O Rocío, one of the chief tramway stations (p. 7). Owing to the
peculiar wavy pattern of its mosaic pavement the Rocio has received
from the British sailors the nickname ‘Roly-poly Square’.
The square is adorned with two bronze fountains and a marble
column bearing a bronze Statue of Pedro IV. (d. 1834; emperor
of Brazil, 1826–31). Above the S.W. corner of the square rises
on massive substructures the picturesque ruined church of Igreja
do Carmo, destroyed by the earthquake of 1755. We may reach
it by the ‘ascensor’ No. 1 (p. 7). On the N. side rises the Theatro
Nacional (p. 8). The Market in the adjacent Praça da Figueira
(Pl. F, 4), to the E., deserves a visit in the early morning.
From the W. side of the theatre we proceed past the Central
Station (p. 6) to the *Avenida da Liberdade (Pl. F, E, 3–1),
a magnificent promenade, 100 yds. wide and more than ½ M. long,
with luxuriant vegetation, especially palms, and affording charming
views. It is most frequented on Sundays and holidays towards evening,
when the fashionable world may be seen driving and riding. At
the beginning of the Avenida is the Praça dos Restauradores, with
the Monumento dos Restauradores de Portugal, recalling the revolt
of 1640, when the yoke of the Spanish ‘Intrusos’ was shaken off.
To the left, at the beginning of the Avenida Promenade, is the
steep Calçada da Gloria, through which a funicular tramway (No. 2;
p. 7) ascends to the *Alameda de São Pedro de Alcántara
(Pl. E, F, 3), where we enjoy a magnificent view of the bay, to the
S., and of Lisboa Oriental, with St. George’s Castle and the churches
of Graça and do Monte (p. 13), to the E. Far below lie the Avenida
da Liberdade, the Central Station, the Rocio, and the Baixa.
From the S. angle of the gardens the Rua do Mundo (Pl. E,
F, 3, 4) descends to the Largo da Misericordia, and past the Jesuit
church of São Roque, a sumptuous late-Renaissance edifice by Fil.
Terzi, an Italian architect (1566), to the Praça de Luis de Camões
(p. 12). We proceed, however, to the N.W. of the Alameda and
follow the Rua de Dom Pedro Quinto to the—
Praça do Rio de Janeiro (Pl. E, 2, 3), with a fountain and
attractive pleasure-grounds, occupying the highest site in Lisboa
Occidental. From the W. angle of the grounds we obtain a fine
view of the Estrella church (p. 12) and the Tagus.
Proceeding in the same direction we next follow the Rua da
Escola Polytechnica to the Polytechnic School (Pl. E, 2), which
comprises an interesting Natural History Museum (entrance on
the N.W. side), an Observatory, and a Meteorological Station.
To the Polytechnic belongs also the—
*Botanic Garden (Pl. E, 2; open to the public), founded in
1875, and for luxuriance of vegetation the finest in Europe. The
lower part of the garden contains a magnificent avenue of palms
and numerous southern plants. It is reached by a road from the S.E.
12angle of the Polytechnic, and there is a side-entrance in the Rua
Nova da Alegria. In the upper part are the Estufas or greenhouses.
We descend to a lower exit of the garden opening into the
Avenida, cross the latter and ascend by the Ascensor da Lavra
(p. 7) to the E. town. From the Campo dos Martyres da Patria
(Pl. F, G, 2), the terminus of the funicular, the tramway ‘Santo
André’ (infrequent service), or the circular line ‘Graça’ below its
E. side, lead to the Rua da Palma (funicular No. 4, p. 7). Thereafter
through Lisboa Oriental, see below.
We may travel also by the ‘Graça’ tramway (in returning called
‘Rua Gomes Freire’) in the reverse direction, starting from the Sé Patriarchal
and proceeding to the Nossa Senhora da Graça church on the
way out, and descend by the funicular.
From the Botanic Garden the ‘Estrella’ tramway brings us
viâ the Largo do Rato (Pl. D, 1) to the Aqueducto das Aguas
Livres, constructed in 1729–49. It leads us farther to Buenos
Ayres, the high-lying W. quarter of the city, to the vicinity of the
cemeteries, and to the Jardim da Estrella (Pl. C, 2).
The Estrella Church (Pl. C, 3), officially known as the Basilica
do Santissimo Coração de Jesús, was built in 1779–96. It
is crowned with a lofty dome over the crossing, and its interior
is sumptuously fitted up.
The *Ascent of the Dome (entrance by 5th door on the right; fee
100 rs.) amply repays the fatigue. The stairs in the N.W. tower ascend
first to the flat roof of the church, where we already have a fine view.
We then pass through the double lining of the dome into a gallery surrounding
its interior. A ladder finally leads to the Lantern, the view
from which (best in the afternoon) is the most extensive in Lisbon and
includes the whole of the city, the S. bank of the estuary, and the ocean.
The Jardim da Estrella is flanked on the W. by the Rua da
Estrella which ascends to the English Cemetery (Cemiterio
dos Inglezes; Pl. C, 2; visitors ring; fee 50–100 rs.), laid out in
1717, the oldest Protestant burial-ground in Portugal. It contains
the grave of Henry Fielding (1707–54), author of the immortal
‘Tom Jones’. Here too is the English Church (p. 9).
To return from this point we take the funicular No. 3 (p. 7),
past the Palacio das Côrtes (Pl. D, 3; Chamber of Deputies),
to the Praça de Luis de Camões (Pl. E, 4; pron. Kamŏengsh),
which is embellished with a monument of the famous poet Camões
(1524–80), the author of the Lusiads, a great national epic celebrating
the noble deeds of his countrymen.
From the Praça de Camões we return through the Rua Garrett
and the Rua do Carmo (Pl. F, 4), the busiest streets in the town,
with the best shops, to the Rocio (p. 11).
Time permitting, we may now pay a short visit to Lisboa
Oriental, which is best reached by the funicular line No. 4 (p. 7).
13From the terminus in the Largo da Graça (Pl. H, 3, 4) we pass round
the old Graça monastery (now barracks) to the church of—
Nossa Senhora da Graça (Pl. G, H, 3, 4; 262 ft.), situated on
a hill which affords a fine view of Lisboa Occidental and the lower
town, while the harbour is concealed by St. George’s Castle (see
below).
We now return to the barracks just mentioned and enter the
Rua da Graça to the N., whence the Travessa do Monte leads immediately
to the left to the (5 min.) chapel of Nossa Senhora do
Monte (Pl. G, H, 3; 328 ft.). The extensive *View from this point
embraces the greater part of Lisbon, the harbour, the S. bank, and
the region to the N.E. as far as Santarém.
From the Rua da Graça the circular tramway ‘Rua Gomes
Freire’ descends to the old Augustinian monastery of São Vicente
de Fóra (Pl. H, 4), now the seat of the Patriarch of Lisbon. The
church, a late-Renaissance building of 1582, lost its dome in the
earthquake of 1755. The cloisters contain the Pantheon Real, the
burial-place of the Portuguese monarchs of the House of Braganza
from the time of John IV. (d. 1656) onwards.
We take the same circular tramway-line as far as the Largo do
Contador Mór (Pl. G, 4). Thence we walk through the Travessa do
Funil to the Rua do Chão de Feira, and through the St. George’s
Gateway to the Castello de São Jorge (Pl. G, 4), an ancient
Moorish stronghold and once a royal residence, but now used as
barracks and a military prison, where we apply at the guard-house
for leave to see the fine view from the S. Terrace. If so disposed
we may descend to the cathedral, which stands about halfway up
the castle-hill and is known as the—
Sé Patriarchal (Pl. G, 5), the oldest church in Lisbon, founded
in 1150, but rebuilt in the Gothic style in the 14th cent., and almost
entirely modernized after the earthquake of 1755. From the
cathedral the Rua da Conceição brings us back to the lower town.
In the Rua da Alfándega, a few paces to the E. of the Praça do
Commercio (p. 10), rises the church of—
Nossa Senhora da Conceição Velha (Pl. ‘C.V.’; G, 5).
The *Façade, in the richest ‘Emmanuel style’ (see p. 14), is a
relic of the church of Nossa Senhora da Misericordia, which was
destroyed by the earthquake of 1755. A little farther on, between
Nos. 42 and 44 we get a glimpse of the Casa dos Bicos, built in
the 16th cent. by Braz, a son of Affonso de Albuquerque (p. 10).
It derives its name from the facetted stones of the façade (‘bico’
meaning beak or point). All the electric tramways proceed farther
14to the Arsenal do Exército (Pl. H, 4, 5), containing the Artillery
Museum on the first floor (adm., see p. 9).
From the N.W. corner of the Praça do Commercio, where king
Carlos and the crown-prince were brutally assassinated in 1908, the
Rua do Arsenal leads to the Largo do Municipio (Pl. F, 5), in the
centre of which stands a so-called Pelourinho, or pillory, as a symbol
of the civic jurisdiction.
The tramway ‘Santo Amaro Pampueha’ passes the Museu
Nacional das Bellas Artes (Pl. B, C, 4; adm., see p. 9), Rua
das Janellas Verdes 57, which contains art-industrial collections
and a picture-gallery. (Note in Room G, on the N. wall, No. 282,
St. Jerome, by Alb. Dürer.)
The outer line, skirting the Tagus and affording fine views,
passes the Mercado, or fish-market (Pl. E, 5), which is worth seeing
in the early morning.
The two ‘Belem’ tramway-lines (Algés and Dafundo) lead through
the suburb of Junqueira to that of Belem (Brit. vice-consul,
C. J. F. Duff). The Praça de Dom Fernando with a bronze statue,
13 ft. in height, of Affonso de Albuquerque (p. 10) is adjoined on
the N. by the Paço de Belem. In the S.E. corner of the building
is the Museu Nacional dos Coches (adm., see p. 9), with about
thirty historical state-carriages.
Farther to the W. we reach in 5 min. the Praça de Vasco da
Gama, with the famous—
**Convento dos Jeronymos de Belem (Bethlehem; tramway
from the Praça do Commercio, Pl. F5, in ca. ½ hr.). This
Hieronymite monastery, founded in 1499 in memory of Vasco da
Gama’s voyage of discovery, but used as an orphanage (Casa Pia)
since 1834, is still, in spite of infelicitous alterations, the most
brilliant example of the fantastic ‘Emmanuel style’ (Arte Manuelina),
of the time of Emmanuel I. the Great, a picturesque blend of
late-Gothic, Moorish, and Renaissance features with motifs from
the gorgeous edifices of the East Indies.
The church of Santa Maria, at the S.E. angle of the monastery,
the burial-place of king Emmanuel and his successors, has
a superb portal by João de Castilho (sculptured by Nicholas ‘the
Frenchman’), which, according to Mr. Fergusson, resembles in
design and detail the chapel at Roslin (see Baedeker’s Great
Britain). The church is open from early morning till 9, and also
after 2.30 p.m.—Adjoining the W. portal of the church is the
entrance (where we ring; fee 100–150 rs.) to the orphanage and to
the grand *Cloisters, the master-work of João de Castilho.
On the Tagus, about ½ M. to the S.W. of the monastery, rises
the *Tower of Belem (Torre de Belem), erected in 1520 to
guard the mouth of the river (best viewed at a distance).
15
17½ M. Railway (in ¾–1 hr.). Nine expresses in summer, besides
several slow trains (tranvias), but fewer in winter (fares 530, 360, 230 rs.),
starting from the Central Station (p. 6).
The train passes through a tunnel 1½ M. long to (3¾ M.)
Campolide in the valley of the Alcántara. To the left are the arches
of the aqueduct (p. 12). At (13 M.) Cacem our line diverges to
the left from the railway to Alfarellos (Coimbra and Oporto).
The country becomes more hilly; eucalypti, pines, and olives
abound. To the left rise the hills of Cintra.
17½ M. Cintra.—Hotels. *Gr.-Hôt. Costa, Netto, Lawrence,
Nunes, Central, déj. or D. 800 rs., some closed in winter.
Tramway from the station (to the left of the exit) to the Praça da
Republica (20 rs.).—Cabs (good; with two horses) to the Castello da Pena
2500 rs.; to the Quinta do Monserrate and back, 2000 rs.; but lower fares
are often accepted on application to the cab-owner himself.
If time presses, we may visit both the Castello da Pena and the
Quinta de Monserrate in 4–5 hrs. (cab 4500 rs., bargaining advisable).
Energetic pedestrians require scarcely more time. Donkeys, only to be
recommended to gentlemen travelling alone, are a doubtful advantage,
nor will those in haste find the services of drivers or guides of much
avail; the usual price, after bargaining, is 400–500 rs. But it is more
enjoyable to devote a forenoon to the Castello da Pena, and the afternoon
to the Paço de Cintra and the Quinta.
Cintra (680 ft.; pop. 5000), a favourite summer resort, lies at
the N. base of the granitic Serra de Cintra, on a spur between
two ravines, amidst groves of evergreen oaks and pines, and surrounded
by charming country-houses. Immediately above the little
town rises a steep rock, crowned by the Moorish castle. Beyond
this rises the Pena with the palace.
The centre of traffic is the Praça da Republica, with its late-Gothic
Pelourinho (p. 14) and the main entrance to the palace.
The *Paço de Cintra, formerly the Royal Palace, was
begun by John I. (1383–1433) on the foundations of a Moorish
palace and completed early in the 16th cent. by Emmanuel the Great.
The older parts, built by Moorish hands, show a mingling of
Moorish and late-Gothic elements, while the newer parts, particularly
the E. wing, are in the ‘Emmanuel style’ (p. 14). The most
characteristic features of the exterior are two conspicuous conical
kitchen-chimneys, the horseshoe and toothed arches of the Moorish
windows, and the Moorish battlemented parapet. The mural tiles
and the honeycombed wooden ceilings in the interior are other
survivals of the Moorish period. Visitors are shown round by the
castellan.
The Avenida Candido dos Reis, the road leading to the S. from
the Largo of that name, brings us in ¾ hr. to the Castello dos
Mouros (1408 ft.). The castle consists of two parts, to which a
16double wall, much modernized, ascends. A visit to it takes more
time than travellers in a hurry can afford.
About ¼ hr. farther on we reach the Porta Principal of the
Park of Pena, where we alight (cameras must be given up). The
officials are not allowed to act as guides; the services of others
should be declined. The park contains over 400 species of trees
and shrubs.
The *Castello da Pena (1732 ft.), perched on a steep rocky
hill, was built in 1840–50 in the style of a mediæval castle, partly
within an old monastery, by the Prince-Consort Ferd. of Coburg.
The main tower is a copy of the tower of Belem (p. 14). The castle
is approached by two gates and a cutting in the rock (‘corredor’).
The ‘galeria’ of the castle affords delightful views.
In the Interior (adm. free) we pass through the Vestibule, with a
pyramidal tower, into the old Convent Church, with its superb Renaissance
altar brought from Belem, and into the two-storied cloisters. The
apartments contain many pictures (including an example of Adr. Brouwer)
and costly Hispano-Moorish majolicas. The ‘Sala de Veados’ is embellished
with stags’ antlers. The *Dome above it is perhaps the finest point of
view in the Serra de Cintra, but its ascent requires a steady head. The
eye ranges over Estremadura, from Cape Espichel on the S.E. to the Berlengas
Islands (p. 4) on the N. To the N.E. rises the huge façade of the
palace of Mafra. To the E. we obtain glimpses of Lisbon and the plain
to the S. of the Tagus. To the S. rises the summit of the Cruz Alta,
and to the W. lies the boundless Atlantic.
We now enter the Jardim das Camelias or castle-garden,
where the camellias, rhododendrons, and azaleas present a marvellous
wealth of blossom in spring; then, passing a well and
several fish-ponds, we soon reach a side-exit from the grounds,
where the carriage should be ordered to meet us.
The *Cruz Alta (1736 ft.), the highest of the Cintra hills, which
affords a view similar to that from the dome of the castle, may be
ascended in 20 min. by a path diverging in the park to the S., near the
Porta Principal, and passing the Statue of Vasco da Gama.
A favourite walk near Cintra is the *Caminho de Collares
skirting the hills. This road, bordered with beautiful evergreens,
leads past charming country-houses (the Penha Verde and others).
On the right, about 2 M. from Cintra, is the famous—
**Quinta de Monserrate (adm. 200, on Sun. and holidays
300 rs.), the property of Sir Fred. Cook, Visconde de Monserrate.
The grounds, a visit to which takes 1–2 hrs., extend far over
hill and dale, and are unique in Europe in magnificence of vegetation.
From the entrance we turn to the left, cross a brook, and
follow its left bank, where we enjoy a delightful view of the palace
beyond the lofty tree-ferns. We then pass an artificial ruin, walk
round the palace (no adm.), and re-ascend to the entrance.
See also Baedeker’s Spain and Portugal.
II. MADEIRA AND THE CANARY ISLANDS. — 3. Madeira. — 4. The Canary Islands.
Steamboat Lines. 1. Union Castle Line, steamers weekly from Southampton
to Madeira in 3½ days (on their way to S. and E. Africa); fares,
1st cl. 15–17 guineas, 2nd 10–12 gs. (return in each case about ⅔ more);
also summer tours to Madeira, Las Palmas, or Teneriffe and back, 18 or
12 gs., or, with a week’s board in one of the islands, 20 or 14 gs.—2.
Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., fortnightly from Southampton (for Brazil)
viâ Vigo and Lisbon to Madeira (fares 11l. 10s. or 8l.); also fortnightly
from London round voyage to Gibraltar, Tangier, Casablanca, Mazagan,
Saffi, and Mogador, returning viâ Las Palmas, Teneriffe, and Madeira
(fare from 22 gs.; single to Madeira or Canary Islands from 15 gs.).—3.
Booth Line (for Brazil), thrice monthly from Liverpool to Madeira;
10l., return 16l. 10s.—4. Yeoward Bros. Line, weekly from Liverpool
to the Canaries calling on alternate voyages at Madeira; comp. p. 28.—5.
Federal, Houlder, & Shire Lines, from Liverpool fortnightly, for
Australia or New Zealand, calling at Madeira, Las Palmas, or Teneriffe,
10 gs.—6. Empreza Nacional de Navegação, from Lisbon to Madeira,
1st and 7th of each month; 5l. 6s. 3d. or 3l. 12s. 3d., return 9l. 0s. 8d. or
6l. 3s.—7. Empreza Insulana, from Lisbon to Madeira, 20th of each month;
4l. 5s. or 3l. 3s. 9d., return 7l. 13s. or 5l. 14s. 9d.—During the winter
season the Mediterranean steamers of the White Star and Cunard Lines
(p. 118) call once monthly at Madeira, and the Transports Maritimes (p. 120)
occasionally touch at Madeira.
The communication between Madeira and the Canary Islands (R. 4) is
very defective.
The Archipelago da Madeira, or Madeira group of islands,
consists of Madeira itself, the largest of the group, 37 by 14 M.,
Porto Santo (rising 1663 ft. above the sea), 6½ by 3 M., which
lies 26½ M. to the N.E. of Madeira, and the three uninhabited
Desertas. These are the islets of Chão (341 ft.), 12½ M. to the
S.E. of Madeira, Deserta Grande (1611 ft.), and Bugio (1349 ft.).
Madeira lies in 33° N. lat., between the Azores and the Canary Islands
(R. 4), 620 M. to the S.W. of Lisbon, 370 M. to the N.W. of
Cape Juby (p. 104), and 275 M. to the N. of Teneriffe (p. 32). The
population of the islands, which are said to have been uninhabited
when discovered by the Portuguese in 1419, is now, in an area of
314 sq. M., about 150,000. All the islands are of volcanic origin.
In Madeira, above the primæval diabase rock (p. 29), numerous
18eruptions since the miocene epoch have formed a number of extinct
craters (lagoas), and as in the Canaries have raised the soil 1150 ft.
above its original level. The main ridge of the island, running from
W. to E., and culminating in the Pico Ruivo (‘red peak’; 6060 ft.),
frequently rises in rocky pinnacles. In examining the geological
structure of the island one is struck with ‘the constant mingling of
solid masses of basalt and lava with strata of loose tufa and ashes,
the whole being interspersed with upright dykes of lava’. The
only tablelands are the Paul da Serra, on the W., and the smaller
Santo Antonio da Serra, on the E. On the S. and N. slopes of the
central range we observe a series of very curious and grand basins
(curraes, sing. curral), which are enclosed by high rocks, and are
connected with the sea by deep ravines, testifying to the enormous
erosion caused by water and wind. Narrow strips of coast, strewn
with rounded fragments of basalt, occur only at the mouths of the
few streams, and on the largest of these lies Funchal, the capital
of the island, on its S.W. margin.
The mild and wonderfully equable climate of Madeira which
since 1850 has attracted numberless invalids, chiefly English, to
its shores, is due partly to its southern position, tempered by the
surrounding ocean, but mainly to the influence of the Gulf Stream,
which sends from the Azores an offshoot, known as the Canary
branch, towards the African coast. On the sunny S. coast in
particular, which is free from fog and is sheltered from the prevailing
N.W. wind by the above-mentioned main ridge, the mean
and almost unvarying temperature of the three winter months (at
Funchal 61° Fahr.; minimum 50°) is considerably higher than that
of the favourite Mediterranean resorts (Nice 48° Fahr., Ajaccio 52°,
Algiers 54½°, Málaga 55°), while the summer temperature is
lower (at Funchal in Aug. 70½°, maximum 92°). Dust is almost
unknown. The rainfall (at Funchal 27½ inches; but more in the
mountains and on the N. coast), chiefly in sudden and heavy showers,
occurs mostly between October and February or March. The lowest
snow-line is 1970 ft. above the sea. The relative moisture of the
air (67 per cent) at Funchal is moderate, notwithstanding the
proximity of the sea. As in the Canaries, the mountains are generally
cloud-capped about midday, except during the prevalence
of the Leste, the wind blowing from the African desert (p. 29),
which in Madeira is not specially unpleasant.
Thanks to the genial climate, the abundant winter rains, and the
system of irrigation by means of open channels (levadas), whereby
water is brought down, partly through tunnels (furos), from its
mountain sources, the fields and gardens of Madeira, ‘Flor do
Océano’, show an almost tropical luxuriance of vegetation. Side by
side with pines, junipers, and deciduous European trees, such as
the plane, the chestnut, the maple, the oak, and the walnut, of
19which there are many splendid specimens, are seen countless evergreen
trees and shrubs of tropical and subtropical origin. Among
these are palms, araucarias, hickory-trees, cork-trees, camphor-trees,
figs, palm-lilies (yuccas; p. 233), magnolias, eucalypti, bamboos,
papyrus-bushes, tree-ferns, and aloes. A few isolated dragon-trees
(p. 30), the laurel (vinhatico), and the tilwood tree (Oreodaphne
fœtens), a kind of bay-tree scarcely occurring elsewhere, are survivals
of the primæval forest destroyed by the Portuguese discoverers,
and now lingering only in the remote ravines and on the
slopes of the N. coast. To that forest the island owes its name
(madeira, ‘wood’; Isŏla di Legname on old Italian charts). The
hill-sides are now largely clothed with tree-like erica and broom
(Genista madeirense, G. virgata, furze, etc.), large bilberry-bushes
(Vaccinium madeirense), stemless ferns, and box, forming a kind of
evergreen underwood. In the gardens of Funchal, enclosed by high
walls, the traveller feasts his eyes, especially in May, on a most
exuberant flora, comprising roses, rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias,
callas, bignonias, daturas, fuchsias, hydrangeas, honeysuckle,
and a superb red and purple bougainvillea. The garden-walls,
field-roads, and hill-terraces are everywhere overgrown with vines,
but, as in the Canary Islands, the wine-culture has suffered since
1852 from the grape-disease (Oïdium Tuckeri) and from the competition
of port-wine (p. 4). Among favourite brands are Malvasia
or Malmsey, a sweet dessert-wine, Boal, and the astringent Sercial.
Like the Vega of Málaga (p. 89), the S. coast of Madeira
yields the sugar-cane, which forms the chief crop of the island,
bananas, sweet potatoes (p. 89; Portug. batata doce), cherimolias,
coffee-plants, yams (Dioscorea batatas; Portug. inhame), and early
vegetables, which last are exported chiefly to England. Pine-apples
thrive in hot-houses only. The natives live mostly on maize and
the fruit of a kind of cactus (Opuntia Tuna) which grows abundantly
on all the rocks.
Madeira also possesses several charming home-industries, producing
embroidery, lace, silk shawls, basket-work, inlaid laurel-wood,
and feather-flowers. Funchal, the only considerable harbour
in the island, is an important coaling and provisioning station for
steamers bound for S. Africa and for America. The heavy customs-dues,
which render living dear, the over-population of the island,
and the poverty of the peasantry cause a considerable emigration,
chiefly to S. America.
Season and Mode of Travel. Madeira is an admirable health
and rest resort at all seasons, except perhaps for sufferers from neurasthenia
or gastric disorders; but in summer the Monte (p. 24) and
Camacha are preferable to the lower sites. Tourists, on the other hand,
will find July, Aug., and Sept, the best months for their purpose, as the
hotels are cheaper and less crowded, the days are long, and the dry
weather favours excursions into the interior. At Funchal English, French,
and in the larger hotels German are much spoken, but in the interior
20Portuguese only. Those unacquainted with the language of the natives
are then dependent on the help of their horse-attendants (arrieiros) or
guides (guias or chapas), many of whom speak a little English. At the
principal hotels and shops English money is readily received, but small
Portuguese change is required for fees and other minor outlays. Beggars
abound, but their importunities should invariably be disregarded (comp.
also p. xxv).
The streets of Funchal and the hill-roads are paved with round and
slippery cobbles of basalt, against which india-rubber heels afford protection.
The most popular vehicles are the bullock-cars (carros de bois;
seated for 4 persons; 400–1000 rs. per hour). For steep descents the carro
do monte or carrinho, a kind of running sledge, is employed (400–1200 rs.
per drive). The longer excursions on the extremely hilly routes so characteristic
of Madeira are best taken on horseback. The horses of Andalusian
race are wonderfully wiry and sure-footed (per hour 500 rs.;
arrieiro, or attendant, 800–1000 rs. per day). Ladies and invalids use
the hammock or litter (rede), a costly conveyance (2–4 bearers, at 500–600
rs. each per hour). Finger-posts are entirely lacking.
The few Vendas, or country-inns, and the houses of the mountain
engineers (to which travellers are admitted by leave from the office of
the Obras Publicas at Funchal, Rua do Conselheiro Vieira 80) afford very
primitive quarters. Travellers should therefore be provided with rugs,
preserved meats, candles, insect-powder, and good drinking-water. As in
the Alps, strong boots with nails and a hasta or bordão, a long stick
with an iron spike, are desirable for mountaineering.
Among Books on Madeira may be mentioned A. Samler Brown’s
Guide to Madeira, the Canary Islands, and the Azores (10th ed., London,
1910; 2s. 6d.); Leaves from a Madeira Garden, by Chas. Thomas-Stanford
(London, 1910; 5s.); Yate Johnson’s Handbook of Madeira (London, 1885);
Madeira, by Ellen M. Taylor (2nd ed., London, 1889); Madeira Islands, by
A. J. D. Biddle (2nd ed., London, 1900; 2 vols.); Madeira, Old and New,
by W. H. Koebel (London, 1909; 10s. 6d.); The Flowers and Gardens of
Madeira, by the Misses Du Cane (London, 1909; 7s. 6d.).
The Steamers arriving from the N. skirt the W. coast of Porto
Santo (p. 17), an island in the form of a tableland, surrounded
by five reef-islets; its inhabitants (about 2300) live mostly in the
little town of Villa Baleira. Beyond Porto Santo we obtain a
superb view of the abrupt and furrowed N. coast of Madeira,
with the curiously shaped Penha d’Aguia (p. 27).
Farther on appears the long E. promontory of Madeira, a rocky
peninsula worn by the surf, and connected with the islet of Ponta
de São Lourenço by a grand rocky gateway called the Ponta do
Furado. We steer round the Ilheo de Fora, an outlying islet with
a lighthouse (Farol; 348 ft.), visible from a distance of 28 M.,
towards which the steamers from Lisbon, Gibraltar, and Morocco
direct their course, passing to the S. of Porto Santo.
To the S., beyond the low island of Chão, rise the Deserta
Grande and Bugio, the largest of the Desertas (p. 17), a group
of islands deserted for lack of water, and now owned by Mr. C. J.
Cossart, of Madeira. British sportsmen desiring to shoot wild goats
there or hunt seals (Monachus albiventer) in the ocean-caves of the
Deserta Grande must obtain permission from the owner.
21The thinly peopled and somewhat bare S.E. coast of Madeira,
with the three little harbours of Caniçal, Machico, and Santa
Cruz, shows clearly the geological formation of the island (comp.
pp. 17, 18). Off Porto Novo, in particular, we are struck with the
rich colouring of the Pico dos Iroses, where the sombre basaltic
and lava rock contrasts with brick-red strata of ashes and blood-red
masses of slag.
Very beautiful is the approach to the *Bay of Funchal, which
is bounded on the E. by the bold Cabo do Garajão, and on the
W. by the Ponta da Cruz, a spur of the Pico da Ponta da Cruz
(p. 25). From the narrow strip of coast the lanes of the old town
mount the steep hill-side between the three river-beds (which are
generally dry), while several groups of houses extend up to the
Pico Fort (p. 23) and the Levada de Santa Luzia (p. 24). Farther
up, stretching to the terrace of the Monte (p. 24), are gardens and
vineyards, from which peep many white quintas or country-houses.
On the plateau behind Forte Ilheo (p. 24) are seen the charming
gardens, with their tall araucarias, belonging to the W. suburb of
Funchal, the finest residential quarter. Of the barren mountains
in the background the highest peak visible from the sea is the
Pico de Santo Antonio (p. 25), to the N.W. of the town.
Funchál.—Arrival. The steamers cast anchor in the open
roads, which are much exposed to the surf when the wind is from the
S. or S.W. The passenger’s luggage, including hand-bags and small
packages, is conveyed from the steamer, in charge of a guarda fiscal,
direct to the Alfándega, or custom-house (Pl. 1; C, D, 2). Tobacco, spirits,
and unused articles are specially dutiable. The charge for landing is
about 500 rs. for each person, but should be ascertained beforehand, with
the aid of the hotel-porter if necessary. In stormy weather passengers
are landed at the Pontinha (Pl. B, 3), a small pier beyond the Forte Ilheo.
At the custom-house a declaration has to be filled up, for which the fee
is 50 rs.; the luggage is then usually retained till midday, and when it
is finally cleared the passenger gives a receipt for it (250–300 rs. more).
For the transport of luggage to the hotel by bullock-car not more than
1000 rs. should be paid (an agreement should be made beforehand). The
Madeira clock is 59 min. behind Greenwich time.
Hotels (mostly in the English style; almost all with beautiful
gardens; crowded from Dec. to April). In the W. suburb *Reid’s Palace
Hotel (Pl. a; A, 3), situated on a basalt rock and commanding fine
views, with sea-baths, etc., pens. 10–25s. (or in the dépendance, Villa
Victoria, 8s. 6d.–18s.); Hot. Bella Vista (Pl. b, B 2; Jones’s), above the
Rua da Imperatriz Dona Maria, pens. from 8s.; Hot. Royal (Pl. c, A 3;
Adams’s), Rua da Imperatriz Dona Amelia, pens. from 8s.; Pension Quisisana
(Reuter’s), Estrada Monumental (Pl. A, 3), 8–12s.; Pension Almeida
(Pl. f; A, 3), by the Redondo.—In the old town, Reid’s Carmo Hotel
(Pl. d; D, 1), Rua do Carmo, 8s. 6d.–18s.; Gr.-Hôt. Central (Swiss landlady),
near the pier (Caes; Pl. C, 2); Hot. Universal (Pl. e; C, 2), Largo
da Sé, pens. 1200 rs., a Portug. house.—On the Monte (p. 24; comp.
inset plan), with splendid views, Monte Palace Hotel (Pl. g); Hot.
Belmonte (Pl. h); Reid’s Mount Park Hotel (Pl. i), pens. 7s. 6d.–10s.;
all three near the terminus. Wine, always an extra, is dear. The Agua
Minero-Natural of Porto Santo is a good table-water (60 rs. per small bottle).
Apartments for the winter in numerous quintas or villas, furnished,
but without bed or table linen; from Oct. to June 40l. and upwards.
22Restaurants.Phenix, Praça da Rainha (Pl. C, 2); Golden Gate,
Entrada da Cidade 7 (Pl. C, 2; with American bar).—English Tea Rooms,
Café Monaco.—Wine.Vaccaria do Souza, Rua de João Tavira.
Post & Telegraph Office (Estação Telegrapho-Postal; Pl. 5, C, 2),
Entrada da Cidade.
Theatre.Theatro de Dona Maria Pia (Pl. 16; C, 2), opposite the
Jardim Municipal.—Evening Concerts twice a week in the Jardim Municipal,
etc.
Shops in the Praça da Constituição, Rua do Aljube, Rua do Conselheiro
Vieira, etc.; bargaining necessary; the prices are higher when the
purchaser is attended by a guide. Pedlars often charge more than the
shops.—Embroidery, etc., at Ad. v. Breymann’s, Rua do Conselheiro
Vieira 77.—Wines, etc., sold at Breymann’s; also by Blandy Bros. & Co.
(see below); Cossart, Gordon, & Co., Rua do Principe 78; Krohn Bros.
& Co. (see below).—Photographic Materials, Bazar do Povo, Largo
de São Sebastião.
Banks.Blandy Bros. & Co., Rua da Alfándega 26; Reid, Castro, & Co.,
Largo de São Sebastião 5; Banco de Portugal, Largo da Sé; Krohn Bros.
& Co., Rua do Carmo 2; L. da Rocha Machado, Rua da Alfándega 27.
Physicians.Dr. Grabham, Valle Formoso; Dr. Scott, Quinta Perestrello;
Dr. Machado, Rua das Mercês 1 (Pl. C, 1); Dr. Stevens, Villa
Ramose.—Chemists.Pharmacia Central, Rua Bettencourt 2; Botica dos
Dois Amigos, Largo do Collegio.
Carriages and Horses (p. 20) at De Souza’s, Rua do Bispo. Bullock-cars
(p. 20) in the Entrada da Cidade; saddle-horses (poor) in the Largo
de São Pedro and the Rua de João Tavira.—Litters (p. 20) in the Largo
de São Sebastião.
Motor Cabs in the Entrada da Cidade (tariff by zones; per drive
90–500 rs.; to Camara de Lobos and back 800 rs.).
Horse Tramway (electric line projected) from the Praça da Constituição
to the railway-station of Pombal (starting ¼ hr. before each
train; 50 rs.).—Rack & Pinion Railway (Caminho de Ferro do Monte)
from the Estação do Pombal (Pl. C, 1) viâ Levada, Livramento, Sant’ Anna,
and Flamengo, to the Monte (p. 24); 7 trains daily in 20 min.; fare 300,
return 400 rs.
British Consul, Capt. J. Boyle, Reid’s Palace Hotel (p. 21); vice-consul,
E. Sarsfield.—Lloyd’s Agents, Blandy Bros. & Co. (see above).
Steamboat Agents.Blandy Bros. & Co. (see above) for the Union
Castle, Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., Booth, Hamburg-American, and
Woermann Lines, the Empreza Nacional de Navegação and the Empreza
Insulana de Navegação; Leça, Gomes, & Co. for Yeowards Bros. Line;
Gonçalves & Co., Rua do Conselheiro Silvestre Ribeira 2, for the Hamburg
& South American Line; J. de Freitas Martins, Rua da Alfándega 52,
for the North German Lloyd.—For the coasting service (Serviço costeiro)
and pleasure-trips (Viagens de Recreio), see newspapers.
Churches.English (Pl. 4; B, 1), Rua da Bella Vista (Rev. C. Jones
Bateman, M. A.), services on Sun. at 8 and 11 a.m., and 5.30 p.m.; Presbyterian
(Pl. 15; C, 2), Rua do Conselheiro; American (Pl. 8; C, 2), same
street, lower down.
Club.English Rooms, in the Rua da Praia, overlooking the sea,
with library and billiard-rooms. Adm. on introduction.
One Day. Visit to the Monte (p. 24) in the forenoon; drive to Camara
de Lobos (p. 25) in the afternoon.
Funchal (‘place of fennel’; pop. 25,800), situated in 32° 38′ N.
lat. and 16° 55′ W. long., the capital of Madeira and the seat of the
Portuguese governor and a bishop, is remarkable for the luxuriant
subtropical verdure of its public grounds and private gardens.
23On the Praça da Rainha (Pl. C, 2), the sea-promenade, where
we have a view of the Desertas (p. 20), rise the Palacio de São
Lourenço (Pl. 10; the governor’s residence), several Club Houses,
and a signalling tower called the Pilar de Benger (Pl. 11; ‘Benger’s
Folly’). The Varadoures Gate (Pl. 12; D, 2), to the E. of the
custom-house, is the sole survival of a town-wall built by the
Spaniards early in the 17th cent.; adjacent is the Fruit and Fish
Market (Mercado; Pl. D, 2).
Opposite the pier (Caes; Pl. C, 2) the Entrada da Cidade, an
avenue of planes, leads to the Praça da Constituição (Pl. 13; C, 2),
adorned with pleasure-grounds, in the centre of the town.
Adjacent on the W. is the *Jardim Municipal (public park;
Pl. C, 2; evening concerts twice weekly, otherwise closed in the
evening), with its exuberant wealth of vegetation and flowers. On
the S. side is the Theatre (p. 22).—To the E., in the Largo da
Sé, rises the insignificant Cathedral (Sé; Pl. C, 2), with a fine
ceiling of Spanish juniper (Portuguese cedro).
On the E. side of the park runs the Rua de São Francisco,
leading to the long Rua do Conselheiro Vieira (Pl. B, C, 1, 2), or
Rua da Carreira the busiest street, at the N.W. end of which (on
the left) is the entrance to the Protestant Cemetery (Cemiterio
Britanico; Pl. 3, B 2).
From the N. side of the Rua do Conselheiro Vieira we ascend
past the church of São Pedro (Pl. C, 1) and through the steep
Calçada de Santa Clara to the convent-church of Santa Clara
(Pl. B, C, 1), where Zarco, the discoverer of Madeira, is buried.—Farther
to the N. is the Calçada do Pico, whence the Rua do Castello
to the left leads to the old Spanish Pico Fort (Forte de São João
do Pico; Pl. B, 1), dating from 1632, famed for its *View.
From the E. end of the Rua do Conselheiro Vieira we may now
cross the Largo do Collegio, with the Jesuit Church of that name
(Pl. C, 1), to the Camara Municipal, or town-hall (Pl. 2; C, 1), in
the Rua dos Ferreiros. At the lower end of the same street, not far
from the Cathedral, is the Largo de São Sebastião (Pl. 7; C, 2),
where the Saturday market is held.
Crossing the neighbouring Ribeira de Santa Luzia we soon
reach the Carmo Church (Pl. 6; D, 1).—Along the Ribeira de
Santa Luzia ascends the horse-tramway (p. 22) to the station of
the Monte railway, near which, to the E. (reached by the Rua do
Pombal, Pl. C 1), is the Museum, containing valuable natural
history collections and a large relief-map of the island. (Adm.
on application; donation to poor-box.)
In the E. suburb of Santa Maria Maior, beyond the Ribeira
de Santa Luzia and the Ribeira de João Gomes, is the Campo de
Dom Carlos Primeiro (Pl. D, E, 2; drilling-ground), skirting the sea,
and partly planted with trees. The Spanish Forte de São Thiago24(Pl. E, 2; now barracks), built in 1614, was dedicated to St. James
the Less (São Thiago Menor), the patron saint of Funchal. Near it
is the church of Nossa Senhora do Soccorro (Pl. E, 2), the scene
of a great procession on 1st May.
The chief streets of the W. Suburb, beyond the Ribeira de
São João, flanked with pretty villas, are the Rua da Imperatriz
Dona Maria (Pl. B, 2) and the Rua da Imperatriz Dona Amelia
(Pl. A, B, 3), which last ends at the Redondo (‘round space’) near
the Ribeiro Secco. On the S. side of the road are the Cemetery
(Cemiterio das Angustias; Pl. B, 2) and the Casino Pavão (Pl. B, 3),
with a beautiful garden extending to the abrupt coast, frequented
by English and American visitors. By the sea runs the Caminho da
Pontinha, leading to the Pontinha (p. 21) and the harbour-battery
of Forte Ilheo (Pl. B, 3; ‘island fort’, Engl. Loo Rock).
Excursions. The Rack & Pinion Railway (p. 22), which at Levada
station crosses the Levada de Santa Luzia and the beautiful
hill-promenade of that name, connects Funchal with the *Monte
(hotels, see p. 21), a village on the hill at the back of the town,
with numerous villas nestling amidst beautiful groves of planes
and oaks. On a spur of the hill, close to the terminus of the railway
(extension projected), rises the pilgrimage-church of Nossa
Senhora do Monte, known by English visitors as the ‘Mount Church’
(1962 ft.). It is the scene of the Novena, a great nine-days’ church-festival
held in summer. The terrace of the church (68 steps)
commands a glorious *View of Funchal, the coast as far as the
Cabo Girão (p. 25), and the blue ocean enlivened by its passing
ships. A little below the church is a sacred well.
A little to the E. of the Monte is the Curralinho (‘little curral’), or
Curral dos Romeiros (‘pilgrims’ ravine’), overgrown with erica and vaccinium
(p. 19). This miniature curral, a gorge of the Ribeira de João
Gomes (p. 23), gives a very imperfect idea of the grandeur of the rocky
ravines (p. 18) of Madeira.
Those who are pressed for time may descend to the town in 10–12
min. in a running sledge (p. 20), by the Caminho do Monte; but
it is preferable to walk back (in 1½ hr.) by the level *Caminho das
Tilias which we reach by turning to the left above the church. After
about ¼ M., at the beautiful Quinta Machado (with a view-tower),
we descend to the left by the steep Caminho dos Saltos (if desired,
by running sledge ordered beforehand; 600 rs.). The route leads
to the S.W., past the Quinta Olavo, the Levada de Santa Luzia
(see above), and the Quinta do Deão, and then descends to the S.E.
through the plane-avenue on the Ribeira de Santa Luzia (p. 23).
A *Side-path leads, above the Quinta Olavo, to the right, across the
river-bed, to the church of São Roque (1139 ft.; view; bullock-car from
Funchal 800 rs.), whence we may descend by the steep Caminho de São
Roque to the Pico Fort and the Clara Nunnery (p. 23).
25The Rua da Imperatriz Dona Amelia (p. 24) is continued by
the *Estrada Monumental, a road which affords delightful views.
It leads from the Ponte Monumental (Pl. A, 3), a bridge across
the Ribeiro Secco, past a number of sugar-cane plantations and
vineyards, and, leaving the shore, proceeds to the S.W. above the
ocean-cave of Forja and the rocky islets of Forja and Gorgolho.
It then crosses the S. slope of the Pico da Ponta da Cruz (863 ft.;
*View), an old crater, near the promontory of that name (p. 21),
and skirts the beautiful, but not very safe bathing-beach of Praia
Formosa. Farther to the W., in full view of the bold central range
backing the Gran Curral (see below), we cross the lower bridge of
the Ribeira dos Soccorridos and an old lava-stream to (5½ M.)
Camara de Lobos (which may be reached by motor-cab, p. 22),
a strikingly picturesque fishing-village (pop. 6200) at the E. base
of the almost perpendicular *Cabo Girão, with a small natural harbour
(Bahia). The best wine in the island is yielded by the slopes
in the vicinity. Route to the Gran Curral by Jardim da Serra,
see p. 26.
The Excursion to the Gran Curral, on horseback or by litter
(p. 20), takes nearly a whole day. We start early and take provisions
with us. From the W. suburb (p. 24) we follow the Rua
das Maravilhas and the Caminho de Santo Antonio (Pl. A, 1, 2),
between garden-walls and vineyards, to the N.W. to the finely situated
village of (2 M.) Santo Antonio (985 ft.; bullock-car from
Funchal 800 rs.). We descend thence to the N.W. into the side-valley
of the Ribeira do Vasco Gil, with its pine-woods and rich
pastures, and soon obtain a view towards the W., extending to the
Cabo Girão (see above) and the Pico da Cruz (p. 26). We next ascend
the steep side-valley of the Ribeira da Lapa to the (11 M.) Serrado
Saddle (Eira do Serrado; about 2900 ft.), on the N.E. margin
of the Pico Serrado (see below). From the top of the pass we
have a grand view into the great and well-watered basin of the
*Gran Curral, or Curral das Freiras (‘nuns’ valley’; once a
pasture belonging to the convent of Santa Clara), enclosed by the
lofty rocks of the central mountains. Far below us, above the rock-strewn
bed of the Ribeira dos Soccorridos, we descry the village
of Livramento (2018 ft.), with its little church and cypress-shaded
churchyard.
Those who do not care to face the rugged descent to Livramento,
and the steep clamber thence to the Bocca dos Namorados (p. 26),
should now ascend the *Pico Serrado (3347 ft.; ‘sawn-off peak’),
whence we survey the mountain-range from the Pico de Santo
Antonio (5725 ft.) and Pico Cidrão (5551 ft.) to the Pico Ruivo
(p. 27), the Pico Canario (5500 ft.), and the Pico Grande (p. 26).
Longer, but still grander, is the excursion to the W. margin of
the Gran Curral. From the Estrada Monumental (see above) we turn
26to the N.W. past the Quinta Nazareh, nestling amidst araucarias,
to the (2 M.) village of São Martinho (765 ft.; bullock-car from
Funchal 800 rs.), situated among several old craters; we then cross,
to the W., the ravine of the Ribeira dos Soccorridos by the upper
bridge and mount in zigzags to the (7 M.) village of Estreito
(1510 ft.). Our route now ascends to the N. to the (8½ M.) *Bocca
dos Namorados (3445 ft.), with its beautiful chestnut-wood, where
we enjoy a superb view of the Gran Curral, and skirts the W. margin
of the Pico dos Bodes (3718 ft.) to the (10 M.) Cova da Cevada,
a basin affording a similar view. We next follow the top of the
hill to the N.W., between the Gran Curral and the E. side-valleys
of the Ribeira Brava (see below), to (13 M.) the *Bocca dos
Corregos (4466 ft.), a narrow ridge at the foot of the perpendicular
rocks of the Pico Grande or Rocha Alta (5420 ft.). An interesting
return-route is afforded by descending from the Cova da Cevada
across Jardim da Serra (2523 ft.) and past the Pico da Cruz
(3288 ft.) to Camara de Lobos (p. 25).
The Excursion to Rabaçal can, if time presses, be accomplished
in one day. It is best to go by steamboat to Calheta (3 times weekly,
in 1½–2 hrs.; or a small private steamer may be hired of Messrs. Blandy
Bros., p. 22). The steamer calls first at Camara de Lobos (p. 25), then
skirts the sombre rocky slopes of Cabo Girão and steers past Fajãa dos
Padres, a village famed for its wine, to the village of Ribeira Brava (inn),
where we obtain, through the curral of that name, a very striking glimpse
of the Serra d’Agua (4610 ft.) and the Pico Grande (see above). We next
pass the beach of Lugar de Baixo, formed by a landslip in 1803, the
beautiful cape, Ponta do Sol, and the village of Magdalena, peeping out
of vines and bananas amidst the grandest scenery of the S. coast.
At the village of Calheta (bad landing-place; no inn) we may find
litters if desired (each man 800–1000 rs. per day), and we obtain provisions
and torches (fachos, at 50 rs.). We now walk chiefly through pine-wood
viâ Salão to the (1½ hr.) narrow and wet tunnel (about 650 yds. in length)
of the lower Levada Nova do Rabaçal. At the N. end of it we obtain
a very striking view of the highest part of the valley of the Ribeira da
Janella, richly wooded with evergreen, oaks and laurels. A path over the
rocks (which needs a steady head) connects this levada (or conduit) with
the upper Levada Velha, constructed in 1836–60, and with (9½ M.) the
engineers’ houses of Rabaçal (3750 ft.; adm., see p. 20; fee). A little
to the N.E., on the so-called Balcão, we enjoy an excellent survey of
the *Waterfall of the Risco, which plunges from a rock, 330 ft. high, into
a ravine overgrown with climbing plants and ferns, and a little lower
down provides the water for the old conduit. Crossing the viaduct of
the latter, we skirt the new conduit, and in a few minutes reach another
luxuriantly overgrown ravine, that of the *Vinte e Cinco Fontes, where
no fewer than twenty-five waterfalls issue from a narrow basin.
From Rabaçal we may ascend towards the E. (with a guide) to the
(2 hrs.) plateau of Paul da Serra (4656 ft.; ‘mountain swamp’), where
fogs often prevail, and the two Tanquinhos Houses (about 4900 ft.; used
by the engineers; poor quarters). Near them rise the Pico dos Tanquinhos
(5260 ft.) and the *Pico Ruivo do Paul (5388 ft.), both of which afford
grand views of the mountains.
Scarcely less repaying is the two days’ Excursion to Santa Anna
on the N. coast, to which a third day may be added for the ascent of the
Pico Ruivo or the Pico Areeiro. We start from the Campo da Barca at
Funchal (Pl. D, 1) and follow the Estrada do Conde Carvalhal (Pl. E, 1),
27which ascends to the N.E. in windings to (3¾ M.) Palheiro do Ferreiro
(1857 ft.; bullock-car from Funchal 1200 rs.), the finest quinta in the
island, the property of Mr. John Blandy of Funchal (adm. on application).
Farther on we follow the road, uphill and downhill, to (6 M.)
Camacha (2369 ft.; no inn; bullock-car 2500 rs.), a well-to-do village of
basket-makers in a charming wooded region, with many villas owned by
English residents in Funchal. Beyond the Pico dos Iroses (p. 21) the
road, now less attractive, crosses the gorges of the Ribeira de Porto
Novo and Ribeira de Santa Cruz, and then, turning to the N., reaches
(13 M.) Santo Antonio da Serra (2320 ft.), a poor village on a grassy
tableland. We descend thence to the N.W. into a sequestered valley
carpeted with flowers (Amaryllis Belladonna, etc.), where a rough path
leads to the (15½ M.) Portella Pass (2021 ft.), which commands a superb
*View of the mountains at the head of the Metade Valley (see below),
of the N.E. coast from the Penha d’Aguia (see below) to the Ponta de
São Lourenço (p. 20), and of the island of Porto Santo (p. 20). We now
descend, at first by a zigzag path, through vineyards and sugar-cane plantations,
to (18 M.) Porto da Cruz (no inn), a picturesque little seaport
at the S.E. base of the abrupt *Penha d’Aguia (1949 ft.; ‘eagle-rock’),
the most curiously shaped hill in the island. We next ascend the saddle
to the S. of the Penha d’Aguia, noteworthy for its marvellously rich vegetation,
and descend the ravine of the Ribeiro Frio (see below) to Fayal,
a village not far from the charming Pescaria, a little bay to the N.W.
of the Penha d’Aguia. The church-terrace here affords a grand survey of
the valleys of the Ribeiro Frio, the Ribeiro da Metade, and the Ribeiro
Secco (all mentioned below). From Fayal we then cross the Cortadas Pass,
or Bocca do Cortado (1985 ft.), to (24 M.) Santa Anna (1408 ft.; Hot. Figueira,
very fair; pop. 3200), a village well adapted for some stay, the
capital of the Comarca de Santa Anna, the most fertile region in the island
(sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, yams, etc.). From Santa Anna a rough mule-track,
very indistinct at places, ascends past the curious basaltic Homem
em Pé (‘man on foot’), and lastly over the saddle by the Encumeada Alta
(5948 ft.), to the top of the Pico Ruivo (6060 ft.; p. 18), which commands
a most imposing, but seldom very clear panorama of the central chain,
part of the Gran Curral (p. 25), and the E. half of the island.
Turning back from Santa Anna, we first wend our way towards the
S. to the Cova da Roda, where we again overlook the N.E. coast as far
as the Portella Pass and the Porto da Cruz; we then cross the Ribeiro
Secco and the (29½ M.) Cruzinhas Ridge, and descend into the valley of
the *Ribeiro da Metade, a gorge vying in grandeur with the Gran Curral.
A zigzag path (‘Quatorze Voltas’) ascends thence to the little venda (inn)
of Cedro Gordo, and then crosses the Serra de Caramuja into the (33 M.)
valley of the Ribeiro Frio, with its splendid groves of tilwood trees (see
p. 19), laurel, and erica. Above the village of that name rises the Balcão,
a rock of basalt (near the not easily accessible Levada do Furado),
where we have a grand *View of the Metade Valley with mountain-background.
Our route winds up the rocks of the Feiteiras (‘ferns’) and the
Pouso Saddle, with its fine views, to the (34½ M.) Pouso or Poïzo Refuge
(4603 ft.), situated on a dreary plateau. From the Pouso Refuge we may
without difficulty climb the Pico Areeiro (5893 ft.; 1¼–1½ hr.), a famous
point of view, but almost always capped with clouds. The bridle-path
ascends past the Observatorio; we may then descend direct to the Vista
dos Navios.
The next part of our route, from the Pouso Refuge to the Monte
(p. 24), is uninteresting. From the Vista dos Navios (‘view of ships’),
whence the bay of Funchal is visible, the track descends to the head of
the valley of the Ribeira de João Gomes (p. 23), rounds the E. slope
of the Pico do Arrebentão (3842 ft.), to which point a running sledge
(p. 20) may be ordered from Funchal, and then descends rapidly, partly
in windings, to the (39 M.) Monte. Thence to (41½ M.) Funchal, see p. 24.
28
Steamboat Lines. 1. Union Castle Line, fortnightly from London
and Southampton, touching alternately at Las Palmas and Teneriffe; fares
to either, 1st cl. 14–16, 2nd 9–11 gs. (return about ⅔ more). For summer
tours, comp. p. 17.—2. Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., see p. 17.—3.
Peninsular & Oriental Branch Service, from London monthly for
Australia, calling at Las Palmas; 12l., return (tickets interchangeable with
No. 5 from Teneriffe) 20l.—4. Bucknall Line, monthly from London to
Teneriffe; 10l., return 18l.—5. Aberdeen (Thompson’s) Line, from London
and Plymouth monthly for Australia, calling at Teneriffe; 13l., return
(also valid for No. 3) 22l.—6. Aberdeen (Rennie’s) Line, from London,
about once every 10 days, for S. and E. Africa, calling alternately
at Las Palmas and Teneriffe; 10 or 8l., return 18 or 14l.—7. German
East African Line, once every 3 weeks from Southampton for S. Africa,
calling at Las Palmas and Teneriffe, 12l. 10s. or 7l. 10s.; no return-fares,
but an abatement of 20 per cent is allowed on the fare back to Southampton,
either by this line, by the Woermann, or by the Hamburg-American
Line.—8. Woermann Line, monthly from Dover to Las Palmas, and
monthly to Teneriffe; fares and abatement for return, same as No. 7.—9,
10. New Zealand Line and Shaw, Savill, & Albion, each monthly from
London and Plymouth for Teneriffe, 14l. or 11l. 10s.; interchangeable return-ticket
22 or 17l.—11. Yeoward Bros. Line, from Liverpool, weekly
pleasure cruises to Teneriffe, Grand Canary, and back (10–12 gs.), also single
tickets (6–8 gs.).—12. Natal Line, from London fortnightly for S. Africa
calling at Las Palmas, fare 8 gs., return 15l. 2s. 6d.—13. Federal, Houlder,
& Shire Lines, see p. 17.—There are also steamers to the Canary
Islands from Cadiz (see p. 58), Genoa (see p. 114), Naples, and Trieste
(see p. 425).—It should be noted that almost all the British lines have
recently raised their fares by ten per cent in consequence, it is said, of a
rise in the price of coal. Inquiry as to this ‘surtax’ should therefore be
made in every case.—The direct steamers perform the voyage (1707 M.
from Southampton to Teneriffe) in 5–6 days; the coasting steamers (viâ
Oporto, Lisbon, etc.; about 2250 M.) take much longer.
In addition to the above-mentioned steamers communication among
the islands themselves is effected by the small cargo-boats of the Compañía
de Vapores Correos Interinsulares Canarios which ply 9 times
monthly between Teneriffe and Las Palmas in 6 hrs. (fare 20 or 15 pesetas);
and by those of the Servicio de Pailebotes which ply weekly from Teneriffe
to Las Palmas, and weekly to Santa Cruz de la Palma. Inquiry as
to the sailings, which often vary, should be made on the spot. The
Spanish cuisine on board these local boats is not very inviting.
The Canary Islands (Islas Canarias or Afortunadas, i.e.
‘fortunate islands’), the Makáron Nésoi or Insulae Fortunatae
of antiquity, in 27° 30′ to 29° 26′ N. lat., and 13° 15′ to 18° 2′ W.
long., lie off the coast of Mauretania, the nearest point being Cape
Juby (p. 104). There are in all thirteen islands, forming a Spanish
province of a total area of 3305 sq. M., with a population of 364,000.
They consist of two groups. The E. group is composed of Lanzarote
(rising to 2231 ft. above the sea), Fuerteventura (2789 ft.), and
five smaller islands (Alegranza, Graciosa, etc.); to the W. group
belong Gran Canaria (6400 ft.), Teneriffe (12,175 ft.; once the
meridian used by the Spaniards and the Dutch), Gomera (4366 ft.),
Palma (7737 ft.), and Hierro or Ferro (4643 ft.), the meridian
used by France since the time of Louis XIII. (1634). Teneriffe,
Gran Canaria, and sometimes Palma are the islands usually visited
by tourists; the others chiefly attract botanists and geologists.
29The Canaries, supposed by some geographers to form part of
the submerged continent of Atlantis, and by others to have been
outlying spurs of the Atlas of Morocco (p. 93), have the same geological
formation as Madeira (see pp. 17, 18, 19). ‘In Fuerteventura
especially there occur masses of slag and lava, thrown up by countless
eruptions, superimposed on the diabase formation, which is
still visible in many places; and in Teneriffe we find phonolithic
and trachytic rocks as well as the basaltic. Grand old craters (calderas)
exist in Ferro, Gran Canaria, and most of all in Palma and
Teneriffe. The enormous basin of the Cañadas in Teneriffe has
been almost entirely filled up with later streams of lava and scoriæ,
which have formed a distinct volcanic cone, the great Pico de
Teide, 12,175 ft. in height.’ The last considerable eruptions were
those of 1677 in Palma, of 1730–36 and 1824 in Lanzarote, and
of 1705, 1706, 1796, and 1798 on the N.W. coast of Teneriffe, all
of which caused great havoc. On the occasion of the eruption of
1909 in Teneriffe a large lava-stream, accompanied by the emission
of vapour and stones from the central crater (see p. 41), burst
forth near the foot of the Chahorra (p. 42) and advanced in a N.W.
direction towards Santiago and El Tanque but came to rest before
reaching these villages. There was little damage and no loss of
human life. In the W. islands, which like Madeira rise very abruptly
from the sea, the effects of erosion in the broad valleys, with their
rich soil, as well as in the deep ravines (barrancos) of more recent
origin, are specially noticeable.
The climate of the Canaries is remarkable for the striking
contrasts prevailing between the E. and the W. groups on the one
hand, and between the lower and the higher levels on the other.
In the almost treeless islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura
(62 M. to the N.W. of Cape Juby) years sometimes elapse without
rainfall, while the dreaded tiempo del sur, the hot and extremely
dry wind from the Sahara, covers them with dust and sand and
often brings swarms of locusts. Even more disastrous for agriculture
are the sandy dunes or coast-hills, thrown up by the currents
off the African shores, the sand of which is driven inland by violent
N. winds. The Gran Canaria, on the other hand, though by
no means free from the locust pest, holds an intermediate position
in point of climate and scenery between the more continental E.
group of islands and the almost wholly oceanic W. group. Owing
to the influence of the gulf-stream (p. 18) and the zone of high air-pressure
prevalent in the W. Canaries in winter, the N. coast of
Teneriffe and the islands of Gomera and Palma enjoy a remarkably
mild and equable winter climate (the mean temperature of
winter at Puerto Orotava being 60° Fahr. and the minimum 51°).
30In the region tempered by the trade-wind clouds, which gather at
a height varying from 2300 to 5000 ft. above the sea, even the
summer temperature is quite bearable; but on the high mountains,
above the cloud-zone, the air is extremely dry, and the burning
heat of the day is suddenly followed, as in the tropics, by a severe
chill. The rainfall at Santa Cruz de Tenerife averages 12 inches,
at Santa Cruz de la Palma 14 in., at Puerto Orotava 17 in., at
Laguna 22 inches. The lowest snow-line is about 3300 ft.
The vegetation of the W. islands, the Eldorado of botanists,
surpasses that of Madeira in variety, though not in luxuriance;
but it is confined to the forest-zone in the region of the trade-wind
clouds, and to the low ground irrigated with the aid of these clouds,
where the soil consists of disintegrated diabase, tufa, and lava. On
the other hand large tracts of land, especially in the Gran Canaria
and on the S. and E. coasts of Teneriffe, are entirely destitute of
vegetation, even in winter, while in summer the verdure of the
cultivated land is often covered with a mantle of grey dust.
The Canary Islands, together with Madeira and the Azores, have
been described as a region ‘where the tertiary flora, destroyed in
Europe during the glacier epoch, has survived and developed, at
least since the pliocene age, in insular solitude’. To the primæval
African flora, the same as that of the original ‘diabasic Canaries’,
belong in particular the stately Canary pine (Pinus canariensis),
several species of laurel, such as the Laurus canariensis, the viñatigo
(Persea indica), the aloe, the oleander-leaved Kleinia neriifolia, the
cactus-like euphorbias, the balo (Plocama pendula), and the famous
dragon-tree (Dracæna Draco). Besides the endemic trees and plants
are others of very early origin, the seeds of which were originally
brought over from India or America by the gulf-stream. During
the Spanish period countless other plants, now cosmopolitan, were
imported from America, fruit-trees from Europe, and shrubs from
the Mediterranean, which last, favoured by the climate, develop
into bushy trees. In the gardens, which are mostly enclosed by high
walls, we are struck with the gorgeous wealth of bougainvilleas,
gloxinias, poinsettias, bignonias, daturas, walbergias, passifloras,
and many other flowers. In the lower and more tropical districts
grow, side by side, bananas (plátanos), tomatoes, sugar-cane (caña
de azúcar), yams (Span. ñame), tobacco, oranges and lemons, prickly-pear
(Opuntia Tuna), coffee-plants, Peruvian pepper-trees (pimenteros),
E. Indian bread-fruit, mango and camphor trees, eucalypti,
cork-trees, tamarisks (tarajales), araucarias, magnolias, fig-trees,
Japanese medlars, palms (about 25 varieties), notably the superb
Canary palm (Phœnix canariensis or Jubæ Webb), the date-palm
(p. 171), the royal palm (Oreodoxa regia), and, in Palma, the
cocoa-nut palm. The vineyards, yielding the famous Malmsey
(p. 19) and Vidueño wines, rise on the S. side of Teneriffe from
31the lower land to a height of 4070 ft. above the sea-level. In the
upper cultivated regions the chief crops and fruits are wheat,
potatoes, lupins, maize, chestnuts, walnuts, and, among other
European fruits, peaches. On the rocky sides of the barrancos
occur everywhere the aloe, the cactus-like Euphorbia canariensis
(Span. cardón), the tabayba (Euphorbia Regis Jubæ), the orchilla
lichen (Roccella tinctoria; woad), and Sempervivum (house-leek;
some 60 varieties). At the bottom of the barrancos and in the
cloud-region we encounter beautiful underwood, composed of
evergreen myrtles and laurels, the strawberry-tree (Arbutus canariensis),
ericas, stemless ferns, and a few climbing plants. Above
the level of the trade-wind clouds we may still meet with the cistus,
the Canary pine (up to 7050 ft. above the sea), the white Cytisus
proliferus (Span. escobón), and the Adenocarpus frankenoides (Span.
codeso), a kind of gorse. The Alpine retama (Spartocytisus supranubius;
Span. retama blanca), a kind of broom, the commonest
plant in the Cañadas, grows on the Peak up to a height of 10,300 ft.;
but a few mosses and lichens alone reach the summit.
The fauna of the Canaries is remarkably poor. The characteristic
bird is the canary (Serinus canariensis), which, as in Madeira, is
of a greenish-grey colour, while the yellow canaries are imported.
Mosquitoes, especially on the E. and S. coasts of the islands,
fleas, and flies, including some whose bite is very unpleasant,
abound in summer. The more important fish are cod, tunny, and
sardines. Chief among domestic animals is the goat. Camels were
introduced from the continent in 1405.
The islands, which were probably known to the Carthaginians
and Greeks, were for a time occupied by king Juba II. (p. 244)
with a view to the manufacture of purple dye from the juice of the
Orchilla (see above). At that period the population consisted chiefly
of the so-called Guanches (from guan, son, and Chenerfe, Teneriffe),
whose culture down to the middle ages was still that of the
flint age, while their inscriptions are Libyan in character. In
1402–96 the islands were conquered, first by the Normans, under
Jean de Betancourt, at the instance of the kings of Castile, and
later by the Spaniards, with the result that the Guanches, in spite
of their heroic resistance, were largely exterminated or sold into
slavery. A few survivors still lingered in their cave-dwellings, as
at Atalaya (p. 46) and Artenara (p. 46), but others intermarried
with Moorish immigrants (1405), and, in the Spanish period, with
Norman, S. Spanish, and Irish settlers. Their language has been
extinct since the 17th century. A few peculiarities of the present
population, which somewhat resembles that of S. Spain and of the
W. Indies, survive in the costume of the peasants, consisting of a
white blanket (matta) wrapped round the body like a shepherd’s
cloak, in their quaint old pottery, in the whistling language of
32Gomera, and in the national gofio, a kind of porridge of maize and
wheat. The Grand Canary contains also several villages of negroes,
descendants of the slaves on the sugar-plantations. Among the
foreigners there are 2100 English, 600 French, and 600 Germans.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Puerto de la Luz near Las Palmas,
the chief ports of the Canaries, as also Puerto Orotava (p. 39), Santa
Cruz de la Palma, and others, all declared free harbours in 1852, are
rising places and compete with Madeira in provisioning the ocean
steamers. The trade is in British, Spanish, and German hands.
The chief exports are bananas, tomatoes, early potatoes and other
vegetables, and wine. The only industry of any importance is the
embroidery and lace-making of Teneriffe (‘calado’ embroidery after
Mexican patterns, rosette-work introduced from Paraguay, the rich
Vilaflor lace, and embroidery in relief from Venetian and Irish
models). The cochineal insect (living on the prickly-pear plant)
was introduced from Honduras in 1826, and for many years its
culture yielded large profits to the islanders, but the discovery of
aniline dyes has well-nigh ruined this industry.
The best Season for a tour in the Canaries is from the beginning
of March to the end of May. The best winter-quarters for invalids are
to be found at Puerto Orotava or the more remote Güimar in Teneriffe,
and at the Monte in the Grand Canary. Good quarters are obtainable also
at Santa Cruz and Laguna in Teneriffe, and at Las Palmas in the Grand
Canary, where most of the best hotels are in the English style, and
English money circulates freely. The Spanish ‘fondas’, where the national
currency is in vogue, fall short of modern requirements, while the country
inns are mostly wretched taverns.
The chief public conveyances in the islands are, in Teneriffe, the
electric tramway from Santa Cruz to Tacoronte, and in the Grand Canary
the harbour tramway at Las Palmas; the only others are the dirty and
often crowded coches públicos, the very expensive four-seated vehicles,
and the tartanas or gigs. For mountain excursions horses or mules are
used, the arriero or attendant serving as a guide.
Among numerous Books on the Canary Islands are Samler Brown’s
guide (see p. 20); Whitford’s The Canary Islands as a Winter Resort
(London, 1890; 7s. 6d.); Ward’s Vale of Orotava (London, 1903); C. Piazzi
Smyth’s Teneriffe, an Astronomer’s Experiment (London, 1858); and Olivia
Stone’s Tenerife and its Six Satellites (London, 1889).
Teneriffe, Span. Tenerife, the largest and most populous of
the islands, 51½ M. long, 31 M. in breadth, and 781 sq. M. in
area, contains about 140,000 inhab., mostly living on the N. coast.
The island is composed of three mountain-ranges, chiefly of eruptive
rock of a basaltic character, which have been welded together,
probably since the miocene period, by great phonolithic and
trachytic eruptions. These are the Anaga Mts. on the N.E., the
Teno Mts. on the N.W., and the Adeje Mts. in the Bandas del Sur.
Beyond the lofty plain of Laguna the Anaga range is prolonged to
the Llano de la Maja by the massive Cumbre. In the centre of
the island, from the enormous crater-ring of Las Cañadas, and high
33above the trade-wind clouds, towers the mighty Peak of Teneriffe,
or Pico de Teide (12,175 ft.), visible for 100 M. around.
Approaching the island from the N., we first sight the sombre
and wildly fissured Anaga Mts. (3406 ft.). We steer past the lighthouse
(Faro; 811 ft.) a little to the N.W. of the Punta del Drago,
whose light is visible for 40 M., then skirt the rocky E. coast, with
the Punta de Anaga and Punta Antequera, and at length cast
anchor in the open roads of the bay of Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife.—Arrival. Passengers are conveyed
in steam-launches (falúas) or in rowing-boats to the pier (Muelle;
Pl. C, 2; landing or embarkation 1 peseta, each trunk 75 c.). The hotels,
which send their porters on board, charge 3–5 shillings for the landing
and conveyance to the hotel of each passenger and his luggage.
Hotels (often crowded in Feb., March, and April; mostly closed in
summer). *Grand-Hôt. Quisisana (Pl. a; A, 1), on the hill-side (about
330 ft.) to the N.W. of the town, 1 M. from the pier, with fine views,
R. from 3s., B. 2, déj. 3, D. 5, pens. 12½–15s. (but more in Feb. and
March); *Pino de Oro (Pl. b; B, 1), to the N. of the town, ¾ M. from
the pier, also finely situated, with a beautiful old park, pens. 8–12s.;
Hot. Battenberg (Pl. c; A, 2), in the Paseo de Ronda, below Quisisana.
pens. from 9s.—Camacho’s English Hotel (Pl. d; B, 2), Calle San Francisco
11, pens. 9–12s.; Hot. Orotaya (dépendance of the ‘Humboldt Kurhaus’
34at Puerto Orotava, p. 39), Plaza de la Constitución, R. 3–6, B. 1,
déj. 3, D. 4½, pens. 8–12½s.; Alexandra (Pl. e, B2; Olsen’s), Calle de
Alfonso Treceno, pens. from 7½s., commended; Victoria (Pl. f, B 2;
Holmström’s), Plaza de la Constitución, pens. 6–8s.; the last four rather
plain; wine is always an extra. Table-water, Agua Firgas.
Cafés.Cuatro Naciones, Europa, and Belge, all in the Plaza de la
Constitución.
Theatre.Teatro Isabel Segunda (Pl. B, 3), adjoining the market.—Bull
Ring (Plaza de Toros; Pl. A, 2), in the Paseo de Ronda; ‘corridas’.
mostly in May.—Music in the Plaza de la Constitución (Pl. B, C, 3) and
the Plaza del Príncipe Alfonso (Pl. B, 2) alternately, thrice weekly, 8.30
to 10.30 p.m.
Shops.Teneriffe Handiwork (p. 32): Bazar Nivaria, Calle San
Francisco 11; Bazar Taoro, corner of Calle San Francisco and Calle San
José. Indian dealers offer defective goods (bargaining necessary).—Bookseller:
Benítez, Calle San Francisco 6.—Tinned Foods: Quintero & Co.,
Calle San Francisco 2.—Photographic Materials: Lohr, Calle San Francisco
34; Espinosa, Plaza de la Constitución.
Bankers.Hamilton & Co., Calle de la Marina 15; Miller, Wolfson, &
Co., same street, No. 1; Ahlers, same street, No. 31; Dehesa, Calle de
Alfonso Treceno 64.
Steamboat Agents.Hamilton & Co. (see above), for the Peninsular
& Oriental Co., Union Castle, Aberdeen (Rennie’s), Aberdeen (Thompson’s),
Shaw, Savill, & Albion, New Zealand, Hamburg-American, White Star, and
other lines; Teneriffe Coaling Co., for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co.;
Ahlers (see above), for the Hamburg & South American, German East
African, and Woermann lines; Elder, Dempster, & Co., Calle de Alfonso
Treceno 84, for the Belge Maritime du Congo, the Italian ‘La Veloce’,
the Société de Transports Maritimes, and the Vapores Correos Interinsulares
Canarios; Viuda é Hijos de Juan de la Roche, Calle de Alfonso
Treceno 35, for the Compañía Trasatlántica; Miller, Wolfson, & Co. (see
above), for the Servicio de Pailebotes.
Post & Telegraph Office (Correos y Telégrafos; Pl. 3, C, 2), Marina.
Physicians.Dr. Otto, Santa Rita, and others.—Chemist.Serra,
Calle de Alfonso Treceno 7.—Baths (baños), Plaza de la Constitución.—Sea
Baths (poor) at the pier; better at the Club Tinerfeño.
Cabs (‘coches de punta’; stands in the Plaza de la Constitución and
the Plaza San Francisco): drive in the town, each pers. 50 c. (at night
one-half more); per hour 1–2 pers. 2 pesetas, each addit. pers. 50 c.; to
San Andrés 10 p., to Tegueste or Tacoronte 20, to Güimar 30, to Puerto
Orotava 35, to Icod de los Vinos 60 p. (but bargain advisable).
Electric Tramway from the Alameda de la Marina (Pl. C, 2) through
the Calle de Alfonso Treceno, viâ Cuesta and Laguna (1 hr.; fare 1 p. 30 c.;
change carriages), to Tacoronte (1¾ hr.; fare 2 p. 60 c.). Cars for Laguna
hourly from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; to Tacoronte every two hours till 5 p.m.
The cars starting at 7 and 3, in connection with the diligence mentioned
at p. 37, are usually crowded; motor-omnibus from Tacoronte to Puerto
Orotava, see p. 37.
Consuls. British, J. E. Crocker; vice-consul, R. C. Griffiths.—United
States, S. Berliner.
English Church in the upper part of the town; service in winter.
English Club (also for temporary members), adjoining the Governor’s
Palace (p. 35).
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, a fortified seaport with 30,300 inhab.,
and the capital of the island since 1821 when it superseded
Laguna, lies picturesquely in 28° 28′ N. lat. and 16° 15′ W. long.,
on a bay 3 M. broad between the Valle del Bufadero (p. 36) and
35the Barranco de Santos, below the spurs of the Anaga Mts. and
the plateau of Laguna. Its beautiful patios, or courtyards, recall
those of Seville and the flat roofs with their miradores, or belvederes,
are reminiscent of Cadiz. The harbour is entered by 3500–4000
vessels per annum. At Regla, to the S. of the town, is a
wireless telegraph station.
The town was heroically defended in 1797 against the British fleet
under Nelson, who lost his arm here and had to retire after heavy loss.
Near the old Citadel (now Cuartel Almeida; Pl. C, 1) stands the saluting battery.
The old Castillo de San Cristóbal (Pl. C, 2, 3) now contains
public offices.
From the Alameda de la Marina (Pl. C, 2), near the landing-place,
we soon reach the Plaza de la Constitución (Pl. B, C, 3)
to the S.W., with the Governor’s Palace (Gobierno Civil; Pl. 5,
B 2; fine patio), the club-houses, and the cafés (p. 34). On the
side next the sea rises the Triunfo de la Candelaria, a column
in honour of the Virgin, the tutelary saint of the Canaries (p. 36),
erected by the Spaniards as a memorial of their victories, with four
Guanche kings as worshippers.
From the S. side of the Plaza de la Constitución the Calle de
la Cruz Verde leads to the Iglesia de la Concepción (Pl. B, 3),
the principal church in the town, consisting of a nave with double
aisles, and situated close to the Barranco de Santos. It was founded
early in the 16th cent., but was rebuilt after a fire in 1652. The
tower, 181 ft. high, affords an extensive panorama.
Interior. The central chapel of the aisle on the left contains two
flags captured from Nelson’s fleet (see above), of which the town is very
proud. Here too, by the high-altar, is a stone cross originally erected outside
by Al. Fernandez de Lugo (p. 37) in 1494 as a memorial of his victories.
The pulpit, in Italian marble, is by Matias Rodriguez (18th cent.). The
burial chapel of the artist (entered to the right of the high-altar) contains
several pretty, but unfinished carvings in juniper-wood.
Near this is the Mercado (Pl. B, 3), a covered market for fruit
and other commodities (worth visiting in the early morning).
From the N.W. angle of the Plaza de la Constitución the Calle
San Francisco leads, a few yards farther on, to the church of San
Francisco (Pl. 6, B, 2), built in 1680. The tower, inlaid with
azulejos, or ornamental tiles, dates from 1777.
The old Franciscan monastery contains at present the Museum
with fine art and anthropological collections (new building being
erected near the Ayuntamiento, Pl. 1, B 2). Beyond it lies the Plaza
del Príncipe Alfonso (Pl. B, 2).
The long Calle de Alfonso Treceno (Pl. B, A, 2), or Calle de
Castillo, the main street, connects the Plaza de la Constitución with
the pretty Plaza de Weyler (Pl. A, 2). The Paseo de los Coches and
the Paseo de Ronda (Pl. A, B, 2, 1), a charming promenade bordered
with pepper-trees, oleanders, and geraniums, lead thence to the N.
through the villa quarter (Barrio de Ensanche).
36Excursions on the E. Coast (cabs, see p. 34). From the Paseo de
Ronda we may go past the Pino de Oro Hotel (p. 33), or by the Hotel
Quisisana, to the Conduit (llevada), skirt this and the right bank of the
Barranco de Almeida, and thus reach the (1 hr.) tunnels, or we may
continue our walk to the (3 hrs.) Aguere Springs.—Starting from the
harbour the fine coast-road leads to the N.E. to the mouth of the Valle
del Bufadero, which lies at the foot of the Anaga Mts. and is defended
by a fort; from here we may go on, crossing some barrancos and skirting
the rocks, to the dirty fishing-village of (5 M.) San Andrés (poor inn). Thence
to the Cruz de Taganana, see p. 37.—Drive from Cuesta (see below) by
the Carretera del Sur, a road shaded by tamarisks, to the S.W., along the
slope of the bare sunburnt Cumbre (p. 33), up and down hill, through many
barrancos, viâ (8 M.) San Isidro to (10½ M.) the so-called Halfway House
(tavern; good wine); then through the deep Barranco Hondo, below the
village of that name (1310 ft.), mostly through pine-woods (pinal). To
our right, on the hill, lies the village of Igueste; to our left, on the
Ladera de Candelaria, is the village of Candelaria, with the famous
pilgrimage-church of the Virgen de la Candelaria. Lastly we cross a
lava-stream from the Garganta de Güimar (p. 40) to (20 M.) Güimar
(975 ft.; Hot. El Buen Retiro, with a fine garden, pens. 8–10s., English,
good; Pens. Sunnyside, pens. 7s.), a village of 2000 inhab. in a sunny
and sheltered site, in the Valle de Güimar. This fertile valley, 3¾ M.
in breadth, bounded on the S. by the Ladera de Güimar, and on the W.
by the ash-cone of the Arafo and the Monte de Izaña (7380 ft.), yields
sugar-cane, oranges, and bananas. Luxuriant vegetation, including gigantic
arbutus-trees, is seen also in the Barranco del Rio, to the W., above
the village. From the S. end of the village we may reach (ca. 1½ hr.)
two cave-dwellings of Guanches (p. 31), now empty, in the upland valley
of the Barranco de Badajoz. Route over the Pedro Gil Pass to Orotava,
see p. 40; ascent of the Peak of Teneriffe, see p. 41.
The Excursion to the Orotava Valley, the most charming
spot in the island, takes 1-1½ days. We go by tramway (p. 34) to
Tacoronte and drive thence to Puerto Orotava (see p. 37).
The shadeless and generally very dusty Carretera del Norte, the
continuation of the Calle de Alfonso Treceno (p. 35) and Rambla
de Pulido, crosses the Barranco de Santos and ascends the N.W.
slope of the Plateau of Laguna in windings affording several
fine views. The country is parched and scorched in spite of the
numerous reservoirs (estanques), but corn-fields, tamarisks, fruit-trees,
and relics of prickly-pear plantations are occasionally seen.
3 M. Cuesta (962 ft.; inn). The road to Güimar (see above)
diverges here. Farther on, as we approach the cooler and better
watered tableland, the vegetation becomes richer.
6¼ M. Laguna.—Hotel.Hot. Aguere & Continental, Carrera 57,
pens. 10–12s., good.
Laguna or La Laguna (1740 ft.), once the capital of the
Canaries (see p. 34), now a quiet little country-town (pop. 4900), is
a favourite summer residence of the wealthier families of Santa
Cruz. The old-fashioned houses, as at Villa Orotava, often have
pretty, carved balconies; their unglazed windows, closed with shutters
only, generally have a postígo, or flap, from which the inmates
can view the street.
37The Cathedral, founded in 1513 and since 1908 in course of
reconstruction, contains the tomb of Alonso Fernandez de Lugo, the
conqueror of Teneriffe (1493–6). From the Calle Juan de Vera,
diverging to the N., we follow the first side-street, the Calle de
San Agustín, to the left, to the old Augustinian monastery, once the
university, and now the Instituto de Canarias, which contains
the Biblioteca Pública (26,000 vols.) and a small natural history
collection. To the right, in the same street (No. 28), is the Palacio
Episcopal, whose patio is richly adorned with flowers.
From the E. end of the street a few paces bring us to the Plaza
de Adelantado, No. 1 in which is the old Palace of the Nava family.
From the S. side of the Plaza the Calle de Santo Domingo leads
to the Priests’ Seminary (Seminario Conciliar), once a Dominican
monastery. In the side-street opposite No. 30 the second door on
the left leads into the garden of a Farm Building (finca) which
contains a venerable dragon-tree (p. 30; fee).
The Iglesia de la Concepción, at the W. end of the town, contains
a fine carved pulpit.
Excursions. A fine drive (12–15 p.) may be taken viâ (4½ M.) Tegueste
and (5½ M.) Tejina, not far from the gloomy Barranco de las Palmas,
to (10½ M.) the fishing-village of Bajamar, near the Punta del Hidalgo,
a headland which affords a splendid survey of the precipitous N. coast of
the island.—We may also hire a mule (6 p.) to take us to the laurel forests
of Las Mercedes or La Mina. From Las Mercedes we may ascend past
the Cruz el Carmen (about 2950 ft.) with its rich thicket of bushes (Erica
scoparia), and past the Cruz de Afur (3405 ft.) to the (3½ hrs.) *Cruz de
Taganana (3068 ft.), a splendid point for surveying the great Peak and
the E. coast as far as Santa Cruz. We may then descend to the N., through
a magnificent old *Forest of Canary laurel, viñatigo (p. 30), tree-heath
(Erica arborea), and Pleiomeris, to the village of Taganana (689 ft.), near
which the tall pinnacles of the Hombres de Taganana tower above the
abrupt rocky coast. Or we may go on to the N.E. to the Cruz del Draguillo
(2205 ft.) and descend thence to Igueste and San Andrés (p. 36) on the E.
coast.—Another excursion from Laguna is to the (2 hrs.) ancient Forest
of Agua García (p. 38) to the W.
Beyond Laguna the High Road, bordered at first with eucalypti,
now crosses the plateau of the Rodeos to the Laguna Saddle
(2008 ft.; watershed), and descends thence, affording fine *Views of
the Cumbre (p. 33), the Peak itself, and its spurs, and passing the
hills of Guamaza famed for their view of Tacoronte, to the Bandas
del Norte, the far cooler and greener N. coast of the island.
12 M. Tacoronte (1762 ft.; Camacho’s Tacoronte Hotel, on
the road above the town, pens. from 9s., good; pop. 4200), beautifully
situated, is well adapted for a longer stay. Near it is produced
the best wine in the island, and its orange-groves are famous.
From Tacoronte to Puerto Orotava a motor-omnibus of the Grand
Hotel (p. 39) plies daily at noon in connection with the tramway mentioned
at p. 34 (½ hr.; fare 12 s.); cab, ordered by telephone from Santa
Cruz, in 2–2½ hrs., 20–25 p.; diligence (dirty) at 9 and 5, viâ Villa Orotava
(3 hrs.; fare 3 p.), to Puerto Orotava (4 hrs.; 4 p.).
38Excursions. The road to the N.E. leads past the slopes of the Montaña
del Picón, and through the Valle de Guerra, to (7 M.) Tejina (p. 37).—To
the N. we may descend (1½ hr.) the precipitous rocks on the Coast
(650–980 ft.), where the numerous caves are said to have once been inhabited
by the Guanches (p. 31).—To the S.E. lies the (1½ hr.) primæval
*Forest of Agua García (2588 ft.), the finest in Teneriffe, with its huge
erica trees overgrown with creepers, its venerable laurels, and superb tree-ferns.
Specially charming is a sequestered nook at the Madre d’Agua,
the source of the water-conduit.
The Puerto Orotava road (conveyance, see p. 37), whence the
route to Sauzal diverges to the right a little farther on, passes
through wheat-fields, vineyards, and orchards, and is bordered with
tamarisks, Canary palms, oleanders, aloes, and hedges of geranium.
The steep slopes of the Cumbre are carefully cultivated in terraces
up to the evergreen zone of the cloud-region. Fine view of the
rock-bound coast and the blue ocean to the right.
15 M. Matanza (1585 ft.; ‘slaughter’), the scene of the last defeat
of the Spanish invaders (1494), is now a village of 2000 inhabitants.
Beyond (17 M.) the little town of Victoria (1240 ft.), where
the Guanches sustained a decisive defeat in 1494, the road forks.
The new road, to the left, crosses the Barranco Hondo, a ravine
about 330 ft. deep, by a viaduct (1909); the old road winds down
into the Barranco Hondo. The two roads unite at the church of
(20 M.) Santa Ursula, a palm-girt village (886 ft.; 2200 inhab.),
on the crest of the Ladera de Santa Ursula, noted for its wine.
About 1 hr. above it is the farm of La Florida (p. 40).
Beyond the village we obtain a glimpse, and then, at the
Humboldt Corner, a full and glorious view of the **Orotava
Valley, the Taoro Valley of the Guanches, famed at once for its
harmonious outlines, for its superb colouring, and for its luxuriant
vegetation. The valley, about 7 M. long by 6 M. wide, probably
formed by subsidence, and descending rather rapidly to the sea in
terraces, is sprinkled with smiling villages and countless white
country-houses, embosomed among palms, pines, orange-trees, rosebushes,
and climbing plants, which are abundantly watered by
cuttings and conduits descending from the cloud-region. The
tropical character of the landscape is enhanced by the extensive
plantations of bananas. On the E. and W. the valley is flanked
by the lava slopes, about 1000 ft. in height, of the Ladera de
Santa Ursula and the Ladera de Tigaiga, and on the S. it is
bounded by the Cumbre, with the ‘organ-pipes’ at the S.E. angle
(p. 40). Far above its steep banks, but most often concealed by
the trade-wind clouds, towers the majestic pyramid of the Peak.
In the middle of the valley rise three eruptive cones of recent
origin, the Montaña de la Horca (833 ft.; p. 39), the Montaña
de Chaves (p. 42), and the Montaña de las Gañanias, which have
sent forth lava-streams descending to the sea.
39Beyond the Barranco del Pinito the direct road to (24½ M.)
Villa Orotava (p. 40) branches off to the left, and 1 M. farther
on another road from that town joins ours. We are next carried
through deep barrancos by means of cuttings, with their surprising
variety of layers of slag and beds of lava, and at the Montaña de
la Horca we come to a point where a new road diverges, to the
left, for Realejo Bajo (p. 42) and Icod de los Vinos (p. 43). We
descend to the right to Puerto Orotava, passing a private entrance
to the Grand Hotel on our right.
27½ M. Puerto Orotava.—Hotels (often crowded in March
and April). *Grand Hotel (or ‘Kurhaus Humboldt’; about 330 ft.), in a
fine open situation on the N. slope of the Montaña de la Horca, with
splendid views from the roof-terrace, beautiful grounds, and sea-baths
on the Martianez beach (see below), R. from 4s., pens. 12s. 6d.–20s.; for
guests ascending the Peak the hotel provides mule, guide, porter, accommodation
in the Alta Vista hut, and food for two days for an inclusive sum
of 30s. *Hot. Martianez, at the E. end of the town, not far from the sea,
once a nobleman’s château, with a charming garden, pens. 12–15s.; Hot.
Monopol, Plaza de la Iglesia, R. 2s. 6d.–3s., pens. 8–10s., good (all three
under German management); Hot. Marquesa, Plaza de la Iglesia, pens.
5–6s., Spanish, well spoken of.
Post & Telegraph Office, Calle de Quintana, near the Plaza de la
Iglesia.
Banker.T. M. Reid, Calle San Juan.—Photographer.Baeza, Calle
de la Hoya.—Teneriffe Work.Franken, Calle de Santo Domingo 10.
Physicians.Dr. Lishman, Casa Montaña; Dr. Perez.—Chemist.R.
Gomez, Calle de Santo Domingo.
Music in the Plaza de la Constitución.—Sortija Riding (tilting at
the ring) in the grounds of the Grand Hotel.
Carriages. To Villa Orotava or Realejo 10 p.; to Tacoronte 20–25 p.;
to Icod de los Vinos 25 p.—Omnibus to Villa Orotava twice daily, 1 p.—Mule
(mulo) to Agua Mansa 10 p., to Güimar 12½, to the Peak 20 p.—Donkey
(burro), 5 p. per day (according to bargain).—Guide to the
Peak 20 p.
English Church (resident chaplain) in the grounds above the Grand
Hotel.—English Cemetery and others to the W. of the town.
Puerto Orotava, officially called Puerto de la Cruz, the most
popular invalid resort in the Canaries, a poor little seaport with
3100 inhab., lies on a delta formed by lava-streams. The Calle
San Juan, the main street, in continuation of the highroad, descends,
passing near the Plaza de la Constitución, with its garden-grounds,
to the Pier (Muelle), whence the produce of the Orotava
Valley is conveyed by small boats to the vessels in the roads.
In the Plaza de la Iglesia, to the E. of the Plaza de la Constitución,
are the Iglesia de la Peña de Santa Francisca, with
its new tower, and the Casas Consistoriales or town-hall, with its
old-fashioned wooden balcony.—Mr. R. Gomez, the chemist (see
above), possesses a small Guanche Museum (adm. 1 p.).
To the E. of the town a palm-avenue leads along the Barranco
de Martianez to the bathing beach (Playa de Martianez). Beyond
the ravine, about halfway up the abrupt coast-hill, is the spring
40called Fuente de Martianez.—A zigzag path ascends to the Sitio
de la Paz (492 ft.), once occupied by Alex. von Humboldt (1814),
and now containing several memorials of that savant. A cypress-avenue
is the sole relic of the old garden (fee).—A beautiful walk
may be taken to the Barranco de las Arenas, 1½ hr. to the E.
To the S. the Camino del Puerto (see below) leads past the
Observatorio (belonging to the nautical observatory of Hamburg)
to the *Botanic Garden (Jardín Botánico or de Aclimatación),
laid out in 1788, which, though sadly neglected, contains exquisite
flowers, superb magnolias, and fine specimens of royal, Canary, and
exotic palms, dragon-trees (p. 30), and fig-trees (Ficus imperialis
and Ficus nitida; p. 233).
A dusty road (donkey 3 p.) leads from the cemetery at the W.
end of the town to the Finca los Frailes of Dr. Perez, with its
splendid avenue of palms. The road ends at the Risco do Burgado,
with its fissured lava cliffs, washed by huge breakers.
Pleasant ride (4–5 hrs.; donkey 4, horse 8 p.) by Los Frailes to Realejo
Bajo and Realejo Alto (p. 42), returning, above the three eruptive cones
(p. 38), viâ Cruz Santa (p. 41), Perdoma, and Villa Orotava.
From Puerto Orotava the dusty roads mentioned on p. 39, besides
the Camino del Puerto, the old bridle-path, lead through a
garden-like region in 1¼–1½ hr. to Villa Orotava (1080–1480 ft.;
Hot. Suizo, pens. 6–8 p., good; Hot. Victoria, same charges; 3600
inhab.) the Arautápala of the Guanches, now the capital of the
Orotava Valley. The antiquated little town, which has fallen into
great poverty since the decline of the cochineal culture (p. 32),
occupies almost the loveliest site in the whole island.
At the E. entrance is the Plaza de San Agustín, with the old
Iglesia de San Agustín and a band-stand, whence we have a fine
view of Puerto Orotava and the sea. Near it is the Villa of
Marquesa Quinta, now owned by Dr. Perez (p. 39), with its beautiful
park; on the highest terrace is a marble mausoleum (adm. to
both 1 p.).
In the quarter above the Iglesia de la Concepción are several
châteaux of the noblesse. On the S.W. side of the town, near the
monastery of San Francisco (now a hospital), are two old mansions
with very handsome carved balconies (comp. p. 36).
An excursion, attractive in clear weather only, may be made to the
farm of Aqua Mansa (3491 ft.), in the S.E. angle of the Orotava Valley,
within the cloud-region, 1½ hr. to the S.E. of Villa Orotava. Steep
bridle-path; mule, see p. 39. The chestnut and erica woods are succeeded
in the Barranco de la Arena by primæval *Pine Forest, near which is an
abrupt slope with huge columns of basalt, known as the Organos (organ-pipes).
From Agua Mansa we may either ride back by the W. margin
of the Ladera de Santa Ursula (p. 38) and the farm of La Florida, or
we may cross the Pedro Gil Pass (6522 ft.; the top of the Cumbre, to the
S.W., commands a striking view of the E. coast and the Grand Canary)
to the grand basin of the *Garganta de Güimar, and along the lava-stream
of 1705, past Arafo, to (6–7 hrs.) Güimar (p. 36).
41The Ascent of the Peak of Teneriffe, which is fatiguing but
without danger, takes two days and should be made in the warmer season
(hotel arrangement for the ascent, see p. 39; tariffs for mule and guide,
also see p. 39). The excursion affords an admirable insight into the geological
structure of the island, while the view in clear weather is of
unparallelled grandeur. The equipment most needed consists of riding
leggings, an Alpenstock (lanza), stout boots, a lantern, rugs, drinking-water,
abundant provisions, grey spectacles or goggles, and lanoline for
the face. In the Cañadas (see below) the guides and mule-drivers often
refuse their services when snow is falling. The shortest way to the peak
is by the bridle-path from Puerto Orotava, viâ Cruz Santa, to the Portillo.
In about 10 hrs. we reach the refuge-hut of Alta Vista, the keys of which
are brought by the guide. We may afterwards descend to Icod Alto and
Realejo Alto (p. 42; about 8 hrs.), where a vehicle may be ordered to meet
us; or we may descend viâ the Llano de la Maja to Güimar (p. 36; 10 hrs.).
Our route ascends through every climatic zone in the world. From
the tropical region of Puerto Orotava we pass, beyond Cruz Santa (1500 ft.),
through the Taoro Basin into the temperate zone, the region of maize and
cereals, where numerous cottages are shaded by chestnut-trees. Leaving
behind the thickets of Monte Verde and following the Camino del Brezal
with its view of the sombre Ladera de Tigaiga (p. 38), we mount, beyond
the cloud-region, a wilderness of lava. A most striking change of
scenery is observed at the Portillo (6611 ft.), lying a little to the E. of
the Fortaleza (p. 42), and forming the entrance to the *Montañas de las
Cañadas, the lowest and oldest crater. This enormous basin, 6–12½ M.
in diameter, girdles the base of the Peak with its ring-shaped wall of
lava rocks (650–1650 ft. high), the continuity of which has, however, been
broken by later eruptions. The summit of the Peak is rarely free from
snow except in August and September. We now ride across the Cañadas
Plateau (midday-rest; view of the Peak), a desolate expanse of pumice-stone,
overgrown with scanty Retama (p. 31), and in summer enlivened
by a few goats. Here and there it is intersected by huge lava-streams
and covered with isolated eruptive cones. The sky is generally cloudless,
the sun intensely hot, and the air marvellously clear. At the foot
of the lower portion of the Peak, not far from the spur of Los Rastrojos
(7562 ft.), begins the toilsome ascent over the grey-white pumice-stone
of the Montaña Blanca (8691 ft.) to the saddle adjoining the pyramid-like
peak. The zigzag path now mounts the slopes of slag, inhabited
by rabbits, mostly between streams of black obsidian, to the Lomo Tiezo.
In the midst of the expanse of slag shady resting-places are formed
here and there by great blocks of lava, such as the Estancia de los
Ingleses (9711 ft.) and the Estancia de los Alemanes (10,018 ft.). Below
the spot where the lava-streams unite to form the sickle-shaped Piedras
Negras stands the refuge-hut of Alta Vista (10,728 ft.; accommodation
for 15 pers. at the utmost, at 5 p. each). From this point we already
enjoy, in clear weather, an imposing view of the E. half of the island,
of the Grand Canary (p. 43), and even of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote
(p. 28), a glorious spectacle more particularly at sunset, when the Peak
gradually casts its shadow over the sea as far as the Grand Canary.
Next morning we start early. The winding path ascends a field of
lava to (1 hr.) the Rambleta (11,713 ft.), the central crater-basin, out of
which towers the trachytic cone, covered with pumice-stone, of the Pitón
or Pan de Azúcar (‘sugar-loaf’), the summit of the **Peak of Teneriffe,
or Pico de Teide (12,175 ft.; ‘peak of hell’). In ½¾ hr. we climb its
slopes to the Corona, the very narrow margin of the Caldera, the insignificant
highest crater (77 by 110 yds.; 130 ft. in depth), which was still
active in the middle ages, but now emits a few jets of steam only from its
fumaroles (comp. p. 29). When the horizon is perfectly clear, the eye
ranges over an area of some 2200 sq. M.; floating, as it were, in the midst of
the boundless expanse of the ocean, the blue of which seems to blend on
the horizon with the blue of the sky, we can sometimes see the whole
42of the Canaries, from Palma, Hierro, and Gomera on the W. to the far-distant
E. group. To the W. we look down upon the grand crater of the
Pico Viejo (see below), the Chahorra, and the Talus de Bilma, studded with
countless coloured cinder-cones. We survey, from the Fortaleza on the
N.E. to the Morro del Cedro on the S.W., the ring-shaped wall of the
Cañadas, with the pumice-stone wilderness of the Cañadas Plateau and the
coloured lava-masses of the Azulejos (see below). The older serrated
mountains in the island (pp. 32, 33) and the green basins of Orotava and
Icod are generally shrouded by a sea of clouds of dazzling whiteness.
On the Descent, which experts may shorten at first by glissading
down the cinder-slopes, we may visit the Cueva del Hielo (11,044 ft.),
a fine lava cavern a little below the Rambleta, always filled with ice and
water. From the Montaña Blanca (p. 41) we then turn to the N. to the
Fortaleza (8300 ft.), the only considerable height on the N. margin of the
Cañadas wall. The bridle-path, very steep and rough, next descends
to the Corona de Icod (about 2900 ft.), the highest point of the Ladera
de Tigaiga (p. 38), falling away to the E. in a huge rocky slope, and
again offering a glorious view of the Vale of Orotava. From Icod Alto
(1716 ft.) we may descend rapidly to the N.E. to Realejo Alto (see below),
or we may wend our way due W. to Icod de los Vinos (p. 43).
Round the Cañadas is an interesting but toilsome excursion. From
the Portillo (p. 41) we strike to the S. across the Cañadas Plateau to the
rocks of the Risco Verde (7130 ft.), on the E. margin of the encircling wall,
where a lava cavern serves for night-quarters. The path then leads to the
S.W., skirting the basaltic rock of Las Pilas (7228 ft.), passing below
the Espigón Hill, and along the wildly fissured and variegated Roques
de la Grieta (7211 ft.), where a new Observatorio has been built near a
spring (1909). This brings us to the Guajara Hill (8908 ft.), near the
Guajara Pass (see below). Our route, now running to the W., crosses the
so-called Azulejos (9400 ft.), a lava wall consisting partly of blue-green
rock, and at the Boca de Tauze (7021 ft.) surmounts the huge lava-streams
(of 1798 and 1909, comp. p. 29) of the Chahorra (7743 ft.) and the Pico Viejo
(10,289 ft.). To the left rises the Morro del Cedro (8000 ft.), the highest
hill on the W. side of the crater-wall. From the N.W. side of the Cañadas,
whose girdle-wall was here almost entirely destroyed by the numerous
cones thrown up in 1705 and 1706, we next reach the *Pinal de la Guancha,
the finest pine-forest in the island. Thence we traverse the huge lava
slopes of the Lomo de Vega (5168 ft.) to the basin of Icod de los Vinos
(p. 43).
A somewhat shorter path from the Portillo, crossing the saddle between
the Rastrojos and the Montaña Blanca (p. 41), leads to the S.W.,
in 3½ hrs., direct to the Guajara Pass (7992 ft.), which gives access to
the village of Vilaflor (4842 ft.; inn), finely situated on the S. slope of
the girdle-wall of the Cañadas amid pine-woods and luxuriant orchards,
and noted for the ‘Vilaflor embroidery’ (p. 32). From the brow of the Llano
de los Quemados we overlook the late-volcanic terraces of the Bandas del
Sur, which are bare and thinly peopled. A fine excursion from Vilaflor is
made viâ Escalona (3750 ft.) and Arona (2198 ft.), with views, towards the
W., of the islands of Gomera and Hierro, to the little town of Adeje (935 ft.),
situated behind the Adeje Mts. (p. 32; Roque del Carasco, etc.), the ancient
Guanche capital of the island. Near it is the *Barranco del Infierno, the
upper half of which is the grandest ravine in Teneriffe.
The *High Road, which at the foot of the Montaña de Chaves
(p. 38) sends off a by-road to the village of Realejo Alto (1158 ft.),
nears the sea at the rocky headland of Rambla de Castro.
At (27½ M. from Santa Cruz) Realejo Bajo (883 ft.) the Ladera
de Tigaiga (p. 38) comes close down to the coast. The next
stretch of road, as far as (32½ M.) San Juan de la Rambla43(2000 inhab.), situated on a recent lava-stream, is particularly fine.
It leads past abrupt rocks and through sombre gorges (Barranco
de la Torre, Barranco Ruiz), and often through banana plantations
and vineyards extending to the cliffs of the coast.
37½ M. Icod de los Vinos (755 ft.; Hot. Inglés, poor), a
small town with 2000 inhab., is the chief place in the *Vale of
Icod, which is bounded by the Ladera de Tigaiga, the Lomo de
Vega, and the Pinal de la Guancha (p. 42), rivalling the Vale
of Orotava in fertility and beauty. We enjoy here a magnificent
*View of the Peak, towering almost immediately above the coast,
between the Fortaleza and the Pico Viejo (p. 42). A garden near
the Iglesia Parroquial contains an old dragon-tree. The Guanches’
Cave below the village is not worth visiting (fee 2 p.).
A pleasant way back to the Vale of Orotava is the bridle-path viâ
Guancha, Icod Alto (p. 42), and Realejo Alto (p. 42).
The Gran Canaria or ‘Grand Canary‘, the second-largest
island in the archipelago, nearly circular in form, with 127,000
inhab. in an area of 626 sq. M., lies about 66 M. to the S.E. of Teneriffe.
The best-watered and most fertile parts are the environs of Las
Palmas, the capital, and the N. coast. The barren brown mountains
in the interior, with their sharp outlines, culminate in the Pico de
las Nieves (6400 ft.). On every side deep barrancos or ravines descend
to the coast, conspicuous among which, as we near the island
from Teneriffe, is the Barranco de Tejeda.
The Isleta (748 ft.), the N.E. promontory of Gran Canaria, once
a separate island, has gradually been united to the greater island
by deposits of sea-sand which form the Istmo de Guanarteme.
The Lighthouse (Faro) on the Punta Morro de la Vieja, on the N.
side of the Isleta, is the chief landmark for steamers coming from
Teneriffe or the N.
Beyond the Isleta, in the Confital Bay opening to the W., lies
Puerto de la Luz (Hot. Rayo, with café, pens. 6 p., a very fair
Spanish inn; comp. Plan, p. 46), a rapidly rising place, the chief
port of Gran Canaria, and the best harbour in the islands. The
entrance to it is protected by a breakwater (rompeolas), about
1100 yds. long, and by the Muelle (mole) de Santa Catalina (landing
or embarking in steam-launches or small boats, 1 p., trunk 50 c.).
The hotel-agents from Las Palmas come on board.
A dusty Road leads from Puerto de la Luz, passing many
new buildings, the mineral baths of Fuente de Santa Catalina
(near which is the English Church, p. 45), and the large hotels
named at p. 44, to (4½ M.) Las Palmas. (Tramway in about
40 min.; fares 20–40 c.; tartana, a kind of dog-cart, 2, with luggage
3–4 p.)
44Las Palmas.—Hotels.Santa Catalina, pens. 10–16s., and Métropole,
pens. 10–12s., both on the road to the harbour (comp. Plan, p. 46),
ca. ¾ M. to the N. of the town, with beautiful gardens towards the sea,
tennis-courts, etc.; both closed in summer.—In the town: Hôt. Continental
(Pl. c; B, 2), with American bar and pretty garden, pens, from 8s.
6d., and Quiney’s English Hotel (Pl. d; B, 2), R. 4–6, B. 1, D. 5, pens.
10–15s., both in the Plaza de San Bernardo (p. 45), in a quiet and pleasant
situation.—Catalan Hotel (Pl. e; B, 3), Calle de los Remedios 8, pens. 6 p.,
and Cuatro Naciones (Pl. f; B, 4), Alameda de Colón, with café, pens. 6 p.,
both quite Spanish.—The best table-water is Agua Firgas.
Post Office (Correos; Pl. 1, B 4), Plaza de Santa Ana (best hours 12–4).
Telegraph Office (Telégrafo; Pl. 5, A, 2), Calle de Domingo J. Navarro 36.
45Theatre (Pl. C, 3), at the month of the Barranco Guiniguada.—Music
in the Alameda de Colón.
Bankers.Miller & Co., Muelle de Santa Catalina, in Puerto de la Luz;
Blandy Bros. & Co., Calle Mayor de Triana 68, and others.
Steamboat Agents.Miller & Co. (see above), for the Union Castle,
the Austro-Americana, Aberdeen (Rennie’s), Bucknall, and other lines;
Grand Canary Coaling Co., for the Peninsular & Oriental Co. and the
Royal Mail Steam Packet Co.; Behrens, at Puerto de la Luz, to the N.
of the Muelle de Santa Catalina, for the German East African, Woermann,
and Hamburg-American Lines; Elder, Dempster, & Co., Calle Mayor
de Triana 93, for the Vapores Correos Interinsulares Canarios; M. Curbelo
& Co., Calle de Muro, for the Compañía Trasatlántica.
Carriages (stands in the Plaza de Cairasco, in the Plaza de San
Bernardo, and near the theatre). Drive in the town for 1–3 pers. 1½p., for
4 pers. 2 p.; per hour 2½ (or for a tartana or dog-cart 2) p.; to Puerto de la
Luz 5 (tartana 2) p.; to the Monte, Telde, or Arucas 15 (tartana 12½) p.; to
Atalaya, San Mateo, or Teror 20 (tartana 15) p.
English Church, near the Hôt. Métropole, on the road to Puerto de
la Luz (comp. Plan, p. 46).—English Club at Puerto de la Luz.
Las Palmas, a town of 28,600 inhab., of a S. Spanish type like
Santa Cruz (comp. p. 35), the seat of the bishop of Gran Canaria,
situated in 28° 6′ N. lat. and 15° 12′ W. long., is the busiest and
wealthiest town in the whole archipelago. The houses of the well-to-do
townspeople, built of pale-grey tufa or blue lava-basalt, often
enclose beautiful patios filled with plants, which are watered by
means of pipes conducted from the roofs. On the hills at the back of
the town, which have been fortified since the Spanish and American
war, are sprinkled many gaily painted country-houses.
Las Palmas is divided into two parts (barrios) by the Barranco
de Guiniguada: on the N. Triana, and on the S. Vegueta.
The main street of Triana, with its numerous shops, in line
with the road from Puerto de la Luz, is called Calle Mayor de
Triana (Pl. B, C, 1–3). Beyond the Baranquillo de Mata it intersects
the Plaza San Telmo (Pl. B, 1), in which rises the Gobierno
Militar (Pl. 2; B, 1).
The Paseo de Bravo Murillo (Pl. B, A, 1) ascends the gorge to
the right to the Carretera del Norte (p. 47). On the left is the
Harbour (Pl. B, C, 1), with the pier (Muelle), where the sea-breezes
may be enjoyed in hot weather.
From the Calle Mayor de Triana, farther on, the Calle Constantino
diverges to the right to the Plaza de San Bernardo (Pl. A, B, 2),
a square planted with Indian laurels. Near the S. end of the street
the Calle del General Bravo leads to the Alameda de Colón (Pl. B, 3),
which is embellished with a bust of Columbus and fine royal and
date palms (p. 30). In this square rise the Iglesia de San Francisco
(1689) and the Casino.
The central point of Vegueta is the Plaza de Santa Ana (Pl. B, 4),
where the guides lie in wait for strangers. The bronze dogs at the
lower end of the plaza, as well as those in the arms of the town,
recall the tradition that Juba II. (p. 31) carried away some dogs
(canes) from the island, and that their name is derived thence.
46The Cathedral (Pl. B, C, 4; San Christóbal), founded in 1497
and restored in 1781, with its heavy façade flanked with towers
184 ft. high, contains, in the first chapel of the left aisle, the tombstone
of the native poet Bart. Cairasco de Figueroa (1540–1610), and
in the crypt the tomb of Viera y Clavijo (1731–1802), the historian
of the Canaries.
The Town Hall (Palacio Municipal; Pl. B, 4), built in 1842,
contains, on the third floor, the Museo Canario, consisting of natural
history collections and of curiosities from the Guanche caverns
of the Isleta (p. 43) and other places (implements, weapons, and
tools in basalt, obsidian, horn, wood, and clay, leather-work, and
mummies). Adm. free, daily 11–3.
For a prolonged stay the Monte is preferable to Las Palmas. It
is reached by the Carretera del Centro (comp. Pl. A, 5), the best
road in the island. Ascending from the suburb of San Roque, and
soon affording splendid views, the road at first follows the Barranco
de Guiniguada (p. 45), and then winds up the slopes of the
Pico del Viento (820 ft.).
3¾ M. Tafira (1230 ft.; Hotel Victoria; James’s Boarding
House), the first village on the *Monte, a colony of villas and a
favourite winter resort of the English.
8 M. Santa Brígida (1572 ft.; Hot. Santa Brígida, in a fine
open situation with a beautiful park, pens. from 10s. 6d.; Quiney’s
Bella Vista, ½ M. below the other, pens. 8–10s.), a finely situated
village with 500 inhabitants.
The road, still unfinished, goes on to Telde (p. 47), passing the
curious cave-village of Atalaya (1720 ft.), which rises in terraces
on the hill-side. The tufa walls of the cave-dwellings are hung with
mats. The industry of the place is the manufacture of pottery,
notably the porous water-jars so common in N. Africa.
The ascent of the *Pico de Vandama (1838 ft.) may be made
from Atalaya or direct from Santa Brígida (there and back 2 hrs.;
mule 3 p.). This hill, overgrown with pines and tree-like broom,
overlooks the grand mountain landscape of the E. coast. Very
striking is the view of the *Caldera de Vandama, a huge crater-basin
of about 550 yds. in diameter and 683 ft. in depth. Its floor
is planted with vines and cereals, and it is worth while to ride
down into it.
The Carretera del Centro leads, beyond the bifurcation for Atalaya,
to (13 M.) the little town of San Mateo (2575 ft.; fair inn), superbly
situated among the mountains. Rough mule-tracks lead thence to the
Pico de las Nieves (6400 ft.), to the village of Tejeda (3160 ft.) in the
*Barranco de Tejeda (p. 43), and to the cave-village of Artenara.
Scarcely less attractive than the Monte road is the *Carretera
del Sur, which leads from Las Palmas, at first passing the cemeteries,
then skirting the rocks of the E. coast, and at length turning
inland, piercing the lava-rock by a tunnel, to Ginámar and (8 M.)
Telde (394 ft.; inn; pop. 4000), a picturesque little town amidst
beautiful orange-groves.
47The Carretera del Norte, crossing the Barranco de San Lorenzo and
the road from Puerto de la Luz (p. 43) at Tamaraceite, and farther on,
beyond a long tunnel, the Barranco de Tenoya above the village of that
name, leads to (10 M.) Arucas (1017 ft.; two inns), an industrial little
town of 2900 inhab., at the foot of the Montaña de Arucas, a hill affording
fine views. The sugar-cane is cultivated in the vicinity.
A by-road diverges from this carretera, beyond the Barranco de San
Lorenzo, to (12½ M.) Teror (1936 ft.; dirty inn), a little town with the
famous pilgrimage-church of the Virgen del Pino (16th cent.).
The island of Palma, or La Palma, in the extreme N.W.
of the archipelago, 28½ M. long and 17 M. broad, lying about
16½ M. to the W. of Teneriffe, is remarkable for its fine scenery
and superb forests, but is as yet rarely visited by tourists. The
famous Caldera, the largest and deepest of all the crater-basins
in the islands, opens towards the W. in the huge Barranco de las
Angustias, while many smaller gorges render the N. coast in
particular very difficult of access. The whole of the S. part of the
island is of recent volcanic origin and therefore poorly watered.
The population (42,000, in an area of 280 sq. M.) is confined to
the S.E. margin of the island and the middle of the W. slopes
Many of the natives emigrate, especially to Cuba.
Starting from Santa Cruz de Tenerife (p. 33) the steamer rounds
the Anaga Mts., with the lighthouse already named (p. 33), and
steers to the W. from the Punta del Hidalgo (p. 37) to Palma.
The lighthouse on the Punta de Teno (23 ft.), the N.W. point of
Teneriffe, remains visible for some time. The bold coast of Palma
presents a grand appearance as we approach.
Santa Cruz de la Palma.—Hotels.Hot. Miramar; Hot.
Español; Hot. Internacional; Fonda Verbena, pens. 4–5 p.—Carriage
to Los Llanos 45 p. (also motor-omnibus).—Mule per day 5–6, to Los
Llanos 7½ p.
Santa Cruz de la Palma, the only considerable port (5700
inhab.) in the island, lies on the E. coast, on an open bay which
is much exposed to sand-drifts. The houses rise in terraces on
the steep hill-side, overtopped by tall Canary palms. The chief
export is tobacco, which is little inferior to that of Havana.
Cigar-factory of J. Cabrera Martín.
The main street, in which rises the Town Hall (Ayuntamiento)
of 1563, leads to a picturesque triangular plaza with the church of
San Salvador and several handsome houses. Close by is the small
Museum (Museo de Historia Natural y Etnográfico). A beautiful
palm-avenue leads through the upper part of the town.
Excursions. To the N.W. we may ascend through the Barranco de
la Madera, with its cave-dwellings (Cuevas de los Guanches) to the loftily
situated pilgrimage-church of the Virgen de las Nieves (16th cent.);
48thence either to the Montaña de Tagoje (about 3300 ft.; with grand view
of the E. coast, of Gomera and Teneriffe), or to the Pico del Cedro
(7471 ft.) on the E. margin of the Caldera (see below), round which we
may ride to the Roque de los Muchachos (7693 ft.) on the N. side.—To
the S.W., following the old bridle-path which cuts off the windings of
the road, we may walk or ride to (1 hr.) Buena Vista (about 660 ft.),
whence a rough mule-track ascends to the (2 hrs.) Cumbre Nueva
(4593 ft.), the chief mountain-pass in the island, where we have a grand
*View of the abrupt rocks and the pine-woods of the central chain, of
the fertile plains to the W., and of the distant Peak of Teneriffe. Then
we proceed through pine-forest, past the venerable ‘Pino de la Virgen’,
to El Paso (2060 ft.; inn), whence we may ascend the Cumbrecita (4445 ft.)
and the Idafe, the sacred mount of the Guanches, on the S. margin of
the Caldera. Finally we descend to the (3 hrs.) little town of Los Llanos
(1000 ft.; poor inn, bargaining advisable). From Los Llanos it takes a
day (7–8 hrs., there and back) to visit the *Caldera, a vast basin, nearly
5900 ft. deep and 3–4½ M. in diameter, situated in the heart of the island
and rarely quite cloudless. A tedious ride up the Barranco de las
Angustias brings us to the farm-building of Tenera (3642 ft.), whence
we look down on the floor of the Caldera, which is partly clothed with
pines. The best way to return from Los Llanos to Santa Cruz is to drive
(34½ M.) by the road passing Las Manchas, Fuencaliente (2297 ft.), Mazo
(1312 ft.), and Breña Baja; or we may ride across the Cumbre Vieja
(6660 ft.), the pass between Las Manchas and the Barranco Aduares.
III. ANDALUSIA. [5] — 5. Gibraltar. — 6. From Gibraltar to Seville. — a. Viâ Bobadilla and Utrera. — b. Viâ Tangier and Cadiz. — 7. Seville. — a. The Plaza del Triunfo with the Alcázar and the Cathedral. — b. The Central and Eastern Quarters. — c. The Western and South-Western Quarters. — 8. From Seville to Cordova. — 9. From Cordova viâ Bobadilla to Granada. — 10. Granada. — a. The Lower Town. — b. Darro Valley and Albaicín. — c. The Alhambra. — d. The Generalife. — 11. From Granada viâ Bobadilla to Málaga.
49
Route
Page
Geographical and Historical Sketch. Preliminary Notes
a. The Plaza del Triunfo with the Alcázar and the Cathedral, 61.—b. The Central and Eastern Quarters (Casa del Ayuntamiento, Casa de Pilatos, University), 65.—c. The Western and South-Western Quarters (Museo Provincial, Hospital de la Caridad, Public Gardens), 66.
Andalusia, the southmost region of Spain, is geologically of somewhat recent origin. In the tertiary period the sea still washed
the southern shores of the Iberian tableland, until a pressure acting
in a direction from S. to N. gradually lifted up a new coast in long
parallel folds, while the Mediterranean forced a new passage to
the ocean through the Straits of Gibraltar (comp. p. xxix). Latest
of all appeared the Guadalquivir Bay, the highest point of whose
coast scarcely rises 490 ft. above the sea. The coast-hills, which
have their counterpart in the Rîf Mts. on the African side (p. 93),
stretch in the main from E. to W., descending abruptly to the sea.
Transverse fissures, in which volcanic activity is still indicated
by frequent earthquakes, divide the coast into several different
chains, which culminate in the Sierra Nevada (11,421 ft.; ‘snow-mountain’),
the highest peak in Spain. The W. chain (Serranía
de Ronda) trends round to the N. In contrast to the Andalucía
Alta, the folded region facing the Mediterranean, the Andalucía
Baja, the basin of the Guadalquivir, opens towards the Atlantic.
50The Guadalquivir (Arabic Wâd al-Kebîr, ‘the great river’), the
Bætis of antiquity, rises indeed in the Sierra de Cazorla, apart
from the coast-mountains, but receives its more copious affluents,
particularly the Guadiana Menor, from the Sierra Nevada. After
a wild career it enters the plain beyond Montoro, becomes navigable
at Cordova, and even carries sea-going vessels at Seville.
5. Fuller details in Baedeker’s Spain and Portugal.
The History of the country dates from hoar antiquity. It was
the Tarshish of the Bible, being already named in the generations
of Noah (Gen. x. 4), and was called by the Greeks Tartessós, the
home of precious metals, especially of silver, the source of the
wealth of Tyre. Here, too, are the rich copper mines of Rio Tinto
and Tharsis, which were already worked in the ancient Iberian
age. The Mediterranean peoples contented themselves with visiting
the harbours established in the bays of the coast, leaving it to the
natives to bring the produce of the interior down to them across
the mountains or by the river Bætis. Thus arose, probably even
before the foundation of Cadiz, the Phœnician towns of Málaca
(Málaga) and Kalpe (Gibraltar), besides other small settlements.
About 1100 B.C. Gadîr or Gades, the westmost of these, appears
in history, and afterwards became dependent on Carthage. The art
of writing, the first and most potent aid to commerce, was propagated
from Gades, which thereby laid the foundation of the higher civilization
of the peninsula. Summoned to their aid by the Gaditanians,
the Carthaginians, who had already gained possession of the Balearic
Islands, invaded Iberia. After the Punic Wars (p. 345) came the
domination of the Romans, who in 27 A.D. gave the whole of
S. Spain the name of Provincia Baetica. On the break-up of the
Roman Empire Andalusia was overrun by the Vandals (p. 322), the
Suevi, and the Visigoths. At length the Arabs and the Berbers of
Morocco obtained a footing here, after they had crossed the Straits
of Gibraltar under Târik (p. 54). By them this region, and afterwards
the whole peninsula which they conquered, were named El-Andalûs
(‘land of the West’). Down to the 13th cent. the Moors
occupied Andalusia, and it was not till 1492 that Granada was
captured by Ferdinand V., the Catholic.
These vicissitudes in the country’s history are still reflected in
its present Inhabitants. Half African, half European, like the
Maltese, the Sicilians, and the Sardinians, the Andalusians have
inherited something of the character, the customs, and the language
of all the nations that once held sway in this region. To
this day the Andalusian dialect swarms with Arabic words; almost
all the terms used in agriculture and irrigation are Arabic. The
popular dances and music are of Oriental origin. To their Oriental
ancestry the Andalusian (Andaluz, Andaluza) also owes his exuberant
imagination. There can be no greater contrast than that
which the calm and proud Old-Castilian presents to the volatile
51and excitable Andalusian, who is apt to substitute fancy for fact,
who sees everything as through a magnifying glass, and who is
therefore much given to exaggeration (fanfarronadas). On the
other hand nothing can be more charming than the bearing of an
Andalusian ‘maja’, who is admired rather for her wit, her grace,
and her power of repartee than for her beauty. The Sal Andaluza
is as proverbial as the Attic ‘salt’ of the ancients.
Andalusia can boast of possessing, not only some of the finest
and most interesting Moorish Buildings in Spain, such as the
mosque at Cordova, the Giralda and Alhambra at Granada, but
also several of the grandest monuments of the ‘reconquista’ period.
Among these are the Alcázar of Seville, one of the most brilliant
creations of the so-called Mudejar, or Moorish-Christian style, and
the grand cathedrals of Seville and Granada in the Gothic and
‘plateresque’, or Spanish early-Renaissance, styles.—Nor is the
Scenery of this region less attractive. Andalusia may be said to
stand in the same relation to Spain as Sicily to Italy, or as Provence
to the rest of France. It combines all that the rest of the
peninsula possesses locally or partially. To the E. are vast plateaux
and steppes, frozen in winter and parched in summer; to the S.
rise snow-clad mountains; on the S.W. are the sand-dunes of the
Atlantic coast; olive-groves thrive on the Guadalquivir; and on
the shores of the Mediterranean are well-watered vegas where the
cotton-plant, the banana, and the sugar-cane flourish.
Mediterranean Travellers will hardly have time for more than a
circular tour from Gibraltar to Tangier, Cadiz, Seville, Cordova, Granada,
and back to Gibraltar, or, in unfavourable weather, to Algeciras, Bobadilla,
and Seville only. The Spanish railways (see the Guía general de
Ferrocarriles; 1 p., smaller edition 75 c.) are far inferior to the British
or to the French, and their speed is very low. The natives travel mostly
in the second or third class, but the carriages cannot be recommended.
The first class often has a berlina, or coupé-carriage with four seats,
which affords an unimpeded view (higher fare).
In the larger towns one may book luggage (facturar el equipaje)
1–2 hrs. before the departure of the train, at the despacho central, or
town-office. Booking it at the station itself is a very slow process. As
in France luggage up to 30 kilos (66 lbs.) is free. The ticket for it is called
a talón or boletín de equipaje. The porter (mozo), often most importunate,
receives 30–50 c. or more.
Andalusia possesses few first-class hotels. The better second-class
inns are similar to the French and Italian. Even for a stay of a single
day it is usual to pay an inclusive charge for bed and board (pupilaje,
from 6 to 20 p.). Déjeuner or lunch (11–1 o’clock) is called almuerzo;
dinner, comida (at or after 7); table-wine, vino común or de mesa. No
allowance is made for meals omitted. An extra charge is often made for
breakfast (coffee, etc.), which Spanish travellers usually take in their own
rooms. Notice of departure should be given as early as possible, lest a
whole additional day be charged for. The usual fee to the servants
(camarero, waiter; muchacha, chamber-maid; mozo, boots), who are apt
to be lazy and inattentive, is 1 p. per day, divided among them, or more
in proportion for families.
The beer-houses are called cervecerías. The cafés are usually open
in the afternoon and evening only. Café con leche is coffee with milk;
52café solo is without milk. Newspapers (periódicos) are not provided by
the cafés. Tobacco and cigars are a government monopoly; the shop is
called estanco; there are also special shops for the better Havana cigars.
The post-offices (correo), even in the larger towns, are often open for
a few hours only. The hours for obtaining poste-restante (cartas en lista)
or registered letters (cartas certificadas) are often changed; the addressee
must show his visiting-card (tarjeta) at the office. Stamps (sellos de correo;
for the town 10, country 15, abroad 25 c.) and post-cards (tarjetas postales,
10 c.) are obtainable at the tobacco-shops only. Telegrams (telegramas)
must be prepaid with special stamps (sellos de telégrafos), for the sale of
which there are separate offices.
The Spanish peseta (p.), divided into 100 centimos (c.), is scarcely
equal to the franc in value. The only valid banknotes are those of the
Madrid Banco de España. The 5 p. piece is popularly called a duro;
the 10 c. and 5 c. copper coins are often termed perro grande and perro
chico (‘big and little dog’) in jocular allusion to the lions in the coat-of-arms.
Change should be examined carefully, as base coin is common.—At
Gibraltar the currency is English, but Spanish money is received, except
at the post and telegraph office.
Arrival. The ocean-going steamers land and embark their passengers
in their own steam-tenders at any time before sunset at the Commercial
Pier (fare for each pers. 1s. either way). The tariff for small boats is 1s. 6d.
for a row in the harbour, or to or from the steamboats, for 1–2 pers.,
and 1s. for each addit. person; luggage up to 56 lbs. free; excess, 6d.
per 56 lbs.; or a bargain may be made (l–2s. for passenger, incl. luggage).
In bad weather the tariff is raised, in accordance with the signals (red,
blue, bluish-white), to one-third more, or double, or triple fare. The
porters are notorious for their extortionate demands. The charge for conveying
luggage to the hotel should be fixed beforehand.—The Custom
House Examination at the harbour-gate is confined to tobacco, spirits,
and weapons. Foreigners require a permit from the Police Office (Pl. 2)
to spend the day on shore, and if they intend to spend the night the
permit must be renewed by their landlord. Between 5.30 and 8.15, according
to the season, a cannon-shot (gun-fire) announces the closing of the
Land Port (p. 55). The other gates remain open till 11.
Hotels (the inclusive charge for the day should be ascertained).
Hôt. Bristol (Pl. a), Cathedral Square, quiet and pleasant; Grand Hotel
(Pl. b) and Hôt. Cecil (Pl. c), both in Waterport St.; these three have
high charges, from 10–12s. a day and upwards; Hôt. Paris (Pl. f), opposite
the post-office, new, pens. 8–15 fr.—Plainer: Hôt. Continental (Pl. d),
Turnbull’s Lane; Hôt. Victoria, Church St., café-restaur.; Nuevo Hot.
Español (Pl. e), Irish Town, pens. 8s., tolerable.—The drinking-water
(rain-water from cisterns) is not good.—Cafés.Universal, Church St.;
also at the Assembly Rooms (p. 53).
Cabs (stands at Waterport Gate, Commercial Sq., and Cathedral Sq.).
Drive for 1–2 pers. in the lower town, between Waterport Gate and
Alameda, 6d.; in the upper quarters (Governor’s St.) 9d.; to Catalan
Bay 1s. 3d.; to the lighthouse 1s. 4d.; to Governor’s Cottage 1s. 9d.—Per
hour, for 1–2 pers., 1s. 6d.; for each addit. ½ hr. 6d.; 3d. extra for each
addit. pers., or 5d. extra for the longer drives (lighthouse, Governor’s
Cottage, etc.).—Each trunk 2d.—The tariff is in force only from daybreak
till midnight. A bargain should be made beforehand.
Post Office (Pl. 1), Waterport St.; week-days 7 a.m.–8 p.m. (on Sun.
8–10 a.m.). The overland English mail closes at 6.45 a.m.—Telegraph
Office, same place; 6 a.m. till midnight. Tariff to England 3d. or (viâ
Malta) 6d. per word; to the United States 1s. 4d.–1s. 11d. per word.
United States Consul, R. L. Sprague; vice-consul, A. D. Hayden.—Lloyd’s
Agents, Smith, Imossi, & Co., Irish Town.
Theatre.Assembly Rooms (Pl. 8), in the Alameda, with open-air café.
Steamboat Lines (comp. ‘Gibraltar Chronicle’). Peninsular &
Oriental (Smith, Imossi, & Co., Irish Town), weekly between London,
Marseilles, and Port Said (for Australia and China; comp. RR. 17, 67);
Orient Royal (Smith, Imossi, & Co.), fortnightly between London, Marseilles,
and Port Said (for Australia; comp. RR. 17, 67); Cunard (M. H.
Bland & Co., Cloister Bdg.), between New York and Trieste (RR. 15a, 16);
White Star (Th. Morsley & Co., Irish Town 11), 2 or 3 times monthly to
Naples (and Genoa; RR. 16, 15a), or viâ Algiers to Genoa; North German
Lloyd (J. Onetti & Sons, Engineer Lane), fortnightly to Algiers, Genoa,
Naples, and Port Said (comp. RR. 1, 15b, 24, 67), also fortnightly between
New York, Algiers, Naples, and Genoa (comp. RR. 16, 24); the Hamburg-American
(J. Carrara & Sons, Waterport St.) has excursion-steamers only;
German Levant (J. Rugeroni & Son, Commercial Sq.), occasionally to Algiers;
Hall Line (W. J. S. Smith, Bomb House Lane), weekly between London,
Lisbon, Cadiz, and Málaga (comp. RR. 1, 6b); Royal Mail Steam Packet
(Bland & Co., see above), every other Wed. for Tangier, Mogador, Teneriffe,
etc. (RR. 14, 3, 4); Transports Maritimes (Imossi & Son), 21st of each month
for Madeira and S. America; Oldenburg-Portuguese (A. Mateos & Sons,
Pitman’s Alley) twice monthly to Tangier and Mogador (R. 14); Navigation
Mixte (A. Mateos & Sons), every other Wed. night to Tangier, Oran, and
Marseilles (RR. 18, 19); Vapores Correos de Africa (J. Onetti & Sons; at
Algeciras, A. Gil Pineda), from Algeciras to Tangier and Cadiz (see R. 6b).—Local
steamers to Algeciras and Tangier, comp. R. 6.
One Day (or even less when time presses). Walk through the town to
the Alameda (p. 55); visit to Europa Point (p. 55) and perhaps Catalan
Bay also (p. 56).—Foreigners are not admitted to the fortifications, photographing
or sketching which is prohibited.
Gibraltar, a town of 23,450 inhab. (incl. the garrison of
5100 men), the key of the Mediterranean, and one of the most
important coast-fortresses in the world, in British possession since
1704, and headquarters of the Atlantic Fleet, lies on the W. slope
of a huge rock, which is connected with the Spanish mainland by
a sandy isthmus only. The famous rock bounds the Bay of Algeciras
or Gibraltar on the E. ‘It is the very image of an enormous
lion, crouched between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and set
there to guard the passage for its British mistress’ (Thackeray).
The rock is composed of Jurassic limestone, overlying Silurian
slate, and extending from N. to S.; it is 3 M. long and ¾ M. in
breadth, with a saddle separating Mt. Rockgun (1356 ft.), the lower
hill on the N., from the Signal Station, the Highest Point (1396 ft.),
and the Sugar Loaf Hill (O’ Hara’s Tower, 1361 ft.) on the S.
Its grey masses ascend gradually in terraces on the W. and S. sides,
and rise almost perpendicularly on the E. and N. sides.
The Town of Gibraltar (‘North Town’) covers a third of the
W. slope to the N., while the remaining two-thirds are occupied
by the Alameda, numerous pretty villas, the barracks of the South
Town, and the Lighthouse on Europa Point. The houses rise in
54terraces to a height of 260 ft.; the streets are narrow and dark,
and are relieved by few squares. The natives are chiefly Spaniards
and descendants of many different Mediterranean races. The
numerous Moroccans, mostly dealers from Tangier, indicate the
proximity of the African coast. The cleanness of the town and the
absence of beggars produce a pleasant impression. The Coal Stores
on the South Mole (along with those of Algiers and Malta) supply
the vessels bound for the Suez Canal (about 1200 annually). There
is little other trade except the import of cattle and provisions from
Galicia and Morocco.
The ancient name of the rock was Kalpe, while the hills on the
African side were called Abyla (now Sierra Bullones; p. 103). Together
they were known as the ‘Pillars of Hercules’, the entrance to the ocean.
Under the protection of the divine Hercules-Melkarth, the Phœnicians
ventured through the straits, even as far as Britain, whence they brought
the earliest tidings from the North and also cargoes of tin, which they
mixed with copper to produce bronze. Kalpe was also the name of the
first Phœnician settlement on the bay of Gibraltar, while Carteia, on
the inner part of the bay, was probably of ancient Iberian origin. Carteia
was still an important harbour under the Carthaginians, and in 171 B. C.
it became the first Roman colony in the whole peninsula. Nothing is
recorded of the period which succeeded the invasion of the Vandals (p. 322).
At length in 711 the bay re-appears in history, when Mûsa, the governor
appointed by the Caliph of Damascus, sent the Berber Târik ibn Ziyâd
across from Ceuta to the bay of Algeciras on an expedition against Spain,
in which he defeated the Visigoths at Veger de la Frontera, near Cape
Trafalgar (p. 58). Impressed by the commanding position of the rock of
Gibraltar, Târik afterwards erected a fort upon it, which formed the
nucleus of the Moorish castle (p. 55). From him is derived the name of Jebel
Târik, ‘mountain of Târik’, corrupted into Gibraltar. In 1309 Gibraltar
was captured by Al. Pérez de Guzmán (el Bueno) for Ferdinand IV. of
Castile; the Moors recaptured it in 1333, but in 1462 lost it again to the
Spaniards. In consequence of the plundering of Gibraltar by Algerian
pirates under Kheireddin (p. 221), Charles V. ordered the fortifications
to be reconstructed and new ramparts to be built from the S. side of the
town to the crest of the hill. In 1610 the Spanish Admiral Mendoza caused
the last Moriscoes of Andalusia to be sent back to Morocco from this very
port, where their ancestors had so long held sway, and whence they had
gone forth to conquer the whole peninsula. After having undergone ten
sieges at various periods, the fortress was surprised and captured by the
British fleet under Adm. George Rooke and Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt
in 1704, during the Spanish War of Succession, and was stoutly
and successfully defended by them during a six months’ bombardment
by the Spaniards and the French (1704–5). The thirteenth siege (1727)
and the ‘great siege’ by the French and the Spaniards (1779–83) were also
unsuccessful, the British commander then being Gen. Eliott, afterwards
Lord Heathfield. By the Peace of Versailles, in 1783, Great Britain was
confirmed in her possession of the historic rock.
The older Fortifications on the coast, from Land Port on the N. to
Europa Point on the S., those on the S. slope of the rock above Europa
Point, and those on the N. side (the famous underground galleries, p. 55)
have in late years been strengthened by the construction of a fort on the
summit of the hill, armed with guns of the largest calibre.
From the Old Mole, dating from 1309, and lately prolonged
by the North Mole, we pass through the Old Mole Gate (the outer
gate of the harbour), and then, beyond the Market, through the
55inner Waterport Gate, which stands on the site of the old Moorish
wharf. This brings us to the S. E. to Casemates Square.
Adjacent, on the S., is Waterport Street, with the chief
buildings, forming, together with the parallel street to the W.
called Irish Town, the chief business quarter.
Waterport Street is prolonged to the S. by Church Street.
Beyond Commercial Square and the Exchange (Pl. 3) we come to
the Catholic Cathedral (Pl. 4), on the left, originally a mosque,
but restored by the ‘Catholic kings’ (p. 75) after 1502; there now
remains little worth seeing except the Moorish orange-court.—A
little farther on, on the same side is the Supreme Court (Pl. 7),
with its pretty garden. To the right, in Cathedral Square, stands
the Anglican Cathedral (Pl. 6), built in the Moorish style.
The southmost part of this line of streets is Southport Street,
where, on the right, rises the Convent, once a Franciscan establishment,
now the Government House (governor, Sir Arch. Hunter),
the garden of which contains a venerable dragon-tree (p. 30). At
the S. end of this street is Southport Gate, which is always open,
dating from the time of Charles V., but restored in 1883. Outside
the gate, on the left, is the small Trafalgar Cemetery, where the
British who fell at the battle of Trafalgar (p. 58) are buried.
The Alameda, beyond the gate, a fine promenade with rich
subtropical vegetation, was laid out by Governor George Don in
1814. A military band plays near the Assembly Rooms (p. 53) on
Sun. and Wed. from 3–5, or in summer in the evening. To the W.
we overlook the Naval Harbour, with its dockyard, quays, and
long South Mole.
A little to the E. of the Southport Gate is Prince Edward’s
Gate, a second exit to the S. from the town, whence the *Europa
Main Road ascends gently along the W. slope of the rock, above
the Alameda Gardens, between gardens and villas. Below it, on the
right, farther on, are the Naval Hospital and the Buena Vista
Barracks. Lastly, a little way short of a signal-station, we descend
between the fissured rocks of the Europa Pass to (1½ M.) Europa
Point, with its great Lighthouse, the much-eroded S. extremity of
the peninsula. The road then turns to the N., soon affording a view
of the Spanish Mediterranean coast, to the Governor’s Cottage and
the Monkeys’ Cave hidden among the rocks.
The Moorish Castle, above the artillery barracks, begun by
Târik in 713 and completed in 742, is entered through the Civil
Prison (verbal permission required by foreigners). Access to the
Subterranean Galleries of the fortress, lying below the castle and
dating from 1782 (comp. p. 54), is now limited to British subjects.
From the Market (p. 54) we may walk to the N. E. to the
Land Port (notice as to closing should be observed; comp. p. 52),
and past the Inundation, a space which may be flooded for defensive
56purposes (made in 1705), to the North Front, which forms part
of the low neck of land below the N. slopes of the rock. From this
point the Devil’s Tower Road leads to the S.E., past the Cemeteries,
to the Devil’s Tower (10 min. from the Land Fort), probably an old
Genoese watch-tower. The road then turns to the S. to Catalan
Bay, below the E. flank of the rock, just allowing room for the
little fishing-village of Caleta. The rocks contain several caves.
Beyond the Neutral Ground, 550 yds. in breadth, we come to the
Spanish town of Linea de la Concepción (29,600 inhab.), 1¼ M. to the
N. of Gibraltar, which owes its origin to the old Spanish lines of defence,
long since demolished. The place is uninteresting.
Steamboat from Gibraltar (Commercial Pier) to Algeciras Puerto in
½ hr. (fare 1½ or 1 p.; passengers with through-tickets have their luggage
conveyed gratis).—Railway from Algeciras Puerto to Seville, 214 M., in
10½ hrs. (54 p. 20, 40 p. 20, 24 p. 85 c.); carriages are changed at Bobadilla,
La Roda, and Utrera. Rail. Restaurants at Ronda, Bobadilla, and Utrera.
There are through-expresses from Granada to Seville (thrice weekly, in
7¾ hrs.), but they do not correspond with the Algeciras trains.
Algeciras (Hot. Reina Cristina, first-class; Hot. Anglo-Hispano;
Hot. Marina; Brit, vice-cons., W. J. Smith; pop. 13,300), a small
town on the W. margin of the bay of that name, is a winter resort
of English and American visitors. The famous Morocco Conference
(comp. p. 96) of 1906 was held in the Casa Consistorial or town-hall.—Local
steamer to Ceuta, see p. 102.
The train for Bobadilla, soon after starting, crosses the rivers
Palmones and Guadarranque. To the right we have a final view
of the Bay of Algeciras and the African coast. Beyond (8¾ M.)
San Roque we traverse extensive plantations of cork-trees (p. 171).
26 M. Jimena; 36 M. Gaucin, in the Guadiaro Valley, the station
for the little town high up on the hills, 5½ M. to the E.—We next
pass through the romantic Guadiaro Ravine, and through many
tunnels under the slopes of the Sierra de Ronda, and skirt the
foot of the barren limestone slopes of the Sierra de Libar.
65½ M. Ronda (2460 ft.; Rail. Restaur.; Hot. Reina Victoria,
first-class, pens. from 17½ or 20 p.; Hot. Royal, in the new town,
English, pens. from 12½ p., good; pop. 19,000), one of the most
interesting towns in Spain, occupying a plateau girdled by grand
mountains. From the station we follow the Carrera de Espinel to the
W. to the Calle de Castelar, the main street of the new town, and
the Plaza de Toros (bull-ring). From the railed-in platforms of
the Paseo de la Merced, a park a little to the N.W. of the plaza,
we enjoy a fine view, with the foaming Guadalevin, or Guadiaro,
some 660 ft, below us. The Puente Nuevo, crossing at the S. end
57of the main street (p. 56) from the new town to the old town, affords
a splendid view of the *Ravine of the Guadalevin (El Tajo, ‘the
cutting’), about 330 ft. deep and filled with the spray of the river.
The bed of the latter is strewn with rocks and the abrupt sides of
the gorge are thickly overgrown with cactus.
The train descends between olives and cork-trees into the
valley of the Guadalete (p. 59), and then cuts through the last
N. spurs of the S. Andalusian Mts.
110 M. Bobadilla (1240 ft.; Rail. Restaur.) is the junction
for Cordova (see R. 9), Granada (see R. 9), and Málaga (R. 11).
We follow the Cordova line as far as (124½ M.) La Roda
(comp. p. 72; change carr.), and then turn to the W. to (147 M.)
Osuna and (166½ M.) Marchena, junction of the Utrera and Cordova
line (p. 59). We next cross the Guadaira (p. 59) and pass
(184 M.) Empalme de Morón. At (194 M.) Utrera (Rail. Restaur.;
change carr.) we join the Cadiz and Seville line (R. 6 b).
The train now runs to the N.W., mostly through fertile land
(oranges, pomegranates, olives), and crosses the Guadaira.
214 M. Seville (Estación San Bernardo or de Cádiz), see p. 59.
From (Gibraltar) Algeciras to Cadiz. Steamers of the Vapores
Correos de Africa (agents at Gibraltar and Algeciras, see p. 53; at Tangier,
p. 98; at Cadiz, p. 58) from Algeciras (steamboats from Gibraltar, see p. 56)
every morning except on Mon. & Frid. (from Cadiz daily except on Sun.
& Thurs.) to (3 hrs.) Tangier and (9 hrs.) Cadiz (fares 1st cl. 30 p., 2nd cl.
23 p.; to Tangier only 15 or 12 p.). From Gibraltar to Tangier there ply
on Tues., Thurs., and Wed. the small cargo-steamers of the Bland Line
(about 2¼ hrs.; 10 or 5 p.). Steamers of the Hall Line ply weekly and
those of the Royal Mail Steam Packet and the Oldenburg-Portuguese lines
mentioned at p. 104, as well as of the Navigation Mixte, ply occasionally
to Cadiz. The voyage to Cadiz viâ Tangier is picturesque in itself, and
it affords also a most interesting glimpse of Moorish-Mohammedan life at
Tangier. On the other hand the steamboat communication is uncertain
in stormy weather, and to many travellers the voyage, especially in the
smaller vessels, is very trying.
From Cadiz to Seville, 95 M., railway in 3¼–5¼ hrs. (fares 19 p. 80,
14 p. 50, 8 p. 70 c.). Railway Restaurant at Utrera only.
For Algeciras and the voyage through the Straits, see pp. 56, 5.
As far as Tarifa the steamers usually skirt the Andalusian coast,
and then strike across the straits to the semicircular Bay of
Tangier, which is bounded on the E. by Cape Malabata.
After leaving the Bay of Tangier we sight Cape Spartel (p. 102)
on the coast of Morocco. In clear weather we command a beautiful
retrospect of the mountainous coast, as far as the Sierra Bullones
(p. 103). Opposite, on the Spanish coast, where the hills gradually
recede, at the N.W. end of the shallow Bay of Barbate, rises Cape
58Trafalgar, the Promontorium Junonis of the Romans and Taraf
al-Ghâr (‘cape of caverns’) of the Moors. The tall lighthouse on
the cape is visible at night from a distance of 22 M. It was here,
on 21st Oct. 1805, that Nelson won the brilliant victory over the
combined French and Spanish fleets under Villeneuve and Gravina
that cost him his life and made Britain mistress of the seas.
Farther along the sandy coast, are the little town of Conil and
the insignificant Cape Roche, beyond which we sight San Fernando
(p. 59). At length, rising out of the blue sea, appear the
lofty quays and the white houses of Cadiz, overtopped by the cathedral,
a beautiful sight in sunny weather. We steer round Fort
San Sebastián, skirt the cliffs of Los Cochinos and Las Puercas,
and enter the broad Bay of Cadiz.
Cadiz.—Arrival. Passengers of the Vapores Correos de Africa
steamers are landed in tenders gratis, but heavy luggage is taken ashore
by special boats according to tariff. The mandadero, or porter, usually
gets ½–1 p. for taking luggage to the Aduana (custom-house) or to the
hotel.—The Railway Station (Estación) lies at the harbour.
Hotels (comp. p. 51). Hôt. de France, Plaza de Loreto, pens. from
12½ p.; Hôt. Continental, Calle del Duque de Tetuán 23; Hôt. de Cadiz,
Plaza de la Constitución, pens. from 10 p.
Cafés.Cervecería Inglesa, Plaza de la Constitución, corner of Calle
del Duque de Tetuán; Café Imperial, Calle del Duque de Tetuán 6; Cervecería
Alemana, Calle Zorrilla 2.
Post Office (Correo), Calle del Sacramento 1.—Telegraph Office,
Alameda de Apodaca 20.
Bankers.Ant. Sicre & Co. (Agents of Crédit Lyonnais), Calle Diego de
Cádiz 5; Amaro Duarte & Co., Plaza de Mina 18.—Money Changers.Casa
de Cambio, Calle de San Francisco 8 and 16.
Consuls. British Vice-Consul, R. A. Calvert, Alameda 20.—U. S. Consular
Agent, J. Sanderson, Alameda 12.—Lloyd’s Agent, H. MacPherson,
San Ginés 6.
Steamboat Lines.Hall Line, weekly from London to Lisbon, Cadiz,
Gibraltar, and Málaga (comp. pp. 1, 89); the Compañía Trasatlántica
(office in the Calle Isabel la Católica) has a Philippine Line (monthly
from Liverpool to Lisbon, etc.; comp. p. 1), a Canary Line, and several
others; Vapores Correos de Africa (agent, Antonio Millán), comp. p. 57;
steamers of the Austro-American Line (office, Viuda de R. Alcon) ply
between Trieste, Almería, Las Palmas, and Buenos Ayres; Navegación
é Industria (Viuda de R. Alcon), for the Canaries.
Cadiz, Span. Cádiz, the Gadîr of the Phœnicians and Gades
of the Romans, now a provincial capital of 64,100 inhab., and a
fortress, is most picturesquely situated on a low limestone rock,
which was once an island, on the W. side of the Bay of Cadiz.
From the harbour or from the railway-station we cross the Plaza
Isabel Segunda either to the Calle Alonso el Sábio and the Cathedral
(Catedral Nueva), or to the Calle del Sacramento, leading to
the Torre del Vigía or de Tavira, 102 ft. high, which is accessible
only by special permission of the Capitania del Puerto (Calle de
Aduana). The top (151 steps; fee 30–50 c.) commands an excellent
survey of the town, surrounded almost entirely by the sea, with its
flat-roofed houses and their miradores or belvederes.
59The Calle Sagasta, the second side-street off the Calle del Sacramento,
leads to the right into the Calle del Duque de Tetuán, the
chief artery of traffic, which ends in the busy Plaza de la Constitución
to the N.W. A little to the N.E., in the pretty Plaza de Mina,
is the Academia de Bellas Artes, the picture-gallery of which contains
several admirable works by Murillo, Zurbarán, and other
masters. (Adm. 9–3, in summer 7–4; Sun. and holidays 10–3.)
On the N. outskirts of the town are the beautiful *Gardens of
the Alameda de Apodaca and the Parque Genovés, with their fine
palms. On the S. side of the town, not far from the W. end of
the shadeless Paseo del Sur, rises the former Capuchin convent-church
of Santa Catalina (ring on the left in the adjacent court;
adm. 20 c.), containing Murillo’s last work, the *Betrothal of
St. Catharine.
The Railway to Seville runs along the narrow neck of land
which connects Cadiz with the mainland, rounds the Bay of Cadiz,
passing between salt-marshes, where salt is obtained by evaporation,
and then strikes across the delta of the Guadalete. The
chief stations are the naval harbour of San Fernando, the sea-baths
of Puerto Real, and the Puerto de Santa María (‘El Puerto’).
Turning to the N.E., the train now runs through a hilly country to
(30½ M.) Jerez (or Xeres) de la Frontera, the third-richest town
in Spain, with 52,500 inhab., far-famed for its ‘sherry’.
Our next run is through moor, alternating with fertile tracts,
to (75 M.) Utrera (p. 57), junction for La Roda (and Bobadilla,
R. 6 a), and also for the direct line to Cordova. Lastly, we cross the
Guadaira to (95 M.) Seville (Estación de Cádiz, see below).
Railway Stations. 1. Estación San Bernardo or de Cádiz (Pl. F,
G, 1; Rail. Restaur.), for the line to Utrera (Cadiz, Granada, Málaga).—2.
Estación de Córdoba or de Madrid (Pl. D, 5, 6; Restaur.), near the
Guadalquivir. Hotel carriages and cabs at both. Tariff, see p. 60.
Hotels (comp. p. 51). *Hot. de Madrid (Pl. a; D, E, 4), Calle de Méndez
Núñes 2, with dépendance (Pl. b; D, 4), in the Plaza del Pacífico, pens.
from 12½ (in spring 15) p.; *Hot. de Inglaterra (Pl. f; E, 4), Plaza Nueva
13, newly fitted up, pens. from 12½ p.; Hôt. de Paris (Pl. c; D, 4),
Plaza del Pacífico, with two dépendances (Pl. d), similar charges; these
three claim to be first-class.—Hot. de Roma (Pl. e; D, 4), Plaza del Duque
de la Victoria 6, pens. from 9 p.; Hot. de Oriente (Pl. i; E, 4), Plaza
Nueva 8, pens. 7–10 p.; Pensión la Peninsular (Pl. g; E, 4), Plaza Nueva
20; Cecil Hotel (Pl. h; E, 4), Calle de Méndez Núñez 18 & 23; Hôt. de
la Paix (Pl. k; E, 4), same street, No. 11; Hot. Simón (Pl. n; D, 4), Calle
O’Donnell 25, pens. 7 p.; Hôt. Restaur. Alhambra, Calle Santa María de
Gracia (Pl. D, 4).—During Holy Week (semana santa) and the Feria (p. 60)
charges are doubled almost everywhere, and rooms should be secured long
beforehand.
Cafés.Pasaje de Oriente (see below); Cervecería Inglesa (Engl.
beer) and Café de Paris, both in the Calle de la Campana; Perla Chica,
near the Ayuntamiento (p. 65).—Restaurant. *Pasaje de Oriente, Calle
de las Sierpes.
60The Tramways (Tranvías; cars stop where required; passengers ring
to alight) all start from the Plaza de la Constitución (Pl. E, 3). For a general
view of the city the circular lines ‘Constitución, Roario, Macarena’ (red
cross) and ‘Constitución, Puerta Real, Puerta de Jerez’ (green cross) are
recommended. The ‘Línea del Parque’ runs to the park on fine afternoons
only.
Cabs.
1–2 pers.
3–4 pers.
by day
at night
by day
at night
One-horse,
per drive
1 p.
2 p.
1½ p.
2½ p.
„
per hour
2 „
3 „
2½ „
4 „
Two-horse,
per drive
2 „
4 „
2 „
4 „
„
per hour
3 „
5 „
3 „
5 „
The night hours are from midnight to sunrise. Small articles 25 c.;
trunk under 66 lbs. (30 kilos) 50 c., heavier 1 p.—During the Semana
Santa and the Feria fares are about double (but not for baggage), and
bargaining is advisable. Driving on Holy Thursday and Good Friday
is prohibited.
Post & Telegraph Office (Correos y Telégrafos; Pl. D, 4), Calle
de las Sierpes. Poste-restante hours are from 8.15 to 9.45, from 12.15
to 2.15, and 6–7 p.m.
Banks.Crédit Lyonnais, Calle de las Sierpes 87; Banco Hispano-Americano,
same street, No. 91; Banco de Cartagena, Calle Rioja 18.
Consuls. British, A. L. Keyser, Chicarreros 10 (to the E. of the Audiencia,
Pl. E, 3); vice-consul, A. Henderson.—United States, Ch. S. Vinans,
Mercaderes 50 (Pl. E, 3); vice-consul, C. Karminski.—Lloyd’s
Agent, José Dunipe, Marqués de Santa Ana 14.
English Church, Plaza del Museo (Pl. D, 5). Services in winter.
Theatres. *Teatro de San Fernando (Pl. D, E, 4), Calle de Tetuán,
for operas and ballet; Teatro de Cervantes (Pl. C, 4), Calle Amor de Dios,
for short dramas, etc.—Bull Ring (Plaza de Toros; Pl. F, 4, 5). Famous
‘corridas’ on Easter Sunday and during the Feria.
Church Festivals. Most curious among these are the *Processions
(pasos) of the brotherhoods during Holy Week, which attract crowds of
spectators. They are best witnessed from the stand in front of the town-hall
(seat for the 4 days 10 p.).—The *Feria (18–20th April), a picturesque
popular festival, founded in 1847, is held in the Prado de San
Sebastián (Pl. G, 1, 2), where wealthy families have their own tents.
Sights. Most of the churches are open in the morning only; the
Cathedral (p. 63) till 12 and after 3.30. In the Sacristía de los Cálices
(p. 64) a ticket (permiso) for this sacristia, for the Sacristía Mayor, the
Sala Capitular, and the closed chapels is obtained for 2 p. The Capilla
Real is open in the forenoon only (fee ½–1 p.). The services of the importunate
guides to the Cathedral and the Giralda may be dispensed with.
During Holy Week, when the churches are open all day, the inspection
of their art-treasures is scarcely possible. Admission to collections in
private houses and charitable institutions is readily granted as a rule,
but seldom without difficulty on Sundays and holidays and during Holy
Week. The usual days and hours of admission are—
*Alcázar (p. 61), week-days 11–4; tickets (1 p.) are issued at the office
at the back of the Patio de las Banderas (door No. 11).
Casa de Pilatos (p. 65), daily (50 c., for the poor).
*Giralda (p. 62), daily (25 c.); no one allowed to ascend alone.
*Hospital de la Caridad (p. 67), daily (fee ½–1 p.); clear weather
indispensable; afternoon light best.
*Museo Provincial (p. 66), daily 10–3 (in summer 10–4). On Sun. the
Archæological Museum is open till 1 only.
Two Days (when time is limited). 1st. Forenoon, Plaza de la Constitución
(p. 65), Cathedral (p. 63), Alcázar (p. 61); afternoon, Calle de las
61Sierpes (p. 65), Casa de Pilatos (p. 65); towards evening, ascent of the
Giralda (p. 62).—2nd. Forenoon, Museum (p. 66); afternoon, Caridad
(p. 67), Paseo de las Delicias (p. 67), and Parque María Luisa (p. 68).
Seville, Span. Sevilla (33 ft.), a city of 145,300 inhab., the
capital of Andalusia and of the province of Sevilla, the seat of an
Archbishop and of a University, lies in a broad plain on the left
bank of the tawny Guadalquivir, opposite the suburb of Triana.
At flood-tide sea-going vessels of 23 ft. draught can ascend the river
to the quays of Seville, which, though 54½ M. from the sea, can
thus claim to be a seaport. The harbour is annually entered by about
1000 vessels, of 1¼ millions aggregate tonnage. The city combines
the features of a seaport with gay scenes of popular life and a
wealth of treasures of art. The houses in the narrow winding
streets, the heritage of the Moorish period, often contain charming
inner courts, called pátios, where the inhabitants spend most of
their time in summer. The larger plazas or squares are mostly
planted with oranges or palm-trees.
Seville, as its ancient name Hispalis indicates, was originally an
Iberian settlement. Ever since the 2nd cent. B. C. its navigable river has
made Seville a place of importance. In 411 it became the capital of the
Vandals (p. 322), and in 441 the seat of the Visigoth kings, who however
migrated in 567 to the more central Toledo. During the Moorish period
Seville, alternately with Marakesh, was a favourite residence of the
Almoravides and Almohades (p. 95); and particularly under Yûsuf Abû
Yakûb (1163–84) and under Yakûb ibn Yûsuf (1184–98), surnamed Al-Mansûr
(‘the victorious’), it was embellished with many sumptuous buildings,
and for a time it even surpassed Cordova in population. The
Christian period begins with Frederick III. (‘the saint’) of Castile, who
captured the city in 1248 and made it his residence. Among his descendants
was Pedro I. (1350–69), surnamed ‘the Cruel’, of whom many
anecdotes are still current. Since the discovery of America Seville has
prospered greatly and vies with Cadiz as one of the chief ports of Spain.
At Seville were born Spain’s two greatest painters, Velázquez (1599–1660;
court-painter at Madrid from 1623 onwards) and Murillo (1617–82).
Here too is laid the scene of several famous operas: Mozart’s Don Juan
and Figaro, Rossini’s Barber of Seville, and Bizet’s Carmen.
See ‘Seville’, by W. M. Gallichan, in the ‘Mediæval Towns Series’
(London, 1903); and ‘Seville’, by A. J. Calvert (London, 1907).
We begin our walk at the Plaza del Triunfo (Pl. F, 3), which
is bounded by three imposing edifices, the Lonja on the W. side,
the Alcázar on the S., and the Cathedral on the N.
The Casa Lonja (Pl. F, 3), the Exchange, built in the high-Renaissance
style in 1583–98, contains on the upper floor the
Archivo General de Indias, with the Spanish charters and deeds
relating to the discovery and government of America and the Philippines.
Fine view from the roof, especially of the Cathedral.
The *Alcázar (Pl. F, 3; adm., see p. 60), originally a castle of
the Almohade Yûsuf Abû Yakûb (1181; see above), dates in its
62present form mainly from the time of kings Pedro I. (p. 61) and
Henry II. (1369–79), who caused the castle to be restored by
Moorish architects in the Mudejar style (p. 51). Later alterations
date from the reigns of Charles V. (1526), Philip II. (1569), and
Philip IV. (1624), while modern restorations (1857–89) have materially
changed the character of the interior.
The Exterior with its pinnacled corner-towers, still has the character
of a mediæval castle. From the entrance in the S.E. angle of
the Plaza del Triunfo we first cross the large Patio de las Banderas, in
which are the ticket-office and a vaulted gateway (‘apeadero’). Thence
we may proceed straight to the garden (see below), or to the right to
the Patio de la Montería, the inner court, planted with oranges and
palms. Very striking is the splendid *Chief Façade of the inner Alcázar.
The beautiful windows and side-entrances are framed with toothed arches;
above them runs a rich stalactite frieze crowned with a far-projecting
timber roof resting on quaint corbels. Arabic inscriptions in Cufic characters
(p. 150) serve for decoration.
The Apartments in the interior are grouped round the Patio de las
Doncellas (‘court of the maidens’), erected in 1369–79, but almost entirely
rebuilt under Charles V. and Philip II. The lower story is preceded by
superb Moorish arcades resting on coupled Renaissance columns. The
upper walls in open-work are richly embellished with stucco. The chief
rooms on the groundfloor are, on the S.E., the Salón de Carlos Quinto
with its fine ‘azulejos’ (or tiles) and timber ceiling; on the S.W., the
quadrangular domed *Salón de Embajadores, also richly decorated with
azulejos, and the Patio de las Muñecas (dolls’ court), modern in its upper
parts, so called from the figures which adorn it.
From the Apeadero (see above) we may lastly visit the Garden of
the Alcázar, with its luxuriant vegetation, a pavilion of the time of
Charles V., a grotto, and fountains.
Returning to the Plaza del Triunfo, we face the Cathedral, with
the Capilla Real (p. 64), projecting on the E., and the clock-tower
at the N.E. angle of the church, the famous—
**Giralda (Pl. F, 3), the conspicuous landmark of the city.
It was originally the minaret of the principal Moorish mosque,
built in brick by the architect Jâbir for Yakûb ibn Yûsuf (p. 61)
in 1184–96. The tower tapers slightly towards the top and is
remarkable for its harmonious proportions. It is square in form,
each side being 45 ft. long, and its walls are 7 ft. thick. The
upper wall-surfaces adjoining the windows, at a height of about
80 ft. above the ground, are diapered with a network of Arabesque-like
sunken panels, and are further enlivened with niches.
Instead of being crowned with a pinnacled platform (see altar-piece,
p. 64), the tower now has a belfry (1568), capped by a small
dome (305 ft.), on which stands the Girardillo, or vane, a bronze
female figure representing Faith.
The *Ascent (p. 60) is most enjoyable towards evening. Entrance by
the door in the S.E. angle. An easy inclined plane, in 35 sections, and
ending in 16 steps, ascends to the first gallery, where the bells are hung,
and where we enjoy a very extensive view.
In the Calle de Alemanes, on the N. side of the Cathedral, is
the main entrance to the *Patio de los Naranjos (Pl. F, 3;
63‘orange-court’), once the court of the mosque. The handsome entrance-gateway,
called Puerta del Perdón, dates from the Moorish
period. The bronze-mounted *Doors and the knockers, in the Mudejar
style, and the sculptures (1519) are additions of the Christian
period. The old artesonado or coffered ceiling was replaced in
1833 by a tower.
In this picturesque court, where the faithful used to perform
their ablutions at a fountain (al-mîdâ) before entering the sacred
precincts, we stand opposite the Cathedral; on the right is the
Sagrario (p. 65); on the left is the Biblioteca Colombina, or
cathedral library, founded in 1539 by Fernando Colón, Columbus’s
son, above which towers the Giralda.
From the orange-court the cathedral may be entered by the
Puerta de los Naranjos or (on the left) by the Puerta del Lagarto.
It is preferable, however, to enter on the W. side, from the Calle
del Gran Capitán.
The **Cathedral (Pl. F, 3; adm., see p. 60), one of the grandest
and most sumptuous Gothic churches in the whole of Christendom,
occupies the site of the principal Moorish mosque, which
was erected by Yûsuf Abû Yakûb in 1171. It was begun by unknown
architects in 1402, and in its chief parts was completed in
1506. The dome having collapsed in 1511, it was rebuilt from
designs by Juan Gil de Ontañón in 1517, and having in 1888
again fallen in it was restored by Casanova.
The W. Façade, which was not completed till 1827, as well
as the E. façade, is remarkable for the wealth of sculpture on its
portals. On the two lateral gateways in particular, the Puerta del
Bautismo (left) and the Puerta del Nacimiento (right), we note the
beautiful terracotta figures by Pedro Millán (about 1500), of semi-northern
character.
The *Interior has a nave with double aisles, two rows of side-chapels,
a transept which does not project beyond the main walls,
a choir in the centre, and a Capilla Mayor containing the high-altar.
Exclusive of the Capilla Real, the church is 383 ft. long and
249 ft. in width. The nave is 53 ft. wide and 132 ft. high, the
aisles are each 36 ft. wide and 85 ft. in height. The marble pavement
is of the 18th cent., the fine stained glass of the 16th–19th
centuries. The screen (reja) and the Gothic stalls (sillería) of the
choir were almost entirely destroyed by the last collapse of the
dome. The huge high-altar (retablo) in the Capilla Mayor is a
masterpiece of Gothic wood-carving (1482–1564).
The Side Chapels and the Sacristies form a veritable museum
of sculpture and painting, but are very badly lighted.
Adjoining the Puerta Mayor, the chief portal of the W. façade,
are the Altar del Santo Angel, with a picture by Murillo (the
‘Angel de la Guarda’ or guardian angel), and the small Altar del
64Nacimiento, containing admirable pictures by Luis de Vargas
(1502–68; ‘Adoration of the Child’ and the ‘Four Evangelists’).
The fourth chapel in the S. aisle, the Capilla de Hermenegildo,
contains the fine Gothic monument of Archbp. Juan de Cervantes
(d. 1453), by Lorenzo Mercadante de Bretaña.—In the S. transept
rises the very curious sarcophagus of Columbus, placed in the
cathedral of Havana in 1892 and brought to Spain in 1899. To the
right stands the Altar de la Gamba, with the famous painting by
Luis de Vargas, the so-called Generación, or Adoration of the
Immaculate Conception by Adam and Eve, generally known as ‘La
Gamba’, from the finely drawn and painted leg of Adam.
Through the Capilla de los Dolores we pass into the Sacristía
de los Cálices, built in the late-Gothic style by Diego de Riaño
(d. 1533) and Martin Gainza (d. 1566), where we obtain tickets
of admission to the closed chapels, etc. (see p. 60). In front of
us is a famous *Crucifix, by Martínez Montañés (d. 1649), the most
typical of Andalusian sculptors; on the left are a SS. Justa and
Rufina, by Goya (1817), and St. Dorothea by Murillo. On the
window-wall is St. John the Evangelist, by Zurbarán.
Adjacent to the Antesala is the *Sacristía Mayor, a magnificent
room in the plateresque style, also built, after 1532, by
Riaño and Gainza, containing the rich treasury of the cathedral
and three valuable pictures, a Descent from the Cross, by Pedro
Campaña (1548), and SS. Leander and Isidore by Murillo.
The Capilla del Mariscal possesses an altar-piece in ten sections,
the Presentation in the Temple, by Pedro Campaña.
The elliptical *Sala Capitular, begun by Riaño and Gainza
in 1530 but not finished till after 1582, has a Doric entablature
resting on Ionic mural columns, while the decoration is plateresque
(Span. Renaissance). The eight ovals between the windows and the
fine picture of the Immaculate Conception are by Murillo.
On the E. side of the church we pass through a high railing
(1773) into the Capilla Real (adm., see p. 60), a Renaissance edifice
by Gainza and others (1551–75), on the site of the old royal
vaults. By the entrance, right and left, are the tombs of Alfonso
the Wise (d. 1284) and his mother Queen Beatrice of Swabia. In
the apse is preserved the reliquary of St. Ferdinand (Ferdinand III.
of Castile; p. 69), who, as well as Pedro I., is interred in the ‘Panteón’
under the chapel.
In the N. aisle, beyond the Puerta del Lagarto (p. 63) is the
Capilla de los Evangelistas, whose altar-piece is by Ferd. Sturm
(1559); on the predella, to the left, below, are SS. Justa and Rufina
with the Giralda in its original form (p. 62). In the Capilla de
Santiago (St. James) is a *Picture of that saint, by Juan de las
Roelas (1609). Most famous of all is a **Murillo in the Capilla
65del Bautisterio (forenoon light best), the Infant Christ appearing
to St. Antony of Padua (1656).
The Puerta del Sagrario, the last door on the N. side of the
cathedral, leads into the Sagrario, built as a parish-church in the
baroque style in 1618–62, with a single vault 75 ft. high. The
altar-piece on the left is a fine half-figure of the Mater Dolorosa
by Montañés.
The lively Calle Génova or Cánovas del Castillo leads from the
Cathedral to the Plaza de la Constitución (Pl. E, 3), the focus
of the city traffic. On the right is the Audiencia, containing the
law-courts; on the left, between this plaza and the large Plaza
Nueva or de San Fernando (Pl. E, 4), rises the—
*Casa del Ayuntamiento (Pl. E, 4), or town-hall, a Renaissance
edifice (1526–64) designed by Diego de Riaño (p. 64).
The richly decorated S. part is one of the most charming creations
of the plateresque style.
At the Audiencia begins the *Calle de las Sierpes (Pl. E,
D, 3), or ‘street of serpents’, so named after the sign-board of an
old inn. It contains the chief cafés and clubs and the largest shops,
and it presents a very lively scene in the evening.
This street forms the best starting-point for a walk through
the E. quarters of the town. The first lateral street on the right,
the Calle Sagasta, leads to the church of San Salvador (Pl. D,
E, 3), which contains a statue of Christ by Montañés (2nd altar
on the right). From the S.E. angle of that church the Cuesta del
Rosario leads to—
San Isidoro (Pl. E, 3), where at the high-altar a celebrated
masterpiece by Roelas, the Death of St. Isidore (El Tránsito), was
once closely studied by Murillo.—From San Isidoro the Calle
Almirante Hoyos and Calle de Aguilas, which contain several fine
patios, lead to the Plaza de Pilatos.
The *Casa de Pilatos (Pl. E, 2; adm., see p. 60), the property
of the Duque de Medinaceli, was probably begun early in
the 16th cent. by Christian-Moorish architects for the Ribera
family. As a member of that family had been to Jerusalem, the
building was popularly supposed to be a copy of Pilate’s house.
The architecture shows a curious but harmonious blend of Moorish,
Gothic, and Renaissance elements.
The beautiful Patio, with its colonnade and fountain, contains several
antiques; in the angles are two excellent replicas of a statue of Athena,
of the time of Phidias.—Adjoining the court, on the right, is the so-called
Prætorium of Pilate, and straight in front are the Vestibule, with its
superb azulejos, and the Chapel, with its charming Gothic-Moorish decoration.
To the left of the vestibule is a room with azulejos and a rich
66artesonado ceiling.—A magnificent staircase, roofed by a much admired
dome, ascends to the upper floor, which is not accessible.
From the Plaza de Pilatos we follow the Calle de Caballerizas
and Calle Descalzos to the N.W. to the pretty Plaza de Argüelles (Pl.
D, 2, 3). Here rises San Pedro, a Gothic church of the 14th cent.,
containing a fine timber ceiling and pictures by Pedro Campaña
and Roelas (sacristan, Calle Doña María Coronel 1).
Following the Calle de la Imagen, and crossing the Mercado
(Pl. D, 3), we reach the Calle Laraña.
The University (Pl. D, 3) now occupies an old Jesuit convent.
The University Church (entered from the quadrangle; fee ½–1 p.),
built in 1565–79 by Bartolomé Bustamante (?) for the Jesuits, in
the Renaissance style, contains fine Renaissance monuments and
several sculptures and paintings by Montañés, Alonso Cano, Roelas,
and others.
The churches in the N.E. Quarter, such as Omnium Sanctorum
(Pl. B, 3), San Marcos (Pl. C, 2), and Santa Marina (Pl. B, 2) still possess
towers in the Moorish style, which were once the minarets of mosques.—The
so-called Casa del Duque de Alba (Pl. C, 2), Calle de las Dueñas 5,
a palace built for the Riberas (p. 65) in the Mudejar style after 1483,
contains a court planted with palms and a staircase richly adorned with
azulejos, but the house itself is not shown.
In the Calle de Santa Paula, a little to the E. of San Marcos, is the
Convento de Santa Paula (Pl. C, 1, 2), a nunnery founded in 1476. The
forecourt has a superb Gothic portal, with terracotta ornamentation by
Franc. Nicoluso of Pisa and reliefs of saints by Pedro Millán (p. 63).
The rich mural azulejos (16th cent.) in the church’ are well worth seeing.
In the Ronda de Capuchinos (Pl. A, 1, 2) there are considerable remains
of the ancient City Wall, with its external towers and low parapet
(‘barbacana’, after Byzantine models).
Starting from the small Plaza del Pacífico (Pl. D, 4), planted
with orange-trees, we follow the Calle de San Pablo to the S.W.
as far as the church of Santa Magdalena (Pl. D, 4) and then turn
to the right into the Calle de Bailén. From this in turn we again
diverge to the right and follow the Calle de Miguel de Carvajal to
the Plaza del Museo (Pl. D, 5; officially, Plaza de la Condesa de
Casa Galindo), in which rises a Bronze Statue of Murillo.
The *Museo Provincial (Pl. D, 5; adm., see p. 60), occupying
an old monastery of Mercenarii (Convento de la Merced),
contains the small Museo Arqueológico and the Museo de Pinturas,
a famous picture-gallery. The gallery contains several valuable
sculptures, but its chief treasure consists in 23 Murillos, mostly
from the old Capuchin monastery (Pl. A, B, 1), depicting the legend
of St. Francis of Assisi and the foundation of the Franciscan order.
A small court leads to the N. Cloisters, where the antiques (Roman,
Visigothic, Moorish), along with some modern works, are exhibited. From
the nearer aisle of the cloisters an azulejos-portal leads straight into the—
67Great Hall of the picture-gallery, once the convent-church. The
**Murillos are all hung on the walls of the nave. On the S. wall, by
the entrance, note specially the Concepción, the Annunciation, SS. Leander
and Bonaventura, and the ‘Virgen de la Servilleta’, said to have been
painted on a table-napkin. On the N. wall we note St. Felix of Cantalicio
with the Infant Jesus, the *Almsgiving of St. Thomas of Villanueva,
the great Conception, the Adoration or the Shepherds, and Christ on the
Cross embracing St. Francis.
On the end-wall of the church is the Martyrdom of St. Andrew by
Roelas. The transept and choir are hung with numerous pictures by
Zurbarán (notably the Triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas, in the choir).
Here, too, are several *Sculptures: Pietro Torrigiani, Virgin and Child,
with the penitent St. Jerome (in terracotta); Montañés, wooden figures
of the Virgin and Child, John the Baptist, and St. Dominicus.
A room on the Upper Floor contains modern pictures.
The Calle de los Reyes Católicos, in line with the Calle de San
Pablo (p. 66), ends at the Puente de Isabel Segunda (Pl. F, 6), the
chief bridge crossing to the suburb of Triana.
A little short of the bridge we turn to the left and follow the
Paseo de Cristóbal Colón (Pl. E, F, 5, 4), skirting the left bank
of the Guadalquivir and the quays. On the left lie the Bull Ring
(Pl. F, 4, 5); then the pretty Plaza de Atarazanas (Pl. F, 4;
Arabic Dâr as-San῾a, ‘arsenal’, ‘place of work’), on the site of the
old Moorish wharf, where the great Artillery Arsenal (Maestranza),
the Hospital de la Caridad, and the Custom House (Aduana), are
now situated.
The Hospital de la Caridad (Pl. F, 4; adm., see p. 60),
erected for the ‘brotherhood of charity’ (Hermandad de la Caridad)
in 1661–4, possesses, in its baroque church, six far-famed **Murillos
(1660–74). Two of these in particular are the delight and
admiration of every beholder: Moses striking the Rock (Cuadro de
las Aguas, or La Sed, ‘the thirst’) and the Feeding of the Five
Thousand (Pan y Peces, ‘bread and fishes’). Besides these pictures
there are, on the left, the Infant Christ, the Annunciation, and San
Juan de Dios carrying sick persons into the hospital; on the right,
the young John the Baptist. By tho high-choir are two singular but
repulsive pictures by Juan Valdés Leal (1630–91), the Raising of
the Cross and the Triumph of Death.
Near the S. angle of the Plaza, close to the river, rises the
Torre del Oro (Pl. G, 4), once a fortified tower of the Moorish
Alcázar (p. 61), and ever since called the ‘tower of gold’ on account
of its brilliant azulejos. The upper part of the tower dates
from the Christian period only; the window openings and the balconies
were constructed in 1760.
Near the Torre del Oro begin the *Public Gardens of Seville,
which, particularly in spring, when roses, camellias, and orange-blossom
are in their glory, afford a delightful promenade. The
favourite part is the Paseo de las Delicias (Pl. H, 3), beginning
at the Palacio de Santelmo (Pl. G, 3; now a priests’ seminary),
68where the people of fashion drive on fine afternoons. On the way
back we may walk through the Parque María Luisa (Pl. H, 2),
once part of the Santelmo gardens, and regain the town by the
Calle San Fernando, passing the great Tobacco Factory (Pl. G, 3),
a huge baroque building of 1757.
81½ M. Railway (Seville and Madrid Line) in 2¾–4¾ hrs. (fares
16 p. 40, 12 p. 30, 7 p. 40 c.); one train de luxe daily, 1st cl. only, fare 10
per cent higher. Trains start from the Estación de Córdoba.
Seville, see p. 59. We follow the Guadalquivir upstream, at
some distance from its lofty reddish banks, which are visible at
times. Nearing (13½ M.) Brenes we enjoy a last retrospect of
the cathedral of Seville with the Giralda.
22 M. Tocina, the junction for Mérida and Lisbon. Beyond
(25½ M.) Guadajoz we cross to the right bank of the Guadalquivir.
46½ M. Peñaflor, adjoining rapids of the river which
drive large mills. 49 M. Palma del Río, at the confluence of the
Guadalquivir with the Genil (p. 74). 67½ M. Almodóvar, with a
loftily situated Moorish castle, now being restored.
81½ M. Cordova.—At the Station (Estación de Madrid, Sevilla
y Málaga; Pl. B, C, 1; Rail. Restaur.) are omnibuses from the chief
hotels.
Hotels (comp. p. 51; charges should be arranged beforehand). Hot.
Suizo (Pl. a; C, 2), corner of Calle Duque de Hornachuelos and the narrow
Calle Diego León, pens, from 12½ p., variously judged.—Less expensive:
Hot. de Oriente (Pl. c; C, 2), pens. 8–10 p.; Hot. de España & Francia
(Pl. b; C, 2), pens. 8 p.; Hot. Simón (Pl. d; C, 2), pens. 5–6 p., very fair;
these three are in the Paseo del Gran Capitán; Cuatro Naciones, Calle
San Miguel 4.
Cafés.Café-Restaur. Suizo, Calle Ambrosio de Morales (Pl. D, 3); La
Perla, Calle del Conde de Gondomar No. 1, Cervecería Alemana No. 8.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. D, 3), Plazuela de Seneca.
British Vice-Consul, Richard Eshott Carr.
Half-a-Day, when time presses: Cathedral (open all day, except 12–2;
closes 2 hrs. before sunset); visit to the Mihrâb, Renaissance choir, Mudejar
chapel, etc., for which a permiso (2 p.) is obtained at the Oficina de la
Obrería, adjoining the Puerta del Perdón; then the Guadalquivir Bridge,
with the Calahorra; the Paseo del Gran Capitán and Jardines de la
Victoria.
Cordŏva, Span. Córdoba (391 ft.), a provincial capital and the
seat of a bishop, with 60,000 inhab., lies at the foot of the Sierra
de Córdoba, a spur of the Sierra Morena, in a plain sloping gently
down to the Guadalquivir. The town, whose ancient glory has long
departed, now contains little or nothing to interest the expectant
traveller except the mosque, now the Cathedral, which in spite of
many later additions and disfigurements, is still the grandest monument
in Spain of the Moorish period. Other memorials of this
Mecca of the Occident, once famous as a patroness of science also,
now survive only in several portals and inscriptions.
69Corduba, the most important of the ancient Iberian towns on the
upper course of the Bætis, became a Roman colony in 152 B.C., and was
noted for its commerce and its wealth. The Visigothic king Leovigild
wrested it in 571 from the Byzantines and made it an episcopal see.
After the decisive battle of 711 (p. 51) Cordova was captured by the
Moors, aided by the Jews who were alienated by the arrogance of the
Visigoths. With the Moorish sway begins the world-wide fame of the
city, especially from the time when the emir Abderrahmân I., of the
house of the Omaiyades (p. 485), on his escape from the massacre of
his family at Damascus, settled at Cordova in 756 and declared his independence
of the Oriental caliphate. As the capital of the Spanish or
western caliphate, Cordova soon became the wealthiest city in Spain, and
even for a short time the richest in Europe, notably under Abderrahmân II.
(822–52) and Abderrahmân III. (912–61), the greatest of the Omaiyades,
and also under the governor (hâjib) Al-Mansûr (d. 1002). It even rivalled
Bagdad and Fez as a brilliant centre of Mohammedan culture, to which
students flocked from every part of the Occident. At length, after the
Almoravides and Almohades (p. 95), who had been summoned to aid the
citizens against the Christians, had vainly attempted to arrest the decay
of the city, Cordova fell, in 1236, into the hands of Ferdinand III. of
Castile, who expelled the Moorish inhabitants and in 1248 made Seville
his residence. The city afterwards fell into decay and poverty, and the
once highly extolled Campiña became a desolate wilderness.
See ‘Cordova’, by A. F. Calvert and W. M. Gallichan (London, 1907).
From the Carrera de la Estación, or ‘station street’, bearing a
little to the left, we enter the Paseo del Gran Capitán (Pl. C, 1, 2),
the favourite promenade of the townsfolk on summer evenings.
At the S. end of the Paseo, near the church of San Nicolás de
la Villa (Pl. C, 2), with its octagonal tower, once a minaret, we
take the Calle del Conde de Gondomar to the left, and then, just
short of the Hotel Suizo, follow the Calle de Jesús María (Pl. C,
2, 3) to the right. This street, continued by the Calle de Angel
de Saavedra, the Calle Pedregosa, and the Calle Céspedes, leads to
the S. to the cathedral.
The **Cathedral (Pl. C, 3, 4; adm., see p. 68), once the
Mesjid al-Jâmia, or ‘chief mosque’ of the city, one of the greatest
in the world, and still called La Mezquita, is the grandest and
noblest creation of Moorish architecture in Spain. The mosque
was founded by Abderrahmân I. in 785, on the site of a Christian
church, and was intended to form a great religious centre for all
believers in Spain, and to induce the great stream of western
pilgrims to repair to Cordova instead of to Mecca. A model for
the edifice was found in the arcaded courts and colonnaded halls
of the Egyptian mosques (such as the Amru Mosque, p. 460). The
original edifice contained only ten rows of columns, which formed
eleven longitudinal and twelve transverse aisles. The central aisle
was a little wider than the others and ended in a Mihrâb, or prayer-recess,
designed to mark the direction of Mecca (Kibla). As the building
soon proved inadequate for the population, which was rapidly
increased by accessions from the East, Abderrahmân II., in 833–48,
added seven transepts on the S. side and erected a new mihrâb.
A further prolongation by fourteen transepts was effected by AlHâkim
70II. (961–76), after which the magnificent third mihrâb
(mihrâb nuevo) formed the termination of the building. Though
the mosque was now considered the finest in the Occident, rivalling
the Kairuin mosque at Fez, it failed to satisfy the ambition of
Al-Mansûr (p. 69). As the sloping ground on the S. side precluded
extension in that direction, this governor, in 987–90, caused seven
new rows of columns to be raised on the E. side, thus increasing
the number of aisles to nineteen, but destroying the symmetrical
plan of the building, which required the mihrâb, or holy of holies,
to be in line with the main axis of the building.
After the conquest of Cordova by the Christians in 1236 (p. 69)
the mosque was dedicated to the Virgin (Virgen de la Asunción). The
Spaniards at first confined their operations to walling up most of
the doors and then fitting up side-chapels along the walls. As the
needs of the Christian ritual, however, soon demanded the construction
of a choir (primitivo coro), part of the second mihrâb
and the adjoining aisles had in 1260 to be demolished. Still
greater damage was done by the insertion of the Renaissance choir
in the centre of the building, and of the Sala Capitular, or sacristy,
in the middle of the S. wall.
The Ground Plan forms an immense rectangle of about 575
by 427 ft., of which fully a third is occupied by the court. Court
and church are surrounded by a fortress-like battlemented wall
which, on three sides, rests on massive substructions. Nothing
indicates the object of the building except the rich portals, flanked
with niches and windows, and, on the N. side, adjoining the Calle
del Obispo Herrero, the Campanario or bell-tower (305 ft. high),
which was substituted for the Moorish minaret in 1593. Ascent of
the tower interesting (adm. 25 c.; 255 steps).
The *Puerta del Perdón, the main gateway, restored in 1377
on the model of the gate of that name at Seville (p. 63), adjoins
the clock-tower and leads into the—
*Patio de los Naranjos (‘orange-court’), once the court of the
mosque, where the faithful performed their ablutions. Light and
spacious, yet well-shaded by orange and palm-trees, watered by
five fountains, and always enlivened with groups of quiet visitors,
it presents a typical scene of Oriental repose. The avenues were
originally laid out in line with the colonnades in the interior of the
mosque. The old arcades of the court (claustro) are now walled
up on the N. side. Of the nineteen gates on the S. side, two only,
the Puerta de las Palmas, the chief entrance to the cathedral, and
the small doorway of the eastmost colonnade are now open.
The *Interior of the Cathedral, in spite of its moderate
height (37 ft.), and in spite of much disfigurement, is singularly
impressive. In the subdued light the forest of columns seems endless.
They average 13 ft. only in height, and are of the most diverse
71materials, many of them having been brought from late-Roman
buildings or from Christian churches. The capitals show a marvellous
wealth of design; their bases are buried in the pavement,
the level of which has been raised by 11–14 inches in the course
of centuries. The vast number of horseshoe arches which connect
the columns, in the direction of the length of the church, and the
upper semicircular arches resting on projecting pillars impart
peculiar life to the building. The painted timber-ceilings of the
different roofs have been restored in their original style. The
sumptuous mosaic pavement has disappeared, and so too have the
countless chandeliers and lamps which burned perpetually during
the Moorish period.
The wealth of artistic decoration was lavished chiefly on the
mihrâbs, the first of which has been entirely destroyed. The
second and third were each provided with a vestibule and two
side-rooms, part of which was formerly shut off to form the
Caliph’s maksûra (or court-platform). The vestibule of the *Second
Mihrâb, with its superb shell-vaulting, still exists.
The **Third Mihrâb is considered a marvel of art. The front
is adorned with two rows of columns, one above the other, and
with double toothed arches. The vestibule, now Capilla de San
Pedro, and the prayer-niche itself, a kind of heptagonal chapel of
barely 13 ft. in diameter, exhibit the most elaborate efforts of
early-Moorish art, especially in the rich marble plinth and in the
coloured glass mosaics executed by Byzantine artists. The toothed
arches of the windows and the boldly interlacing arches of the
superb dome point to a later high development of Moorish art.
Of the Christian Additions to the church one of the most
noteworthy is the sumptuous Capilla Mudéjar de San Fernando,
to the left of the second mihrâb, erected over the old royal vault.
The *Renaissance Choir (Coro and Capilla Mayor), designed by
Hernán Ruiz the Elder in 1523, was completed, with many
alterations, in 1627. Though only 256 by 79 ft. in size, it is
crowded with no less than 63 columns, and it rises high above the
roof of the mosque. It is considered a masterpiece of the plateresque
style, but has ruined the original symmetry of the mosque.
The Alcázar (Pl. C, 4; now a prison), erected in 1328, contains
but scanty relics of the ancient Moorish castle.
The Calle Torrijos, on the W. side of the cathedral, descends
to the Puerta del Puente, a triumphal arch of the time of Philip II.,
on the site of the Moorish bridge gateway. The Moorish *Bridge
(Pl. C, D, 4) of sixteen arches, resting on Roman foundations, here
unites Cordova with the S. suburb of Campo de la Verdad.
Halfway across we have a fine view of the cathedral, and of a dam,
up the river, with Moorish mills. The massive tête-de-pont, Calahorra
(Iberian Calagurris), also is of Moorish origin.
72Returning into the town from the bridge, we may next visit
the Puerta Almodóvar (Pl. B, 3), a relic of the Moorish city-wall,
and then walk through the Jardines de la Victoria to the station.
153 M. Railway in 6¼–8½ hrs. (fares 36 p. 30, 28 p. 20, 19 p. 30 c.);
express on Mon. & Frid. only; change at Bobadilla (Railway Restaurant).
Beyond Bobadilla views to the right.
Cordova, see p. 68.—The train crosses the Guadalquivir and
runs through a dreary hill-country (Campiña). Looking back, we
see Cordova, the Sierra of Cordova, and Almodóvar (p. 68).
We cross the Guadajoz several times. Beyond (21 M.) Fernán
Núñez the vine and olive culture begins. 31 M. Montilla (1165 ft.),
once famed for its Amontillado, resembling the wine of Xeres
(p. 59). Farther on, to the left, we have a view of the distant Sierra
Nevada (p. 49).
47 M. Puente Genil (Rail. Restaur.). The town lies 2 M. to the
N.W., and is seen to the right as we cross a lofty bridge over the
Genil (see below). The train ascends to the plateau of the Sierra
de Yeguas, in view, farther on, of abrupt Jurassic mountains.
62 M. La Roda, junction for Utrera. (Lines to Cadiz and
Seville, see R. 6.)
Running to the S.W. the train soon reaches the watershed
(1477 ft.) between the Guadalquivir and the Guadalhorce. Beyond
(69½ M.) Fuente Piedra we observe on the right the Laguna
Salada, a salt-lake resembling the shotts of N. Africa (p. 169).
The Granada train diverges to the N.E. from the Málaga line
(R. 11), and ascends the broad valley of the Guadalhorce. On the
right soon appears the Sierra de Abdalajis.
87 M. Antequera (1346 ft.; Fonda de la Castaña and others),
the Roman Anticaria, lies picturesquely at the N. base of the hills,
with a ruined Moorish castle. The Cueva de Menga, 10 min. to the
E. of the town, is one of the largest dolmens in Spain.
99½ M. Archidona; the town lies on a hill, 3¾ M. to the S.—We
next cross the watershed between the Guadalhorce and the
Genil and descend through several tunnels. After the third the
snow-covered Sierra Nevada suddenly appears towards the E.
121 M. Loga, the Lôsha of the Moors, together with Alhama,
a little town on the hill 12½ M. to the S.E., once ‘the keys of
Granada’, were captured by the Catholic kings (p. 75) in 1488.
73The country is now hilly and at places sandy; the Genil with
its Vega (p. 73) remains on the right. 132 M. Tocón, at the foot
of the Sierra de Prugo, On the left rises the bare Sierra de
Parapanda, which the natives of Granada regard as a barometer.
144 M. Pinos Puente, at the foot of the barren Sierra de Elvira.
We next enter the fertile Vega, enclosed by olive-clad hills.
148 M. Atarfe, station for Santa Fe, 3 M. to the S.W., on the left
bank of the Genil, built in the form of a Roman camp by Isabella
the Catholic during the siege of Granada. The capitulation was
signed here in 1491 (p. 75), and so too, in 1492, was the contract
with Columbus regarding his voyage of discovery (p. 5).
In the foreground appears the lofty Albaicín (p. 74); then,
overtopped by the Sierra Nevada, (153 M.) Granada (see below).
The Station (Estación de los Ferrocarriles Andaluces; Pl. B, 6;
no buffet) is 1¾ M. from the hotels in the Puerta Real and nearly
2 M. from those near the Alhambra. Hotel-omnibus to the former 1, to
the latter 2 p.; an ‘omnibus general’ (50 c. each pers. or each trunk)
plies to the Despacho Central (p. 51), opposite the Hot. Victoria.
Hotels (comp. p. 51). Near the Alhambra, in the Alhambra Park, a
beautiful, but in winter a cold situation, ¾ M. above the town (2–3 min. from
the hill-tramway station; see below): Hot. Washington Irving (Pl. b; F, 2),
with the dépendance Siete Suelos (Pl. c; F, 2), patronized by English
and Americans; Alhambra Palace Hotel (Pl. a; F, 3), new, R. 6–12½,
pens. 20–35 p.; *Pens. Miss Laird, Carmen de Bella Vista, with garden,
8½–12 p. per day; Hot. del Bosque de la Alhambra, at the N. base of the
Alhambra Hill, below the Torre de Comares (Pl. E, 2), pens. 8–15 p., well
spoken of.—In the Town (ca. 1¾ M. from the Alhambra): *Hot. Alameda
(Pl. d; F, 5), adjoining the shady Carrera del Genil, with view of
the Sierra Nevada, pens. 8–20 p.; Hot. de Paris (Pl. e; E, 4), Gran Via
de Colón 5, with terrace, restaurant, etc., pens. 9–20 p.; Hot. Victoria,
on the W. side of the Puerta Real, with fine view, pens. from 8 p.,
Spanish, quite good; Hot. Nuevo Oriente (Pl. g; E, 5), Plaza de Cánovas
del Castillo 8, pens. 7 p., quite Spanish, very fair; Fonda Navío, Calle
Martínez Campos (Pl. E, 5), with a favourite restaurant.—Drinking-water
not good.
Cafés.Café Colón, Calle de los Reyes Católicos (Pl. E, 4); Imperial,
Carrera del Genil (Pl. F, 5).
Tramways. 1. Plaza Nueva (Pl. E, 4)-Cocheras (red disc): through
the Calle de los Reyes Católicos (Pl. E, 4, 5) to the Puerta Real, the
University (Pl. D, 5), and the Rail. Station (Pl. B, A, 6).—2. Plaza Nueva-Cervantes
(yellow): viâ the Puerta Real and the Carrera del Genil to the
Paseo de la Bomba (Pl. G, H, 4).—3. Puerta Real (Pl. E, 5)-Vistillas-Alhambra
(green): viâ the Plaza Nueva to the Puerta de los Molinos (Pl. G, 3;
change), then by the hill-tramway (rack-and-pinion) to the Alhambra Park
(Cuesta de las Cruces; Pl. F, 2, 3), in ¼ hr.; fare 30 c.
Cabs (stationed in the Carrera del Genil). Drive in the town, with
one horse 1, with two horses 2½ p.; per hour 2 or 3 p.—To the Alhambra,
Albaicín (p. 79), and Sacro Monte (p. 78) 5 p. extra (but bargain advisable).
Carr. and pair may be had also from the Despacho Central or the
Alhambra hotels (3 p. per hour).
Post & Telegraph Office (Correo; Pl. E, 4), Calle de los Reyes
Católicos. Post-office open 10–12 and after 2; poste restante letters delivered
1 hr. after arrival of trains.
British Vice-Consul, Chas. E. S. Davenhill.
74Sights.Alhambra (p. 79), daily, 9–12 and 1–6, adm. 50 c.–1 p., on Sun.
free; some rooms specially shown by the custodian.—Generalife (p. 87),
best by morning light; tickets (papeletas) at the Casa de los Tiros (p. 77),
on week-days, 9–11, free.—The Cathedral (p. 76), daily, closed between
11 and 2.30; the Capilla Real (p. 76), either in the morning before high-mass
(in winter at 10, in summer at 9), or 2.30 to 4, in summer 3–5 p.m.—The
smaller churches are usually open from an early hour till 8.30
or 9 only, but are shown later by the sacristan (fee).—The usual hours
for other sights are 8–12 and 2–6; between 12 and 2 a substantial fee
is exacted.
Promenades. In winter, Carrera del Genil (p. 77), 3–5; in summer,
Paseo del Salón (p. 77) and Paseo de la Bomba, 5–7. Band on Sun. and
Thurs.
Guides at the hotels, needless except when time presses. Those
who pester strangers in the streets and at the entrance to the Alhambra,
as well as gipsy beggars, should be disregarded.
Chief Attractions (two days). 1st. Forenoon: the Cathedral (p. 76);
Placeta de la Lonja (p. 77); Casa de los Tiros (p. 77); Carrera del Genil;
*Paseo del Salón; afternoon: Alameda del Darro (p. 78); *View from
San Nicolás (p. 79) or from San Miguel el Alto (p. 79).—2nd. *Alhambra
(p. 79) and Generalife (p. 87).
Granáda (2195 ft.; pop. 69,000), once the capital of the Moorish
kingdom, and now that of the province of Granada, the residence
of an archbishop and seat of a university, lies most picturesquely at
the foot of two hills (about 490 ft. high), which gradually slope to
the E. up to the Cerro del Sol, and descend abruptly to the fertile,
well-watered river-plain of the Vega. The Albaicín, the northmost
of the two hills, the oldest quarter of Granada, once the
residence of the Moorish aristocracy, but now inhabited chiefly by
gipsies, forms a town by itself. The deep ravine of the Darro,
which is generally dry as its water is much diverted for irrigation
purposes, separates the Albaicín from the Monte de la Assabica,
or Alhambra Hill to the S. (comp. p. 79). The Darro, descending
from the N.E., turns to the S. near the Alhambra Hill and falls into
the more important Genil.
The two hills were once occupied by Iberian and then by
Roman settlements, the one on the Albaicín having perhaps already
borne the name of Garnata. Soon after 711 the Moors built the
‘Old Castle’ (Al-Kasaba al-Kadîma) on the site of Garnata. After
the decline of the caliphate of Cordova (p. 69) Zâwi ibn Zîri,
the governor of Granada, declared himself independent in 1031,
and founded here the dynasty of the Zirites, which, however, was
overthrown by the Almoravides (p. 95) in 1090. As the power of
the Almohades (p. 95) declined the native governors revolted anew.
At length in 1246 Granada became the seat of the Nasride
Dynasty founded by Al-Ahmar (‘Mohammed I.‘), which, after
the fall of Seville, succeeded, in alliance alternately with the Castilians
and the Merinides (p. 95), in retaining possession of Granada,
Málaga, and Almería for nearly 250 years. Mohammed I. offered
an asylum in Granada to the Moors who were expelled from Cordova,
Valencia, and Seville, and began the building of the ‘New
75Castle’ (Al-Kasaba al-Jedîda) on the hill of the Alhambra. His
successors afterwards created the Alhambra Palace, the most
sumptuous of royal residences. Thanks to their fostering care for
agriculture and industry, for science, art and architecture, Granada
attained such brilliant prosperity as even to eclipse the fame of
the old caliphate of Cordova.
The downfall of the kingdom of Granada was at length brought
about by party struggles between the Zegri, the Beni Serrâj (the
Abencerrages of legend; comp. p. 84), and other noble families, and
by quarrels between king Mulei Abu’l-Hasan (d. 1485) and his son
Boabdil; a welcome opportunity was thus afforded to Ferdinand and
Isabella, the so-called ‘Catholic Kings’, of intervening and thus gaining
their life-long object of destroying the last Moorish kingdom
in Spain. After the death of his father Boabdil remained inactive
when Ferdinand proceeded to besiege Málaga (p. 90); he made one
despairing attempt at resistance when the Spaniards demanded the
evacuation of Granada, but in 1491 had to conclude a humiliating
peace. He soon afterwards crossed the Sierra Nevada and retired
to Tlemcen in N. Africa (p. 187), where he ended his inglorious
career. With the Spanish domination began the decay of the city;
it was depopulated by the decrees of the Catholic Kings, the Inquisition
held fearful sway here, and ere long Granada became a
‘living ruin’. Within the last few years, however, the busy tourist
traffic, the establishment of sugar-factories, and the prosperous
mining industry of the Sierra Nevada have somewhat repaired the
fortunes of the city, and several of the old quarters have been
entirely modernized. But its picturesque history, its memorials
of the most glorious period of Moorish culture and art, and the
striking view of the snow-mountains it affords will ever render it
the most fascinating goal of travellers in Andalusia.
See ‘Granada: Memories, Adventures, Studies, and Impressions’, by
Leonard Williams (London, 1906); and ‘Granada and the Alhambra’, by
A. F. Calvert (London, 1907).
Leaving the railway-station (Pl. B, 6; tramway No. 1, see p. 73),
we follow the Calle Real de San Lázaro to the S.E. to the Paseo del
Triunfo (Pl. C, 4), so named from the column in honour of the Virgin
(triunfo). Here, by the half-ruined Puerta de Elvira (Pl. C, 4),
begin the old Calle de Elvira and the new Gran Via de Colón (Pl.
C-E, 4), both leading to the chief artery of traffic, the narrow—
Calle de los Reyes Católicos (Pl. E, 4, 5), which is built
above the Darro, and connects the busy Puerta Real (Pl. E, 5), to the
S.W., with the Plaza Nueva (Pl. E, 4; officially, Plaza Rodriguez
Bolivar), to the N.E., at the foot of the Alhambra Hill (p. 79).
76In the Calle de Lopez Rubio, a side-street, is the so-called Casa
del Carbón, once a Moorish granary, with picturesque horseshoe
arches and stalactite vaulting. To the S.W. of it is the modern
town-hall (Ayuntamiento).
The short streets on the opposite side lead to the Alcaicería,
(Pl. E, 4, 5), with its numerous columns, which was burned down
in 1843, once a Moorish market-hall (Al-Kaisariya), resembling the
Oriental sûks (p. 335), and to the modernized Plaza de Bibarrambla
(Pl. E, 5), named after a Moorish city-gate which once stood here.
A few paces from these lies the Placeta de las Pasiegas. Here,
surrounded by buildings which mar its effect, rises the—
*Cathedral (Pl. D, E, 4, 5), an imposing memorial of the conquest
of Spain, and the finest Renaissance church in the kingdom.
It was begun in 1523 by Enrique de Egas in the Gothic style,
continued in 1525 by Diego de Siloe (d. 1533) in the plateresque
style (p. 51), and consecrated, while still unfinished, in 1561. The
N. tower only, which is now 187 ft. high, has been erected; the huge
façade was begun in 1667 by Alonso Cano, who was also the chief
author of the sculpture and painting in the church; the interior
was not completed till 1703.
Two of the Side Portals, the Puerta de San Jerónimo, the first
entrance to the N. in the Calle de Jiménez de Cisneros, and the Puerta
del Colegio, on the E. side of the ambulatory, are adorned with sculptures
by Siloe and others. The *Puerta del Perdón, the second portal to the N.,
also owes the beautiful ornamentation of its lower part to Siloe.
The *Interior (adm., see p. 74) has double aisles with two rows of
chapels, a lofty transept which does not project beyond the side-walls,
a central choir, and a Capilla Mayor with ambulatory. The vaulting, 100 ft.
in height, is borne by massive pillars and half-columns. Total length 380,
breadth 220 ft. The decoration in white and gold harmonizes well with
the fine marble pavement (1775).
The *Capilla Mayor, 148 ft. long and 154 ft. high, is crowned with
a dome resting on Corinthian columns. On the pillars in front of the
marble high-altar are kneeling statues of the ‘Catholic Kings’, by Pedro
de Mena and Medrano (1677); above them are painted *Busts of Adam
and Eve, in oak, by Alonso Cano, who painted also the representation of
the Seven Joys of Mary.
Side Chapels. The Capilla de San Miguel, on the right, lavishly
decorated in 1807, contains a picture by Al. Cano, the Mater Dolorosa
(after Gasp. Becerra).—In the Capilla de la Trinidad, beyond the door of
the Sagrario (p. 77), is a painting of the Trinity by Al. Cano.—The Altar
de Jesús Nazareno contains *Pictures by Dom. Theotocópuli (St. Francis)
and Ribera; the fine Bearing of the Cross is by Al. Cano.—By the same
artist are also the fine oaken busts of St. Paul and John the Baptist in
the Capilla de Nuestra Señora del Carmen, adjoining the N. aisles.
From the first chapel in the ambulatory, to the right of the Puerta
del Colegio, a portal by Siloe leads through an ante-room (antesacristía)
into the Sacristy (18th cent.), containing a crucifix by Montañés (p. 61)
and an Annunciation and a Conception (a sculpture) by Al. Cano.
A handsome portal leads from the right transept into the late-Gothic
*Capilla Real, the burial-chapel of the ‘Catholic Kings’, where Charles V.
caused his parents Philip of Austria and Juana the Insane also to be interred.
The marble *Monuments are in the Italian early-Renaissance style:
on the right those of Ferdinand and Isabella, by the Florentine Domenico
77Fancelli; on the left, Philip and Juana, by Bartolomé Ordóñez. The high-altar,
with the kneeling statuettes of the ‘Catholic Kings’, is by Philip
Vigarní, a Burgundian; the reliefs in wood, historically interesting, represent
(left) the surrender of the Alhambra keys and (right) the compulsory
baptism of the Moors. Behind the reliquary altars, which are
opened on four festival-days only, are hung Madonnas by Dierick Bouts,
altar-wings by Roger van der Weyden, a Madonna and a Descent from
the Cross by Memling, and other pictures. Over an altar in the right
aisle is a *Winged Picture by D. Bouts.
The third great addition to the cathedral, the Sagrario, erected as
a parish church in 1705–59, occupies the site of the ancient mosque, with
its eleven aisles, which was used for Christian worship down to 1661.
The picturesque Placeta de la Lonja (Pl. E, 4), on the S. side
of the cathedral, affords a good view of the Lonja (Exchange),
built in 1518–22, which stands before the Sagrario, of the rich
architecture of the Capilla Real, and of the—
Casa del Cabildo Antigua, once the seat of the Moorish
university founded here after the downfall of Cordova and Seville,
afterwards the residence of the ‘Catholic Kings’, and now a cloth
magazine. Its fantastic exterior dates from the 18th cent.; in the
interior are two interesting rooms of the Moorish period (fee 50 c.).
From the E. end of the Calle de los Reyes Católicos (p. 75) the
Calle Castro y Serrano and Calle Doctor Eximio lead to the right
to the Casa de los Tiros (Pl. E, 4), a building in the Moorish
castellated style, dating from the 15th cent., and now owned by
the Marquesa de Campotéjar. The court contains a venerable tree-like
vine. Tickets for the Generalife (comp. p. 74) are issued here.
The Calle de Santa Escolástica leads hence to the Plaza de
Santo Domingo (Pl. F, 4) and the old monastery of Santo Domingo
(now a military school), with its pleasing church (15–17th cent.).—A
little to the S.W. is the—
Cuarto Real de Santa Domingo (Pl. F, 4; admittance seldom
granted), the Al-Majarra of the Moors, now named after a tower
of the 13th cent., a superb villa with a Moorish portal and a hall
whose charming decoration is older than the Alhambra. The
beautiful garden is said to have been laid out in Moorish times.
We now cross the Plaza Bailén to the N.W. to the favourite
winter promenade (p. 74), the Carrera del Genil (Pl. E-G, 5), shaded
with plane-trees, which begins at the Puerta Real (p. 75) and now
comprises the former Alameda. Adjoining the Carrera on the left
is the—
*Paseo del Salón (Pl. G, 5, 4). planted with elms and
adorned with a bronze statue of Isabella the Catholic. Delightful
view to the N.E. of Monte Mauror with the Torres Bermejas (p. 80);
to the S.E. towers the majestic Sierra Nevada, from whose rocky
crest the Picacho de la Veleta (11,148 ft.), the grandest point of
view in all Andalusia, alone rises conspicuously.
78
At the mouth of the Darro Valley lies the Plaza Nueva (Pl.
E, 4; p. 75), another focus of traffic (tramways, see p. 73). On the
left is the Audiencia, formerly the Chancilleria, built in 1531–87
for the Capitán General or governor. The pretty arcaded court
was probably designed by Diego de Siloe (p. 76).
A few paces farther to the E. the Darro is not covered in.
Here, on the right, on the site of an old mosque, is the church of
Santa Ana (Pl. E, 3), a Renaissance building, perhaps designed
by Diego de Siloe in 1541, with a fine plateresque portal and an
admirable timber ceiling. The tower, built by Juan Castellar in
1561–3, with its azulejos and jutting roof resting on corbels,
resembles a minaret.
Opposite the church, on the right bank of the Darro, begins
the Carrera del Darro (Pl. E, 3, 2), one of the oldest parts of
Granada, affording picturesque views, notably of the towers and
walls of the Alhambra, which had its oldest approach from this
quarter. (Part of a horseshoe arch of the bridge is seen on the
left bank.) The Bañuelo, at No. 37, now occupied by poor families,
is a Moorish bath, dating perhaps from the 11th century.
On the right side of the street we come to the church of San
Pedro y San Pablo (Pl. E, 3, 2), with its fine timber ceiling. On
the opposite bank of the Darro we observe traces of the landslip
under the N.E. corner of the Alcazaba (p. 81), below which are
the arches of an aqueduct. To the N. of the church is the Casa de
Castril, a curious Renaissance building with an ornate portal by
a pupil of Siloe.
We next reach the Alameda del Darro (Pl. E, 2), planted
with elms; above us, on the right, is the Generalife (p. 87); on the
left, Albaicín (p. 79). Crossing the bridge to the right we enter
the steep Cuesta del Rey Chico (Pl. F, 2), which leads through
the ravine mentioned at p. 79, and past the Moorish towers of the
Alhambra, to the Puerta de Hierro (p. 87), the E. gate of the
Alhambra, and to the Generalife.
From the Darro the Cuesta del Chapiz (Pl. E, D, 2) ascends
to the N. to the old suburb of Albaida. The street is named after
the Casa del Chapiz, erected early in the 16th cent. in the Mudejar
style for two Morisco nobles, with two separate patios. The house,
now a bakery, is entered from No. 14, at the corner of the Camino
del Sacro Monte.
From this point the Camino del Sacro Monte (Pl. D, 2, 1)
ascends the cactus-grown slope. The numerous poor Cuevas, or cave-dwellings,
are chiefly occupied by gipsies (gitanos). The path ends
at the (25 min.) Sacro Monte (to the N.E. of Pl. D, E, 1), a Benedictine
monastery of the 17th cent., now a divinity and law school.
79The view of the Alhambra across the Darro valley, of the town and
the Vega, is one of the finest near Granada.
Footpaths ascend from the Cuesta del Chapiz in 25 min., and
from the Sacro Monte in ¾ hr., partly through deep gorges, to the
chapel of San Miguel el Alto (Pl. D, 1), in the midst of aloes
and cacti, where we enjoy a grand *View of the Alhambra, the town,
the Vega, and the Sierra Nevada.
The side-streets of the Carrera del Darro (p. 78) ascend to the N.
to Albaicín, a poor suburb (p. 74). Not far from San Pedro y San
Pablo (p. 78) is the small Gothic church of San Juan de los
Reyes (Pl. D, 2), an early 16th cent. edifice, whose tower was once
a minaret.
Above this church, and of like date, is the Gothic church of
San Nicolás (Pl. D, 2), also built on Moorish foundations, and
containing a fine timber ceiling. The famous *View of the Alhambra
and the Sierra Nevada is a favourite subject with artists. The
Puerta de los Estandartes (Pl. D, 3), close by, is a relic of the
Moorish Castle Wall, which runs down hence to the Puerta Monáita
(Pl. C, 3, 4). On the N. side the Cuesta de la Alacaba (Pl. D,
C, 3, 4) descends to the Paseo del Triunfo (p. 75).
On the way back to the Plaza Nueva we pass the Franciscan
nunnery of Santa Isabel la Real (Pl. D, 3), whose church has a
tasteful late-Gothic portal by Enrique de Egas.
The Alhambra occupies the plateau, 795 by 195 yds., of the
Monte de la Assabica (p. 74), which rises abruptly from the Darro
on the N. side, while on the S. it is separated by a gorge, the Assabica
of the Moors, from the lower spur of the Monte Mauror
(Pl. F, 3; p. 80). The axis of this range of hills is abruptly
intersected by a second gorge, the Cuesta del Rey Chico (p. 78),
separating it on the E. side from the Cerro del Sol (p. 87), at the
foot of which lies the Generalife (p. 87). On the narrow W. point
of the plateau stands the castle of Alcazaba. Beyond the small
glacis on its E. side, and beyond the Plaza de los Aljibes, rises the
Alhambra itself, adjoining which, on the S.E., lies the Alta Alhambra,
once quite a little town, where the retinue and servants
of the court resided. The whole of these buildings, enclosed by a
wall with numerous towers, were called by the Moors Medînat al-Hamrâ,
literally ‘red city’, from the colour of its stone.
The History of the Alhambra begins with Mohammed I. (1232–72),
the first Nasride sovereign. While the Zirites resided on the Albaicín
hill (comp. p. 74), Mohammed chose the Alhambra Hill as a site for his
80palace. The building was continued by his son Mohammed II. (1272–1302),
and the Alhambra mosque (p. 86) was erected by Mohammed III. (1302–9).
Abu’l-Walîd Ismaîl (1309–25) was the first to erect a small palace outside
of the Alcazaba, but this, with the exception of the Patio del Mexuar
(p. 85), was taken down by Yûsuf I. (1333–54). Yûsuf began the stately
Comares or myrtle-court palace, with its throne and audience room; to
him are ascribed also the Comares tower (p. 83), the baths (p. 85), and the
enclosing wall of the Alhambra Hill, with 23 additional towers. For the
more sumptuous part of the pile Mohammed V. (1354–91) was chiefly
responsible. To him was due the completion of the Myrtle Court, the erection
of the Cuarto de Machuca, the summer abode of part of the family,
and of the luxurious lion-court palace, the winter dwelling of the court
and of the sovereign’s harem. The last Moorish king who made additions
to the Alhambra was Mohammed VII. (1392–1408).
The ‘Catholic Kings’, as Ferdinand and Isabella are styled, took a
great interest in the Alhambra; they restored the decorations of the interior
and strengthened the walls. Charles V. visited Granada in 1526, but with
less satisfactory results. Although an enthusiastic admirer of Moorish art,
he caused many outbuildings of the Alhambra to be removed to make
way for his new palace (p. 86). At length, after 1718, when Philip V.
discontinued the payment of money for the upkeep of the buildings, they
rapidly fell into decay, and in 1812 the French, on their retreat, blew up
several of the towers. Since 1830, however, the work of restoration,
though sometimes in doubtful taste, has been resumed.
It is hardly necessary to remind our readers of Washington Irving’s
delightful ‘Tales of the Alhambra’, which were partly written on the
spot. A series of magnificent views of the Alhambra is given in the
monumental work of Jules Goury and Owen Jones, published at London
in 1842. See also ‘The Alhambra’ by A. F. Calvert (2nd ed., London, 1907).
The Hill Tramway (rack-and-pinion; p. 73) ascends from the
Puerta de los Molinos (Pl. G, 3) on the S. slope of Monte Mauror,
affording a splendid view of Granada, the Vega, and the Sierra
Nevada on the left, to the Cuesta de las Cruces (p. 81) in the Alhambra
Park, a few minutes’ walk from the entrance of the Alhambra.
The shortest Road to the Alhambra is the Calle de Gomeres
(Pl. E, 4, 3), which ascends steeply from the Plaza Nueva to the
S.E., between the hills of the Alcazaba and the Torres Bermejas,
to the Puerta de las Granadas, the present chief entrance to the
Alhambra Park.
The Puerta de las Granadas (Pl. 1; E, 3), erected by Pedro
Machuca (p. 86), in the form of a triumphal arch, on the site of
the Moorish Bîb Alaujar, occupied the centre of the wall connecting
the Alcazaba with the Torres Bermejas, the fortifications on the W.
point of the Monte Mauror, which were built at the same period
as the Alcazaba, but have been frequently restored.
The *Torres Bermejas (Pl. F, 3; ‘red towers’), now a military prison,
deserve a visit, which may be best paid on the way back from the Alhambra
or the Generalife. The path diverges from the Cuesta de las Cruces
(p. 81) a few paces to the E. of the Puerta de las Granadas. Adm. on
application at the guard-house. The extensive buildings, with their underground
stabling, the cistern, and the casemates, convey an excellent idea
of an ancient Moorish fortress. Stairs, rather steep, ascend to the platform
(azotea) on the chief tower, where we obtain a most picturesque view.
The *Alhambra Park (Alameda de la Alhambra; Pl. F, 3, 2),
a ‘sacred grove’ unique of its kind, occupies the Assabica Valley
81(p. 79), reaching far up its slopes. It was planted at the end of the
18th cent. with elms exclusively, placed so close together as to form
one dense roof of leafage, the home of countless nightingales. In
March, when the sun shines through the leafless branches, the soil
is temporarily covered with rich vegetation.
From the Puerta de las Granadas three roads ascend to the
Alhambra. To the right is the Cuesta de las Cruces, leading up
the S. side of the park to the hill-tramway and the Alhambra Hotels
(p. 73); to the left is the rather fatiguing Cuesta Empedrada, the
old route to the castle, ending at the Puerta Judiciaria (see below);
between these is the easy Main Road, passing three fountains, and
also leading to the hotels, but connected by side-paths with the
Puerta Judiciaria. Carriages use this road and pass through the
Puerta del Carril (Pl. 6; F, 2).
The entrance-tower, with the *Puerta Judiciaria (Pl. 5; E,
F, 3), which, according to the inscription, was erected in the reign
of Yûsuf I. in 1348, and was called by the Moors Bîbush-Sheria
(‘gate of justice’), deserves special attention. Like many of the
Alhambra towers, this was really an independent building, the road
between the gates of which was made tortuous for defensive purposes.
About halfway up is the horseshoe-shaped Outer Gate, above
which is seen a hand with outstretched fingers, a symbol often used
in the East and in S. Europe to avert the evil eye. The Inner
Gateway still has its old Moorish doors studded with iron.
A narrow passage ascends thence to the House of Gómes Tortosa
(on the right; Pl. 7, E, 3), the conservator of the Alhambra. Into
the N. wing is built the *Puerta del Vino, probably once the
main W. entrance of the Alta Alhambra (p. 86). This gate seems
to have been once connected by a wall with the Puerta de Hierro
(p. 87), so as to shut off the Alcazaba, the palace, and the mosque
from the Alhambra suburb.
At the top of the hill we enter the broad Plaza de los Aljibes
(Pl. 8; E, 3), so named from the cistern (al-jibb) filled with water
from the Darro. The level of the plaza was raised about 16 ft. when
Charles V. built his palace, and it is now adorned with hedges of
myrtle. On the E. side rise the Moorish palace (p. 82) and the
handsome building erected by the emperor (p. 86); on our left is
the E. front of the Alcazaba with two towers, the Torre Quebrada
and the Torre del Homenaje, 85 ft. in height (Pl. 10, 11; E, 3);
to the N. we look down into the Darro Valley.
The Alcazaba (Pl. E, 3; Arabic Al-Kasaba, ‘the citadel’) stands
about 460 ft. above the Plaza Nueva (p. 78). Except on the E. the
hill falls away abruptly on all sides, and so suddenly on the N.E.,
in consequence of a landslip, that the castle-wall seems endangered.
The only entrance to the castle is now the Puerta de la Alcazaba
(Pl. 9; E, 3), at the S.W. angle of the Plaza de los Aljibes. The
82interior of the castle is now occupied by gardens. Of the original
building scarcely anything remains except the ruined enclosing
wall, with its huge towers and external terraces (Adarves). At
several points the masonry resembles the concrete work of the
Romans (p. 290).
At the W. extremity of the Alcazaba stands the ‘watch-tower’,
the *Torre de la Vela (Pl. 13; E, 3), the Ghafar of the Moors,
on which the three ‘pendones’ of Ferdinand and Isabella were
displayed for the first time on 2nd Jan., 1492.
The Vela Tower commands a very extensive *View (doorkeeper 30 c.).
At our feet lies the entire city; to the left, beyond the Alhambra Park,
rise the Torres Bermejas; to the right, beyond the Darro, is the Albaicín;
in front of us extends the almost circular green Vega, enclosed by
brown and sun-scorched ranges of hills; to the S.E. towers the Sierra
Nevada; to the S. and S.W. rise the Sierra de Almijara, Sierra Tejea,
and Sierra de Alhama; to the W. are Santa Fe (p. 73) and the hills of
Loja (p. 72); then, to the N.W., are the Sierra de Parapanda (p. 73), Sierra
de Elvira, and other hills. Lastly, to the E., we see the Moorish Alhambra
and the palace of Charles V., the church of Santa María (p. 86), the Generalife
(p. 87), and the Silla del Moro (p. 88).
The *Jardín de los Adarves (Pl. 15; E, 3), the S. terrace,
overgrown with venerable ivy and vines, is entered by a small door
(recognized by the iron scallop-shells on it) to the left of the
Alcazaba gate. The view is most picturesque, especially towards
evening.
The Moorish **Alhambra Palace (adm., see p. 74), commonly
known as the Casa Real, adjoins the N.E. angle of the Plaza de los
Aljibes. Like other Moorish secular buildings it is externally insignificant,
and it is quite eclipsed by the huge palace of Charles V.
(p. 86). Like the ancient Greek and Roman dwelling-houses it is
entirely closed on the outside, while all the rooms open on an
internal court as a common centre. When the house was enlarged
a new court had to be added, and so too the kings of Granada built
palace after palace, each with its own court and separate entrance.
On these buildings the highest efforts of Moorish art have been
expended. Their structural value is small; the materials, chiefly
wood and plaster, lack solidity, being often used for effect only;
while architectural rules are constantly violated. But the ingenious
disposition of the rooms and their sumptuous ornamentation,
whose fairy-like effect is too often marred by decay or by faulty
restoration, are unrivalled. The slender marble columns by which
the light walls are supported recall the tent-poles of the nomads,
while the mural decoration with its arabesques and flourishes
reminds one of an Oriental carpet. Very curious too is the ‘stalactite’
vaulting, formed by minute and countless projections of
the walls, ranged one above the other without visible support. The
Semitic abhorrence of any representation of living beings accounts
83for the absence of sculpture, but some food for reflection was afforded
by the inscriptions with which all the wall-spaces are framed,
partly in the venerable Cufic characters (p. 150), partly in Andalusian
flowing letters, extolling Allah and the reigning family.
The present low-lying Entrance (Entrada Moderna), adjacent
to the emperor’s palace, leads into the—
*Myrtle Court (Patio de la Alberca or de los Arrayanes),
which belongs to the Comares palace (p. 80), and derives its name
from the myrtle-hedges (mesas de arrayanes) around its pond
(alberca). The court is 121 ft. long and 75 ft. in breadth. At
its N.E. end rises the Comares tower (see below); to the S.W. it is
overlooked by Charles V.’s palace, which stands about 16 ft. higher.
At each end of the court is a beautiful arcade, borne by six slender
marble columns and paved with marble; that at the S.W. end, with
its upper gallery, open at the top, deserves special admiration.
At the N.E. end the arcades terminate in curious niches (Arabic
ar-hanîya) with stalactite vaulting, once coloured blue.
The first door on the N.W. side of the court leads into the custodian’s
rooms, and the next but one into the Patio del Mexuar (p. 85); opposite
the latter door, from the S.E. wall of the court, stairs (generally closed)
descend to the Baths (p. 85). Opposite the entrance of the palace is a
door leading into the Sala de los Mocárabes (p. 84) and the Lions’ Court
(p. 81). The stairs in the S.W. angle of the court lead into the interior
of Charles V.’s palace (p. 86).
An ornate horseshoe arch at the N.E. end of the court gives
access to the ante-room of the Comares Tower, the Sala de la
Barca, whose barrel-vaulting was destroyed by a fire in 1899.
By the entrance are two niches for water-vessels. The wall of the
tower is pierced with a superb archway, right and left of which
are two other fine niches.
The ruinous Torre de Comares, 148 ft. in height, built, it
is said, by workmen from Comares, and crowned, with modern
pinnacles, contains the—
**Hall of the Ambassadors (Sala de los Embajadores),
a room in two stories, 36 ft. square and 59 ft. high, once the
royal reception room. The last meeting of the Moors under Boabdil,
before the capitulation of Granada, was held here in 1491.
Inscriptions record that Yûsuf I. was the builder. The larch-wood
dome of the hall has been compared to the facetted surface of a
cut diamond. The immense thickness of the walls is apparent from
the depth of the window-niches, each of which affords a different
view. The central windows (so-called Ajimez, Arabic khamsîya)
are each divided into two by a slender column. This hall is one of
the most richly decorated in the Alhambra.
From the first window-niche on the right in the S.E. wall a passage
leads to the Peinador de la Reina (p. 86) and to the lower floor.
We return to the Myrtle Court and (as indicated above) pass
through the Sala de los Mocárabes into the—
84**Court of the Lions (Patio de Los Leones), which owes its
name to the Fuente de los Leones, a famous fountain borne by
twelve lions. The building was begun by Mohammed V. in 1377. The
court, 92 by 52 ft., is bordered all round with a colonnade, from
which at each end protrudes a superb domed pavilion. The columns
are alternately single and grouped. The tasteful elegance of this
court, originally shaded by six orange-trees, contrasts strikingly
with the showy pomp of the Myrtle Court. The fretwork decoration
in stucco looks like carved ivory. Besides the lion-fountain, the
court contains, at the ends of the arcade, eight flat marble fountain-basins.
The fountains play on a few festival-days only.
The Court of the Lions, whose upper floor contained the
women’s apartments, restored in 1907, is adjoined by handsome
rooms all round. On the N.W. side is the present ante-room of
the court, called the—
Sala de los Mocárabes, 72 ft. long, but only 13 ft. wide.
The handsome barrel-vaulting in the Renaissance style was added
after an explosion of gunpowder in 1614, but remains of the old
dome and mural decoration have been brought to light.
The *Hall of the Abencerrages, to the S.W. of the Lions’
Court, derives its name from a noble family (p. 75), whose leading
members, as the story goes, were beheaded at the fountain in the
centre of this hall on account of an intrigue of Hamet, their chief,
with king Boabdil’s wife. We note specially the magnificent door
of entrance, and the curious way in which it is fitted to the doorposts.
The central part of the hall rises in three stories, upon
which open two lower alcoves with beautiful toothed arches and
coffered ceilings. Over the gallery of the second story eight stalactite
pendentives form the transition to the sixteen-sided third
story, whose windows diffuse a subdued light. Lastly, the hall is
roofed with massive stalactite vaulting.
Adjoining the Hall of the Abencerrages, on the left and right, are
the Patinillo and the Aljibe or cistern.
The *Sala de la Justicia (also called Sala del Tribunal or
de los Reyes), on the S.E. side of the Court of the Lions, is a hall
in seven sections, with three arched entrances from the court, each
divided by two columns. Between these open sections, which are
roofed with lofty domes lighted from above, are two lower chambers.
Adjoining the ends and the E. side are side-rooms or alcoves,
some of them dark. The whole of this hall, with its honeycomb
vaulting and stalactite arches, presents the appearance of some
fantastic grotto.
The three larger side-rooms have ceiling-paintings of the early 15th
century. The central picture, which has given rise to the different names
of the hall (‘hall of justice’, ‘hall of the kings’, etc.), probably represents
the first ten kings of Granada, beginning with Mohammed I., or, according
to others, a meeting of council, or a court of justice. The paintings in
the two other alcoves depict hunting and jousting scenes.
85In the central alcove is a Moorish Trough (pila) of 1306, with curious
reliefs of lions devouring stags, of eagles, etc.—The alabaster Tombstones
in the alcove at the S.W. end of the hall are from the Rauda, the dilapidated
royal vault of the Alhambra.
Opposite the Hall of the Abencerrages we ascend from the N.E.
side of the Court of the Lions by a narrow passage (pasadizo) to
the—
**Sala de las Dos Hermanas (Hall of the Two Sisters),
which lies in the same axis as the Sala de los Ajimeces and Mirador
de Daraxa, two other rooms situated at a higher level. This suite
of rooms seems to have formed the winter residence of the ruler’s
harem. The chief of these, whose ornamentation is perhaps the
most exquisite in the Alhambra, has its name from the two marble
slabs in the pavement. In particular we admire the beautiful doors,
the mural decoration in stucco, and above all the honeycomb vaulting,
the largest of all Arab roofs of the kind.
In a corner of the hall stands the *Alhambra Vase (‘el jarro de la
Alhambra’), 4 ft. 5 in. in height, dating from 1320, and adorned with enamel,
figures of animals (gazelles?), etc.
We next pass through the Sala de los Ajimeces, with its ajimeces
(p. 83) and fine vaulting (a closed passage on the left leads hence
to the Peinador de la Reina and the Patio de la Reja, p. 86), to
the—
*Mirador de Daraxa (‘entrance-room’). This charming bay
has three windows, reaching nearly to the ground and overlooking
the Patio de Daraxa (p. 86).
We may now return through the Court of the Lions to the Myrtle
Court, and from the N.W. side (as indicated at p. 83) of the latter
descend through the Zaguán or forecourt to the Patio del
Mexuar, lying 13 ft. lower. This is the oldest part of the Alhambra.
On the N.E. side of the court is a pleasing Atrium, with
columns and a horseshoe arch of 1522. The adjacent Cuarto Dorado
also has Mudejar decoration of the time of Charles V.
The Mexuar (Arabic meshwâr, council-chamber), now the
Capilla, was fitted up as such in 1537–44, but not used as the
palace chapel till 1629. During the Moorish period it perhaps
served as an audience chamber or law-court, and the gallery as a
meeting-place for the council of state.—A modern door leads into
the Mosala, the Moorish chapel built by Mohammed V., which
belonged to the old Cuarto de Machuca (p. 80), now almost entirely
occupied by gardens.
Nearly opposite the Christian Chapel in the Mexuar Court is
the underground Viaduct leading to the Baths (right) and to the
Patio de la Reja.
The extensive subterranean *Baths (Baños), to the N.E. of the
Myrtle Court, in the style of those of ancient Rome (comp. p. 290),
date from the time of Yûsuf I. The first room, now freely restored,
86resembling an Apodyterium, is the Sala de las Camas or de los
Divanes, with two niches for couches, and is remarkable for its
graceful superstructure. The gallery was destined for the singing
girls. The chief bath-chamber (cuartos y sudoríficos) corresponds
to the Tepidarium, and marble baths still exist. The heating
apparatus (calorífero) has been destroyed.
From the Sala de las Camas we enter the *Patio de Daraxa
(p. 85), planted with cypresses, formerly the inner garden of the
palace, but altered by Charles V. Only the upper basin of the
fountain is Moorish. The rooms on the upper floor (Aposentos de
Carlos Quinto) contain the Alhambra archives.
The small Patio de la Reja, with its fountain and four cypresses,
so called from its window-gratings, dates only from 1654–55.—The
stairs at the N.E. corner lead (left) to the Hall of the
Ambassadors (p. 83), and (right) to a new corridor which brings
us to the—
*Peinador de la Reina (the ‘Queen’s Dressing-room’), on
the upper floor of the Torre del Peinador erected by Yûsuf I. The
‘grotesque’ paintings, in the style of the Vatican logge, and the
scenes from Charles V.’s expedition to Tunis (p. 323) are by Julio
de Aquilés and Alex. Mayner.
The *Palace of Charles V. (Pl. 17, E, 2; entrance, see
p. 83) is a massive square pile of 207 ft. each way and 57 ft.
in height, with a heavy rustica groundfloor and an upper story
of the Ionic order, terminating in a Doric cornice. The building
was designed by Pedro Machuca in the Italian high-Renaissance
style, in 1526, and its cost was defrayed out of the tribute paid
by the Moors. The only completed parts are the façades, the superb
circular colonnaded court, of the Doric order below and the Ionic
above, and the main staircase, which was not finished till 1635.
The richly sculptured W. and S. portals, executed by many different
masters, are specially attractive.
Passing round the S. side of the palace of Charles V., we cross
the Plaza de los Alămos to the church of Santa María (Pl. 18;
E, F, 2), which stands on the site of the Mezquita Real or Alhambra
mosque.
The buildings of the Alta Alhambra (p. 79) also present several
features of interest. To the N. of Santa María we cross the Alameda,
pass (on the left) the ruins of the Rauda (p. 85) and the outside of the
Court of the Lions, and then descend to the left to the Torre de las Damas
(Pl. 20; E, 2), a fortified tower of the time of Yûsuf I., restored in 1907–8,
with a sumptuous interior. Fine view from the Mirador (p. 87).—A few
paces to the E. lies the Carmen de Arratía, a private house with a
charming garden (above the gate is the inscription ‘Mezquita árabe de la
Alhambra’). The house contains a Moorish Chapel, also dating from the
time of Yûsuf I., with an elegant mihrâb or prayer-niche.
87Farther on in the same direction we come to the Torre de los Picos
(Pl. 21; F, 2) and cross a bastion (baluarte) to the Puerta de Hierro
(Pl. 22; F, 2), restored by the ‘Catholic kings’, which forms the entrance
to the Alhambra from the Cuesta del Rey Chico (p. 78).
On the margin of the plateau above this road are four towers, the
two finest of which, time permitting, we may visit under the guidance
of the custodian, who lives in the Torre de la Pólvora. These are the
Torre de la Cautiva (Pl. 23; F, 2), the chief room in which vies with
the sumptuous halls of the Alhambra palace itself, and the Torre de las
Infantas (Pl. 24; F, 2), an excellent point of view.
On the S.W. margin of the plateau, beyond the Torre del Agua (Pl. 25;
F, 2), where towards evening we have a splendid view of the town, the
Vega, and the Sierra Nevada, is a bastion above which rises the Puerta
de los Siete Suelos (Pl. 26; F, 2). By this gate Boabdil, the last of the
Moorish kings (p. 75), made his final exit from the Alhambra.
At the foot of the Cerro del Sol, to the E. of the Alhambra,
about 160 ft. above the Alhambra Hill, rises the *Palacio de
Generalife (Pl. E, F, 1), once the famous summer residence of
the Moorish kings, and now owned by the Marquesa de Campotéjar
(p. 77). The name is a corruption of the Arabic Jennat al-Arîf,
‘garden of Arîf’, the original owner. According to the inscription
it was redecorated by order of Abu’l-Walîd Ismaîl in 1319, but in
1494 it was altered and enlarged by Queen Isabella. The interior
is very dilapidated; the ornamentation, which is about half-a-century
earlier than that of the chief apartments in the Alhambra,
is mostly whitewashed.
We ascend by the Camino del Cementerio, a continuation of
the three Alhambra Park routes (p. 81), and by the Cuesta del
Rey Chico (p. 78), and ring at the Outer Gate (Pl. 27, F, 2; adm.,
see p. 74; fee to the porter, also to the gardener): A cypress-avenue
leads thence to the N. to the Entrance (Pl. 28; F, 1).
The picturesque Court is still, as in Moorish times, planted
with myrtle-hedges and orange-trees and intersected by a water-conduit.
The buildings on the E. side date from the 16th cent.;
along the W. side runs a Colonnade with pointed arches, the central
door of which opens on a Mirador (Arabic manzar, i.e. belvedere),
which is now a chapel. On the N. side we pass through a five-arched
Gallery, and then through a three-arched Portal into a
quadrangular Hall with two alcoves. Beyond this is a square room
with a balcony commanding a splendid view of the Darro Valley.
The modern side-rooms are uninteresting.
The *Park, to the E. of the main building and above it, was
laid out in Moorish times. We first enter the Patio de los Cipreses,
with a gallery built in 1584–6, and shaded with venerable cypresses.
A Moorish flight of steps, with grooves for water on the balustrades,
ascends to a Mirador (Pl. 29; F, 1), where we enjoy a glorious
*View of Granada, the Alhambra, and the valley of the Darro.
88A good survey of the Alhambra and of the whole Sierra Nevada is
obtained from the Silla del Moro (Pl. F, 1), a spur of the Cerro del Sol.
It is reached in 12 min. from the Cementerio road (p. 87) by a path
diverging halfway between the gate of the Generalife and the cemetery,
and then crossing a gorge.
119½ M. Railway in 6–6¼ hrs. (fares 28 p. 90, 22 p. 65, 15 p. 95 c.);
railway restaurant at Bobadilla only (change carr.); views thus far on
the left, afterwards on the right.
From Granada to (76 M.) Bobadilla, see pp. 73, 72. The train
then continues to follow the Guadalhorce Valley.
At (84½ M.) Gobantes begins the *Hoyo de Chorro, a ravine,
inaccessible before the railway was made, where the Guadalhorce
forces its passage through the limestone slate rock of the coast-hills.
The train is carried along the left bank by means of tunnels
and of high bridges crossing lateral gorges. Little, however, of
the grand rocky landscape, or of the interesting construction of the
line, is seen from the train on its rapid descent.
Beyond (89 M.) Chorro are seen the first oranges, lemons, palms,
and cypresses. On the short run to Málaga we are carried with
more startling suddenness than anywhere else in Europe into the
midst of an almost tropical vegetation, and finally to the coast-region
of sugar-cane, cotton, and bananas (comp. p. 89).
96 M. Alora (328 ft.; pop. 10,300), the ancient Iluro, lies to the
right at the foot of the Sierra del Hacho. The ‘huertas’, or garden-like
fields, are watered by numerous runlets from the Guadalhorce.
Beyond the last tunnel the valley expands. 101½ M. Pizarra. To
the S. rises the Sierra de Mijas.
109 M. Cártama. The village, the Roman Cartima, lies 2½ M.
to the S.W., on the right bank of the Guadalhorce, which was once
navigable up to this point. The loftily situated castle is Moorish.
112½ M. Campanillas lies on the stream of that name, which
waters the hilly wine-country of Axarquía to the N., and falls into
the Guadalhorce. The valley broadens down into the plain, the
Hoya de Málaga (p. 89). We now leave the Guadalhorce, which
turns to the S.E.; to the S. we sight the Mediterranean.
119½ M. Málaga.—Arrival. At the Railway Station (Estación
del Ferrocarril; Pl. A, 5) we find hotel-omnibuses, cabs (see p. 89), and an
‘omnibus general’ (¼ p.), which last goes to the Despacho Central, or
town-office of the railway, by the so-called Puerta del Mar (Calle de
Carvajal; Pl. C, 4).—Travellers arriving by Steamer pay for landing ½ p.
for each person and ½ p. for each trunk; or a bargain may be made to
convey luggage to the custom-house (Aduana) and to the hotel for 1–2 p.—The
coasting steamers only are berthed at the quay.
89Hotels (comp. p. 51). *Regina Hotel (Pl. a; C, 4), on the N. side
of the Alameda, pens. 12–20 p.—*Hot. Colón (Pl. d; C, 3), Plaza de la
Constitución; Hot. Victoria (Pl. b; C, 4), pens. 6–12 p., Hot. Niza (Pl. c;
C, 3), Hot. Inglés (Pl. e; C, 3), pens. 7 p., Hot. Alhambra (Pl. f; C, 3),
pens, from 7 fr., good, all in the Calle del Marqués de Larios; Hacienda
de Giró (Engl. landlady, Mrs. Cooper), above La Caleta, with garden,
pens. 8–15 p.
Cafés.Imperial, Inglés, and La Vinícola, all in the Calle del Marqués
de Larios.—Beer.Gambrinus, same street; Cervecería de Munich, Plaza
de la Constitución; Maier, Pasaje de Heredia, N. side of same plaza.
Cabs. Within the town, and to the E. to Hot. Hernán Cortés (p. 92):
cab with two seats, per drive 1, per hr. 2 p., at night 2 and 2½ p.; with
four seats, per drive 1½, per hr. 2½, at night per drive or hour 3 p. Bargain
advisable, also as to luggage.—Outside the town according to bargain:
to Palo (p. 92) about 5, to San José and La Concepción (p. 92)
8–9 p.—On certain festivals fares are raised.
Post & Telegraph Office (Correos y Telégrafos; Pl. D, 3), Calle
del Cister.
Banks.Banco Hispano-Americano, Calle del Marqués de Larios; Hijos
de Alvárez Fonseca, Calle Nueva; Rein & Co., Alameda de Carlos Haes 4.
Consuls. British, P. Staniforth; vice-consul, E. R. Thornton.—United
States, E. J. Norton; vice-consul, T. R. Geary.—Lloyd’s Agent, Chas.
Farguharson, Cortina del Muelle 69.
English Church in the Protestant Cemetery (Pl. F, 3).
Steamboat Lines.Hall Line (agent, Ign. Morales Hurtado, Alameda
de Colón 13), weekly to Cadiz, Lisbon, and London; Compañía Trasatlántica
(office, Viuda de Ant. Duarte), thrice monthly to Cadiz; Transports
Maritimes (P. G. Chaix, Calle de Josefa de Ugarte Barrientos 26), on 20th
of each month to Gibraltar, Madeira, etc. (comp. also p. 120 and R. 3);
Navigation Mixte (P. G. Chaix), from Tangier viâ Málaga and Melilla
to Oran (and Marseilles), see p. 123; also Sloman’s Line and others.
One Day. Forenoon: Alameda, Park (p. 90), Harbour (p. 90), Cathedral
(p. 91), and view from its tower or from the Gibralfaro (p. 92); afternoon:
Protestant Cemetery, Caleta, and Palo (p. 92).
Málaga, the capital of a province and seat of a bishop, one of
the oldest and most famous of Mediterranean ports, with 111,900
inhab., lies picturesquely on the last spurs of a circus of hills, 47 M.
long, the Sierra Tejea, S. de Alhama, S. de Abdalajis, and S. de
Mijas, which enclose the broad Bahía de Málaga. The inner
part of this bay is bounded on the E. by the Punta de los Cántales,
and on the W. by the Torre de Pimentel, near Torremolinos; between
these rises the Gibralfaro, the castle-hill of Málaga, abutting
on the harbour. The coast-line is gradually being extended
seawards by the alluvial deposits of the Guadalmedina (Arabic
‘town-river’), whose bed, generally dry (Rambla), separates the old
town from the W. suburbs. To the W. stretches the wonderfully
fertile Vega or Hoya de Málaga, where even the sugar-cane, cotton,
sweet potatoes (Convolvulus batatas), and cherimolias (Anona
cherimolia) are cultivated. Most famous among the products of this
luxuriant region are the raisins (pasas) and the wines of Málaga,
which are yielded by the Axarquía (p. 88), to the N.W., and by the
Montes de Málaga and the hill of Colmenar, to the N.E., and which
are chiefly exported by British and German firms. In the W. suburbs
are several sugar, cotton, and iron factories, a rare phenomenon in
Andalusia. To the E. are the villa-suburbs, the strangers’ quarter.
Málaga is much resorted to as a winter residence, chiefly by British
90and Spanish visitors, on account of the mildness of its climate, the
mean temperature of the three winter months being 55° Fahr.
The History of Málaga, the Malaca of antiquity, begins with the
Phœnicians (p. 50), who gave the town its name. Down to the time of
Posidonius, the contemporary of Pompey and Cicero, it retained its Punic
character (Strabo III, 4), differing therein from the towns of Iberian or
of Greek origin. The Syrian and other Asiatic merchants who settled
here formed distinct guilds. Although the port was of some importance in
ancient times, it now contains no memorials of either the Phœnician (except
a few coins) or of the Roman period. In 571 Leovigild, the Visigoth
(p. 69), wrested the town from the Byzantines. In 711 it was captured
by the Moors, who regarded it as an earthly paradise, and whose Arabic
writers vie with each other in extolling it. After 1246, along with Almería,
it became one of the chief ports of the kingdom of Granada, but
its mediæval glory ended with its conquest by Ferdinand and Isabella in
1487. For centuries Málaga remained utterly insignificant; but of late,
in spite of the growing competition of Seville and Almería, its trade has
improved considerably.
From the station we follow the tramway line and cross the
Puente de Tetuán (Pl. B, 4) to the Paseo de la Alameda (Pl. B,
C, 4), a promenade ¼ M. long and 138 ft. wide, planted with planes.
At its W. end it is adorned with a marble Fountain executed in
Genoa in 1560, and at the E. end with a statue of the Marqués de
Larios. Adjoining this Paseo on the E. is the Plaza de Alfonso
Suárez de Figueroa (Pl. C, 4), with a tasteful fountain, which leads
to the new—
*Park (Parque or Jardines de Enrique Crooke Larios; Pl.
C-E, 4, 3), planted with six rows of planes and palms and with fine
flower-beds. View of the harbour, part of the cathedral, the Alcazaba,
and the Gibralfaro.—The Paseo de Heredia (Pl. C, 5, 4) also,
to the W. of the harbour, is planted with planes and palms.
The Harbour (Puerto; Pl. C, D, 4, 5) has been much improved
since 1881. The E. pier, with the Lighthouse (Faro; Pl. D, 5), was
already built in 1588. On the sand-hills behind the pier a poor
suburb has sprung up, called the Barrio de Malagueta (Pl. E, F,
4, 3). On its N. side are the Plaza de Toros (Bull Ring; Pl. E, 3)
and the Hospital Noble, erected for seamen by Dr. Noble, an
English physician.—To the Caleta, see p. 92.
The Mercado (market-hall; Pl. B, C, 4), to the N. of the Alameda,
deserves an early morning visit; the fish-stalls also are worth
seeing. The horseshoe arch of the chief portal, with the motto of
the Nasride dynasty (p. 74), is a relic of the Moorish wharf, the
Atarazana (Arabic Dâr as-San῾a, ‘arsenal’ or ‘place of work’).
From the Alameda issues the Calle del Marqués de Larios
(Pl. C, 4, 3), the chief business street of Málaga (many cafés) and
also a favourite resort of the fashionable and leisured classes.
Another important commercial thoroughfare, to the N.E. of the
Plaza de la Constitución, is the Calle de Granada (Pl. C, D, 3),
officially called Calle de Salvador Solier, from which the Calle
de Molina Larios leads to the cathedral.
91The *Cathedral (Pl. C, D, 3; open 7–11 and 3 to 4.30, in
summer 4 to 5.30), a massive edifice, marred, however, by the buildings
on the E. side, occupies the site of a Moorish mosque, which
was converted in 1487 into the Gothic Church of the Incarnation
(Encarnación). The present church, which is built entirely of white
limestone, was probably planned by Diego de Siloe (p. 76) in 1538.
The building progressed slowly, but in 1554 it already showed the
arms of Philip II. of Spain and Queen Mary of England. In 1680
it was partly destroyed by an earthquake, but in 1719 the work
was resumed with greater energy. It has, however, never been
completed.
The chief W. façade, approached by a fine flight of marble steps
and flanked with two projecting towers, rises opposite the Plaza del
Obispo in two stories, articulated with Corinthian columns. Corresponding
with the three portals are the round-arched windows of
the second story. The N. tower, 280 ft. high, has a third story
with Corinthian columns, surmounted by an octagon with a dome
and lantern. The S. tower, like the central part of the façade,
shows only the beginnings of a third story. The portals of the
transept also are flanked with towers.
The Interior, with its nave and aisles and two rows of chapels,
measures 377 by 246 ft. and is 131 ft. in height. The transept and the
ambulatory are grandly proportioned. The round arches of the ornate
vaulting are borne by two sets of pillars, one above the other, the lower
being enriched with Corinthian pilasters.
In the nave is the Choir, with its admirable stalls (16–17th cent.).
The carved *Statues of saints and other figures are by Pedro de Mena
(d. 1693).
In the Right Aisle is the Capilla del Rosario (the 3rd), which contains
a Madonna of the Rosary with six saints, by Alonso Cano.—In the
1st chapel of the Ambulatory, the Capilla de los Reyes, are kneeling
statues of the ‘Catholic kings’ (p. 75) and an image of the Virgin which
they always carried with them on their crusades.
The Capilla Mayor, designed by Al. Cano, is formed by a semicircle
of light detached pillars. The handsome altar, in the form of a domed
temple with four façades, is modern.
The N. Tower (entered from outside; over 200 steps; custodian 30–40 c.)
commands a strikingly picturesque *View.
The Sagrario, the parish church to the N.W. of the cathedral,
has a rich Gothic N. portal from the older cathedral.
The Calle de San Agustín, passing the Ayuntamiento (Pl. D, 3),
leads back to the Calle de Granada (p. 90). At the N.E. end of the
latter, on the right, near the Plaza de Riego (Pl. D, 2, 3), rises the
church of Santiago el Mayor (Pl. D, 3), built on the site of a mosque
in 1490, with a tower whose lower part is still Moorish.
If the traveller is undeterred by dirty streets and begging children,
he may ascend from the Plaza de Riego to the S.E. viâ the
Calle del Mundo Nuevo to the saddle of the Coracha and the Moorish
castle of Alcazaba (Pl. D, 3; p. 81), the scanty ruins of which are
chiefly inhabited by gipsies. This hill-town, once connected with
92the Gibralfaro by double walls, probably stands on the site of the
earliest Phœnician settlement.
The *Gibralfaro (Pl. E, 2, 3; 558 ft.; from jebel, mountain,
and pharos, lighthouse), whose original fortifications date back to
the 13th cent., affords an extensive view, ranging to the S., in very
clear weather, as far as the Monte Melila in Africa (p. 124). The
ascent from the Coracha (p. 91) is fairly easy. Leave to see the
castle must be obtained beforehand from the commandant, at the
Gobierno Militar, Alameda de Colón 2. The same views may be
obtained by walking round the old enclosing walls, but this is
fatiguing.
At the foot of the Gibralfaro runs the Avenida de Pries (Pl. F, 3),
leading to the villa-quarter of Caleta (Pl. F, G, 3), where are several
pensions and many superb gardens. (Electric tramway from the
Paseo de Alameda to Palo; also steam-tramway from the harbour
to Vélez-Málaga.) Immediately on the left is the pretty Protestant
cemetery, or Cementerio Inglés, founded in 1830 by the British
consul W. Mark (usually open). The little English Church here was
built in 1891. At the E. end of Caleta, beyond the Hot.-Restaurant
Hernán Cortés (Pl. k; G, 3), roads diverge to the left for the Limonar
Valley (Pl. G, 2, 1), where lie the residential suburbs of Limonar,
Higueral, and Miramar.—We may follow the highroad,
which affords charming views, but is generally very dusty, to the
fishing-village of Palo, 2 M. beyond the Hot. Hernán Cortés.
A delightful excursion may be taken to the beautiful park of the
Hacienda de San José, 2½ M. to the N. of Málaga, and to the villa of
*La Concepción, a little beyond it. The latter contains an elegant
modern temple with Roman antiquities. The road (carr., see p. 89) leads
from the Plaza de Capuchinos up the Guadalmedina. From the Cementerio
de San Miguel (comp. Pl. D, 1; tramway) walkers may wander along
the water-conduit, halfway up the slope (40 min.), and then descend the
avenue of plane-trees to the left to the highroad.
IV. MOROCCO. — 12. Tangier. — 13. From Tangier to Tetuán ( Ceuta ). — 14. From Tangier to Mogador by Sea.
93
Route
Page
Geographical and Historical Sketch. Practical Hints
Morocco, a region 270,000 sq. M. in area, extends from the Straits of Gibraltar on the N. to the Sahara on the S., and is bounded
by the Atlantic Ocean on the W. and by the French colony of Algiers
on the E. It is called by the Arabs El-Gharb or Maghreb el-Aksâ
(‘the extreme West-land’), being the westmost part of the ancient
Barbary (Arabic Jezirat el-Maghreb, ‘island of the West’), the
long coast-land of N. Africa between the Libyan desert and the
ocean. The backbone of this region, whose population is estimated
at from six to eight millions, is formed by the Morocco Atlas, the
highest mountains in N. Africa, a folded rock-formation, mostly of
early origin. The range consists of three main chains: the barren
Great Atlas, an enormous wall of rock culminating in the Tamyurt
and Likumpt (about 14,800 ft.); then the Lesser Atlas to the N.,
rising in the territory of the Beni Waraïn tribe to over 13,000 ft.,
and separated from the Great Atlas by the Wâd el-Abid and the
Mulûya; and lastly the Anti-Atlas and Jebel Sarro or Saghro,
parallel with the Great Atlas, and about 6500 ft. in height. A low
range of hills, called the Jebel Bani, between the Anti-Atlas and
the river Draa, forms the boundary between Morocco and the
Sahara. On the N.W. side of these mountains, between them and
the ocean, lies an extensive intermediate tableland called the Tell,
steppe-like in character, with a girdle of oases, whence protrude
the Jebilet, the Jebel el-Hadid, the Jebel Akhdar or Lakhdar,
and several smaller isolated heights, which are evidently relics
of an ancient range of mountains. The seaboard itself consists of
the plain between the rivers Tensift and Sebu (rendered extremely
fertile by its mantle of black soil, Tuaress or Tîrs), and of the
marshy flats on the lower course of the Sebu (ancient Subur), the
most copious stream in Barbary. These occupy a district once
penetrated by the sea, and geologically resembling the basin of
the Guadalquivir (p. 49). The entire Mediterranean coast, on the
other hand, from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Mulûya valley
(p. 124), is bordered by the Rîf Mts. (p. 104), a range culminating
94in the Jebel Mulaï Abd es-Slam (p. 102; 5742 ft.) and the
Jebel Tiziren (ca. 8200 ft.), these being folded mountains of recent
formation, clothed with extensive forests of Atlas cedar (p. 210)
and arar (Callitris quadrivalvis L.). The Rîf Mts. and the Atlas
are sharply separated by a deep depression watered by the Sebu
and its tributary the Innaûen on the W., and by the Msûn, an
affluent of the Mulûya, on the E., a valley which once formed the
most important route between Morocco and Algeria. Both of these
mountain-ranges are said to contain great mineral wealth (iron,
copper, zinc, silver, gold, etc.), but as yet it has only been tapped
to a small extent by the natives, chiefly in the Sûs, the region
between the Great and the Anti-Atlas, and near Ujda (p. 197).
The Great and the Lesser Atlas, whose chief peaks are covered
with perpetual snow, afford also an abundant supply of water, which
is utilized for irrigation, though as yet very inadequately, by means
of open cuttings (sakhiâ) or underground conduits (foggâra or khattâra).
The rainfall in Morocco diminishes as we proceed southwards
from the Straits of Gibraltar; at Tangier it is 32 in.; at Mogador,
16 in.; while in the interior (as at Marakesh, 11 in.), and particularly
on the S. margin of the Great Atlas, it becomes very insignificant.
In the interior the climate may be described as continental
(as at Marakesh, where the mean temperature of January
is 51½° Fahr., and that of July 84½°), while that of the S. part of
the ocean seaboard, thanks to the prevalent N.W. winds and the N.
to S. ocean currents, vies with that of Madeira in mildness and
equableness. Thus at Rabât the mean of January is 55°, that of
August 75°; at Mogador 61° and 72°, respectively. The variations
are greater near the Straits (as at Tangier, 50° and 75°) and particularly
on the Rîf seaboard.
Morocco is inhabited chiefly by Berbers, the white Hamitic
indigenous race of N. Africa; of these the Amâziges live in the N.W.,
the Berâbs in the Atlas, and the Shilluh or Shluh on the ocean
coast. Some of them retain their ancient languages (Tamâzirt, or
Shelha, and Berbri), which are akin to early Egyptian, but many,
especially the dwellers in the low country, have spoken Arabic
since the middle ages. Pure Arab Tribes, mostly survivors of the
Beni Hilal and Beni Soleïm immigrants (p. 323), are chiefly met
with in the Sebu plain and in the S.W. steppe-region. Many of the
dwellers in the towns are Moors (Andalûsi) of Spanish origin, while
numerous Jews are settled, usually in a walled ghetto (Mellah),
under the direct protection of the sultan. Negroes, too, most of
whom were originally slaves, imported from the Sudan by way of
the Tafilet, abound in the southern districts of Morocco. The S.W.
provinces of Sûs, Wâd Draa, and Wâd Nûn, which are interesting
on account of their primæval African flora (p. 30), are mostly inhabited
by the despised Harrâtin (sing. Hartâni), the hybrid
95offspring of negroes and Berbers, or, according to others, descendants
of the indigenous population of N. Africa.
Owing to the inaccessibility of its mountains and the natives’
passionate love of independence, coupled with their hatred of foreigners,
Morocco has ever been one of the least explored regions.
The settlements of the Phœnicians and Carthaginians were limited
to a few places on the coast, such as Rusaddir (Melilla?) and
Ceuta, and also, beyond the pillars of Hercules (p. 54), Tingis (?),
Zilis (Arzila), Lixus (p. 105), and Sala (Salee). The Romans
also seem to have shunned the Rîf region, and scarcely ever to
have penetrated into the interior beyond Meknes (Mequinez) in the
Zerhun Mts. From the time of Emp. Claudius (42 A. D.) Morocco,
with Tingis as its capital, formed the Provincia Mauretania
Tingitana (comp. p. 124); and after the reign of Diocletian it became
part of the Spanish Provincia Ulterior. In the early Christian
period also the coast of Morocco, whose inhabitants had joined the
Donatists (p. 172), shared the fortunes of Spain, belonging successively
to the Vandals (p. 322), the Eastern Romans, and (after 620)
the Visigoths, until in 682 it fell into the hands of the Arabs under
Sidi Okba (p. 322), and then after long struggles was united with
the caliphate of Damascus (p. 485). Although the Berber tribes of
Morocco were thenceforth among the most zealous champions of
Islam, and in 711, at the instance of Mûsa, the governor, had
undertaken their victorious expedition against Spain under Târik
(p. 54), yet they afterwards took part in the Kharijite movement
against the Arabs (comp. p. 323). In 788 Idris I. (d. 793), an Arab
refugee and a descendant of the Prophet (‘sherif’), founded the
oldest Moroccan dynasty, that of the Idrisides, and under Idris II.
(793–828) Fez became their new capital in 807 instead of Volubilis
in the Zerhun Mts. After the fall of the Idrisides the country was
divided among Berber princes, and its independence was threatened
by Omaiyades (p. 69) and Fatimites (p. 323) alternately. At
length in 1055 it succumbed to the attacks of the Almoravides
(Morabitîn, comp. p. 368), a Berber sect from the W. Sahara, who
under Abu Bekr’s lead converted the inhabitants of the interior
as far as the Sudan to Islam. Under Yûsuf ibn Têshufîn they
took possession of Agâdir in 1081 (p. 188) and of Ceuta in 1084,
and in 1086 took the lead in the struggle against the unbelievers
in the Iberian peninsula. Morocco became still more powerful
under the Almohades, a Berber sect formed in 1181 in the district
now called Oran (p. 169), especially under the gifted caliph Abd
el-Mûmen (1130–63), who, after the battle of Tlemcen (p. 188),
extended his sway over the Moorish states of Spain, and in 1160
as far as Barca (p. 414). After the overthrow of the Almohades in
1212 there arose in Barbary the three new kingdoms of the
Merinides at Fez, the Abdelwadites (p. 188) at Tlemcen, and the
96Hafsides (p. 323) in Tunis, whose strength was exhausted by
sanguinary internecine struggles which lasted for centuries.
The attacks of the Portuguese, who took Ceuta in 1415, occupied
Arzila and Tangier in 1471, and after 1500 even threatened
Marakesh from their base on the ocean seaboard, coupled with
the advance of the Spaniards, who after the fall of Granada (p. 75)
had conquered Melilla, called forth the new counter-movement of
the Saadites of the Draa. To this new dynasty, after the conquest
of Marakesh in 1520 and of Fez in 1550, tho feeble dynasty of
the Merinides succumbed in 1554. Morocco was afterwards torn
by sanguinary family feuds, yet owing to the destruction of the
Portuguese army in the ‘battle of the three kings’ at Alcázar (Ksar
el-Kebîr), and the influx of well-educated Moors expelled from
Spain, the kingdom was greatly strengthened and obtained a new
lease of life. It prospered once more, after 1649, under the sixth
dynasty, that of the Filali, a family from the Tafilet (see below),
and notably under the cruel Mulaï Ismail (1672–1727), one of the
most powerful princes of his age, who even fought against the Turks
in Oran (comp. p. 206) and led a campaign against Timbuktu.
After the defeat of the Portuguese the pirates of Larash (p. 104)
and Salee (p. 106), vying with the Rîf pirates and the ‘Barbaresques’
(p. 221), had seriously hampered European trade for two centuries
or more, but by the occupation of Algeria by the French and the
expedition of the Spaniards against Tetuán in 1859–60 the seaboard
of Morocco was at length opened up to European influence
and to commercial enterprise. In 1906 the Algeciras Conference
(p. 56) prevented the French from advancing towards Fez and
obtaining a passage from the Oran and Sahara railway through
the Tafilet or Tafilelt, the richest group of oases in S. Morocco, to
the ocean seaboard. In 1907, however, the unrest at Casablanca
(p. 107), and also on the Algerian frontier, led to the French occupation
of that important seaport along with the adjacent Shâuya,
of Ujda (p. 197), and of Berguent and Bu Denib in S.E. Morocco.
After the deposition of Mulaï Abdul-Aziz (1894–1907), who was
favourable to the French influence, Mulaï Hafid was proclaimed
sultan in 1908.
The Morocco of to-day, whose institutions, manners, and customs
are still quite mediæval, consists of the so-called Blad el-Makhzen
(‘government land’), the dominion of the sultan, and the far larger
Blad es-Siba (‘outer land’), occupied by independent tribes. These
tribes recognize the sultan, or the grand sherif of Wazzân, a descendant
of the Idrisides, as their spiritual chief only, but usually
deny the sultan a right of way through their territory between the
capital towns of Fez and Marakesh.
The foreign trade of Morocco is confined to the eight ‘open’
ports of Tangier, Larash, Rabât, Casablanca, Mazagan, Saffi, Mogador,
97and Tetuán, to the capitals of Fez and Marakesh, and has
lately extended to Ujda and the Spanish Melilla (p. 124). In 1909
its total volume amounted to 132,612,000 fr. of which were ascribed
to Great Britain 52,339,000 fr., to France 51,255,000 fr., to
Germany 13,582,000 fr., to Spain 6,456,000 fr., and to the United
States 1,111,000 fr. From France Morocco imports sugar, flour,
and silk, from England cotton goods, tea, rice, and candles, from
Germany iron wares, cloth, and sugar, and from Italy flour and wax-matches.
The exports (to Marseilles, Gibraltar, Spain, England,
Hamburg, etc., and also to Algeria and America) consist of goats’ and
sheep’s hides, fruit (almonds, oranges, etc.), eggs, cattle, chick-pease,
wheat, barley, and maize. The Morocco-leather slippers (belra,
yellow for men and red for women) go to Egypt, Algeria, and Senegal.
Besides the breeding of cattle, that of horses and mules also
is important. Sardines and other fish abound off the ocean coasts.
Most travellers are satisfied with a visit to Tangier, an excursion to
Tetuán, and the interesting coasting voyage (best in April-Sept.) to Rabât
or Mogador. Europeans rarely travel in the interior, except perhaps in
Blad el-Makhzen, while in N. Morocco they should avoid the rainy winter
season. As roads, bridges, and inns are lacking, a costly equipment for
such expeditions is required, including tents, camp-beds, cooking utensils,
provisions, drinking-water, candles, medicines, insect-powder, etc. A guide
or mule-driver, a cook, an interpreter, and a soldier as an escort (mekhazni)
also are usually engaged. Lastly a mule (incl. attendant and fodder,
4–5 pesetas per day) is preferable to a horse (5 p. or upwards), being
more sure-footed and enduring. Before starting, the traveller should apply
for information and assistance to a consul or other experienced resident,
and obtain from them introductions to the local authorities (caid, pasha,
or amel) or to so-called protégés (semsar, mokhâlat). Persons of distinction
have a right to a formal reception by the authorities and to the mûna
(free provisions, like the ancient ‘purveyance’), for which, as also for
hospitality, a return is made either in kind (as firearms, telescopes,
watches, trinkets) or in money. In the country it is advisable to put up
at the village caravanserais (nzalas), where a night-watchman is provided
(fee) and where offerings by the peasants (milk, oranges, etc.; small fee)
should not be declined. At towns early arrival is essential, as all the
gates are closed at sunset. As to dealings with Mohammedans, comp.
p. xxv. Travellers are specially warned against photographing or even
entering their mosques, saints’ tombs, or burial-grounds.
In the seaport-towns Spanish silver (p. 52) and English or French
gold are current, but in the interior Spanish and Morocco money only
(silver coins of 5, 2½, 1¼, ½, and ¼ p.). In the interior letters of credit
addressed to Jewish or other firms are convenient.
Books.R. L. Playfair and R. Brown, Bibliography of Morocco (London,
1892); Budgett Meakin, The Moorish Empire (London, 1899), The
Land of the Moors (London, 1901), The Moors (London, 1902), and Life in
Morocco and Glimpses Beyond (London, 1905); J. Thomson, Travels in the
Atlas and Southern Morocco (London, 1889); W. B. Harris, Tafilet (London,
1895); A. S. Forrest and S. L. Bensusan, Morocco (London, 1904, illus.);
D. Mackenzie, The Khalifate of the West (London, 1910; illus.; 10 s. 6 d.);
E. Ashmead-Bartlett, The Passing of the Shereefian Empire (Edinburgh,
1910; illus.; 15 s.); H. J. B. Ward, Mysterious Morocco and how to appreciate
it (London, 1910; 2 s. 6 d.); A. Brives, Voyages au Maroc, 1901–7
(Algiers, 1909; illus.) and Aperçu géologique et agricole sur le Maroc
occidental; Ch. de Foucauld, Reconnaissance au Maroc, 1883–4 (Paris, 1888);
Marq. de Segonzac, Voyages au Maroc (Paris, 1903; 27 fr.); Eug. Aubin,
98Le Maroc d’Aujourd’hui (Paris, 1904; 5 fr.; also Engl, trans., ‘Morocco
of To-day’, London, 1906); H. Lorin, L’Afrique du Nord (Paris, 1908).
The best Map of Morocco (1:500,000) is that published by the Service
Géographique de l’Armée (Paris; 1 fr. each sheet).
Arrival. The steamers (see below) anchor in the open roads, and
passengers are conveyed to the pier in small boats. The German companies
furnish landing-tickets (1 s. for landing or embarking), otherwise the
tariff is 1 peseta (from the larger steamers 1¼ p.) each person; trunk ½,
hand-luggage ¼ p. When the sea is rough a blue flag is hoisted on the
pier and fares are doubled; in stormy weather (yellow flag) a bargain
must be made, provided landing be at all possible. It is advisable to stipulate
for the landing of luggage and its transport to the hotel for an inclusive
sum (¾–1 p.) and to disregard the noisy importunities of the boatmen
and porters. If need be, the help of the hotel-agents may be invoked.
The traveller should be on his guard against pilfering also. Guides, who
represent themselves as agents for the hotels, also proffer their services,
even during the crossing from Gibraltar, but their attendance generally
makes everything dearer. Besides the fares mentioned, pier-dues are
levied (25 c.; for each package 5 c.).—The custom-house examination at
the town-gate is lenient. A passport is unnecessary.
Hotels.Hôt. Continental (Pl. a; D, 1), in a quiet site, not far from
the pier, with a fine sea-view, patronized by Americans, pens. from 10s.;
*Hôt. Cecil (Pl. b; E, 4, 5), on the Playa Grande, with a terrace and sea-view,
pens. 10–12s.; *Hot. Villa Valentina (Pl. c; C, 5), on the Fez road,
pens. 8–10s., 8 min. from the Outer Market; Hôt. Villa de France
(Pl. d; B, 4), on a height behind the Outer Market, with fine view, 12 min.
from the quay, an old-established French house, pens. from 10s.—Hôt.
Bristol (Pl. e; D, 2), in the Inner Market (p. 100), pens. 8–10s., good;
Hôt. Cavilla, pens. 8–10 p., well spoken of, and Hôt. Maclean, pens.
6–8 p., both in the Outer Market; Hôt. Oriental (Pl. f; D, 2), pens. from
8½ fr., near the Great Mosque.—Wine is usually an extra.
Cafés.Café-Restaurant Central, Inner Market, déj. 2½, D. 3 p.; Lion
d’Or and Café du Commerce near the French post-office. The Arab Cafés,
mostly conducted by the guides, are a kind of Moorish cafés-chantants (cup
of ‘Arab coffee’ in the evening 1 p.).
Post Offices.British, German, and Spanish (Pl. 3, 1, 2; D, 2), all
in the Inner Market; French (Pl. 4; D, 2, 3), behind the Great Mosque.
Postage on letters to Great Britain, France, Germany, or Spain 10 c., if
posted at the respective office, otherwise 25 c.; post-cards 10 c.—British
Telegraph (Pl. 6; B, 2), on the old road from the outer market to the
Marshan; French, to Oran, at the French post-office; Spanish (Pl. 5; D, 3),
not far from the inner market.
Steamers.Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. (E. Chappory), from London
fortnightly for Tangier, Mogador, the Canaries, and Madeira (RR. 14, 4,
3); Bland Line (M. Pariente), for Gibraltar (R. 6 b), Tetuán (R. 13), and
Larash (R. 14); N. Paguet & Co., for Marseilles, and for Rabât and Mogador
(R. 14); Trasatlántica (Ortenbach), Canary Line to Casablanca, Mazagan,
etc. (R. 14); Vapores Correos de Africa (Romany y Miquel), for Cadiz
and Algeciras (R. 6 b), Ceuta (R. 13), Larash, Rabât, etc. (R. 14); Navigation
Mixte (C. Touache; R. Buzenet), for Melilla, Málaga, and Oran
(R. 18); Oldenburg-Portuguese (Renschhausen & Co.), for Mogador, etc.
(R. 14); Rotterdam Lloyd (Lalaurie & de Testa), from Southampton fortnightly
for Lisbon, Tangier, Marseilles, etc.; Nederland Royal Mail, from
Southampton fortnightly for Tangier, Algiers, etc.; German East African
Line (Jahn & Toledano), from Southampton every three weeks for Tangier,
Marseilles, etc.; also excursion-steamers of the Peninsular & Oriental Co.,
etc. (see p. 2).
99Physicians.Dr. Wilson (English); Dr. Herzen, Casa Dahl; Dr.
Steiner, Hôt. Villa de France.—Chemists.British Pharmacy; Bouich &
Ibbanez; Bouchard, Céreze, both in the main street.—British Hospital
on the Marshan (comp. Map).
Banks.M. Pariente (English); Banque d’Etat du Maroc (Pl. 12;
D, 2), Inner Market; Comp. Algérienne, main street; German Orient
Bank (Pl. 11; D, 2), near the Great Mosque; Jahn & Toledano; Renschhausen
& Co., on the shore.
Shops. For Oriental goods (comp. p. 331): Jos. Saadeh, opposite the
Spanish church (p. 100); Bensaken; Mimon Delmar (‘Moorish Bazaar’).—Photographs
sold by Ruedi (a Swiss); Cavilla, next door to the British
Consulate.
Newspapers.El Moghreb el-Akhza, English; La Dépêche Marocaine,
El Porvenir, El Eco Mauritano, etc.
Horses, mules, and donkeys (‘borricos’) at Benmergui’s, coast-road,
and Pedro’s, Outer Market, near the German Embassy. Donkey, with
attendant, per ride ½–1 p., per day 1½–2½ p.; mule, ½ day 2–3, day
3–5 p.; horse a little more (comp. p. 97).
Sea Baths.Delicias de la Playa and Paraíso de la Playa on the
Playa Grande (Pl. E, 3, 4), with fine beach, from May to Oct.; bath 25,
with towels, etc. 50 c.
Legations and Consulates.Great Britain. Minister, Hon. Reginald
Lister (office, Pl. A, B, 4). Consul-General, H. E. White (office, Pl.
D, 2); vice-consul, E. Bristow.—United States. Minister, W. Carpenter
(office, Pl. D, 3). Acting Consul-General, G. E. Holt.—Lloyd’s Agent,
Eugene Chappory, in the main street.
English Church Service, in the church in the Outer Market (Pl.
B, 3), every Sun. (from Dec. till end of April) at 8 and 11 a.m., and at
3 p.m.—Spanish Catholic, at the church in the main street (p. 100).
Races in spring and summer on the beach.—Arabian ‘Fantasias’
(Laab el-Barood) on horseback on the Mohammedan festivals, in the
Inner Market or the Marshan.
Two Days (if time be limited). 1st. In the forenoon, the Main Street
and the Inner Market (p. 100), Outer Market (p. 100), Marshan (p. 101),
and Kasba (p. 101); in the afternoon, walk on the beach.—2nd. Excursion
to Cape Spartel (p. 101).
Tangier, Spanish or French Tanger, Arabic Tanja, capital
of the Moroccan province of El-Fahs or Fahass, the largest commercial
town in the whole country, and the seat of legations from
the great powers, lies picturesquely on the hilly W. bank of a
shallow bay of the Atlantic. Of the 46,270 inhab. 25,000 are
Mohammedans, 12,000 Moroccan Jews, and 9270 foreigners (incl.
7000 Spaniards). The rough and extremely dirty streets of the
old town, above whose white sea of houses peeps here and there
the minaret of a mosque, afford a genuine picture of Oriental life.
Amid the noisy crowds are seen the most widely divergent types,
from the pale yellow Moorish aristocrat to the dark-brown Moroccans
of the south and the black negroes of the Sudan. Their costumes
also are very various. The Mohammedans wear white or
coloured burnous, brown jellâbas, yellow slippers (p. 97), and a
coloured turban or red fez (tarbûsh). The Jews wear either European
garb or the regulation black kaftan and fez. Most of the
streets are impracticable for vehicles. The commonest beast of
100burden is the donkey; the frequent shout of ‘bâlek’ (take care)
warns foot-passengers to make room. The busiest places are the
quay, whence cattle from the interior are shipped for Gibraltar
and Ceuta, and in the morning the three markets.
Although already a Phœnician settlement, Tingis (p. 101) first appears
in history in the Roman period, when it vied with Oppidum Novum
(Ksar el-Kebîr) and Volubilis as one of the chief places in this region.
Augustus conferred on its inhabitants the right of citizenship, and Claudius
made the town a Roman colony. It is unknown when Tangier was founded,
but in the middle ages it fell behind the thriving seaports of Ceuta, Ksar
es-Serîr (p. 123), and Arzila. According to Moorish tradition it was founded
by Mulaï Abd es-Slam Buarakia, the patron saint of the town. In 1471
it fell into the hands of the Portuguese, and it belonged to Spain from
1580 to 1640. In 1662 it formed part of the dowry of Catharine of Braganza,
consort of prince Charles (afterwards Charles II. of England), and
thus came into the possession of the English. In 1664, however, the
English were signally defeated by the Moors on the ‘Jews’ River’ (pp. 101,
102), and in 1684 evacuated the town, after demolishing the fortifications
and the pier. Since then the town has belonged to Morocco. The present
fortifications, constructed by English engineers, are mounted with antiquated
guns, and the town-walls date partly from the Portuguese period.
From the Muelle Nuevo (Pl. E, 1; new pier, 1907; adm. 25 c.),
we walk past the new harbour for lighters and the granary (Almacen),
and then to the S.W. through the harbour-gate (Bâb
el-Marsâ) into the Main Street (Pl. D, C, 2, 3), which ascends
the hill-side in a curve to the Outer Market. Passing the Great
Mosque or Jâma el-Kebîr (Pl. D, 2), with its pretty gateway and
lofty minaret inlaid with tiles, we reach the Inner Market
(Sok ed-Dáyel; Pl. D, 2; Arabic Sûk ed-Dakhl), the centre of
traffic, with the European post-offices (p. 98). Higher up, where
the street takes the name of Siiaguin, are situated on the left the
Spanish Catholic Church (Iglesia Español; Pl. C, 3) and the Morocco
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the end of the street is the upper gate of the inner town
(Bâb ed-Dakhl), leading into Los Herradores (Farriers’ Square;
Pl. 8, C, 3), to the left of which, and also connected with the Outer
Market by a gateway, lies the Meat and Vegetable Market (Plaza
de Abastos; Pl. C, 3). From the Farriers’ Square a second gate on
the right leads to the Mercado (Pl. C, 2, 3), an intermediate market-place,
with rows of booths and a caravanserai (Fondak). Passing
through the N. gate (Bâb el-Marshan; Pl. C, 3) and skirting the
town-walls and the Christian Cemetery (Pl. B, 2), we reach, on the
left, the Paseo de Cenarro (Pl. B, A, 2), the new Marshan road, and
(straight on) the Kasba and the old Marshan route (see p. 101).
The Fez Gate (Bâb el-Fahs; Pl. C, 3) leads into the Outer
Market (Sûk el-Barra; Pl. B, C, 3), which deserves a visit on
market-days (Thursdays and particularly Sundays). In this great
and very uneven plot of ground, adorned with the shrine of Sidi
Makhfî (Meyfi), the patron-saint of the market, we witness a strange
and indescribable scene. Between the rows of salesmen and saleswomen,
101the latter veiled and clad in white, moves a motley throng
of bargaining and jostling customers, while smaller groups gather
round the jugglers, story-tellers, and snake-charmers (members of
the sect of the Aïssaouas; p. 373).
On the N. side of the Outer Market the Monte Road (Camino
del Monte; Pl. B, A, 3; p. 101) leads to the W., past two Mohammedan
Cemeteries (Cementerio de los Moros; Pl. B, A, 2–4) and
the Portuguese Legation (Pl. A, 3), to the (¼ hr.) Villa Sicsu
(comp. Map), with its pretty garden (gate-keeper ½–1 p.).
From the gate of this villa a by-road ascends in a curve to
the right to the Marshan (El Marxán; 341 ft.), a plateau to the
N.W. of the town. At the W. end of it, above the Bubana Valley
(see below), lie an estate of the Sherif of Wazzân (Xerif de Uazán)
and a Mohammedan Cemetery. Farther to the E., beyond the
Austrian Legation, we come to a number of square Phœnician
Rock Tombs, now partly used as cisterns, situated on the steep
margin of the coast, which is undermined by the sea.
The walled Kasba (Pl. B, C, 1), on the E. slope of the Marshan,
is the highest and the most curious quarter of the town. Entering
it by the upper gate (Bâb ed-Doulah or Bâb el-Marshan;
Pl. B, 1), we first come to the barracks and the Naham Battery
(Pl. B, 1), where we have a splendid view of the Straits of Gibraltar.
Opposite us is the Rauda, or burial-chapel of the patron saint of
the town (p. 100). A little below is seen the Sultan’s Palace (Pl.
B, C, 1), a good example of late-Moorish architecture, with a fine
colonnaded court, a mosque, and a garden. The square at the lower
end of the Kasba is bordered by the Tesoro (Pl. 10; treasury),
the Mexuar (Pl. 9; law-courts), at the entrance to which the cadi
administers justice from 8 to 11 in the morning, and the State
Prison (Cárcel; visitors admitted), where male prisoners are employed
in basket-making and other work. Near this is a smaller
prison for women.
From the Bâb el-Assa, the lower Kasba gate (Pl. C, 1), a steep
footpath, which soon offers a striking *View of the white houses
of Tangier and of the beach, descends to the town.
Excursions. We may walk or ride to the S.E., past the Sea Baths
(p. 99), along the beach, which forms an excellent riding-course at low
tide, to the (¾–1 hr.) Roman Bridge across the brook Galeres (Wâd el-Mogoga),
and thence a little inland over the sand-hills (100 ft.) to the
Ruins of Tingis (Arabic Tanja el-Bâlia), where the Roman seaward
gateway is still well preserved. The road then makes a long bend to
the N. to the Torre Blanquilla (243 ft.), an old Moorish battery on Cape
Malabata (p. 6), 2½–3½ hrs. from Tangier.—Another pleasant ride may
be taken from the shore to the S.W., inland, through orange-groves to
(1¼ hr.) the village of Es-Suani, where we strike the Fez Road (p. 102),
by which we may return to the Outer Market.
The *Excursion to Cape Spartel, 7½ M. to the W. of Tangier,
takes nearly a day (horses, etc., see p. 99; bargain advisable; provisions
should be taken). From the Villa Sicsu (see above) we descend the Monte
road to the Bubana Valley, watered by the little Wâd el-Ihûd (‘Jews’
102River’), ¾ hr. to the W. of Tangier. From the bridge we may go straight
on, and mount direct to the top of the Jebel Kebîr (1070 ft.), which is
overgrown with low underwood, or (more attractive) we may follow the
Monte road to Monte Washington, a colony of charming villas immediately
overlooking the sea, and then, ¾ hr. farther on, rejoin the direct
route. On both routes we enjoy a splendid view of the sea and the Spanish
coast with Cape Trafalgar (p. 58). The main road at length descends to
the W. margin of Cape Spartel (Arabic Râs Ishberdil), the ancient Promontorium
Ampelusia, the north-westmost point of Africa. The lighthouse
(312 ft.), built and maintained by the European great powers, at
present the only one on the coast of Morocco (others are projected at
Melilla, Casablanca, Mazagan, Saffi, and Mogador), is visible at sea from
a distance of about 30 M. Near it are a signal-station and a meteorological
station belonging to the nautical observatory of Hamburg.
From the cape we may ride along the coast to the (2½ M.) Hercules
Grotto, where excellent grindstones and millstones have been quarried
from time immemorial, or, in returning to Tangier, we may diverge from
the Bubana Valley to visit the Olive Groves, between the Jews’ River
and the Fez road (see below).
The journey to Tetuán, about 37 M., may be performed (on horseback
or by mule) in one day, but travellers wishing to break their journey
may spend a night at a fondak (see below) where, considering the rough
accommodation, it is best to camp outside (tents and camping-utensils
should be taken from Tangier). An escort is advisable. Or we may go
to Tetuán by a steamer of the Bland Line (usually on Sat. even., in 3 hrs.;
$4), and return thence to Tangier or Gibraltar by the Navigation Mixte
(p. 123; every second Tues.; agent at Tetuán, Salvador Hassan). From
Tangier to Ceuta direct there is a weekly steamer (on Thurs.) of the
Vapores Correos de Africa. For the excursion to Ceuta a passport visé
by the Spanish consul at Tangier or Tetuán is required. A local boat
crosses daily from Ceuta to Algeciras (p. 56) in 2 hrs.
From the Outer Market we follow the Fez road (Pl. C, 3–5; Camino
de Fez) to the S., passing at some distance from the stone huts of the
Berber villages (Duâr) in the fertile hill-country of the province
of El-Fahs. Nearing the village of Aïn-Dalia, we pass below it,
ride to the S.E. in view of the steep peak of Jebel Zinat, crowned
with the ruined house of Raisuli, and ascend in the fertile valley
of the Wâd Marhar (Tahaddart). Here, on the right, beyond
the hills inhabited by the Berber tribe of the Beni Msaur, we can
sometimes descry in clear weather the distant Jebel Mulaï Abd
es-Slam (5742 ft.), the most sacred mountain in N. Morocco.
The track then ascends through remains of cork-tree forest in
the beautiful hill-region of the Wâd Râs. At the top of the pass
(1476 ft.), the watershed between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean,
stands the fondak of Aïn el-Jedida, the largest caravanserai
in N. Morocco (comp. above). The roof-terrace commands a
fine view of the hills around.
The track, which soon affords a beautiful *View of Tetuán,
now descends the stony slope to the E. into the valley of the River
Martín, a stream rising on the Jebel Mulaï Abd es-Slam.
103Tetuán (197 ft.; Hot. Dersa, pens. 10 p.; Hot. Calpe, R. 3,
pens. 10 p., plain but good; Hot. Victoria, pens. 6–8 p.; Brit. vice-cons.,
W. S. Bewicke), Arabic Titawân, Berber Tettawên, an interesting
town, containing among its 30,450 inhab. 6000 Jews, 400
Spaniards, and about 500 immigrants from Algeria, lies 7 M. from
the Mediterranean and above the left bank of the River Martín, not
far from the ancient Roman Thamuda. The garden-like environs
are fertile and well watered. With its numerous minarets, its
domed tombs of saints, its town-walls garnished with many towers,
and its loftily placed citadel (Kasba) overshadowed on the N. by
the red sandstone rocks of the Jebel Dersa, it presents a most
charming picture of an Oriental town entirely free from European
disfigurement. The narrow, winding streets recall the ancient part
of Cordova, and the colonnaded courts of the externally plain
Moorish houses resemble the patios of Seville (p. 61). In the more
regularly built Mellah (Jewish quarter) one is often struck with
the beauty of the Jewish girls and the women’s gold-embroidered
festive attire. Some parts of the town still show traces of the
Spanish siege of 1859–60, which gained for the victorious Marshal
O’Donnell the title of ‘Duke of Tetuán’.
The graves in the Jewish Cemetery are sometimes not unlike
the anthropoid sarcophagi of the Phœnicians (comp. p. 347).
The old Portuguese Watch Tower at Kilallin affords a superb
panorama.
The mouth of the River Martín, which is much choked with sand,
forms the harbour of Tetuán, but sea-going vessels have to anchor
in the open roads. The trade of the place is unimportant.
A coast-road was constructed by the Spaniards during the Morocco
campaign, connecting Tetuán with Ceuta (23 M.), but now only a track
remains. It leads at first through the coast-plain at the E. base of Jebel
Dersa (see above), and then, beyond the Cabo Negro or Cape Negron
(886 ft.; Arabic Râs et-Tarf), skirts the fertile spurs of the Anjera Mts.
Beyond the Moroccan frontier guard-house, we enter Spanish territory,
protected by a chain of block-houses, and skirt the E. slope of the Jurassic
Sierra Bullones or Apes’ Hill (2809 ft.; Arabic Jebel Mûsa, i. e. Hill of
Moses), where apes abound. This is the highest peak of the Anjera Mts.
and was famed in antiquity as one of the pillars of Hercules (p. 54).
Ceuta (several small Spanish inns; no photographing allowed), Arabic
Sebta, a town of 10,000 inhab. (of whom 3000 are soldiers), the only important
Spanish possession in Morocco besides Melilla (p. 124), lies on a
narrow, flat tongue of land between a spur of the Sierra Bullones, crowned
with the white tomb of a saint, and the strongly fortified peninsula of
Almina, which culminates in the Monte del Acho (637 ft.). Originally
Phœnician, it became a Roman colony, under the name of Ad Septem
Fratres (later Septon or Septa Emporia), and in the middle ages was the
most important and prosperous seaport of N. Morocco. In 1169 it was
the seat, of a Genoese trading station, and in 1415 it fell into the hands
of the Portuguese, from whose time date the ruins of Ceuta la Vieja (old
Ceuta). Since 1580, in spite of repeated attacks by the Moroccans (1694–1720,
1732), it has remained in the uninterrupted possession of Spain,
and it now presents a sadly decayed appearance. The tunny and sardine
fisheries here are very thriving.
104
411 M. Steamboats.1.Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. (see RR. 5,
4, 3; often full all the way from London), every other Friday, viâ
Casablanca, Mazagan, and Saffi to Mogador in 5 days (agents at Tangier,
Eug. Chappory; at Casablanca and Saffi, Murdoch, Butler, & Co.; at Mazagan,
J. de Maria; and at Mogador, R. Yuly & Co.).—2.Oldenburg-Portuguese
Line fortnightly to Mogador, calling at intermediate ports
(agents at Tangier and Larash, Renschhausen & Co.; at Rabât, Weickert
& Enke; at Casablanca and Saffi, Lamb Bros.; at Mazagan, Ch. Balestrino;
at Mogador, Borgeaud, Reutemann, & Co.).—3.N. Paquet & Co. (p. 120),
Monday evenings (returning on Frid.), to Rabât, intermediate ports, and
Mogador in 4 days.—4.Vapores Correos de Africa twice monthly to
Mogador viâ, Larash, Rabât, Casablanca, Mazagan, and Saffi in 5½ days.
There are also the small cargo-boats of the Genoese Servizio Italo-Spagnuolo,
of Rius & Torres of Barcelona, and others. The small boats of the Bland
Line ply between Tangier and Larash once or twice weekly. The Canary
Line of the Compañía Trasatlántica touches once monthly at Tangier (if
required also at Casablanca and Mazagan).—Landing and embarkation in
lighters at most of the intermediate ports is often impracticable for weeks
together, especially in winter. Harbours are in course of construction at
Larash and Casablanca, and one at Saffi is projected.—Tangier, Rabât,
Casablanca, and Mogador have wireless telegraph stations.
Along the Ocean Seaboard of Morocco (about 835 M. to
Cape Juby) navigation is often impeded by gales, sandbanks, and
fogs. The seaports lie mostly at the mouths of rivers or in small
and shallow open bays.
The Steamers round the sandstone rocks of Cape Spartel
(p. 102) and steer to the S.W., at some distance from the land, above
which in clear weather are seen the Rîf Mts., with the Jebel Habib
(2990 ft.) and the Jebel Mulaï Abd es-Slam (p. 102).
In the coast-plain of El-Gharbia we next observe, on a terrace
abraded by the sea, the decayed little seaport-town of Arzila, the
Phœnician Zilis, Rom. Colonia Zilis Constantia, with a ruinous
town-wall of the Portuguese period.
Beyond the Haffet el-Beida, a spur of the hill-region of Sahel,
once famed for its cork-tree groves and its fertility, we near the
broad mouth of the Lukkus or El-Kus, the Lix of antiquity, and
obtain a splendid view of the white sandstone walls and the castellated
Kasba of Larash.
Larash, also called Larache or Laraiche, Arabic El-Araïsh
(Hot. Lukkus, on the river-bank; landing or embarkation 1 p.; Brit.
vice-cons., L. Forde), a somewhat dirty town of 13,220 inhab. (incl.
3000 Jews and 200 Europeans), one of the chief seaports of Morocco,
lies on the left bank of the Lukkus, about 100 ft. above the river.
The total exports and imports are valued at 18 million francs. In
the 16th cent. the town was an important Portuguese centre of trade,
and in 1580–1689 it belonged to Spain. It then became a war-harbour
and the headquarters of the pirates of Morocco, and was
fruitlessly attacked by the French in their disastrous expedition
105of 1765, and by an Austrian squadron in 1829. The former harbour,
which was rendered inaccessible to vessels of larger draught by the
bar obstructing it and the shallowness of the river-mouth, is being
superseded by a new harbour now under construction. The town-walls,
the moats, the coast-batteries, and the small fortifications on
the S. bank of the river date from the Spanish occupation.
From the landing-place on the N.E. margin of the town we
pass through the harbour-gate into the spacious Inner Market
(Sûk ed-Dakhl), with the old Spanish Merchants’ Hall (Fondak
el-Essbenyoli) and arcades lined with shops. Gateways lead thence
to the N.W. to the picturesque Kasba (no admission), and to the
S.E. to the Government Palace (Dâr el-Makhzen). The Chief
Mosque was once the Spanish cathedral, and several of the dwelling-houses
are still Spanish in character.
Outside the Bâb el-Khemis lies the extensive Outer Market
(Thurs.). Excellent oranges and other fruit are grown in the beautiful
gardens around.
Some Roman ruins, relics of the old town of Lixus (p. 95), now
overgrown with brushwood, lie on the Jebel Tshemmish, a low hill on
the right bank of the Lukkus, about 1½ hr. from Larash (best reached
by boat).
As the Steamer proceeds there appears on the horizon a range
of sand-hills, 31 M. long, which separates the Sebu bay from the
sea. This bay (p. 93) is now dry land, with the exception of two
shallow lakes (Merja ez-Zerga and Merja Râs ed-Dôra) and
large tracts of swamp. To the E. rises the Jebel Sarsar (1805 ft.),
near Ksar el-Kebîr. On the left bank of the Sebu (ancient Subur),
near the Mamora Forest, the largest plantation of cork-trees in
Morocco, lies Mehedia or Mehdiya (pop. 500), a thriving seaport
during the sway of the Almohades, but now fallen to utter decay.
A fine Moorish town-gate of the 12th cent. and many ruins of the
Portuguese period may be visited.
Rabât (Hot. Ignace, R. 2, pens. 10 fr., Hot. Alegría, Spanish,
both unpretending; Brit. vice-cons., A. H. Cross; Engl. Church service),
or Rbât, situated in the Tell (p. 93) on the left bank of the
Bu Regreg, 138 M. from Tangier, is one of the sultan’s residences
and vies with Tetuán (p. 102) as a most interesting coast-town. Its
population together with that of Salee (p. 106) is 47,140 inhab.,
incl. 3000 Jews and 100 Europeans. As it is the ‘key of Morocco’,
where the caravan routes from Tangier, Fez, and Casablanca (Marakesh)
converge, and is also exposed to the attacks of the turbulent
inland tribes of the Zemmûr and Zaïr, it has been fortified
with an inner and two outer walls. A Fort, built in 1888–92, defends
the entrance to the harbour, now much choked with sand.
The difficulty of landing (charge for each passenger 2½ p.) has
caused the trade of the place (imports and exports about 8 million
106francs) to decline and to fall behind that of Tangier, Larash, and
Mogador. Several of the industries have long been famous (carpet-making,
wool-weaving, woodwork, saffian leather, etc.).
Founded in 1197, opposite to Salee (see below), by the Almohade
Yakûb ibn Yûsuf (p. 61), the still prosperous town is noted for
its well-educated population, mostly Moorish, and its genuine
Moroccan character. The dwelling-houses, in the Andalusian-Moorish
style, vie in their internal architecture with those of
Tetuán. Noteworthy are also the old town-gates, the portal of the
Kasba, with the barracks of the Udaia, and the decayed Medersa
(school of the learned), with its picturesque colonnaded *Court.
At the S.E. angle of the town, not far from the harbour-gate and
the Mohammedan cemetery, is the Mellah or Jews’ quarter.
Outside the Bâb el-Hâd, on the W. side of the inner town-wall,
is the Jewish burial-ground, adjoining the Sûk el-Hâd, or
Sunday market, the most important cattle-market in the whole
country, supplied chiefly by the Zemmûr, Zaïr, and Zaiân tribes.—On
the terrace of the coast, by the W. outer wall (reached also
from the Bâb el-Alû by the road past the Christian cemetery),
stands the handsome, but now disused sultan’s palace of El-Kebibât.
Beyond the Jews’ quarter, and not far from the *Bâb Shellah
(1178–84) with its two octagonal towers, we see rising amidst
orchards, above the Bu Regreg, the conspicuous *Hassan Tower,
the great landmark of Rabât. This was once the minaret of a
mosque, erected, according to tradition, by Jâbir (p. 62) for Yakûb
ibn Yûsuf in 1197, but now entirely destroyed saving a few
columns and fragments of masonry. The unfinished tower, with
its notched arches and ornamentation in relief style, is 145 ft. high.
About 1 M. to the S. of the town, near the outer walls, is the
Dâr el-Makhzen, a second palace of the sultan, with the burial-mosque
of Mohammed XVII. and Mulaï Hassan (1873–94), and
a beautiful garden.
Near this is the S.E. outer gateway. Among the neighbouring
hills, beyond a small Mohammedan burial-ground, is a walled and
turreted square enclosing the ancient town of *Shellah, the mouldering
ruins of which are overgrown with rank vegetation; we find
here an excellent well. In the dilapidated burial-mosque repose
the Almohade Abû Yakûb (p. 61), the Merinide Ali V. (d. 1351),
and other sovereigns.—A little way off, on the S. margin of the
swampy and malarious river-flats, are famous orange-gardens.
A ferry connects Rabât with the antiquated town of Salee,
Saleh, or Slâ, the Sala of the Carthaginians and Romans, which,
down to recent times, was like Larash one of the most dreaded
haunts of pirates (‘Salee rovers’) and one of the worst slave-markets
in all Morocco. The town shows every sign of decay; but its
gates, especially the Bâb el-Ansera (now walled up), with its two
107towers, the ruinous gate of the cemetery, and the domed tombs of
saints, all present a most fascinating architectural picture.
Proceeding on her course the Steamer skirts a monotonous,
treeless coast, broken only by the mouths of a few small rivers,
with here and there a poor village. One of these villages is
Fedalah (in the middle ages Afdalah), once a thriving little
seaport, which was temporarily occupied by the Spaniards in 1773.
On a headland much exposed to N. winds, 190 M. from Tangier,
lies—
Casablanca.—Passengers are conveyed from the steamers, which
anchor in the open roads to the N.E. of the town, to the new quay by
boat (2½ p. each person).
Hotels.Hôt. Central, R. 4–5, B. 1, D. 2, pens. 10–12 fr., Hôt. de
France, pens. 8–10 fr., both good; Hôt. Moderne, pens. 8–10 fr.; Hôt. de
l’Univers; Hôt. de l’Europe; Hôt. Continental; Hôt. de Cuba, outside
the town, Spanish.
Consuls. British, A. M. Madden; vice-consuls, E. G. Lomas,
R. H. Broome.—United States Consular Agent, H. Toel.
English Church.St. John the Evangelist’s, outside the town; service
every Sun. at 11 a.m.
Casablanca, Arabic Dâr el-Beida (‘the white house’), a town
of 31,700 inhab. (incl. 2500 French and as many Spaniards), was
founded in the 16th cent. by the Portuguese as Casa Branca on
the ruins of the ancient (Phœnician?) town of Anfa. The place
appears in mediæval Venetian charts as Níffe or Anafe, but it
was abandoned by the Moors in 1468. The town was destroyed in
1755 by an earthquake simultaneous with that of Lisbon; it was
not rebuilt till the 19th cent., and is now the most important outlet
in the country for Moroccan commodities (exports and imports in
1909 ca. 25½ million fr.). To this centre are brought cattle from
the neighbouring provinces, from the remoter districts of Tadla
(or Tedla), and from the steppes of the Central Atlas, while the
fertile region of Shâuya supplies it with grain and wool. Thanks
to the peace and security which the French troops of occupation
have restored trade has steadily increased.
The town, which is still enclosed by a wall of defence built in
the Portuguese period, lies on a terrace of Devonian sandstone
(E. side) and slate (W. side), in which the surf has worn a small
shallow bay. The harbour thus formed is to be protected by a
breakwater (in course of construction) which will make landing
and embarking in all weathers possible (comp. above).—From the
harbour we pass through the Waterport Gate into the main street
of the Medina or Mohammedan business quarter. Most of the foreign
consulates and banks and the international Anfa Club are
situated in this street. Just off it are the British Consulate and
the British Post Office, while higher up is the new French post-office.
The Mellah, or Jewish quarter, lies on the S. side of the town.
108Near the Bâb es-Sûk, or S.E. gate, is the *Market (Sûk; comp,
p. 335), and a little beyond it are the warehouses of the foreign
merchants.
In the W. quarter (Tnaquer), which down to 1907 consisted chiefly
of the reed-huts of the lower-class workmen, similar to those outside the
S.W. gate (Bâb Marâkesh), modern stone dwellings have sprung up and
public grounds also have been laid out. Farther out are the wooden barracks
of the French and Spanish troops of occupation. On the low hills
to the E. and S.E. are the new French forts ‘Provost’ and ‘Ihler’.
A considerable way beyond Casablanca the Steamer passes the
mouth of the Um er-Rebîa (see below), on the left bank of which
is Asimmûr, and a little farther on it casts anchor in the open
roads of Mazagan, far outside the little harbour, which dates from
the Portuguese period. (Landing or embarkation 3 p.)
Mazagan (Hôt. de l’Univers, pens. 6–8 fr.; Hôt. du Commerce,
same charges; Brit. vice-cons., T. G. Spinney; pop. 25,500, incl.
3000 Jews and about 500 Europeans), formerly called El-Brîja
by the Moroccans, now El-Jedida (‘the new’), 250 M. from Tangier,
lies on a terrace on the W. shore of a large bay which is now much
choked with sand. It was founded by the Portuguese in 1506, held
by them down to 1769, and was their last possession in Morocco;
but it long remained a place of no importance. The old town, square
in shape, protected from the surf by a chain of cliffs, and altered
after 1769, is still enclosed by its Portuguese wall of defence,
which is 29 ft. thick at places. Several houses bearing Portuguese
coats-of-arms and the Palace of the Inquisition in the N. angle of
the town recall the Christian domination. In recent times Mazagan
has developed into the chief seaport of Marakesh. The great Thursday
market, held on the W. side of the town, and the granaries on
the S. side afford an idea of the extent of its trade (imports and
exports being estimated, when crops are good, at 20 million fr. per
annum). The climate is considered very healthy.
The alcanna shrub (Lawsonia inermis) abounds in the environs. From
its leaves is prepared the brownish-red henna, used for colouring the
finger-nails. This ancient custom still prevails among both Mohammedans
and Jews in N. Africa.
Excursions. The picturesquely situated town of Azimmûr, about
12½ M. to the E., lies on the Um er-Rebîa or Morbêya, the Asama of
antiquity, a stream which separates the Shâuya region from the Dukkâla
The town, with its 10,000 inhab., incl. 1000 Jews, contains the shrine of
Mulaï bu Shaïb, much visited by pilgrims, and is environed with beautiful
gardens of pomegranates, oranges, and figs. On the same river lie the
orange-groves of Mhiula.—To the S.W. one may ride along the coast,
past the Zâuya Mulaï Abdallah and the ruins of the Roman town of Tit,
to Cabo Blanco (see below).
Leaving Mazagan we pass the Cabo Blanco (230 ft.; Arabic
Jerf el-Asfâr) and then the Walediya Lake, ca. 40 M. long.
Farther on, from the abrupt coast juts out Cape Cantin (450 ft.;
Arabic Râs el-Hûdik), well known to mariners as a landmark,
whence the coast runs S. to the Tensift (p. 109). We call next at—
109Saffi (Hot. Llamas; Brit. vice-cons., G. B. Hunot; pop. 19,750,
incl. 2500 Jews), called also Safi or Asfi, 350 M. from Tangier. The
harbour is inadequately sheltered from the W. and S.W. gales by a
narrow neck of land and two cliffs, and its entrance is obstructed
by a sandbank. (Landing or embarkation 1 p.) Saffi is the capital
of the fertile region of Abda, noted for its horse-breeding, and
girdled with black soil (comp. p. 93) fertile to a breadth of 37 M.
at places. It lies picturesquely on a lofty chalk plateau, in an
almost semicircular bay, amidst woods and green pastures, but is
haunted by fever in summer. Prior to the foundation of Mazagan
and Mogador it was the chief port of Marakesh, and like Agâdir
(p. 110) was one of the most important harbours of S. Morocco, but
its trade, mostly in European hands, has now fallen off (total about
10 million francs). The chief industry of the place, which has
given its name to Saffian leather, is now the manufacture of pottery.
Close to the harbour lies the Jewish Quarter, and behind it
is the Medina or Mohammedan quarter, both squalid. Adjoining
the latter is the Spanish Catholic church. The picturesque Citadel
at the E. end of the old town and the town-walls are of Portuguese
origin. The Sûk, or market, is in the S. suburb of Rabbât.
The Steamer next sights, near the mouth of the Tensift, the
Jebel el-Hadid (2182 ft.; ‘iron-mountain’; p. 110), already famed
in Punic times for its iron-ore, the only considerable hill on the
coast between this and Mogador. The vessel rounds Cape Hadid,
the S. limit of the fertile coast-plain, sighting in the distance the
spurs of the Great Atlas (p. 93), and soon reaches (410 M. from
Tangier; landing or embarkation 2½ p.) the seaport of—
Mogador (Hôt. Royal, English; Palm Tree Hotel, 2½ M. to
the S. of the town, prettily situated, good; Brit. vice-cons., H. B.
Johnstone; U. S. cons. agent, G. Broome; Engl. Church service),
called in Arabic Es-Sueïra also, with 24,350 inhab., incl. 12,000
Jews and a good many French, English, Spanish, and other Europeans.
The new town with its straight lines of streets was erected
in 1760–70 under Sultan Mulaï Sidi Mohammed on the site of
Mogator, which was destroyed in 1755 by the same earthquake as
that of Lisbon. In 1844 the town was stormed by French marines.
Mogador lies in 31° 31′ N. lat. and 9° 60′ W. long., on a flat spit
of land, bounded on the W. by a small lake, beyond which rises
a great range of sand-hills, at places 427 ft. high and 3¼ M. in
breadth. To the S.W. a chain of cliffs and the rocky islet of Mogador,
the only island on the coast of Morocco, form the harbour,
which is much exposed to the sea-winds. The N. entrance to the
harbour, between the town and the island, is about 825 yds. broad
and 45 ft. deep; the broad S. entrance, opposite the mouth of the
Wâd Kseb, is only 13 ft. in depth. Mogador serves as a port for
110the adjacent provinces of Shiâdma (or Shedma), Haha, and Mtûga,
as well as a mart for goods from the Sûs (see below). It is the
stronghold of Judaism in Morocco, as the Jews control the inland
trade with Marakesh, and it is only of late that they have had European
rivals in the ocean traffic. The total exports and imports
amount to about 17 million francs.
We land not far from the Harbour Battery, mounted with antiquated
guns, and proceed first to the Kasba quarter, where the
governor’s house, the chief mosque, a synagogue, and the Spanish
church are situated. From the Meshwâr, the principal square in
the Kasba, a broad street leads to the Medina, the Mohammedan
quarter, where a number of Europeans and wealthy Jews also
reside. Here, in the centre of the town, is the Sûk, famed for the
native copper wares, besides various goods from Marakesh, which
are sold there. Beyond the market, in the N.E. angle of the town,
is the Mellah, an extremely dirty quarter, with narrow streets,
inhabited by the poorer Jews.
From the Bâb Marâkesh, the S.E. gate, we may follow the conduit,
at first along the embankment between the bay of the harbour and the
lake, and then past the Kubba of Sidi Mogdul, the local saint, to the
winding valley of the Wâd Kseb. Here rises a ruinous Palace of the
Sultan, and beyond the sand-hills lies the sadly neglected Sultan’s
Garden.
The finest point in the wooded inland region near Mogador, which
abounds in game, is the valley of Aïn el-Hajar (‘rock-spring’), 15½ M.
to the N.E. From the Bâb Asfi, the N.E. town-gate, the route leads
past the Christian and the large Jewish cemeteries, and follows the Saffi
caravan-track along the coast, where at low tide it is pleasanter to ride
on the beach. After about 2 hrs. we cross the hill to the E., where in
the extensive growth of underwood are seen numerous argan-trees
(Argania sideroxylon), the kernels of whose fruit yield a table-oil resembling
that of the olive.—From Aïn el-Hajar we may in clear weather
ascend the Jebel el-Hadid (p. 109), which rises to the N.; on the summit
(2182 ft.) is a chapel dedicated to Sidi Yakûb, whence in the far distance
we may descry the Great Atlas.
To the S. of Mogador lies the hilly region of Haha, skirting the
base of the Great Atlas, and rich in olives and argan-trees, through which
a rough caravan-route, running inland from Cape Tafetneh and passing
Cape Gîr, leads to Agâdir (pop. 2500). This was formerly the seaport
for the region of Sûs (p. 94), and was even the goal of caravans from
the Sudan district, but since the building of Mogador has lost all European
trade. In the 16th cent. Agâdir, under the name of Santa Cruz, was the
southmost possession of the Portuguese in Morocco.
V. SEA ROUTES IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN. — 15. From Gibraltar to Genoa. — a. Through the Balearic Sea. — b. Viâ Algiers. — 16. From Gibraltar to Naples. — 17. From ( Lisbon ) Tangier, and from Gibraltar, to Marseilles. — 18. From Tangier and Cartagena to Oran. — 19. From Marseilles to Oran. — 20. Prom Marseilles to Algiers, Bougie, Philippeville, and Bona. — 21. From Marseilles to Tunis. — 22. From Algiers to Tunis by Sea. — 23. From Marseilles to Naples. — 24. From Genoa to Naples. — 25. From Genoa to Tunis viâ Leghorn and Cagliari. — 26. From Naples to Tunis viâ Palermo. — 27. From Naples to Syracuse ( Malta , Tunis , Tripoli ) viâ Messina and Catania. — a. The Modern Town. — b. The Ancient City.
1000 M. Steamboats (see ‘Gibraltar Chronicle’, and comp. pp. 53, 114).
White Star Line (from New York or Boston), two or three times monthly;
North German Lloyd (from Southampton), monthly; Cunard Line (from
New York), occasionally; Lloyd Sabaudo (from S. America), monthly.
On leaving Gibraltar (p. 52) the steamer enters the open Mediterranean
and steers to the E.N.E., generally at an accelerated
speed, as far as Cape Palos, owing to the strong current flowing
in from the Atlantic (p. 5). Looking back, farther on, we enjoy in
clear weather a splendid *View of the Straits, and especially of the
coast of Morocco from Cape Spartel to the Punta de la Almina
(p. 123), from which peep the white houses of Ceuta. The Rîf Mts.
(Jebel Beni Hassan, p. 123) also remain visible for a time.
The Spanish coast with the Sierra Bermeja, the Sierra de
Mijas, and the Punta de Calaburras (lighthouse) gradually recedes
112Far away to the left is the bay of Málaga. Off Cape Sacratif,
with its lighthouse, we obtain a grand *View of the Sierra Nevada
(p. 49), in front of which rise the almost entirely barren Sierra
de Almijara, Sierra Contraviesa, and Sierra de Gádor. Near the
Punta del Sabinal (lighthouse) opens the broad semicircular bay
of Almería; in the foreground rise the bare hills of Cabo de Gata
(1683 ft.; lighthouse), with the Puerto Genovés beyond.
Steering now to the N.E., we pass the Punta de Loma Pelada,
backed by the Frailes (‘monks’), two huge pyramids of rock; then
the Mesa de Roldán, the bay of Cartagena (p. 125), the Cabo
Tiñoso, Cape Palos, and the island of Hormiga Grande, all with
lighthouses. Nearing the Balearic Islands, we may descry to the
left, in very clear weather, the coast-plain of Murcia and even the
distant hills of Alicante, as far as Cabo de la Nao and Mongó. The
vessel now steers round the Balearic Islands (see Baedeker’s Spain
and Portugal), on the S.E. side if storms in the Gulf of Lions are
expected, but usually through the bay of Valencia and the Balearic
Sea. In this case we pass close to the island of Iviza, which is
flanked on the S.W. (in front of the Atalayasa; 1559 ft.) by the
bold rocky islet of Vedrá, and on the W. by the Bleda Islets and
Conejera (with a lighthouse). On the N.E. point of Iviza is the
lighthouse of Punta Grosa. In the foreground, farther on, appear
the bold limestone slopes of the island of Dragonera, with a lighthouse
(1191 ft.) visible for 40 M. round. Beyond it is Mallorca,
or Majorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands, whose barren
mountains, culminating in the Puig Mayor (4741 ft.) in the centre,
are visible to their full extent beyond the little port of Soller.
From Cape Formentor (lighthouse), at the N.E. point of Majorca,
the steamer proceeds due N.E. to the Ile du Levant or du
Titan (lighthouse, visible for nearly 40 M. round), the eastmost of
the Iles d’Hyères (p. 133), which flank the coast of Provence. The
island of Porquerolles also, the westmost of the group, is visible.
In favourable weather the *Voyage through the Ligurian Sea affords
delightful views. The steamers vary their course, but usually steer
towards Cape Ferrat near Villefranche, past Cape Camarat (lighthouse),
the beautiful double bay of Cannes (with the Iles de Lérins
opposite to it), and the Cap d’Antibes. On a clear day Nice is visible
in the distance. We then skirt the Riviera di Ponente (p. 118),
passing Ventimiglia, Oneglia, and Albenga, backed by the Maritime
and the Ligurian Alps, snow-clad in winter and spring. On the
picturesque coast between Nice and Bordighera the scenery changes
rapidly. After the little bay of Villefranche (Villafranca), with
Cape Ferrat (lighthouse), come Beaulieu, the grey rock village of
Eze, close under the Grande-Corniche, and La Turbie, overtopped by
the forts behind. We next sight the rock of Monaco, with its cathedral
and huge marine museum, while among the houses of the little
principality may be seen the less conspicuous casino of Monte Carlo.
Beyond the olive-clad Cape Martin appears the bay of Mentone,
with its superb circus of mountains, then Cape Mórtola, the Italian
frontier-town of Ventimiglia, and, beyond the ravine of the Roja,
the little town of Bordighera, with its cape and its dense olive and
palm groves. Next come Ospedaletti, overlooked by the loftily-situated
little town of Coldirodi, and San Remo, on a broad bay
bounded by Capo Nero and Capo Verde. The coast is now less
attractive till we are off Porto Maurizio, a provincial capital
picturesquely situated on a headland, and approach Oneglia.
113Near Cape Berta we gradually leave the coast, pass Cape Mele,
with its lighthouse (742 ft.) and Marconi station for wireless telegraphy,
and steer across the *Gulf of Genoa. On the left lie Laigueglia,
Alassio, and, beyond the fissured island of Gallinaria,
the little town of Albenga. Next, on a semicircular coast-plain,
lie the villages of Loano and Finale Marina, and a little beyond
them rises the Capo di Noli. Beyond Cape Vado we overlook
the bay of the industrial seaport of Savona, as far as the headland
of Portofino (p. 134). In the background rise the Apennines and
the Apuan Alps (p. 134), snow-capped in winter.
Steering through the Avamporto and the Porto Nuovo, we
obtain a superb *View of Genoa, rising in a semicircle on the
hill-side.
Genoa.—Arrival by Sea. The passenger-steamers land at the
Ponte Federico Guglielmo (Pl. A, B, 3; with custom-house, post, telegraph,
and railway offices) in the Porto or inner harbour. Failing room at that
pier, they anchor near it (landing by boat, with luggage, 1 fr.; embarkation
30, at night 50 c.), or they are berthed at the Ponte Andrea Doria
(Pl. A, 3).—At the custom-house examination the facchino of the dogana
expects 20–30 c.
Railway Stations.1.Stazione Piazza Principe (Pl. B, 2; Rail.
Restaur., déj. 2–3, D. 3–4 fr.), in the Piazza Acquaverde, the chief station for
all trains, where cabs (p. 114) and omnibuses are in waiting.—2.Stazione
di Brignole or Orientale (Pl. H, I, 6), the E. station, Piazza Giuseppe
Verdi, a subsidiary station for Pisa, Florence, Rome, etc.—Railway-tickets
may be obtained also of the Fratelli Gondrand, Via Venti Settembre 35,
and of Thos. Cook & Son (p. 114).
Hotels (mostly in noisy situations and variously judged). *Grand-Hôt.
Miramare (Pl. mi; A, 2), Via Pagano Doria, above the principal
station, with terrace, R. from 6, D. 6, omn. 2 fr.; Bertolini’s Bristol
Hot. (Pl. p; F, 6), Via Venti Settembre 35, R. from 7, D. 7, omn. 1½ fr.;
Gr.-Hôt. de Gênes (Pl. f; E, 5), R. from 5, D. 6–7, omn. 1 fr.; Eden
Palace (Pl. b; G, 5), Via Serra 6–8, R. from 6, D. 5–7 fr.; Gr.-Hôt. Savoie
(Pl. s: C, 2), above Piazza Acquaverde, R. from 4, D. 5–6, omn. ½ fr.;
Gr.-Hôt. Isotta (Pl. a; F, 5), Via Roma 5–7, R. from 5, D. 6, omn. 1½ fr.—Hôt.
de la Ville (Pl. d; D, 4), Via Carlo Alberto, R. from 4, D. 5,
omn. 1 fr.; Britannia (Pl. y; C, 2), R. from 3 fr.; Modern Hot. (Pl. v;
F, 6), R. from 4, D. 5, omn. 1 fr.; Continental (Pl. 1; E, 4), R. 4–10,
D. 5, omn. 1–1¼ fr.—Less pretending: Hôt. de France (Pl. g; D, 5),
R. 3–4, D. 4, omn. 1 fr.; Hot. Smith (Pl. e, D, 5; Engl. landlord), R. from
2½, D. 4, omn. 1 fr., good; Central (Pl. c; F, 5), R. 2–4½ fr.; Royal
Aquila (Pl. k; C, 2), near the principal station, R. 3–5, D. 5, omn. ½ fr.,
114good for passing tourists; Impérial (Pl. im; F, 6), R. from 3½ fr.; Regina
(Pl. q; F, 6).—Hôtels Garnis.Splendide (Pl. x; F, 6), Bavaria (Pl. z;
F, 5), Excelsior (Pl. w; E, 5), R. in all these from 3 or 4 fr.
Cafés.Roma, Via Roma 15; Milano, Galleria Mazzini; both are also
restaurants.—Restaurants (Italian cookery). Trattoria del Teatro Carlo
Felice (Pl. E, F, 5), good; Cairo, Via Venti Settembre 36; Ristorante
della Posta, Galleria Mazzini, moderate, often crowded.—Beer.Giardino
d’Italia and Peyer, both in Piazza Corvetto (Pl. F, G, 5); Gambrinus, Via
San Sebastiano (Pl. F, 5).
Cabs. One-horse, per drive (to the E. as far as the Bisagno, to the
W. to the lighthouse) 1, at night 1½ fr.; per hr. 2 or 2½ fr.; each addit.
½ hr. 1 or 1¼ fr.; to Nervi or Pegli 5, there and back, with ½ hr. stay,
7½ fr.—With two horses, ½ fr. extra in each case.—Night is from 9 (in
winter from 7) till sunrise.—Small packages inside cab are free; each
trunk 20 c.—Motor Cabs (taximeter) per drive of 1200 met. (⅔ M.)
1 fr. 20 c., each addit. 300 met. 20 c.; at night (10 or 8 to dawn) one-fourth
extra. Trunk 25 c.
Tramways (6 or 7 a.m. till midnight). The chief lines are: 1.Piazza
Principe (Pl. B, 2), Piazza Acquaverde (Pl. B, C, 2), Piazza Zecca (Pl. D,
E, 3; funicular to Castellaccio), Piazza Corvetto (Pl. F, G, 5), and Piazza
Deferrari (Pl. E, 6; 10 c.).—2.Piazza Principe, Piazza Acquaverde, Via di
Circonvallazione a Monte (station for Castellaccio at San Nicolò, Pl. E, 1),
Piazza Manin (Pl. I, 4), Piazza Corvetto, and Piazza Deferrari (25 c.).—3.Piazza Caricamento (Pl. D, 5), Piazza Principe, Via Milano (Pl. A, 2),
Lighthouse (p. 117), San Pier d’Arena, Sestri Ponente, and Pegli (p. 117;
55 c.).—4.Piazza Raibetta (Pl. D, 5), Via di Circonvallazione a Mare
(p. 116), and Stazione Orientale (Pl. H, I, 6; 10 c.).—5.Piazza Deferrari,
Piazza Manin, Via Montaldo (Pl. I, 1), and Campo Santo (p. 117; 15 c.).—6.Piazza Deferrari, Via Venti Settembre, Ponte Pila (Pl. H, I, 7), and Nervi
(p. 117; every ¼ hr., in 50 min., 45 c.); branch to the Lido d’Albaro (p. 117).
Post Office (Pl. F, 5), Galleria Mazzini (new building in the Piazza
Deferrari, Pl. E, 6; see p. 116), open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.—Telegraph Office
(Pl. E, 6), Palazzo Ducale, Piazza Deferrari.
Steamers.Cunard Line (C. Figoli, Piazza San Marcellino 6), from New
York, Gibraltar, and Genoa to Trieste; White Star Line (Piazza Annunziata
18), to Naples, Gibraltar, and New York or Boston; Nederland Royal Mail
(Agenzia Olandese, Piazza Deferrari), from Southampton to Genoa, Port Said,
and Batavia; North German Lloyd (Leupold Bros., Via Garibaldi 5), for
Algiers and Gibraltar, for Naples and Port Said, for Marseilles and Barcelona,
for Naples, Catania, the Piræus, Smyrna, Constantinople, etc.;
Hamburg-American Line (Piazza Annunziata 18), to Naples and New York,
also excursion-boats; Società Nazionale (Via Balbi 40), for Naples and
New York (comp. R. 24); also circular tours to Cagliari, Tunis, Tripoli,
Malta, Syracuse, Messina, Naples, and back to Genoa (RR. 25, 64, 27, 24); also
to Palermo, Trapani, and Syracuse; to Palermo, Messina, the Piræus, Constantinople
(Odessa and Batum); to Smyrna and Constantinople (RR. 27,
80); to Leghorn, Naples, Messina, and Alexandria (R. 67); to Naples and
Port Said (R. 67); La Veloce (Via Garibaldi 2), to Naples and Teneriffe
(for Brazil), and viâ Marseilles and Barcelona to Teneriffe (Colón); Italia
(Via Venti Settembre 34) to Teneriffe and Buenos Ayres; Lloyd Italiano
(Palazzo Doria, Via Andrea Doria), for Naples and New York (R. 24);
Lloyd Sabaudo (Piazza San Siro), for Naples, Palermo, and New York
(RR. 24, 26), and for Tarragona, Gibraltar, and Buenos Ayres; Compañía
Trasatlántica (Giovanelli, Via Balbi, Salita Santa Brigida 2), for Barcelona,
Lisbon, and Liverpool, for Port Said and Manila, and for Barcelona,
Málaga, Teneriffe, and Buenos Ayres.
Bankers.Kirby & Le Mesurier, Via Carlo Felice 7; Thos. Cook &
Son, Piazza della Meridiana, cor. of Via Cairóli (Pl. E, 4); Credito Italiano,
Via San Luca 4; Banca Commerciale Italiana, Piazza Banchi 11
(Pl. D, 5).—Money Changers abound near the Borsa.—Bookseller.A. Donath, Via Luccoli 33.
115Consuls. British Consul-General, William Keene, Via Assarotti 11;
vice-consul, A. Turton.—U. S. Consul-General, J. A. Smith, Via Venti
Settembre 42; vice-consul, J. W. Dye.
Churches.English (Church of the Holy Ghost), Via Goito (Pl. G, 4;
services at 8:15 and 11 a.m., occasionally also at 4 p.m.); Presbyterian,
Via Peschiera 4 (service at 11 a.m.).
Sights.Museo Chiossone (p. 116), daily except Mon., 10–3, adm.
1 fr.; Palazzo Bianco (p. 116), daily, Oct.-March 11–4, April-Sept. 10–4,
Sun. and Thurs. ¼ fr., other days ½ fr., free on last Sun. of each month;
Palazzo Durazzo-Pallavicini (see below), daily 11–4, fee ½–1 fr.; Palazzo
Rosso (p. 116), free daily, 11–4, except on Tues., Sun., and holidays.
Genoa, Ital. Genŏva, French Gênes, a city of 156,000 inhab.,
was a republic and a great naval power in the middle ages, rivalling
Venice, but declined after the 16th cent.; in 1797 it became
the capital of Napoleon’s ‘Ligurian Republic’, and since 1815 has
belonged to the kingdom of Sardinia which is now merged in that
of Italy. Next to Marseilles it is the greatest of Mediterranean seaports.
The exports and imports in 1908 amounted to 6.4 million
tons, and the tonnage of shipping to 14.4 millions.
From the pier, either the Ponte Federico Guglielmo or the
Ponte Andrea Doria (p. 113), we cross the harbour-rails to the
Palazzo Doria (Pl. A, B, 2), once presented by the republic to
Andrea Doria (1468–1560), the famous admiral of Charles V.,
and enter the Piazza del Principe (Pl. B, 2; tramway, see p. 114),
with its handsome bronze monument to the Marchese Deferrari,
Duke of Galliera (d. 1876), to whose generosity Genoa is partly
indebted for its new quays (1877–95).
The Via Andrea Doria leads hence to the E. to the Piazza
Acquaverde (Pl. B, C, 2), the square in front of the Railway
Station, where, amid palms, rises a monument to Columbus, who
was probably born at Genoa in 1451 (d. at Valladolid in 1506).
To the S.E. from this piazza runs a narrow line of streets, the
chief artery of traffic, adorned with superb late-Renaissance edifices,
built chiefly by Galeazzo Alessi (1512–72), named Via Balbi, Via
Cairóli, and Via Garibaldi, and ending at the Piazza Fontane Marose.
Several of the palaces are well worth seeing, especially for
the sake of their grand staircases.
No. 10, on the right side of the Via Balbi, is the Palazzo Reale
(Pl. C, 3), built after 1650 for the Durazzo family, and purchased
in 1817 for the royal house of Sardinia. No. 5, on the left, is the
Palazzo dell’Università (Pl. D, 2, 3), begun by Bart. Bianco
in 1623 as a Jesuit school. The *Court and the staircases are considered
the finest in Genoa.
Farther on, to the right, No. 4 is the Palazzo Balbi Senárega;
No. 1, on the left, is the Palazzo Durazzo-Pallavicini (Pl.
D, 3), both by Bart. Bianco. The picture-gallery in the latter (adm.,
see above) contains portraits by Rubens and Van Dyck, painted
during their visits to Genoa.
116We cross the Piazza dell’Annunziata (Pl. D, 3) with the handsome
baroque church of that name on the left, and the small Piazza
della Zecca (Pl. D, E, 3; funicular to Castellaccio, p. 117), and then
follow the Via Cairóli (Pl. D, E, 4) to the—
*Via Garibaldi (Pl. E, 4), which is flanked with numerous palaces.
No. 13, on the left, is the Palazzo Bianco; No. 18, on the
right, the Palazzo Rosso; both once belonged to the Brignole-Sale
family, but were bequeathed to the city by the Marchesa
Brignole-Sale (d. 1889), widow of the Duca di Galliera (p. 115),
and converted into the two galleries named Brignole-Sale (adm.,
see p. 115). Most of the other palaces were designed by Gal. Alessi.
From the Piazza Fontane Marose (Pl. F, 4, 5) the short Via Carlo
Felice leads to the S.W. to the Piazza Deferrari (Pl. E, 5, 6), the
centre of the city and focus of most of the tramway-lines (p. 114).
The Accadémia di Belle Arti (Pl. E, F, 6), on the E. side of the
Piazza, contains the valuable Museo Chiossone (adm., see p. 115),
a collection of Japanese and Chinese works of art.
The busy Via Roma (Pl. F, 5) leads to the N.E. from the Piazza
Deferrari, past (right) the Galleria Mazzini, to the Piazza Corvetto
(Pl. F, G, 5), adjoining which, on the left, on an old bastion is the Villetta
Dinegro (Pl. F, 4; 242 ft.; fine views), a beautiful public park.
From the S.E. side of the Piazza Deferrari, where the new buildings
of the Exchange (Borsa) and the Post Office are in progress (Pl. E, F, 6),
runs the broad new Via Venti Settembre (Pl. F-H, 6, 7), the favourite
promenade of the citizens, leading to the Bisagno Valley and the Stazione
Orientate (p. 113). Immediately before we reach the street-viaduct we
may turn to the right, cross the Piazza Ponticello (Pl. F, 6, 7), and ascend
the Via Fieschi to *Santa Maria di Carignano (Pl. E, 8; 172 ft.), built
by Gal. Alessi. The gallery of the dome (249 steps; sacristan 25 c.) is a
splendid point of view. The Via Nino Bixio and Via Corsica (Pl. E, F, 8, 9)
lead thence to the—
*Via di Circonvallazione a Mare, skirting the coast on the site
of the old town-ramparts, named Via Odone and Corso Aurelio Saffi (Pl.
E-H, 9, 10; tramway No. 4, see p. 114).
From the S.W. angle of the Piazza Deferrari the short Via Sellai
leads to the Piazza Umberto Primo (Pl. E, 6). On its N. side rises
the old Palazzo Ducale, or palace of the doges (telegraph-office),
approached by a handsome flight of steps. On the S.E. side is the
ornate Jesuit church of Sant’ Ambrogio, containing a Presentation
in the Temple and the Miracles of St. Ignatius by Rubens.
From the Piazza Umberto Primo the busy Via San Lorenzo leads
to the N.W., past the Cathedral (Pl. E, 5, 6; San Lorenzo),
dating from the 12–17th cent. (in the left aisle the fine early-Renaissance
chapel of San Giovanni Battista), back to the—
Harbour. Following the tramway to the right to the Piazza
Raibetta, we observe on the left, between that piazza and the Piazza
Caricamento, the Gothic Palazzo di San Giorgio, once the seat of
the great merchants’ bank of that name. Beyond the Piazza Caricamento
117the noisy Via Carlo Alberto (Pl. D, C, 4–2) leads to the N.
past the Darsena, once the naval harbour, to the Piazza Principe
and to the piers, affording a glimpse at the harbour traffic.
From the Piazza della Zecca (p. 116) a Funicular Tramway
(50 c.) ascends every 10 min. to San Nicolò (Pl. E, 1; change
cars) and *Castellaccio, loftily situated. At the terminus (about
1025 ft.; Ristorante Beregardo, déj. 2½, D. 4 fr., commended)
there is a splendid view of the Bisagno Valley with the Campo
Santo (see below). About ½ M. to the N.W. rises the old fort of
Castellaccio (1254 ft.), which commands an admirable survey of
Genoa and the coast from Savona (p. 113) to the headland of Portofino
(p. 134).
On the rocky Capo del Faro, between Genoa and San Pier
d’Arena, rises the Lanterna, a great Lighthouse, 230 ft. high,
from the foot of which we obtain another extensive *View. Tramway
as far as the tunnel (No. 3; p. 114).
From the Piazza Deferrari a tramway (No. 5) leads by the Piazza
Manin (Pl. I, 4) to the N.E. to the Campo Santo or Cimitero di
Staglieno; which rises above the Val Bisagno on the N. bank.—We
may take the tramway or a motor-omnibus also to the Lido
d’Albáro, a popular resort and sea-bathing place below the road
to Sturla and Nervi.
Favourite excursions from Genoa are (tramways Nos. 6 and 3) to
Nervi, 7½ M. to the E., on the Pisa line, and to Pegli, 6¼ M. to the W.,
on the Ventimiglia line. Nervi has a beautiful marine parade, and at
Pegli is the Villa Pallavicini. (The entrance of the villa is immediately
to the left of the exit from the rail. station; adm. on week-days except
Frid. and festivals, 10–3; on Sun. and holidays 9–2; fee 1 fr.)—A superb
view is obtained from the Portofino-Kulm (1477 ft.; Hôt.-Restaur., déj.
5, D. 7 fr.), on the Monte di Portofino (p. 134). Motor-omn. direct from
Genoa, Piazza Deferrari; also 4 times daily from Recco station, 13 M. to
the E., on the Pisa line.
See also Baedeker’s Northern Italy.
1086 M. North German Lloyd on alternate Saturdays, in 3 days (to
Algiers in 25 hrs., fare 66 or 44 marks; thence to Genoa 33 hrs., fare 77 or
55 marks). The Hamburg-American and the Austrian Lloyd steamers sometimes
ply between Gibraltar and Algiers. The Navigation Mixte usually
sends steamers from Gibraltar to Oran (hence to Algiers by railway).
Steamers of the German Levant Line and others also are available as
far as Algiers.—Agents at Gibraltar, see p. 53; at Algiers, p. 219; at
Genoa, p. 114. See also ‘Gibraltar Chronicle’.
The vessel steers to the E. from Gibraltar, between the Spanish
coast, which remains in sight as far as the Cabo de Gata (comp.
R. 15 a), and the flat volcanic island of Alborán (48 ft.), the ancient
Drinaupa, now belonging to Spain. The distant Sierra Nevada
(p. 49) peeps here and there above the horizon.
118Off Cape Ivi (lighthouse), beyond the mouth of the Chélif
(p. 208), we sight the Tell Atlas (p. 169) on the Algerian coast.
We then pass the very prominent Cape Ténès (p. 209) and, beyond
Cherchell (p. 244), the massive Jebel Chenoua (p. 242), near which
we survey the beautiful Bay of Castiglione (p. 237), backed by the
hills of Sahel and extending to Mont Bouzaréah (p. 235).
By Râs Acrata (p. 237) we near the coast, pass the lighthouse
on the low Cape Caxine (p. 237) and the picturesque cliffs of Pointe
Pescade (p. 237), then St. Eugène (p. 236) and the church of Notre-Dame
d’Afrique (p. 236), and enter the harbour of Algiers (p. 217).
Leaving Algiers for Genoa the vessel steers to the N.N.E., affording
a fine parting view of the Bay of Algiers and the coast as far
as Cape Bengut (p. 127). Corsica (p. 143) is visible in clear weather
only. We near the Riviera di Ponente off Porto Maurizio
(p. 113) and soon enter the harbour of Genoa (comp. p. 113).
1118 M. Cunard Line (from New York) and White Star (from New
York or Boston), each two or three times a month, in 3 days (fare 5l.
10s.); Orient Royal (from London), fortnightly; North German Lloyd (from
New York or Southampton), three or four times a month (120 or 88 marks);
Hamburg-American Line (from New York), once or twice a month.
For Gibraltar, and the first part of the voyage, comp. p. 52
and R. 15 a. Astern appears the majestic Sierra Nevada (p. 49).
Steering to the E.N.E., we sometimes see the Algerian coast to
the S., from Cape Ténès (p. 209) to the Bay of Algiers (p. 221)
and the hills of Great Kabylia (p. 252).
After many hours’ steaming we next sight the uninhabited rocky
islet of Il Toro, off the S.W. coast of Sardinia, and the Golfo di
Palmas (p. 129), between the island of San Antioco and the bold
Cape Teulada, the ancient Chersonesus Promontorium, the southmost
point of Sardinia. We pass the Isola Rossa Bay at some
distance; then Cape Spartivento (lighthouse), at the S. end of the
broad Bay of Cagliari (p. 144), which is only distinguishable in
clear weather, and the granitic Isola dei Cavoli (lighthouse), lying
off Cape Carbonara (p. 144). The Sardinian coast now rapidly
disappears.
The steamer at length nears the Bocca Grande, 15 M. in width,
the chief entrance to the *Bay of Naples (p. 135), between the
islands of Ischia (left) and Capri (right), with Vesuvius in the distance.
The S.W. point of Ischia is the picturesque Punta Imperatore
(lighthouse). We steer past the S. side of the island, about 3 M.
from the Punta Sant’ Angelo and the Punta San Pancrazio, then
past the island of Procida and the hill of Posilipo, into the harbour
of Naples (p. 135).
From Naples to Genoa, see R. 24.
119
From Lisbon to Tangier and (1150 M.) Marseilles (Naples, and Port
Said) there are regular steamboat services (from Tangier or Gibraltar to
Marseilles in 3 days) by the German East African Line (E. circular tour),
once in three weeks, and the Rotterdam Lloyd, fortnightly.—From Gibraltar
to Marseilles there are the Peninsular & Oriental, the Orient
Royal, and other lines.—Steamboat-agents at Lisbon, Tangier, Gibraltar,
and Marseilles, see pp. 8, 98, 53, 120.
From Lisbon to the Straits of Gibraltar, comp. p. 5; Tangier,
p. 98; Gibraltar, p. 52.
The steamer skirts the Spanish coast from Gibraltar to Iviza
(p. 112). The direct route to Marseilles is through the Balearic
Sea (p. 112) and the Gulf of Lions, where storms often prevail;
but when the mistral, or N. wind, blows a more westerly course
is chosen, past the volcanic Columbretes islets (lighthouse) and
along the coast of Catalonia.
At length, to the S.E. of the Rhone Delta, and flanked with bare
limestone hills, we sight the Bay of Marseilles, bounded by the
Cap Couronne, on the left, and the Cap Croisette, on the right.
We pass the island of Planier (lighthouse) and the islands of Ratonneau,
Pomègue, and If, and obtain a fine view of the church of
Notre Dame de la Garde (p. 122) overlooking the city. The vessels
usually steer through the Avant-Port Nord and the large new Bassin
National into the Bassin de la Gare Maritime.
Marseilles.—Arrival by Sea. The North German Lloyd and German
East African steamers anchor in the Bassin du Lazaret (Pl. B, 1).
Those of the Générale Transatlantique Co. and Messageries Maritimes
start from the Bassin de la Joliette (Pl. B, 2, 3). Most of the great British
lines (P. & O., Orient Royal, Bibby, British India, etc.) have their own
berths, as to which careful inquiry should be made. Note that most of
these are a long way from the principal railway-station (1–1½ M.).
Railway Stations. The Gare St. Charles (Pl. F, 2), the main station,
is the only one for through-passenger traffic. See the French Indicateur
as to trains, several of which run in winter only; others correspond with
the P. & O. and other steamers for Egypt, India, Australia, etc.
Hotels (mostly in noisy situations). *Regina (Pl. f; D, 3), Place
Sadi-Carnot; *Louvre & de la Paix (Pl. a; E, 4), *Noailles & Métropole
(Pl. c; E, 4), and Grand (Pl. b; F, 4), all in the Rue Noailles; Bristol
(Pl. w; E, 4), Rue Cannebière, new. These five are of the first class (R.
from 4 or 5, B. 1½, déj. 4–4½, D. 5–6 fr.).—Petit-Louvre (Pl. d; E, 4),
Rue Cannebière 16; Genève (Pl. m; D, 4), Rue des Templiers 3, R. from
3½, B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 4 fr., well spoken of; Castille & Luxembourg
(Pl. e; E, 5), Rue St. Ferréol, R. from 3, B. 1¼, déj. 3, D. 4 fr.; Des Phocéens
(Pl. i; E, 4), Rue Thubaneau 4, R. from 3, B. 1, déj. 3, D. 4 fr.,
good; Continental (Pl. j; D, 4), Rue Beauvau 6, R. from 2½, B. 1, déj. 3,
D. 3½ fr.—Near the Railway Station: Terminus Hotel (Pl. g; F, 2), R.
5–10 fr.; *Russie & Angleterre, Boul. d’Athènes 31 (Pl. E, 3), R. from 4,
B. 1¼, déj. 3, D. 4 fr.; Bordeaux & Orient (Pl. k; E, 3), same boulevard,
No. 11, R. from 3, B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 3½ fr.—Hôtels Garnis (R. 3–4, B.
1½ fr.): Gr. Nouvel Hôtel (Pl. u; F, 4), Boul. du Musée 10, good; Modern
Hotel (Pl. s; D, 4), Rue Cannebière 50; Riche et du Vingtième
Siècle (Pl. v; E, 4), same street, No. 1.
120Restaurants. *La Réserve, Palace Hotel, Chemin de la Corniche,
of the first class.—*Isnard, Hôt. des Phocéens (p. 119); de Provence, Cours
Belsunce 12, good.—Cafés, best in Rue Cannebière and Rue Noailles.—Brasserie
de l’Univers, at the Hotel Bristol (p. 119); Strasbourg, Place
de la Bourse 11.
Cabs (voitures de place, same fares by day or night). In the inner
city, to the Traverse de la Joliette (Pl. B, 2) in the N., and to Boul. de la
Corderie and Boul. Notre Dame in the S.W.: one-horse carriage (2 seats)
per drive, 1½, per hour 2½ fr.; two-horse carr. (4 seats) 2 or 3 fr.; trunk
25 c. per drive, 50 c. per hour.—As overcharges are frequent, the tariff
should be asked for.—Motor Cabs (taximeters for 3 pers.), 1 fr. for
the first 800 metres (ca. ½ M.), 20 c. each addit. 400 m.; 3 fr. per hour.
Tramways (in the town, 10 c.; no transfer tickets). Among the chief
are: from Place de la Joliette (Pl. C, 2) to Boul. Vauban (Pl. D, 7; Notre
Dame de la Garde, p. 122); from Quai de la Joliette to the Zoological
Garden (Pl. H, 2; Palais de Longchamp, p. 122); from Zoological Garden
to Boul. Notre Dame (Pl. D, 6, 7; lift to Notre Dame de la Garde) and Boul.
Vauban (Pl. D, 7); from the Cours St. Louis (Pl. E, 4) viâ the Prado (p. 122),
the Corniche (p. 122), and Endoume, back to the Cours St. Louis (15 c.).
Transporter Bridge (Pont Transbordeur; Pl. B, 4, 5; p. 121),
between Quai de la Tourette and Boul. du Pharo, in 2 min. (5 c.).
Steamboat Lines.Peninsular & Oriental (Estrine & Co., Rue Colbert
18), from London to Gibraltar, Marseilles, and Port Said (RR. 1, 17, 67);
Orient Royal (Worms & Co., Rue Grignan 28), from London to Gibraltar,
Marseilles, Naples, and Port Said (RR. 1, 17, 23, 67); North German Lloyd
(W. Carr, Rue Beauvau 16), to Goletta (Tunis) and Alexandria, to Naples
and Alexandria, also to Genoa, Naples, Catania, the Piræus, Constantinople,
etc. (RR. 22, 23, 24, 67, 77, 80); German East African (W. Carr), from
Southampton to Lisbon, Tangier, Marseilles, Naples, and Port Said (RR.
1, 23, 67); Bibby (Watson & Parker, Rue Beauvau 8), from Liverpool to
Marseilles, Port Said, etc. (R. 67); British India (G. Budd, Rue Beauvau
8), from Port Said to Genoa, Marseilles, and London; Rotterdam Lloyd
(Ruys & Co., Rue de la République 29), to Port Said (R. 67); Messageries
Maritimes (Place Sadi-Carnot 3), to Naples, Piræus, Constantinople, and
Beirut (RR. 77, 75), also to Constantinople, Odessa, and Batum (RR. 83, 85),
also to Alexandria, Port Said, and Beirut (RR. 67, 72); Générale Transatlantique
(Rue Noailles 15), to Oran and Cartagena (RR. 19, 18), also to
Algiers, Bougie, Philippeville, and Bona (R. 20), also to Tunis and Malta
(R. 21, 63), and to Sfax and Susa (RR. 21, 64); Transports Maritimes (Rue
de la République 70), to Gibraltar and Madeira (R. 3), to Oran (R. 19), to
Algiers, Philippeville, and Bona (R. 20), and to Tunis (Susa; RR. 22, 64);
Navigation Mixte (Touache Co., Rue Cannebière 54), to Oran (R. 19), to
Tangier viâ Oran (RR. 19, 18), to Algiers and Philippeville (R. 20), to Tunis,
Sfax, and Tripoli (RR. 21, 64), and to Palermo (RR. 21, 26); Chargeurs
Réunis (Worms & Co., see above), from Dunkirk to Marseilles, Genoa, and
Naples (for E. Indies, S. America, etc.); Fraissinet & Co. (Place de la
Bourse 6), to Ajaccio and Bastia (and Leghorn); N. Paquet & Co. (Place
Sadi-Carnot 4), to Oran (if required), Tangier, and the Moroccan ocean-coast
(R. 14); Compañía Mallorquina, to Palma (Majorca).
Post & Telegraph Office.Hôtel des Postes (Pl. D, 3), Rue Colbert;
branches at the railway-station (p. 119), at the Bourse (Pl. D, E, 4), etc.
Tourist Agents.Thos. Cook & Son, Rue Noailles 11 bis; Lubin,
Rue des Feuillants 14.—Banks.Banque de France (Pl. E, 6), Place Estrangin-Pastré;
Crédit Lyonnais, Rue St. Ferréol 25 (Pl. E, 4, 5).
Consuls. British Consul-General, M. C. Gurney, Rue des Princes 8;
vice-consuls, T. Broadwood, F. J. Hamling.—U. S. Consul-General, A.
Gaulin, Cours Pierre-Puget 10; vice-consul, P. H. Cram.
English Church, Rue de Bellois 4; services at 10.30 and 3.30.
Marseilles, Fr. Marseille, the second-largest city in France,
with 517,500 inhab., the Massalia of the Greeks and Massilia121of the Romans, was founded by Greeks from Phocæa (p. 530) in
Asia Minor about 600 B. C., and soon became one of the greatest
seaports on the Mediterranean. During the Roman period it vied
with Athens as a seat of Greek culture; in the middle ages it
belonged to the kingdom of Arelate, and later to the county of
Provence, and in 1481 it was at length annexed to France. Being
situated at the mouth of the great and time-honoured route through
the Rhone Valley to N.W. Europe, it is the most important of
French and of all Mediterranean seaports. The total exports and
imports are estimated at 2926 million francs, and nearly 17 million
tons of shipping enter and clear annually. The city is now almost
entirely modern and destitute of historical memorials.
From the Bassin du Lazaret (Pl. B, 1) and Bassin de la Joliette
(Pl. B, 2, 3), the southmost of the docks constructed since
1850 to the N.W. of the old town, we follow the Quai de la Joliette
to the—
*Cathedral (Pl. B, C, 3; Ste. Marie Majeure or La Major),
situated on a terrace. This is one of the largest and finest churches
of the 19th cent.; it was built by Vaudoyer, in a mixed Byzantine
and Romanesque style, in 1852–93. Adjacent is the Old Cathedral
of St. Lazare, which is shown by the sacristan of the new church.
From the Place de la Major the Esplanade de la Tourette leads
to the S. to the *Vieux Port (Pl. C, D, 4, 5), the Lakydon of the
Phocæans, a deeply indented creek, where smaller craft only are now
berthed. The entrance to it is guarded by the old forts of Grasse-Tilly
and Entrecasteaux. Just inside the entrance the harbour is
crossed by the Pont Transbordeur or Transporter Bridge (p. 120);
for the sake of the view we may ascend either to the trolley-way
(buffet-restaurant) or to the top of the N. tower (steps up and down
50 c.; lift up 60, up and down 75 c.).
On the N. side of the Quai du Port (Pl. C, D, 4), the scene of
motley popular traffic (pickpockets not uncommon), lies the Old
Town, with its narrow and dirty streets, inhabited by the lower
classes, including numerous Italians of whom the city contains
about 100,000. This quay leads past the Hôtel de Ville (Pl. C, 4),
an interesting building of the 17th cent., to the E. end of the Vieux
Port, where begins the—
*Rue Cannebière (Pl. D, E, 4), which for ages has been the
chief boast of the city. Here, on the left, is the Bourse (Pl. E, 4),
erected by Coste in 1852–60.
This street, prolonged by the Rue Noailles, the Allées de
Meilhan, etc., intersects the city from S.W. to N.E., and at the
Cours St. Louis (Pl. E, 4), the chief centre of traffic, it is crossed
by a straight line of streets running from N.W. to S.E., the Cours
Belsunce, Rue de Rome, and Promenade du Prado, to the Rond
Point (p. 122), being in all nearly 3 M. long.
122The Rue Noailles (Pl. E, 4), from the end of which the Boulevard
Dugommier ascends to the railway-station, and the pretty Allées
de Meilhan (Pl. F, 4) lead to the modern-Gothic church of St.
Vincent de Paul (Pl. F, 3), with its two towers commanding a
great part of the city.
A little to the left is the Cours du Chapitre, leading into the
Boulevard Longchamp (Pl. G, H, 3, 2), a street ascending steeply
to the *Palais de Longchamp (Pl. H, 2). This imposing
Renaissance edifice was designed by Espérandieu, the architect
(1862–9). The Ionic colonnade, with a lofty triumphal arch in the
centre, where a picturesque cascade has been introduced, is flanked
with two wings, the right containing the Natural History Museum,
and the left the Museum of Fine Art (adm. daily except Mon.
and Frid., 8–12 and 2–5 or in winter 9–12 and 2–4; closed 20th–31st
Jan. and 20th–31st July).
The groundfloor contains sculptures. In the centre is the principal
hall. The room on the left contains works by the Marseillais master
Pierre Puget (1622–94); in that on the right is a model of the Monument
to the Dead in Père Lachaise at Paris, by Bartholomé. The staircase is
adorned with a wall-painting by Puvis de Chavannes (1869).
On the first floor is the picture-gallery. Among the older pictures
in the central room are: 361. Nattier, Duchesse de Châteauroux; 788.
Pietro Perugino, Holy Family; 914. Rubens, Boar-hunt (about 1615). In
the modern department, in the room on the left: 430. J. Fr. Millet,
Mother and child (1860).
The main streets of the S. quarter of the town are the Rue de
Rome, which begins at the Cours St. Louis (p. 121), and a little to
the W. of it the handsome Cours Pierre-Puget (Pl. E, D, 5, 6),
ending in the Promenade of that name.
A little to the S., on a bold rock of white limestone, is enthroned
the church of *Notre Dame de la Garde (Pl. D, 7; 532 ft.), a
great landmark for mariners, where we obtain the finest view of
the city and its environs. Lift (Ascenseur; Pl. D, 7) from the Rue
Cherchell (up 60, down 30, return 80 c.; on Sun. and before 9
a.m., 40, 20, or 50 c.).
On a fine day the traveller will be repaid by a visit to the
*Chemin de la Corniche (comp. Pl. A, 6; tramway, p. 120).
From Notre Dame de la Garde it may be reached direct in about
40 min. by the Chemin du Roucas-Blanc. This road, partly hewn
in the rock, and shadeless, affords fine views. It ends, near the
Château Borély, which stands in a park and now contains the
Musée d’Archéologie, at the—
Promenade du Prado, a favourite resort of the Marseillais,
planted with plane-trees. A gay throng may be seen here on Sunday
afternoons and every fine evening. We may return thence to
the town by the Rond Point du Prado.
See also Baedeker’s Southern France.
From Marseilles to Naples, see R. 23.
123
From Tangier to Oran (301 M.). Mail steamers of the Navigation
Mixte, every Wed. afternoon, in 52½ hrs. (fares, without food, 80 and
60 fr.), viâ Melilla and Nemours (returning viâ Beni-Saf, Nemours, Melilla,
and Tetuán); also cargo-steamers viâ Málaga, Melilla, and Nemours, in
3–4 days, leaving Tangier every second Tuesday (Málaga Wed.). Also
steamers of the Hungarian Adria (fare, without food, 30 fr.). Agents
at Tangier, see p. 98; at Málaga, p. 89; at Oran, p. 176.
From Cartagena to Oran (132 M.). Comp. Générale Transatlantique
every Tues. in 9 hrs. (fares, without food, 50 and 35 fr.; pier-dues at
Cartagena 3 or 2 fr.; agent J. M. Pelegrin, Plaza de la Aduana 1; at
Oran, p. 176). This is the shortest sea-route to Algiers and is recommended
to those who are bad sailors. Passport necessary.
Steering from Tangier (p. 98) to the E.N.E. through the Straits
of Gibraltar, the vessel passes Cape Malabata (p. 57), Cape
Alboasa, and the fine shore of the Cala Grande, to which the Rio
de las Ostras descends from the Sierra San Simonito, a branch
of the Anjera Mts. (p. 103). In the little bay on the E. side of
the Punta Alcázar, scarcely visible from the sea, lie the ruins of
Ksar es-Serîr, a small seaport founded by Yakûb ibn Yûsuf (p. 61),
which prospered in the later middle ages, and belonged to the
Portuguese from 1448 to 1540.
Off Cape Ciris (p. 5) the steamer nears the abrupt slopes of
the Sierra Bullones (p. 103) and then passes the Isla del Peregil
(243 ft.), which is overgrown with underwood and contains a large
grotto (Grotta de las Palomas, visited from Ceuta). Beyond
Cape Leona and the Bay of Benzus the region of Ceuta (p. 103)
is reached. Fine view of the bay of Algeciras (p. 56) and the rock
of Gibraltar to the N.
After passing the bay of Ceuta and the N. and E. headlands of
the peninsula of Almina (p. 103), the Punta Santa Catalina
(p. 5) and the Punta de la Almina (lighthouse), we obtain an
admirable view of the Moroccan coast, extending from the Sierra
Bullones (p. 103) to the finely shaped Jebel Beni Hassan. In
the centre, between Cabo Negro (p. 103) and Cabo Mazari, is
the deep depression of the plain of Tetuán (p. 102), where the
steamers of the Navigation Mixte call on their voyage to Tangier
only.
The vessel now steers to the E.S.E. towards Cape Tres Forcas,
quite apart from the Rîf Coast, a hill-region inhabited by the Ruâfa
(sing. Rîfi) and still forming part of the Blad es-Siba (p. 96). It
lies between the Wâd Waringa, the river bounding the province
of Tetuán, and Cape Tres Forcas. In the bay of Alhucemas rise
the rocky islets of Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera and Islas de
Alhucema, with two Spanish ‘presidios’. The Betoya, the stretch
of coast with its numerous creeks between Cape Quilates, on the
E. side of the Alhucemas Bay, and Cape Tres Forcas, was for centuries
the favourite haunt of the Rîf pirates (p. 96).
124Beyond the wedge-like Cape Tres Forcas, the ancient Sestiaria
Promontorium (Arabic Râs Wark), jutting out 12½ M. seaward,
we sight the long coast-line of the Bay of Melilla, into
which the steamers from Málaga, passing some 20 M. to the W.
of the island of Alborán (p. 117), steer direct.
Melilla (Hot. de Asia, Fonda la Africana, both at the harbour
and plain), or Melila, a town of 9000 inhab., the only Mediterranean
port on the Morocco coast besides Ceuta and Tetuán lies most picturesquely
on the spurs of Monte Melila or Caramu (3235 ft.), a
little to the N. of the marshy, fever-stricken mouth of the Rio del
Oro. Its site is probably that of the ancient Rusaddir (p. 95),
where ended the great Roman military road, about 1430 M. long,
which connected Carthage with Mauretania. Melilla is the oldest
Spanish possession in Morocco, having been captured in 1496. In
1774 it was unsuccessfully besieged by a Moroccan army, and in
1893 it resisted an attack by the Berbers of the Rîf. Being a free
port, it carries on a brisk trade with the coast-towns of the Algerian
province of Oran, and many Moroccans from the interior embark
here on their way to the harvesting in Algeria. The larger steamers
anchor in the roads, which are tolerably sheltered from the
W. winds only (landing or embarkation 50 c.). New harbour-works,
however, are now under construction. The drinking-water of Melilla
is not good.
Melilla consists of the small and tidy new town which has been
built near the harbour since 1893 and contains a covered market,
the shops of the Spanish-Jewish and Moorish tradesmen, and the
promenade, and of the remarkably clean old town, enclosed by lofty
walls, and occupying the nearly square plateau of a rocky headland.
From projecting parts of the town-wall a fine view is obtained of the
Fort Rosario, which is separated from the old town by the small
Galápago Bay, and of the broad bay extending to the Chafarinas
Islands (see below); in the background, beyond the Mar Chica or
Lago de Puerto Nuevo (Arabic Sebkha Bu-Erg), a shallow lake
13 M. long, appears the lofty chain of Jebel Kebdana with the
Monte de Tessan (3275 ft.).
Continuing our Voyage, we pass the Chafarinas Islands
(French Iles Zafarines), occupied by the Spanish since 1848,
which lie off the Cabo del Agua and form the only safe harbour
on this coast as far as Oran. On the Isla Isabel Segunda, the
central island, rises a lighthouse visible at a distance of 20 M.
We pass the mouth of the Mulûya (p. 93), the ancient Malucha
(or Muluchath), which separated the provinces of Mauretania
Tingitana and Mauretania Cæsariensis (p. 244), and was in the
middle ages the boundary between the kingdoms of Fez and
Tlemcen (p. 188). Beyond it, rising above the thickly peopled
125coast-plain of Tazagraret, rises the chain of Jebel Beni Snassen
(p. 197), which belongs geologically to the Algerian Tell Atlas
(p. 169). The political frontier between Morocco and Algeria is
formed by the brook Oued Kiss or Adjeroud (comp. p. 169), near
which, on the little Baie d’Adjeroud, and not far from Cape
Milonia, lies the French seaport of Port-Say or Adjeroud.
In calm weather the steamers call at the bay of Nemours
(p. 198), enclosed by the spurs of the Traras Mts. (p. 198; landing
or embarkation 1 fr.). They then pass Cape Torsa and Cape Noé,
where the plateau of Mont Tadjera (2592 ft.) is sighted, and steer
to the N.E. towards Cape Figalo, at some distance from the little
port of Honeïn (here the iron-ore of Rhar el-Maden is exported),
the lighthouse on the island of Rachgoun (opposite the mouth of the
Tafna, p. 185), and the port of Beni-Saf (p. 185). To the N.E.,
beyond Cape Figalo, appear the Isles Habibas (lighthouse), surrounded
by reefs, and then, beyond Cape Lindless, the uninhabited
little Ile Plane.
Beyond Cape Falcon (lighthouse; p. 184) we survey the broad
Gulf of Oran (p. 126), as far as the Pointe de l’Aiguille. Immediately
to the right, in the fertile Plaine des Andalouses, lies the
village of Aïn et-Turk (p. 184); then, beyond the spurs of the
Jebel Santon, the harbour of Mers el-Kébir (p. 183), with a fort
and lighthouse. Entrance to the harbour of Oran, comp. p. 175.
Cartagena (Hot. de Francia y de Paris, Calle de Osuna and
Plaza de la Aduana; Hot. Ramos, Plaza de Prefumo 8; Brit, vice-cons.
J. C. Gray; U. S. cons. agent, A. J. Marks; pop. 41,300),
founded by Hasdrubal in 221 B.C., the best natural harbour on the
Spanish Mediterranean coast, is now the chief harbour of the Spanish
navy. (It is reached by express from Madrid in 14 hrs.; sleeping-car
on Mon., Wed., and Frid., 21 p. 25 c. extra.) The railway-station
lies to the N.E. of the town, not far from Muelle de Alfonso Duodecimo,
the quay, where the steamers are berthed. A charming view
of the town and the bay is obtained from the Castillo de la Concepción
(230 ft.), a ruined castle on a hill.
The entrance to the inner harbour, which is closed by the
Dique de la Curra (lighthouse), is guarded by two forts situated
on bold volcanic rocks, the Castillo de las Galeras (656 ft.) on the
W., and the Castillo de San Julián on the E. (919 ft.). The outer
bay is protected on the S.E. by the little island of Escombrera,
the ancient Scombraria.
The Oran steamboats, soon after leaving Cartagena, steer due
S., affording a retrospect of the lighthouses of Cabo Tiñoso to the
W. and Cape Palos (p. 112) to the E., and they usually enter the
Gulf of Oran (p. 126) before dawn.
126
615 M. Steamboat Lines (agents at Marseilles, see p. 120; at Oran,
p. 176). Comp. Générale Transatlantique, rapide on Thurs. and Sat. aft.
(in reverse direction Tues. and Thurs.), in 41 hrs., fare 81 or 59 fr.;
Transports Maritimes, Tues. (returning Sat.), in 38 hrs., 75 or 55 fr.;
cargo-boat Frid. (returning Tues.), in 46 hrs., 60 or 40 fr.; Navigation
Mixte (Touache Co.), Wed. (returning Sat.), in 54 hrs., 60 or 40 fr.
Travellers in S. France may take a steamer of the Navigation Mixte
from Cette (a seaport 90 M. to the W. of Marseilles) to Porte Vendres and
Oran (Thurs. night), in 45 hrs., fare 90 or 65 fr.
Steering out into the Gulf of Lions and the Balearic Sea,
the steamers at first either follow the same course as those to
Gibraltar (R. 17), or a more easterly course, past Majorca and
Dragonera (p. 112), towards the rock-bound strait between Iviza
(p. 112) and the flat island of Formentera, the southmost of the
Balearic group. In passing we obtain a fine view of the town of
Iviza, with its old castle and loftily situated cathedral (see Baedeker’s
Spain and Portugal).
Nearing the Algerian coast, we first sight the range of hills
culminating in Jebel Orouze (p. 199), which separates the bays of
Arzew (p. 199) and Oran. Entering the outer *Gulf of Oran, we
survey its full extent from the Pointe de l’Aiguille to Cape Carbon
(p. 264). On the left, rises the curiously shaped Jebel Kahar or
Montagne des Lions (p. 184). In the foreground, in the inner bay
bounded by Pointe Canastel and the headland of Mers el-Kébir
(p. 183), lies the town of Oran, with the old fort of Santa Cruz
rising high above it (p. 175).
Steamers (agents at Marseilles, see p. 120; at Algiers, p. 219; at
Bougie, p. 262; at Philippeville, p. 304; at Bona, p. 309). 1.Comp.
Générale Transatlantique from Marseilles to Algiers (463 M.), rapide
mail-steamers on Sun., Tues., Wed., and Frid. at noon (returning Sun.,
Tues., Thurs., Frid. at noon), in 26½ hrs.; from Marseilles to Bougie
(455 M.), Tues. noon (returning Sat. evening), in 37½ hrs.; from Marseilles
to Philippeville (455 M.), Sat. noon (returning Frid. noon), in 30 hrs.; from
Marseilles to Bona (462 M.), Tues. aft. (returning Tues. night), in 31 hrs.;
fares by the mail-steamers to Algiers 96 or 69 fr.; for the other three
routes 81 or 59 fr.—2.Transports Maritimes, from Marseilles to Algiers
(and back), Wed. and Sat. aft., in 35 hrs., fare 70 or 45 fr.; to Philippeville
(Bougie), Sat. aft. (returning Wed. noon) in 36 hrs., fare 60 or 40 fr.;
to Bona, Mon. (returning Thurs.) aft., in 37 hrs., fare 60 or 40 fr.—3.Navigation
Mixte (Touache Co.), from Marseilles to Algiers, rapide on Thurs.
noon (returning Sat. noon), in 32 hrs., fare 75 or 50 fr.; direct cargo-boat
on Mon. aft. (returning Frid. noon), in 36 hrs., fare 60 or 40 fr.; to Philippeville
(Bona), mail-steamer on Thurs. noon (returning Mon. noon), in 33 hrs.,
fare 75 or 50 fr.
127Cheap steamers to Algiers are the cargo-boats of Caillol & Duvillard
(50 or 30 fr.) and of Prosper Durand (40 or 25 fr.).
Less frequented routes are those of the Navigation Mixte from Cette
(90 M. to the W. of Marseilles) to Port Vendres and Algiers (Sat. night;
42 hrs.; 90 or 65 fr.); the Spanish Compañía Mallorquina (p. 120) from
Marseilles and Barcelona to Palma and Algiers (twice monthly; passport
necessary); and the Comp. Générale Transatlantique (cargo-boats), between
Ajaccio and Bona (Thurs. evening; in 30–38 hrs.; 60 or 50 fr.).
The Algiers steamer usually passes close to the E. side of the
island of Minorca, the eastmost of the Balearic group, where, in
daylight, the deeply indented natural harbour of Mahon, the chief
town, specially attracts attention. When the sea is rough the
course is sometimes more westerly, past Cape Minorca (lighthouse),
the W. extremity of the island, while inland on the flat
coast lies the town of Ciudadela; the vessel then passes at some
distance from the Cabo de Pera (lighthouse), and from the hilly
S.E. coast of Majorca, which is famed for its stalactite caverns
(see Baedeker’s Spain and Portugal).
At length, in clear weather, we obtain a glorious *View of the
Algerian coast, from the hills of Cape Bengut (lighthouse) to the E.,
and the Jurjura Chain and the Tell Atlas to the S.E., both snow-clad
in winter, to the wooded hill-country of Sahel, culminating in
Mont Bouzaréah, and Cape Caxine (lighthouse) to the W. We
now enter the fine *Bay of Algiers (p. 221), bounded by Cape
Matifou (lighthouse) on the N.E. and the cliffs of the Pointe Pescade
on the N.W., and survey its whole expanse. To the left, in the
Mitidja Plain, between Cape Matifou and the sand-hills at the
mouth of the Harrach, lies Fort-de-l’Eau, a sea-bathing place;
beyond the Harrach, on the hill, stands the church of Kouba;
farther along the coast, among the houses of Hussein-Dey and Belcourt,
lies the Jardin d’Essai, backed by the gardens of Mustapha-Supérieur;
behind the harbour of Algiers rises the high terrace-wall
of the boulevards; then, above the new town, the white houses
and lanes of the Kasba on the spurs of the hill crowned with the
Fort l’Empereur; lastly, on the slope of the Bouzaréah hill, between
the N.W. suburbs Bab el-Oued and St. Eugène, appears
Notre-Dame d’Afrique, the mariners’ church.—Arrival in the
harbour, see p. 217.
On the voyage from Marseilles to Bougie the course is more
easterly, out of sight of the Balearic Islands. The tedium of the
voyage is at length compensated for near the Algerian coast by an
imposing *View of the mountains of Kabylia, which after a snowfall
in winter have quite an Alpine charm. To the W., between
Cape Sigli and Cape Carbon (p. 264) lies the abrupt and almost
uninhabited coast of Great Kabylia, overtopped by the lofty
Jebel Arbalou (p. 262). To the S., behind the fine curved outline
128of the Gulf of Bougie (p. 130), and beyond the plain of the
Soumane Valley, rise the heights of Little Kabylia, with the
deep depression of the Agrioun Valley, and, to the S.E., the serrated
range of Jebel Tababor (6460 ft.). To the E., beyond Cape
Cavallo, stretches the hill-region of Djidjelli. In the N.E. angle
of the bay, on the S. slope of the Jebel Gouraya, but long concealed
by the three spurs of that mountain (Cape Carbon, p. 264,
Cape Noir, and Cape Bouak, with its lighthouse), lies most
picturesquely the quiet seaport of Bougie, embosomed in luxuriant
evergreen vegetation (p. 262).
The crossing to Philippeville is specially recommended to travellers
bound for Biskra direct, as they thus avoid the long railway
journey from Algiers. The broad Gulf of Stora, with its
numerous headlands and creeks and its beautiful wooded hills,
presents a charming picture, especially in spring. In the background,
in a pleasant creek, lies Philippeville (p. 304). In passing
through the outer harbour we obtain a good view of the town.
On the voyage to Bona the first land sighted on the Algerian
coast is the lofty Mount Edough (3307 ft.; p. 169), the spurs of
which extend to the N.W. to the Cap de Fer (p. 131). The steamers
then enter the Gulf of Bona, bounded on the W. by the Cap de
Garde (lighthouse), the N.E. spur of Mt. Edough, and on the E.
by Cape Rosa (p. 131). On the S. margin of the bay, above the
marshy alluvial plain of the Seybouse and the Oued Mafrag, rise
the peaks of the Tell Atlas.
On the W. side of the gulf, between the spurs of the Edough,
lies Bona (p. 309), one of the most important and most beautiful
seaports of Barbary, with rich verdure all around. Before entering
the grand harbour, commanded by the hill of the Kasba, we
view the Corniche Road (p. 311), while on the low hill of Hippo,
to the S. of the town, rises the church of St. Augustine (p. 312).
555 M. Steamboats (agents at Marseilles, see p. 120; at Tunis, p. 331).
1.North German Lloyd from Marseilles to Goletta (Alexandria) every
second Wed. foren. (returning Sat. even.), in 30½ hrs. (90–150 or 60 marks).—2.Comp. Générale Transatlantique from Marseilles to Tunis direct
(Malta, R. 63), Mon. at noon (returning Frid. aft.), in 31½ hrs. (96 or 69 fr.);
viâ Bizerta to Tunis (Sfax and Susa, R. 64), Frid. at noon (returning
Wed.), in 41 hrs. (81 or 59 fr.).—3.Navigation Mixte (Touache Co.) from
Marseilles to Tunis direct (Sfax and Tripoli, R. 64), rapide mail-steamer
Wed. at noon (returning Mon. afternoon), in 39 hrs. (75 or 50 fr.); cargo-boat
viâ Bizerta to Tunis (Palermo, R. 26), Sat. evening (returning Thurs.
at noon), in 49 hrs. (60 or 40 fr.).
Marseilles, see p. 119.—After remaining for some time in
view of the coast of Provence as far as Cape Sicié (comp. p. 132),
the vessel steers to the S.E. and loses sight of land.
129Off the Isola di Mal di Ventre we may catch a glimpse of the
peninsula of Sinis, which lies on the N. side of the large Gulf of
Oristano, on the W. coast of Sardinia, and at whose S. end once
lay the Phœnician colony of Tharros. The bare and monotonous
hills of the S.W. coast, with the well-known lead and zinc mines
of the Iglesiente, the region round Iglesias, are only visible in
clear weather. The steamer rounds the islands of San Pietro and
San Antioco (p. 118), with its capital of the same name on the E.
coast, occupying the site of the Phœnician Sulci. We pass the Golfo
di Palmas, with the uninhabited islets of La Vacca, Il Vitello,
and Il Toro (p. 118), and then Cape Teulada (p. 118), after which
Sardinia is soon lost to view.
To the S.W. appears the distant Ile de la Galite (p. 132); then,
on the coast of Tunisia, we descry the low spurs of the Tell Atlas
(p. 320), with the headlands of Râs el-Koran, Râs Engelah (lighthouse;
the northmost point of the African continent), Cap Blanc
(lighthouse; the Promontorium Candidum of antiquity), and Cap
de Bizerte or Cap Guardia (853 ft.; lighthouse). To the S.E.
another lighthouse marks the rocks of ‘I Cani‘.
Some steamers call at Bizerta (p. 352); the others steer to the
left, past the Cani and the island of Pilau (p. 132), towards the
little Ile Plane (lighthouse), which lies off Cape Farina (Arabic
Râs Tarf; the ancient Promontorium Apollinis), where we come
in sight of the broad Gulf of Tunis, with the island of Zembra
(p. 153) in the background.
We now cross the Bay of Utica (p. 353) to the S., which since
ancient times has been largely filled up with the deposits of the
Medjerda (p. 320), pass Cape Kamart (p. 351) and La Marsa
(p. 351), and then reach the picturesque Cape Carthage (p. 351),
with its lighthouse and the sea-baths and white houses of Sidi Bou-Saïd.
We now enter the *Inner Bay of Tunis, commanded on the
E. by Jebel Korbous (p. 364) and on the S. by Jebel Bou-Kornin
(p. 363), Jebel Ressas (p. 358), and Jebel Zaghouan (p. 359); we
pass close to the castle-hill of Carthage (p. 344), crowned with the
cathedral, the sea-baths of Le Kram, Khéreddine, and Goulette
Neuve (p. 344), and reach Goletta (or La Goulette; p. 343), a
small seaport, situated on the tongue of land separating the Lac
de Tunis or Lac Bahira (p. 332) from the open sea.
The steamer here enters the canal, 5½ M. long, 110 yds. wide,
and about 20 ft. deep, constructed across the lake in 1893, where
we have a good view of the white houses of Tunis. On the right
lies the island of Chikly, with relics of a castle built by Emp.
Charles V. The surface of the lake is sometimes enlivened by
flamingoes. The steamer, at half-speed, takes another hour to reach
Tunis (p. 329).
130
432 M. Steamers (touching at intermediate ports, 469 M.; agents at
Algiers, see p. 219; at Bougie, p. 262; at Philippeville, p. 304; at Tunis,
p. 331). 1.Comp. Générale Transatlantique, cargo-boat Wed. evening,
viâ Bougie, Djidjelli, Collo, Philippeville, Bona, La Calle, Tabarca, and
Bizerta, arrives at Tunis Sun. aft. (returning Sat. noon, arrives at Algiers
Wed. morn.); 100 or 80 fr.; pier-dues at Tunis 4 or 3 fr.—2.German
Levant Line, twice or thrice a month, generally calling at La Calle.—3.Hungarian Adria Co., cargo-boat twice a month to Tunis direct.
Or the voyage may be pleasantly divided as follows: Marseilles steamer
of Comp. Gén. Transatlantique from Algiers to Bougie (Frid. evening; in
10 hrs.; 25 or 18 fr.); Marseilles steamer of Transports Maritimes Co.
from Bougie to Philippeville (Tues. afternoon; in 12 hrs.; 18 or 12 fr.); Marseilles
steamer of Navigation Mixte from Philippeville to Bona (Sat. forenoon;
in 5 hrs.; 10 or 8 fr.); from Bona to Bizerta, by cargo-boat as above,
or by railway; from Bizerta to Tunis by Marseilles steamer of the Comp.
Gén. Transatlantique (p. 128; Sat. night; in 5 hrs.; 15 or 12 fr.).—The
small coasting steamers of Prosper Durand of Marseilles and of the
Lignes Cotières Algériennes, which call at most of the ports as far as
Bona, can only be recommended for short voyages by daylight.
The coast scenery between Algiers and Tunis is exceedingly picturesque
and varied, but the voyage is often very trying for bad sailors.
Storms are most frequent between Djidjelli and Collo, and between La
Calle and Bizerta, and fogs are not uncommon, even in summer.
Algiers, see p. 217. As the steamer leaves the harbour a beautiful
*View is obtained astern of the town and of the coast as far as
the Pointe Pescade (comp. p. 127). Beyond Cape Matifou the
coast, overlooked by the serrated Jebel Bou-Zegza (p. 249), recedes
for a time from view.
Near Jebel Djinet (p. 253), beyond the sand-hills at the mouth
of the Isser (p. 253), begins the bold rock-bound coast of Great
Kabylia, 87 M. in length, with its headlands and cliffs worn by
the surf, its secluded little seaports, and its hill-sides carefully cultivated
by the natives.
We pass the mouth of the Sebaou (p. 253), the largest stream
in Kabylia, and Cape Bengut (p. 254), which affords scanty protection
against the W. winds to the port of Dellys (p. 254); then
Tigzirt (p. 255), Cape Tedless, and Port Gueydon or Azeffoun
(lighthouse), with its roadstead open towards the W. Next comes
the wildest and loneliest part of the coast, between Cape Corbelin
and Cape Carbon; we pass Cape Sigli, the Pointe Timri n’Tguerfa,
where Jebel Arbalou (p. 262) comes in sight, and Cape Boulima.
Beyond the little Ile Pisan or Djeribia, overlooked by the steep
slopes of Jebel Gouraya (p. 265), the steamer rounds Cape Carbon
(p. 264), passes Cape Noir and Cape Bouak, and enters the harbour
of Bougie (p. 262).
The *Gulf of Bougie, in winter the finest part of this coast,
presents many superb scenes (comp. 128), notably as we look back
at the town of Bougie climbing the slope of Jebel Gouraya.
Near Cape Cavallo, in the E. part of Little Kabylia, the summits
131of Jebel Hadid (4780 ft.) and Msid Echta (5072 ft.) are
specially prominent. We next pass the curiously shaped hill in the
Ile du Grand-Cavallo, the Petit-Cavallo, and the headland Râs
Afia (lighthouse), and reach the little seaport of—
Djidjelli (p. 267), pleasantly situated at the foot of green hills,
where the steamers anchor in the open roads (landing or embarkation
½ fr.). If time permit, the Vigie should be visited.
The vessel now steers to the N.E. at some distance from the
coast; we pass the mouths of the Oued Nil and the Oued el-Kébir,
the ancient boundary between Mauretania and Numidia, and then
the Râs Atia (lighthouse): Fine view of the Bougaroun Mts., commonly
called Sahel de Collo, famed for their forest of cork-trees.
Near Cape Bougaroun or Bougaroni (lighthouse), the northmost
point of Algeria, opens the broad Gulf of Stora (p. 128),
bounded on the E. by the Cap de Fer (see below). On the W. bank
of the gulf, in the little Bay of Collo, and between the peninsula
of Djerda (lighthouse) and the Râs Frao, lies the small seaport
of—
Collo (Grand-Hôtel, poor), important only for the export of
cork, the ancient Chullu or Colonia Minervia Chullu, one of the
four Coloniæ Cirtenses (p. 298), in a fertile hill-region. From
the harbour (landing or embarkation 30 c.) we walk round the
*Peninsula, planted with vines and cacti, and overgrown on the
N. side with underwood, and affording splendid views of the gulf.
Steering to the E. we now skirt the coast, where the Cape El-Kalaa
or Râs Bibi (535 ft.), rising abruptly on both sides, specially
strikes the eye, and pass the Pointe Esrah and the bay of that
name. By the islet of Sgrigina (lighthouse), which lies in front of
the Pointe Akmês or Sgrigina, opens the Inner Bay of Stora,
bounded by Jebel Filfila, a mountain rich in marble, while in the
background lies the harbour of Philippeville (p. 304).
On the N.E. margin of the gulf, beyond the plain of the Oued
el-Kébir, with its border of sand-hills, rise the spurs of Mont
Edough (p. 128). The steamer next rounds the almost insular Cap
de Fer (1148 ft.; lighthouse), where we again view the whole expanse
of the gulf, and passes Cape Toukouch, which shelters the
bay of Herbillon (lighthouse) from the W. and N.W. winds. We
now steer to the E.S.E., past the bare Jebel Gouari (1880 ft.),
Cape Axin, and the dark rock of the Voile Noire (213 ft.), towards
the Cap de Garde (p. 128), which projects in front of the gulf of
Bona.
Three hours’ steaming from Bona, past the low Cape Rosa,
whose light is seen 30 M. away, brings us to the open roads of
La Calle (hotel), where landing is impossible in rough weather.
Beyond the rock of Kef Mechtob (591 ft.), and a little short of
Cape Roux, which is crowned with a ruined tower, and like Cape
132Rosa was once famed for its coral-reefs, runs the frontier of Tunisia.
The wooded hills rising abruptly from the sea belong to the
region of the Kroumirie (p. 326), so often mentioned in the recent
history of the country.
Tabarca (p. 327), the next port, lies picturesquely in a bay
behind the island of Tabarca with its ruined Genoese castle.
Again steering to the N.E. we pass a range of high sand-hills
and the mouth of the Oued Zouara, where we have a glimpse of
the Nefza Mts. (p. 328).
Off Cape Negro appears in clear weather the coral-girt Ile de
la Galite (1290 ft.), the Calatha of antiquity, about 24 M. to the
N.W. of Cape Serrat (lighthouse), where the ramifications of the
Mogod Mts. approach the coast.
Beyond the cliffs of the two Fratelli and the Râs al-Dukara
we round the Bizerta Hills, the northmost part of the African
coast, with the four headlands Râs el-Koran, Râs Engelah, Cape
Blanc, and Cape de Bizerte (p. 129). As we near the bay of
Bizerta (p. 352), fringed with low olive-clad hills, we descry, far
to the S.W., the Jebel Ichkeul (p. 352).
Steaming farther to the E., we observe the Cani (p. 129) on the
left, and pass Râs Zebib, where the green island of Pilau (377 ft.)
becomes visible in the foreground. To the right, on the N. slope
of Jebel Nadour (p. 354), covered far up with sea-sand, lies the
highly picturesque Arab village of Metlineh.
For the voyage from Cape Farina to Tunis, see p. 129.
512 (viâ Genoa 615) M. Steamboat Lines.1.Orient Royal Mail fortnightly,
on the way from London to Port Said.—2.North German Lloyd,
for Naples and Alexandria, Wed. afternoon, in 33 hrs. (100 or 70 marks);
for Genoa, Naples, Catania, Piræus, Smyrna, Constantinople (Odessa,
Batum) every other Frid. afternoon, in 3 days (80 or 56 marks).—3.German
East African, to Naples (and Port Said) every third Sat. in 2 days, returning
from Naples every third Wed. (80 or 60 marks).—4.Messageries Maritimes,
to Naples (Piræus, Smyrna, Constantinople, Beirut, RR. 77, 80, 75) every
second Thurs. (100 or 70 fr.).—5.Chargeurs Réunis (Tour du Monde),
twice quarterly vîa Genoa to Naples (Colombo, E. Asia, San Francisco, etc.).—6.Hungarian Adria Co., cargo-boats, Sun. forenoon, vîa Genoa to Naples
in 4 days (Palermo, Malta); also Wed. afternoon to Nice, Genoa, and
Naples in 4½ days (Palermo, Messina); fare, without food, 42 fr.—The
steamers of the P. & O. and Rotterdam Lloyd companies go from Marseilles
to Port Said direct.
Marseilles, and departure from its harbour, see p. 119.
The steamers run to the E.S.E., between Cap Croisette and the
Ile du Planier (p. 119), past the Ile Maire, Ile Jarros, and Ile
Rio to the Straits of Bonifacio. Fine view of the richly varied coast
of Provence, as far as the peninsula of Cape Sicié, with the bays
of Cassis and La Ciotat, the latter of which is overlooked by the
133rock called the Bec de l’Aigle. In the background, beyond the bare
limestone rocks on the coast, appears the Chaîne de la Ste. Baume
(3786 ft.), famed for its ancient forest, the property of the state.
Beyond Cape Sicié and the Bay of Toulon, we pass the steep rocky
S. coast of Porquerolles (lighthouse), the largest and westmost of
the Iles d’Hyères, the ancient Stoechades Insulae.
After a sail of several hours more Corsica (p. 143), with its
high mountains, is sighted towards the E. In the distance lies the
Bay of Ajaccio, where at night the lights on the Iles Sanguinaires
may be descried. We next pass the Gulf of Valinco, and at Cape
Aquila or Senetosa (lighthouse) we approach the S.W. coast of
Corsica, fringed with numerous bays and creeks. Off the rocks
called Les Moines (Monaci) we sight, to the left, the Montagne
de Cagna (4518 ft.), which is usually covered with snow in winter.
The passage of the *Straits of Bonifacio, between Corsica and
Sardinia, is very beautiful when the light is favourable. At the
narrowest part, between Cape Pertusato and Punta del Falcone,
they are 7 M. wide. Between the lighthouses of Capo di Feno
and Capo Pertusato, amid fissured limestone rocks honeycombed
with caverns, rises a headland crowned with the grey old Genoese
citadel and the white houses of Bonifacio. Opposite to it, on the
N. coast of Sardinia, is the peninsula of Capo Testa, and near the
Punta del Falcone lies the narrow Bay of Longo Sardo, with the
little port of Santa Teresa di Gallura. Beyond the town rise the
hills of the Gallura in terraces, stretching far away to the Monti
di Limbara (4469 ft.). On the S.E. the horizon is bounded by a
girdle of granitic islands and rocks, the Insulae Cuniculariae
(‘rabbit-islands’) of Pliny, which imperil navigation, especially as
they are washed with a strong current from the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The steamers pass through the Bocca Grande, between the
lighthouses on the French island of Lavezzi and the Italian Isola
dei Razzoli. To the right, beyond the islets of Santa Maria and
Isola dei Budelli, appears the island of Maddalena, on which
rise a signalling station and the fort of Guardia Vecchia (545 ft.).
This island, the largest of the group, is connected with its neighbours
Santo Stefano and Caprera (696 ft.; once the residence of
Garibaldi; d. 1882) by roads built on embankments, and has been
converted into one of the strongest fortresses on the Mediterranean
in emulation of Porto Vecchio in Corsica and of Bizerta. Beyond
Caprera, and adjoining the deeply indented Bay of Arsachena,
appears the reddish Capo di Ferro, the N.W. point of Sardinia.
We now steer across the Tyrrhenian Sea to the E.S.E. towards
the Ponza Islands (p. xxxi). We first pass the volcanic N.W. group,
Palmarola (the ancient Palmaria), Ponza (929 ft.; Pontiae, once
a Roman colony), with the lighthouse of Punta della Guardia, and
Zannone (Sinonia). Beyond La Botte, a rock dreaded by sailors,
134begins the S.E. group, first Ventotene, the well-known Pandateria
of the Romans, to which Julia, Agrippina, and Octavia were banished,
and then the islet of Santo Stefano (lighthouse).
In the distance appear the Monte Epomeo and the lighthouse
on the Punta Imperatore in the island of Ischia (p. 118). Approach
to the Bay of Naples, see p. 135.
From Naples to Alexandria and Port Said, see R. 67; to Athens
(Smyrna, and Constantinople), see R. 77.
387 M. Steamboat Lines (agents at Genoa, see p. 114; at Naples,
p. 137). 1.Cunard (New York and Trieste Line), once monthly to Naples.—2.White Star (for New York or Boston), once monthly to Naples (3l.
5s.).—3.North German Lloyd (for New York), two or three times a month,
in 21 hrs.; also (for Port Said) every second Thurs. to Naples, in about
24 hrs.; also Mediterranean-Levant Service (for Catania, Piræus, Smyrna,
Constantinople; RR. 23, 27, 77, 80), every second Sat., in about 26 hrs. (70.40
or 48.20 marks).—4.Hamburg-American (for New York), once or twice
monthly to Naples (80 fr.).—5.Società Nazionale: Line XX every Wed.
night to Naples (and Messina, etc.; circular trip, comp. p. 142) in 33 hrs.
(52 or 34 fr.); Lines V, X, & XI every Mon. and Tues. to Leghorn and
Naples in 42–48 hrs. (63 or 42 fr.); Line I monthly to Naples (for Port Said
and Bombay).—6.La Veloce, to Naples (for Teneriffe and S. America),
comp. p. 114.—7.Lloyd Sabaudo, 1–3 times monthly to Naples (Palermo
and New York).—8.Italian Lloyd, 1–3 times monthly to Naples and
New York.—9.Hungarian Adria Co. (comp. R. 23), Tues. and Sat., to
Naples in 36 hrs.; fare, without food, 24 fr.
Genoa, see p. 113. In departing we survey in clear weather
the whole of the *Gulf of Genoa. On the left lies the Riviera di
Levante, as far as the Monte di Portofino (2000 ft.; p. 117); on
the right are the Ligurian Alps, snow-capped in winter, and the
Riviera di Ponente as far as Cape Mele (p. 113).
The vessel steers for the island of Gorgona (see below), passing
Monte di Portofino at a distance of 6 or 7 M., and then gradually
leaves the coast; the last place visible is Chiavari on the beautiful
Bay of Rapallo. Beyond the headland of Punta del Mesco, where
the slopes of the Cinque Terre, a famous wine-country, descend
abruptly to the sea, appear the rocky islet of Tino (302 ft.; lighthouse)
and the fortified island of Palmária (614 ft.), at the S. point
of the Gulf of Spezia. The distant pinnacles of the Apuan Alps
are seen in clear weather. Of Leghorn (p. 143), where some of the
Italian steamers call, the lights only are visible at night.
The islands of Gorgona and Capraia (p. 143) lie on the right;
behind the latter sometimes peep the mountains of Corsica (p. 143).
From the Ligurian we now pass into the Tyrrhenian Sea, either
through the Strait of Piombino, between the port of Piombino and
the rocky islet of Palmaiola, or through the Palmaiola Strait,
between that islet (lighthouse) and Elba (p. 143). By Follónica,
near Piombino, some furnaces, where iron from Elba is smelted,
gleam through the night. Beyond the Bay of Portoferraio and
Capo della Vita, the N.E. point of Elba, are seen near Rio Marina
the reddish-black hills where the iron-ore comes to the surface.
Farther to the S. is seen the depression of the bay of Porto Longone.
135The Promontory of Castiglione, in the midst of the marshy
Maremma Toscana, and the small group of the islands of Formíche
di Grosseto remain some way to the left. The steamer then
passes through a strait between the steep headland of Monte Argentario
(2083 ft.) and the island of Giglio (1634 ft.), each with its
lighthouse. On the right lies the islet of Giannutri (305 ft.).
Steering towards the seaport of Civitavecchia and Cape Linaro,
we see the distant Maremma di Roma, backed by the volcanic
Tolfa Mts. (2011 ft.). Above the Roman Campagna rise the
Sabine and Alban Mts., followed by the Volscian Mts. (Monti
Lepini) and the Monte Circeo (1775 ft.) in the Pontine Marshes.
Farther on, we obtain a glimpse of Terracina, the distant hills
on the Gulf of Gaëta, and, to the S.W., the Ponza Islands (p. 133).
In the foreground we next sight Vesuvius and the island of
Ischia with Monte Epomeo (2589 ft.), by which Capri is at first
concealed. The steamers usually pass between Ischia and Procida,
but sometimes through the Strait of Procida, between that island
and Cape Miseno. The *Bay of Naples, which we now survey in
its full expanse, from the Bay of Pozzuoli and the hill of Posilipo
to the Peninsula of Sorrento (p. 154), is strikingly picturesque.
Naples.—Arrival by Sea. The Mediterranean and New York
steamers of the North German Lloyd and those of the Società Nazionale are
berthed at the Immacolatella Nuova (Pl. G, H, 5). Passengers by other
steamers are landed at that quay by boat, those from the Lloyd and Orient
Royal Lines free of charge by steam-tender or boat respectively, from
others by rowing-boat (1 fr., with luggage, but bargain advisable). Travellers
should be on their guard against boatmen wearing the jerseys of well-known
steamboat-lines though not employed by these companies. Porter
(facchino) for small valise 40, trunk 80 c.
The Railway Station (Stazione Centrale, Pl. H, 3) lies at the E.
end of the city, 12 min. from the Immacolatella Nuova (see above), and
½¾ M. from most of the hotels. Here arrive all the express trains from
the north, such as those from Verona (18½–20¼ hrs.), from Milan (17 hrs.),
from Turin (17½–22½ hrs.), and from Venice (20 hrs.). As the delivery
of luggage is a slow process, the traveller who is willing to pay somewhat
more may drive straight to his hotel without it, and have it sent
later. Porter (facchino) for each small package 15, for each trunk 25 c.
Hotels (often full in spring). Of the very first class: *Bertolini’s
Palace Hotel (Pl. p; C, 6), in the Parco Grifeo (with lift from the Corso
Vittorio Emanuele; 245 ft.), R. from 6 (Jan.–May 10) fr., B. 2, déj. 5,
D. 8 fr.; *Excelsior (Pl. o; F, 7), Via Partenope 24, R. from 6, B. 2, déj. 5,
D. 7 fr., new; *Grand-Hôtel (Pl. d; B, 7), Piazza Principe di Napoli, near
the sea, at the W. end of the Villa Nazionale (p. 141), R. from 6, B. 1¾,
déj. 4½, D. 7 fr.—In the higher quarters, with beautiful views: Corso
Vittorio Emanuele 168, *Bristol (Pl. a; D, 6), R. from 4, B. 1½, déj. 4,
D. 6 fr.; No. 135, *Parker’s (Pl. b; C, 6), R. 5–10, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 5½ fr.;
adjacent, No. 133, *Macpherson’s Hôt. Britannique (Pl. q; C, 6), R. 4–6
(Jan.-April, 5–8) fr., B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 5 fr.; *Grand Eden (Pl. u; C, 6),
Parco Margherita 1, R. from 5, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5½ fr.; Bellevue (Pl. t;
C, 6), Corso Vittorio Emanuele 142, R. 3½–4½, B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 4 fr.
136In the lower quarters.—Via Partenope, facing the sea: No. 23, *Gr.-Hôt.
Santa Lucia (Pl. m; F, 7), R. from 5, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 6 fr.; No. 22,
*Gr.-Hôt. du Vésuve (Pl. g; E, 7), R. from 6, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 6 fr.; *Gr.-Hôt.
Victoria (Pl. v; E, 7), R. from 5, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 6 fr.; No. 14,
*Royal des Etrangers (Pl. i; E, 7), R. from 6, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 6 fr.
Piazza del Municipio (convenient for passing travellers): *Gr.-Hôt. de
Londres (Pl. l; F, 6), R. from 5, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 5 fr. Overlooking
the sea, Via Partenope and Strada Chiatamone 55, Hassler (Pl. k; E, 7),
R. 5–10, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 5 fr., good; Via Caracciolo 15, Savoy (Pl. r;
B, 7), R. from 4, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5 fr. Riviera di Chiaia (Pl. D, C,
B, 7), with view of the Villa Nazionale and the sea: No. 276, *Gr.
Bretagne & Angleterre (Pl. e; D, 7), R. from 4, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D.
5 fr.—By the sea, Via Partenope 20, *Continental (Pl. c; E, 7), R. 3½–7,
B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 4½ fr. Strada Medina 76 (convenient for passing travellers),
Isotta & Genève (Pl. s; F, 5), R. 4½–6, B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 4½ fr.
By the sea, entrance Strada Chiatamone 59, Métropole & Ville (Pl. h;
E, 7), R. from 4, B. 1¼, déj. 3½, D. 3–4½ fr., good. Riviera di Chiaia 127,
with view of the Villa Nazionale and the sea, Riviera (Pl. f; C, 7), R.
3–4, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 5 fr., good. Strada Santa Lucia 37, Eldorado
Modérn (Pl. x; E, 7), R. from 3, B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 4 fr.
Unpretending: La Patria (Pl. w; F, 5) Via Guglielmo Sanfelice 47,
R. 3½–5 fr., good; Hôt. de Naples, Corso Umberto Primo 55, R. 4–5 fr.;
Hôt. Milan & Schweizerhof, Piazza del Municipio 84, R. 3–4 fr., Russie
(Pl. n; F, 7), Strada Santa Lucia 82, R. 2½–3½ fr., both plain.
Restaurants (Ristoranti, Trattorie; Italian style, à la carte). Giardini
Internazionali, Via Roma, entrance Vico Tre Re 60, good cuisine;
Giardini di Torino, Via Roma 292; Ristorante Milanese, Galleria Umberto
Primo, N. Italian cookery; Scotto Jonno, Galleria Principe di Napoli
(Pl. F, 3), déj. 2 fr., Nic. Esposito, Salita del Museo 62 (these two suitable
for visitors to the Museum); Renzo e Lucia, Mira Napoli, both at the
terminus of tramway-line Nr. 7 (for visitors to San Martino); Ristorante
Bella Vista (p. 142), on the hill of Posilipo.—Beer. *Pilsener Urquell,
Strada Santa Brigida 36; Bavaria, Galleria Umberto Primo, opposite the
Teatro San Carlo, good.
Cafés.Gambrinus, Piazza San Ferdinando, also restaurant, Calzona,
Galleria Umberto Primo, at both evening concerts; Nazionale, Villa
Nazionale (p. 141), near the Aquarium.—Tea Rooms. Galleria Vittoria
(Pl. E, 7). open 3–8 p.m. only, fashionable; Via Domenico Morelli 8 (Pl.
E, 7); Strada di Chiaia 143 (Caflish, confectioner).—Bars, numerous in
Via Roma.
Taximeter Cabs. All the fares given below are for drives within
the city; charges for drives outside the city at any time of day are the
same as the night-fares given below.
a. By Day: Open one-horse carriage (for 2 pers., or 3 at most), for
the first 1500 metres (ca. 1 M.) or 12 min. waiting 40 c., for each additional
500 m. or 4 min. waiting 10 c. (two-horse carr., for 4–6 pers., 60 and 20 c.).
Closed one-horse carriage (‘coupé’), for the first 1200 m. (ca. ¾ M.) or
12 min. waiting 50 c., each addit. 400 m. or 4 min. waiting 10 c. Motor
Cab, for the first 1000 m. or 12½ min. waiting 80 c., each addit. 200 m.
or 2½ min. waiting 10 c.; each addit. pers. above three 40 c.—b. By
Night (midnight to dawn): Open one-horse carriage for the first 1200 m.
or 12 min. waiting 40 c., each addit. 400 m. or 4 min. waiting 10 c. (two-horse
carr. 60 and 20 c.). Closed one-horse carriage for the first 1000 m.
or 12 min. waiting 50 c., each addit. 333⅓ m. (ca. 365 yds.) or 4 min.
waiting 10 c. Motor Cab, for the first 1000 m. or 12½ min. waiting 80 c.,
each addit. 100 m. (ca. 110 yds.) or 2 min. waiting 10 c.; each pers. above
three 80 c.
Luggage up to 25 kilos (55 lbs.) 10 c., up to 50 kilos 20 c.; small
articles free.—In order to avoid misunderstandings the driver should
be asked to repeat the given direction before starting. The numerous
tramways and omnibuses will generally enable the traveller to dispense
with cabs.
137Tramways (numbered; fare 15–40 c., 5 c. less in 2nd class; cars stop
regularly at stations called sezione, and when required at those bearing
the name fermata).
Chief lines: 1.Piazza Sette Settembre (in front of Spirito Santo; Pl.
E, 4; Via Roma, p. 139) to the Posta (Pl. F, 5), Piazza del Municipio, Piazza
San Ferdinando, Largo della Vittoria (Pl. D, 7), Torretta (Pl. B, 7), and
Strada Nuova di Posilipo (p. 142).—4.National Museum (Pl. E, F, 3;
p. 139) to the Piazza Cavour, Central Station (Pl. H, 3; p. 135), Castel
del Carmine (Pl. H, 4), Strada Nuova (Pl. G, H, 5), Strada del Piliero, and
Piazza del Municipio; thence as No. 1 to the Torretta.—6.Piazza Dante
(Pl. E, F, 4; p. 139) to National Museum, Via Salvator Rosa (Pl. E, 3),
Corso Vittorio Emanuele (p. 141), and Torretta (Pl. B, 7).—7.Piazza Dante
to National Museum, Via Salvator Rosa, Antignano (Pl. B, C, 4; p. 142), and
Castel Sant’ Elmo (Pl. D, 5; by San Martino, p. 141).—11.Piazza San
Ferdinando (Pl. E, 6), to Strada del Piliero, Strada Nuova (Pl. F, G, 5, 6;
harbour), Via del Duomo (Pl. G, F, 4, 3), and Strada delle Vérgini (Pl. F, 3).
Funiculars (every 10–20 min.; up 20 or 15, down 15 or 10 c.).
1.Funicolare di Chiaia, Parco Margherita (Pl. C, 6), to Corso Vittorio
Emanuele and Via Cimarosa (Pl. C, 5).—2.Funicolare di Monte Santo
to Strada Monte Santo (Pl. E, 4; 4 min. from Piazza Dante), Corso Vittorio
Emanuele, and Castel Sant’Elmo (Pl. D, 5).
Omnibuses (10 c.), among others, from Piazza San Ferdinando (Pl.
E, 6) and from Largo della Vittoria (Pl. D, 7) to the National Museum.
Steamboat Agents.Cunard, Nic. Ferolla, Via Guglielmo Sanfelice
59; Union Castle, Anchor Line, Orient, and Hungarian Adria, Holme & Co.
(see below); White Star and Hamburg-American, Piazza della Borsa 21;
North German Lloyd, Aselmeyer & Co., Corso Umberto Primo 6 (goods-office,
Piazza della Borsa 33); German East African, Kellner & Lampe,
Piazza della Borsa 8; Austro-Americana, Fornari & Massara, Via Francesco
Denza 2; Messageries Maritimes, Fratelli Gondrand, Corso Umberto Primo
128; Società Nazionale, Via Agostino Depretis 18; Peninsular & Oriental,
Thomson Line, Ferrovie dello Stato (steamer service), Spanier, Piazza
della Borsa 9; Navigazione Generale, Via Agostino Depretis; La Veloce,
same street, No. 26.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. F, 5), Palazzo Gravina, Strada
Monteoliveto.
Consuls. British Consul-General, S. J. A. Churchill, Via dei Mille 40
(Pl. D, 6); vice-consul, A. Napier.—U. S. Consul, A. H. Byington, Piazza
del Municipio 4 (Pl. F, 6).
Tourist Agents.Thos. Cook & Son, Galleria Vittoria (Pl. E, 7).—Goods
Agents.American Express, Via Vittoria 27; Elefante & Co.,
Piazza del Municipio 66; Fratelli Gondrand, Corso Umberto Primo 128.—Lloyd’s
Agents.Holme & Co., Via Guglielmo Sanfelice 24.
Churches.English (Christ Church; ‘Chiesa Inglese’; Pl. D, 7), Strada
San Pasquale; Presbyterian (‘Chiesa Scozzese’), Vico Cappella Vecchia 2;
American, Viale Principessa Elena 15.
Sights. (The churches are usually open in the morning and towards
evening. The Museums are closed on great festivals.) Museo Nazionale
(p. 139), week-days 10–4, May-Oct. 9–3, adm. 1 fr.; Sun. 9–1 free.—San Martino
(p. 141), week-days 10–4, 1 fr.; Sun. 9–1, free.—Aquarium (p. 141),
daily, 2 fr.; Sun. and holidays 1 fr.
Naples, Ital. Napoli, once the capital of the kingdom of
Naples, and now that of a province, is the most important seaport
and after Milan the most populous city of Italy (492,000 inhab.).
It lies in 40°51′ N. lat. and 14°15′ E. long., on the N. side of the
bay named after it, at the foot and on the slopes of several hills.
Its site and environs are among the most beautiful in the world.
The vicissitudes of its history are as remarkable as those of its
volcanic soil. Here in hoar antiquity Greeks from Kyme (Cumæ)
138founded Parthenope, afterwards called Palaeopolis or ‘old town’,
and Neapolis, or ‘new town’. Here, too, Ostrogoths, Byzantines,
Normans, and Hohenstaufen held sway. Charles of Anjou (1266–85)
made Naples his capital, which was much extended by Ferdinand I.
of Aragon (1458–94), by the Spanish viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo
(1532–53), and by the Bourbon Charles III. (1748–59). At length
in 1860 the kingdom and city were united to the kingdom of Italy.
In historic and artistic monuments Naples is far poorer than the
towns of Northern and Central Italy; but the matchless treasures
from Pompeii and Herculaneum preserved in the Museum, which
present a new and fascinating picture of ancient life, afford ample
compensation.
A line drawn from the Castel Sant’Elmo (Pl. D, 5; p. 141) to
the Pizzofalcone (Pl. E, 7), a height which terminates in the narrow
rock of the Castello dell’Ovo, divides the city into two parts.
To the E. lie the oldest and busiest quarters, of which the long Via
Roma (p. 139) is the main street. The smaller part of the town, the
strangers’ quarter, extends along the shore to the W. from the Pizzofalcone
and up the slopes of Sant’Elmo and Posilipo (p. 142).
The Harbour Quarter, and particularly the lanes between the
Strada Nuova (Pl. G, H, 5) and the broad Corso Umberto Primo (Pl.
F-H, 5, 4), which leads to the station, still present diverse scenes
of popular life. Through this quarter the Strada del Duomo (p. 140)
leads to the Strada Foria and the Museum (p. 139).
Passing the Immacolatella Vecchia (Pl. G, 5), we follow the
Strada del Piliero (Pl. G, F, 5, 6; tramways Nos. 4 and 11; see
p. 137) to the Molo Angioino (Pl. F, G, 6), the old quay which
separates the Porto Mercantile from the Porto Militare.
Adjacent, on the W., lies the Piazza del Municipio (Pl. F, 6),
with the Municipio or town-hall at its W. end. On the S.E. side
of this piazza is the approach to the—
Castel Nuovo (Pl. F, 6), built for Charles I. of Anjou in
1279–83, and afterwards much enlarged. It was the residence successively
of the kings of the houses of Anjou and Aragon and the
Spanish viceroys, but is now used as barracks. The inner gateway
of the castle (adm. free) consists of a *Triumphal Arch, flanked
with two towers, in the early Renaissance style, erected in 1451–70
in memory of the entry of Alphonso I. of Aragon (1442).
From the Piazza del Municipio the Strada San Carlo leads to
the S.W. to the Galleria Umberto Primo (Pl. E, F, 6), built in
1887–90, and vying with the grand arcade at Milan, and to the—
Piazza San Ferdinando (Pl. E, 6), the business centre of the
city. (Tramcars and omnibuses, see p. 137.) On the E. side rises the
Teatro San Carlo (Pl. F, 6), dating from 1737, one of the largest
in Europe. Adjacent, in the large Piazza del Plebiscito, rises the
Palazzo Reale (Pl. F, 6), begun in 1600.
139At the Piazza San Ferdinando begins the Via Roma, the chief
artery of traffic, named the Toledo down to 1870, after its founder
Don Pedro de Toledo (1540). With its continuation the Salita del
Museo Nazionale it ascends for over a mile, between the lanes on
the slope of the Sant’Elmo hill, on the left, and the chief business
part of the city, on the right, to the National Museum. This long
line of streets, poor architecturally, is broken only by the small
Largo della Carità (Pl. E, 5) and the Piazza Dante (Pl. E, F, 4).
About halfway between these the Via Domenico Capitelli diverges
to the right to the church of—
Santa Chiara (Pl. F, 4), the Pantheon of Naples, built in
1310–40, but tastelessly restored in 1742–57. The interior, planned
in the French Gothic style, resembles a great public hall. Behind
the high-altar is the Gothic *Monument of Robert the Wise (d. 1343),
the founder of the church. The transepts contain the monuments
of other Angevin kings.
The **Museo Nazionale (Pl. E, F, 3), built in 1586 as
cavalry barracks, was the seat of the University from 1616 to 1780,
but since 1790 has been occupied by the royal art-collections,
which are among the finest in the world. Adm., see p. 137.
On the Ground Floor, in the E. wing on the right of the vestibule,
are the *Greek Sculptures in marble. Entering by the first door, we begin
our visit with the colonnade of the archaic sculptures (Marmi Arcáici).
In the centre: 6009, 6010. Harmodios and Aristogeiton (p. 506).—Turning
to the right, we enter the rooms on the S. side of the building, which
contain sculptures of the First Golden Age of Greek art (5th cent.). In the
central room, 6322. Bust of Athena, probably after Cephisodotus (father
of Praxiteles); by the window, two statues of Aphrodite (after Alcamenes?);
I. Room on the right, 6005. So-called Hera Farnese; II. Room
on the left, *6727. The famous Orpheus relief; *6024. Statue of Athena
(after Phidias?). Also, in II. R. on the right, fine Mosaics.
From the colonnade of the archaic sculptures we pass through R. II
into the Flora colonnade, the rooms on the right of which contain the
sculptures of the Second Golden Age of Greek art (4th cent.) and of the
later Greek or Hellenistic period. In the central room, 6306. Bearded
Dionysus, after Praxiteles. I. Side-Room on the right, *6035. Torso of
Aphrodite; without a number, Torso of a man sitting, a replica of the
so-called Ares Ludovisi, after Lysippus. II. Side-Room, Farnese Hercules,
after Lysippus, but coarsened. III. Side-Room on the left, Farnese Bull,
a colossal group, after Apollonius and Tauriscus of Rhodes.
The third colonnade contains coloured sculptures. In the side-rooms
are fragments of sculptures and buildings. Crossing the vestibule to the
W. wing, we enter the—
Colonnade of the Greek portrait-statues (Portico Iconográfico). On the
right, *6018. Æschines, the Athenian orator; 6023. Homer; 6135. Euripides.—Straight
on, we next come to the Portico degli Imperatori, containing
Greek and Roman portraits. In the centre, *Hermes of a Greek philosopher.
In the side-rooms, Roman sculptures and architectural fragments.
The central of these rooms contains the celebrated *Mosaic of the Battle
of Alexander.
The remaining rooms contain the *Collection of the larger antique
bronzes. The chief rooms (I, II Bronzes from Pompeii, III-V from Herculaneum)
are on the S. front of the Museum. Room I. 5003. Young
Dionysos (so-called Narcissus). Room II. 5630. Archaic statue of Apollo
playing on the lyre; 4997. Victory. Room III. 5625. Hermes reposing,
140School of Lysippus; 5633. Boy’s head (end of 5th cent.); *4885. Bust of
the Doryphorus (spear-bearer), after Polycletus; *5618. Head of bearded
Dionysus, after a work of the School of Myron (5th cent.). Room V.
5616. Hellenistic poet (the so-called Seneca).
In the Mezzanino (entresol), on the right, is the *Collection of ancient
wall-paintings (Affreschi Pompeiani) from Pompeii, Herculaneum, etc.—Room
I. 9105. Briseis carried off from the tent of Achilles; 9559. Nuptials
of Zeus and Hera. Room II. 8976. Medea about to slay her children;
9286. Dionysus and the sleeping Ariadne. Passage to R. V, 9180. ‘Cupids
for sale’. Room V. 8834. Girl gathering flowers; 9295. Bacchantes and
Satyrs; 9133. Centaurs; 9118–21. Rope-dancing satyrs.
The First Floor (Primo Piano) contains, in the E. wing, to the left
of the staircase, the two Sale dei Commestibili, devoted to provisions,
textiles, pigments, etc. from Pompeii; also seven rooms on the N. side of
the building, occupied by the *Collection of the smaller bronzes (Piccoli
Bronzi), and by interesting domestic furniture from Pompeii, affording an
admirable idea of the ancient style of living.
The whole of the W. wing is occupied by the Pinacotéca or picture-gallery,
chiefly of Italian works. Room I. Correggio, Betrothal of St.
Catharine. Room II. *Titian, Danae (1545), Pope Paul III. Farnese (1543
and 1545), and Philip II. of Spain. Room III. Sebast. del Piombo, Holy
Family, Popes Hadrian VI. and Clement VII. Room IV. Raphael, Holy
Family (Madonna del divino Amore). Room V. Sandro Botticelli, Madonna.
The other rooms contain Renaissance objects (Oggetti del Cinquecento),
the Engravings, and the National Library.
The Second Floor (Secondo Piano) is dedicated to antique glass,
gold and silver plate, cut gems, etc., a most interesting and extensive
collection, one of the finest of its kind.
The N.E. Quarter, between the Museum and the Central Station
(tramways Nos. 4 and 11; p. 137), also boasts of its sights.
We follow the long Piazza Cavour (Pl. F, 3) to the N.E. from
the Museum, and at the beginning of the Via Foria descend the
Strada del Duomo to the right to the (4 min.)—
Cathedral (Pl. G, 3; San Gennaro; best seen about noon), a
Gothic edifice, built in 1272–1323, but repeatedly modernized.
The third chapel in the right aisle is the famous Cappella di San
Gennaro or Cappella del Tesoro, added to the church in 1608–37;
the altar contains two phials of the blood of St. Januarius, which is
miraculously liquefied thrice yearly. The crypt, below the high-altar,
shows the finest example of Renaissance decoration in Naples
(1497–1507). From the left aisle is entered the basilica of Santa
Restituta, the old cathedral, founded in the 7th century.
The church of San Giovanni a Carbonara (Pl. G, 3), in the
street of that name, a little way to the N.E. of the cathedral, contains,
at the back of the high-altar (1746), the late-Gothic *Monument
of king Ladislaus (d. 1414), by Andreas de Florentia.
At the end of the street, opposite the Castel Capuano (Pl. G, 3;
now law-courts), built by Emp. Frederick II. in 1231, rises the—
*Porta Capuana (Pl. G, H, 3), one of the finest of Renaissance
gateways, built by the Florentine Giuliano da Maiano (1485),
with sculptures by Giovanni da Nola (1535).
141The chief approach from the Piazza San Ferdinando (p. 138) to
the W. quarters is by the animated Strada di Chiaia (Pl. E, 6).
From its W. end we proceed along the Strada Santa Caterina, bearing
to the left, cross the Piazza dei Martiri, and follow the Via
Calabritto, with its numerous shops, to the—
Largo della Vittoria (Pl. D, 7; tramways, Nos. 1 and 4, and
omnibus, see p. 137). This piazza may be reached also from the
Rione Santa Lucia on the E. side by the Via Parténope (Pl. F, E, 7),
which leads along the coast, past the Costello dell’Ovo (p. 138), and
affords fine views. On the W. side of the Largo lies the—
*Villa Nazionale (Pl. C, D, 7), usually called La Villa, a
beautiful public garden planted with palms, bounded on the seaside
by the Via Caracciolo, the fashionable promenade of Naples, and
on the side next the town by the Riviera di Chiaia. A band plays
here on Sun., Tues., and Thurs., 2–4 o’clock (June-Oct. 9–11 p.m.).
In the middle of these grounds is the—
Zoological Station, founded in 1872 by the German naturalist
A. Dohrn (d. 1909). The central building contains the *Aquarium
(Pl. D, 7; adm., see p. 137), which presents an unrivalled and most
interesting picture of submarine life.
The winding Corso Vittorio Emanuele, over 2½ M. long,
ascends from the coast a little way beyond the Villa Nazionale, or
it may be reached from the Museum by the Via Salvator Rosa
(Pl. E, 3; tramway No. 6, see p. 137). Above the ‘Villa’, on the S.
slope of the Sant’ Elmo Hill, are situated the best hotels.
On the hills to which the two funiculars and tramway No. 7
(p. 137) ascend from the lower town lies the new quarter of Rione
Vómero (Pl. C, D, 5). On its E. side rises the old Castel Sant’ Elmo
(Pl. D, 5; 817 ft.), fortified with huge walls and with passages
hewn in the tufa rock, and now used as a military prison. From the
outer gate of the castle, at the tramway-terminus, we descend to
the E. to the suppressed Carthusian monastery of—
*San Martino (Pl. D, 5; adm., see p. 137), a Gothic building
of the 14th cent., tastefully restored in the baroque style about
1650. The church, the old farmacía (Room III), and the cloisters
are interesting. The other rooms contain Neapolitan memorials
and art-industry collections. Rooms XV and XVI (once the library)
are filled with Neapolitan majolicas and porcelain. From Room
XXX, to the right, we enter a *Belvedere (XXXII), whose balconies
offer a superb view of the city, Vesuvius, the bay, and the fertile
plain extending to the Apennines (best by afternoon light).
A famous view (clear weather necessary) is obtained from the old
monastery of **Camaldoli (1503 ft.), founded in 1585 on the highest of the
hills to the N.W. of Sant’ Elmo. The rough road to it (carr. about 6, with
two horses 9–10 fr.; there and back 4½ hrs.) leaves the city near the Porta
San Martino (Pl. A, B, 2), the N.W. gate of the Cinta Daziaria or wall
of the octroi (town-customs). If on foot or on donkey back (2–2½ fr. and
fee to attendant; 5–6 hrs.), we go from Rione Vomero (see above) through
142the suburb of Antignano (Pl. B, C, 4, 5) to the little customs-office of
l’Archetiello (Pl. B, 4), near which the bridle-path begins.
The monastery (suppressed, and now private property, but still occupied
by several monks; fee 30–50 c.; ladies not admitted) offers little
attraction. Straight through the garden we reach a point of view which
commands the bays of Naples and Pozzuoli, the Phlegræan plain with its
numerous extinct craters, and the Bay of Gaëta as far as the distant
Ponza Islands (p. 133).
When ladies are of the party we turn to the right, near the N.W.
angle of the monastery-wall, and descend a little to the (8 min.) gate of
the Veduta Pagliana (adm. 20 c.), where the view is similar.
Travellers whose time is limited may at least visit the *Strada
Nuova di Posílipo (tramway No. 1; p. 137). It is approached,
beyond the Villa Nazionale (p. 141), by the Strada di Mergellina
(Pl. B, 7), from which the Corso Vittorio Emanuele (p. 141) diverges.
The Strada Nuova di Posilipo, gradually ascending from
the sea, leads between villas with luxuriant gardens round the
broad hill of Posílipo, which bounds the Bay of Naples on the W.,
and offers, especially by evening light, superb views of Mt. Vesuvius,
the peninsula of Sorrento (p. 154), and the island of Capri. A walk
of 10 min. straight on from the tramway-terminus brings us
through a cutting to the Bella Vista, a point of view near the
restaurant of that name (p. 136), where we have an unimpeded
view of the bay of Pozzuoli and of the islands of Procida and
Ischia (p. 135).
An interesting circular trip may be made from the Corso Vittorio
Emanuele (p. 141), up the Via Tasso (Pl. C, B, 6), with its
fine points of view, to the top of Posilipo, then along the crest of
the hill to the S.W. to the tramway-terminus, and back by the
Posilipo road (a walk of 3½–4 hrs., or a drive of 1½ hr.; a cab
should be taken by the hour).
For Naples and its Environs comp. also Baedeker’s Southern Italy,
or Italy from the Alps to Naples.
620 M. This route forms part of the ‘Linea Circolare della Tunisia
e Tripolitania’ (Lines XVIII-XX) of the Società Nazionale, a circular
tour which offers interesting glimpses of Sardinia, Malta, and the E. coast
of Sicily, as well as of Oriental life at the N. African ports (RR. 64, 27, 24).
The steamers usually leave Genoa on Frid. evening, Leghorn on Sat.
night, and Cagliari on Mon. evening, and arrive at Tunis on Tues. forenoon.
(In the reverse direction they leave Tunis on Mon. at noon and reach
Genoa on Thurs. evening.) Fare 111 or 83 fr. (or for the whole round
303 or 212 fr.). As some of the steamers are hardly up to date, inquiry
as to the best should be made beforehand. Office at Genoa, see p. 114;
at Leghorn, Piazza Micheli (p. 143); at Tunis, p. 331.
Genoa, and voyage to (92 M.) Leghorn, comp. pp. 113, 134.
We pass Melória, a cliff 4 M. to the W. of Leghorn, off which the
Genoese destroyed the fleet of Pisa in 1284.
143Leghorn, Ital. Livorno (Marble Palace Hotel; Hôt. d’Angleterre
& Campari, Hôt. Giappone, both in Via Vittorio Emanuele,
with restaurants, good Italian houses for passing travellers; Brit,
cons., M. Carmichael; U. S. cons., E. A. Man; pop. 78,000), a provincial
capital, one of the chief seaports of Italy, and a sea-bathing
place, is quite a modern town. The harbour consists of the Porto
Nuovo, sheltered by a semicircular mole (diga curvilinea) and
the new Molo Vegliaia, and the old Porto Mediceo, or inner harbour.
(Landing or embarkation 1 fr.; trunk 30 c.).
Near the harbour is the Piazza Micheli, adorned with a curious
monument of the grand-duke Ferdinand I. of Tuscany (1587–1609).
Straight on runs the Via Vittorio Emanuele, the main street, lined
with shops. It leads across the large Piazza Vittorio Emanuele,
which is flanked by the Cathedral, the Municipio, and other public
buildings, to the Piazza Carlo Alberto, whence the Via Garibaldi
and Via Palestro lead to the left to the railway-station.
A pleasant walk (or tramway from the station to Antignano) is
offered by the Viale Regina Margherita, about 2 M. in length,
the seaside promenade to the S. of the town, in summer enlivened
by numerous bathers. Between it and the harbour, and adjoining
the Piazza Mazzini, is the Cantiere Orlando, the dockyards where
iron-clads and other vessels are built for the Italian navy.
At the S. end of the sea-promenade lie the villa-suburbs of Ardenza
and Antignano, which have sea-baths also.
On the fine Voyage from Leghorn to (339 M.) Cagliari we at
first obtain a good view of the Tuscan Archipelago, relics of the
primæval Tyrrhenis (p. xxxi). These islands are composed mainly
of granite, with slate and limestone strata overlying it in places.
Passing at some distance from the barren fisher-island of Gorgona
(837 ft.) and from Capraia, the Capraria (goats’ island) of
antiquity, we steer to the S.S.W. towards the W. coast of Elba,
enjoying in clear weather a fine distant *View of the peninsula of
Cape Corse, the N. extremity of Corsica, and of Monte Cinto
(8892 ft.), the highest mountain in the interior of that island.
We next skirt the island of Elba, the Æthalia of the Greeks
and Ilva of the Romans, the largest island in the archipelago, 19 M.
long, famous as the scene of the first exile of Napoleon I. (1814–5).
The valuable iron-mines here (comp. pp. 134, 135), worked from
very ancient times, are an important factor in the industries of
Italy. We pass the rocky N. coast of the island, which is visible
as far as the Capo della Vita (p. 135), and on its W. side we
observe the massive granitic Monte Capanne (3343 ft.).
The steamer passes between the hardly less steep S. coast of
Elba and the flat island of Pianosa (85 ft.; the ancient Planasia),
and steers to the S.S.W. towards the S. coast of Sardinia.
On the left, about 26 M. from Elba, appears the bold granitic island
144of Montecristo (2126 ft.), the ancient Oglasa, the scene of
the well-known novel ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’, by Alex. Dumas.
The Straits of Bonifacio (p. 133) lie far to the W. of the
steamer’s course. Off the N.E. coast of Sardinia we first sight the
massive rocky island of Tavolara (1821 ft.), the Bucina of the
Romans, masking the Bay of Terranova; then, when off Capo Comino,
the eastmost point of Sardinia, we see Monte Alvo (3701 ft.),
a little inland. The somewhat monotonous S.E. coast of the island
is backed by sterile mountains. We pass the little port of Arbatax
(Tortolì Marina), the Capo di Bellavista, the Capo Sferra Cavallo,
the Monte Ferrau (2878 ft.), the Capo Ferrato, and lastly
the islet of Serpentara.
Beyond Capo Carbonara, the S.E. point of Sardinia, and the
Isola dei Cavoli (p. 118), opens the broad Gulf of Cagliari on
the flat S. coast of the island. On the hill-side at the head of the gulf,
beyond the fortified Cape Sant’Elia, which shuts off the inner
Golfo di Quarto, lies the town of Cagliari. Around it are several
large coast-lakes, the Stagno di Molentargius, on the E., the Stagno
di Cagliari, on the W., and others, which yield quantities of salt.
The latter has been separated from the gulf only since the middle
ages by a neck of land called the Plaia.
Cágliări.—The Steamer is moored in the Darsena. Landing or
embarkation 40, with baggage 60 c.
Hotels.Scala di Ferro, Viale Regina Margherita 5, with good
restaurant, R. 2½–3 fr.; Quattro Mori, Largo Carlo Felice, R. from 2 fr.,
also restaurant.—Café Torino, Via Roma.
Post & Telegraph Office, Via Lodovico Baille 22.—Cab (bargaining
advisable) 1, at night ½ fr. per drive; baggage 20 c.
British Consul (also Lloyd’s Agent), R. E. Pernis.
Cagliari, Sardin. Casteddu, the Roman Carales, a very ancient
town, having been founded by the Phœnicians, now the seat of a
university and of an archbishop, with 48,000 inhab., lies in one of
the hottest and driest regions in Italy. At the foot of the Castello or
old town (290 ft.) lie the new quarters of Villanova, Marina, and
Stampace, adjoined on the W. by the suburb of Sant’Avendrace.
The Via Roma, an avenue skirting the sea, the fashionable corso
in the evening, leads from the Palazzo Comunale to the Largo Carlo
Felice. On the right are two covered Markets, which are worth
seeing in the forenoon. This largo leads to the Piazza Yenne,
the business centre of the modern town.
At the N. end of the Largo Carlo Felice rises a statue of Charles
Felix I. (1821–31), and in the Piazza Yenne an antique column.
Between these passes the main thoroughfare of the town: to the
left the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, ending near a group of ancient
Roman houses recently excavated, now called Casa di Tigellio; to
the right, leading to the upper town, the animated Via Manno
(popularly ‘La Costa‘), with numerous shops, where among other
145things the gold ornaments commonly worn by the country-people
should be noticed.
From the Piazza della Costituzione, at the S.E. end of the Via
Manno, the *Viale Regina Elena runs to the N., beneath the precipitous
E. side of the abrupt Castello. It affords a fine view of
the ancient town-wall, of the cathedral, and of the picturesque rear
of the castle-buildings; below, on the right, lies Villanova, with its
quaint tiled roofs, while beyond it we have a splendid view of Cape
Sant’ Elia and across the wide plain of Quarto to the mountains.
From the Giardino Pubblico, at the N. end of the promenade,
we mount to the W. to the Passeggiata Buon Cammino (see below).
Adjoining the Via Manno (p. 144) is the small Piazzetta de’Martiri
d’Italia, whence the Via Giuseppe Mazzini ascends in two bends
to the *Castello, still fortified in mediæval style. At the top is the
new Passeggiata Coperta, one of the finest points in the town. The
Via dell’Università leads hence to the left to the University and to
the ponderous Torre dell’Elefante, which, according to the inscription,
was erected by the Pisans in 1307.
Straight on we pass through the Torre dell’Aquila, an old
gateway now enclosed within the Palazzo Boyl, to the Via Lamarmora,
the main street in the Castello, which is connected with the
parallel streets by steep lanes, dark vaulted passages, and steps.
From the terraced little Piazza del Municipio, with the council-hall
of the old town, a flight of steps to the right ascends to the
Cathedral (Santa Cecilia), completed by the Pisans in 1312, but
since then frequently altered. A new façade, in keeping with the
old building, is now under construction.
Farther to the N., in the Piazza dell’ Indipendenza, is the Pisan
Torre San Pancrazio (14th cent.), a modern addition to which
contains the very notable Museum of Antiquities (if closed apply
to the director, Sig. Nissardi). Besides Phœnician and Roman
antiquities we may note the cork model of a nuraghe, one of the
conical fortresses built by the aboriginal Iberian inhabitants.
Going through the Citadel, which bounds the Castello on the N.,
we follow the Passeggiata Buon Cammino to the Piazza d’Armi.
Just beyond the barracks a road to the left leads to the Roman—
Amphitheatre (greater diameter 97, smaller 80 yds.; arena
55 by 37 yds.), with tiers of seats mostly hewn in the rock.
Below the amphitheatre lie the garden of the Poor House (Ricovero
di Mendicità) and the Botanic Garden (Thurs. 4–7), both
containing remains of antique Irrigation Works, which are continued
on the cliffs to the N.W. of the old town. Close by is the ancient
Necropolis of Carales. Nearest the town are the Punic tomb-chambers,
sunk perpendicularly in the rock (care should be taken here),
and farther to the W. are the mostly horizontal Roman tombs.
From the ruined castle of San Michele, at the top of a hill about 2 M.
146to the N. of the Piazza d’Armi (p. 145), we overlook the Stagno di
Cagliari (p. 144) and the Campidano, a fruitful, but fever-stricken plain
between the bays of Cagliari and Oristano (p. 129), where the clay-built
villages and the cactus hedges recall N. Africa.
See also Baedeker’s Southern Italy.
The Steamer on leaving the Gulf of Cagliari steers to the S.S.E.;
astern we soon sight Cape Spartivento (p. 118), at the N.W. end
of the gulf. For the voyage along the Tunisian coast, and for
Tunis, see R. 21 and p. 329.
Voyage from Tunis to Algiers, see R. 22; to Tripoli, see R. 64.
From Naples to Palermo (193 M.). 1. Steamers of the Ferrovie dello
Stato (Line C) daily in 9 hrs., at 10.45 p.m. (returning at 8.30 p.m.);
fare 25 fr. 5 or 15 fr. 65 c.—2.Società Nazionale, Line XVI (see below)
every Mon. evening in 12 hrs., and Lines X & XI every second Frid. aft.
in 17¾ hrs. (fares 25 fr. 5, 15 fr. 65 c.).—3.Adria Co. (RR. 23, 24) every
Thurs. afternoon, in 15 hrs.; fare 18 fr., without food.—4.Lloyd Sabaudo
1–3 times monthly (comp. R. 24). Passengers, both going and coming,
should rise early in order to enjoy the superb approaches to the bays of
Palermo and Naples.
From Genoa to Palermo direct (494 M.) every Thurs. (returning
on Wed.) by Line XXII (for Palermo, Trapani, Syracuse, and Catania)
of the Società Nazionale (fare 80 or 55 fr.).
From Palermo to Tunis (217 M.). 1.Società Nazionale: a. Line XVI
(from Naples, see above), leaving Palermo Tues. aft., Trapani Tues.
evening, arrives at Tunis Wed. morning (returning from Tunis Wed.
night, from Trapani Thurs. morning, from Palermo Thurs. evening,
arr. at Naples Frid. morning); fare from Palermo to Tunis 64 fr. 25 or
43 fr. 25 c.; b. Line XVII, from Palermo to Pantelleria and Tunis (small
cargo-boats), calling at Castellammare del Golfo, Trapani, Favignana,
Marsala, Mazzara, Sciacca, and the island of Pantelleria; dep. from Palermo
Thurs. morning, from Mazzara (reached also by railway, 89 M. in
4¼ hrs.; 18 fr. 25, 12 fr. 80, or 8 fr. 30 c.) Frid. afternoon (landing or
embarkation in fine weather only), arr. at Tunis Sat. evening (returning
from Tunis on Sun. evening, arr. at Mazzara on Mon. evening, and at
Palermo Tues. night; fare from Mazzara 73 fr. or 50 fr. 35 c.)—2.Navigation
Mixte (Touache Co.), cargo-steamer from Palermo to Tunis direct
(coming from Marseilles, R. 21), on Wed. noon, in 18 hrs. (returning
Thurs. at noon); fare 60 or 40 fr.—Combined tickets (Naples-Palermo-Tunis)
are available by either of the two companies’ boats.
Agents at Naples, Palermo, and Tunis, see pp. 137, 148, 331.
Naples, see p. 135. The bay is usually quitted at night. We
proceed to the S.S.W., through the Bocca Grande (p. 133). After
about 1¼ hr. we skirt the rocky W. coast of Capri (p. 154).
Towards morning appears to the S.W. the island of Ustĭca
(784 ft.), which was visited by an earthquake in March 1906; to
the S.E. in clear weather are seen Filicuri (2543 ft.; Greek Phoinikusa)
and Alicuri (2175 ft.; the ancient Ericusa), the westmost of
the Lipari Islands (p. 155); beyond lies the N. coast of Sicily,
from Cape Gallo (p. 152) and the finely shaped Monte Pellegrino
(p. 151) to the Madoníe Mts. (6480 ft.), snow-clad in winter.
147A scene of striking beauty is revealed as we steam into the
*Bay of Palermo, which opens towards the E., between Monte
Pellegrino and the smaller pointed headland of Monte Catalfano
(1237 ft.), backed by a circus of grand mountains, Monte Cuccio
(3448 ft.), Monte Grifone (2550 ft.), and others. After passing between
the harbour piers, the Antemurale on the S. and the Molo
(lighthouse) on the N., we observe on the left the shallow old harbour
of La Cala (p. 149) with the ruined fort of Castellammare.
Palermo.—Arrival. The steamers from Naples are berthed at
the new Santa Lucia Pier (Pl. G, 4, 5); in the case of the others landing
or embarkation is effected by boat (60 c.; with baggage 1 fr.). The custom-house
examination is slight. Porter (facchino) for hand-bag 10, trunk
50 c.—From the pier to the town ca. ¾ M. (tramway No. 1, see below).
Omnibuses or motor-cars from the hotels await steamers at the pier. Cabs,
see below.
Hotels (most frequented Feb.-April). *Villa Igiea, ¼ hr. to the
N. of the quay, at the Acquasanta terminus of tramways Nos. 1 & 7,
near the sea, with park, casino, and fine view, R. from 8, B. 2, déj. 5,
D. 7, omn. 3 fr.; *Excelsior Palace (Pl. e; G, 2), Via della Libertà, near
the Giardino Inglese, good restaur., R. from 4, B. 1½, D. 6, omn. 1½ fr.;
*Hôt. des Palmes (Pl. a; E, 3), Via Stabile 103, R. 4–12, B. 1½, D. 6,
omn. 1½ fr.; three houses of the first class, closed in summer. The following,
also of the first class, are open throughout the year. *Hôt. de
France (Pl. c; C, 5), near the Giardino Garibaldi, R. 4–10, B. 1½, D. 5,
omn. 1½ fr.; *Trinacria (Pl. b; C, 5), with sea view, entrance in Via
Butera, R. from 4, B. 1½, D. 5, omn. 1½ fr.; Savoy (Pl. g; E, 3), Via
Cavour, R. from 3, D. 4½, omn. 1–1½ fr.; Panormus (Pl. k; E, 3, 4), Via
Michele Amari 11, R. from 2½, B. 1¼, déj. 2½, D. 3½ fr.—Less pretending
(open all the year round): Milano (Pl. f; F, 3), Via Emerico Amari 114,
R. from 3½, omn. 1 fr., well spoken of; Albergo Vittoria (Pl. h; D, 4),
Via Bandiera 31, and Central (Pl. d; C, 3), Corso Vittorio Emanuele 343,
R. from 2 fr., both with restaurant; Patria (Pl. i; B, 4), Via Alloro 96
(view from roof-terrace), Cavour, Corso Vittorio Emanuele 330, both hôtels
garnis (R. from 1½ fr.).
Restaurants (Italian cooking; à la carte). Gran Caffè Nuovo, in
the Teatro Biondo (Pl. C, 4), Restaurant de Paris, Via Maqueda 200, both
good. Plainer: Vanini, Corso Vittorio Emanuele 405; Ristorante Napoli,
same street, No. 265; Ristorante Bologni, same street, No. 381.
Cafés (rarely frequented in the morning). Caffè del Teatro Massimo
(p. 151); Trinacria, Quattro Canti di Campagna (Pl. E, 3); Caflisch, Via
Maqueda 250; Café Italia, Via Cavour.—English Tea Rooms, Piazza
Marina 41.—Beer.Gran Caffè Nuovo (see above); Trinacria (see above);
Gambrinus, Teatro Massimo.
Cabs. For 1–4 pers., within Via Lincoln, Corso Tukery, Piazza dell’
Indipendenza, and Piazza Ucciardone, per drive 50 c., from midnight to
dawn 1 fr.; to outer quarters, drive under ½ hr., also to the quay or the
railway-stations 1 fr.; from midnight to dawn 1 fr. 50 c.: one hour 1 fr. 80 c.,
each addit. ¼ hr. 40 c.—Hand-bag 20, trunk 40 c.—Driving in the inner
city on Good Friday prohibited.—For long drives a bargain should be
made; thus, to Monreale (p. 152), with stay of 1½ hr., 7–8 (or out of
season 4–6) fr.
Tramways (within the city 10, transfer 15 c.). Among the chief
are: 1. From Piazza Marina (Pl. C, 5) to Via Francesco Crispi (Pl. E, F, 4),
Piazza Ucciardone (Pl. G, 4), and Acquasanta (Villa Igiea).—4. From
Porta Maqueda (Pl. D, E, 3), to Via Francesco Crispi, Piazza Ucciardone,
and Falde (p. 151).—7. From Piazza Marina to Via Lincoln (Pl. B, A, 6–4;
Central Station), Corso Tukery, Piazza dell’ Indipendenza (Pl. B, 1), Corso
Alberto Amedeo (Pl. B-D, 1), Politeama Garibaldi (Pl. F, 3), and Acquasanta148(Villa Igiea).—9. From Piazza Bologni (Pl. C, 3) to Piazza dell’
Indipendenza, Rocca (p. 152), and Monreale (p. 152), every ½ hr., in 35 min.;
fare 40 (back 30) c.—Above Rocca (gradient ca. 1 in 8) there is a funicular
section 1100 yds. long.
Post Office. (Pl. C, 3), Piazza Bologni.—Telegraph. Office (Pl.
C, 3), Via Maqueda 222; also in the Piazza Marina.
Steamboat Lines.Società Nazionale, Corso Vittorio Emanuele 96,
corner of Piazza Marina; Ferrovie dello Stato (steamer service), J. & V.
Florio, Via Roma; Navigation Mixte and White Star, A. Tagliavia,
same street, No. 51; Austro-American (p. 425), A. Lauria; Cunard, Piazza
Marina 13; Anchor Line, E. G. Orr (see below).
Banks.Banca Commerciale, d’Italia, and di Sicilia, all in Corso
Vittorio Emanuele.—Thos. Cook & Son, same street, No. 155.
Consuls. British, R. G. Macbean, Via Francesco Crispi; vice-consul,
W. A. Morrison.—United States, H. De Soto, Piazza Castelnuovo 44.—Lloyd’s
Agent, E. G. Orr, Piazza Marina.
English Church.Holy Cross (‘Anglicana’; Pl. E, 3, 4), Via Stabile;
services every Sun. at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. in winter.
One Day and a Half is the minimum time for a glance at the sights.
1st. In the forenoon, Cappella Palatina (p. 149), San Giovanni degli Eremiti
(p. 150); Cathedral (p. 149), Martorana (p. 150), Museum (p. 150); in the
afternoon (best in the early morning in summer), Monte Pellegrino (p. 151);
in summer, towards evening, Villa Giulia and the Marina (p. 151).—2nd.
In the forenoon, Monreale (p. 152).
Palermo, the capital of Sicily, with 250,000 inhab., the seat of
an archbishop and a university, lies on the beautiful bay named
after it, in the midst of the Conca d’Oro, a fertile plain artificially
watered, and yielding oranges, lemons, mandarins, and other fruits
in profusion. Palermo is also the chief seaport in the island, whence
fruit, wine, sumach, and the sulphur of S. Sicily (79% of the
world’s consumption) are largely exported.
The city, the Panormus of antiquity, began its career as a
Phœnician colony; it next became the capital of the island under
the Carthaginian domination, but was conquered by the Romans in
254 B. C. Next came the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines, who were
succeeded by the Aglabides and Fatimites (p. 323), who again
made the town the capital of the island under the name of Balerm,
and opened up Sicily to Moorish culture. When Palermo became
the residence of its Norman conquerors (1072–1194) they erected
castles and churches, partly employing Arabian architects and artificers,
whose work shows a charming blend of Byzantine, Arabian,
and Oriental features. Later, as the favourite seat of the Hohenstaufen
(1194–1266), Palermo attained the zenith of its glory. The
old town, however, owes its architectural character to the Spanish
viceroys (16–17th cent.), who chose it as their residence in spite
of the protests of Messina. Since the union of Sicily with the kingdom
of Italy (1860) there has been a great revival of building
enterprise, with the result that broad streets and villa-suburbs
have sprung up, particularly on the N. side of the old town.
From the Santa Lucia Pier (Pl. G, 4, 5) we enter the old town
by the Via Francesco Crispi (Pl. F, E, 4; tramway No. 1, see p. 147),
leading to the old Porta San Giorgio (Pl. E, 4). The Via Cavour
149diverges here to the right to the old Porta Maqueda (p. 151); we
turn to the left, cross the Piazza del Castello (Pl. D, 5), pass the
old Fort Castellammare, and skirt the Cala (p. 147), or old harbour,
a little beyond which is the—
Piazza Marina (Pl. C, 5), where the beautiful *Giardino Garibaldi
recalls the tropics with its luxuriant vegetation.
A little to the N.E. of the Giardino is the Porta Felice (Pl.
C, 5, 6; p. 151), from which to the Porta Nuova (Pl. B, 1; p. 150),
over 1 M. distant, runs the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, intersecting
the whole of the old town. This long street owes its present form
to Don Pedro de Toledo (p. 138), but having been for centuries the
route from the harbour to the castle, it has retained its old popular
name of Cássaro (from the Arabic kasr, castle).
At the Quattro Canti (Pl. C, 3), the old business centre of the
city, the Corso is crossed by the Via Maqueda (Pl. A-D, 4, 3;
p. 151), begun by the viceroy Marqués de Villena in 1609, and now
a second important artery of the old town.
The Corso leads to the Piazza del Duomo, on the N. side of
which rises the—
*Cathedral (Pl. C, 2), dedicated to the Assunta, on the site
of an older church which the Moors had converted into a mosque.
The original Romanesque building, erected by Archbishop Walter
of the Mill (Gualterio Offamilio) after 1185, has been entirely transformed
in the course of centuries, with the exception of the lower
part of the clock-tower and the external decoration of the choir
niche. The handsome W. façade with the two towers which date
from 1300–59, the incongruous dome, and the modernized internal
decorations are the work of the Florentine Fern. Fuga (1781–1801).
The right aisle, on the left of the S. portal, contains the *Monuments
of Norman and Hohenstaufen monarchs.
At the S.W. end of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, beyond the
Piazza della Vittoria (Pl. B, 2), on a slight eminence, which from
the earliest times has been the site of the castle, rises the—
Palazzo Reale (Pl. B, 1), which still bears traces of its original
fortified character, although the foundation walls alone are
Arabian, and the central tower with the pointed arch (Santa Ninfa,
p. 150) is the only relic of the Norman part of the building.
The last door on the left, opposite the monument of Philip V.,
leads into the palace-yard (sticks and umbrellas are left with the
porter; guide ½ fr., but quite unnecessary). We ascend the stairs
to the left, on the first floor turn to the right, and pass through
the arcaded passage to the—
**Cappella Palatina, a perfect gem of mediæval art, built by
king Roger II. in 1132–40 in the Arabic-Norman style (adm.
daily 7 to 10.30 free; later, week-days till 4, Sun. till 3, fee; best
light in the morning). In the interior the chapel is a basilica with
150two aisles; including the choir and apse it is 36 yds. long and
14 yds. in breadth. The Arabian pointed arches are borne by ten
antique columns; the central dome, 59 ft. high, is adorned with
Greek and Latin inscriptions. The beautiful Arabian timber ceiling
in the nave, with its Cufic (early Arabic) inscription, is joined to
the walls by stalactite vaulting. All the walls are incrusted with
glass-mosaics on a gold ground.
The palace-tower, Santa Ninfa, now an observatory, is famed
for the delightful panorama it affords (fee ½–1 fr.; not always
accessible). The top of the Porta Nuova (Pl. B, 1), close by, also
overlooks the city and the Conca d’Oro.
Descending the steps by the monument of Philip V., we now
follow the Via del Bastione a Porta di Castro and the Via dei Benedettini
to the ruined church of *San Giovanni degli Eremiti
(Pl. A, B, 1, 2; adm. by the garden-gate; fee 25 c.). The interior
is in the form of a so-called Egyptian cross (p. 376), with three
apses. The nave is divided into two squares by a pointed arch.
Quite an Oriental effect is produced by the five unadorned domes,
which are best viewed from the pretty cloisters (now a garden).
Adjoining the S. side of the church is a dilapidated little mosque.
We now return to the Quattro Canti (p. 149) and turn to the
right into the Via Maqueda. Here, immediately on the right, is the
University (Pl. C, 3); on the left is the Palazzo di Città or Municipio.
Just beyond the latter is the small Piazza Bellini, whence
steps ascend to two old Norman churches (adm. daily 9–4, 1 fr.;
Sun. free). The smaller, San Cataldo, of 1161, is crowned with
Arabian pinnacles. Still more curious is the larger church—
*La Martorana (Pl. B, C, 4), named after its founder, the
Greek admiral of Roger I. (1143), and known also as Santa Maria
dell’ Ammiraglio, a Byzantine edifice with Norman additions, now
suitably restored. The two lower stories of the clock-tower are
part of the original church.
From the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, a little to the E. of the
Quattro Canti, runs the new Via Roma (Pl. C, D, 4) to the N.N.W. to
the Piazza San Domenico. On the E. side of this piazza rises the
large church of San Domenico (Pl. D, 4), containing monuments to
many eminent Sicilians.—Behind the church, in the Via Bambinai,
is the Oratorio del Santissimo Rosario (keys at No. 16, adjacent),
containing a fine Madonna del Rosario by A. van Dyck.
From the Piazza San Domenico the Via Monteleone leads to the
N.W. to the Piazza dell’ Olivella, where an old monastery on the
right contains the—
Museo Nazionale (Pl. D, 3; week-days 10–3, 1 fr.; Sun. 11–3,
free, but not fully shown; closed on high festivals, on the last three
days of the Carnival, and in Holy Week).
151Ground Floor. From the Primo Cortile, containing mediæval and Renaissance
portals, sculptures, and inscriptions, we enter the Secondo Cortile
(once the cloisters), where ancient sculptures and inscriptions are exhibited,
on the left Sicilian, on the right those of foreign or uncertain origin.
From the vestibule, beyond the cloisters, we pass through a small
room, containing two Phœnician sarcophagi found near Palermo, to the
Sala di Panormo, with mosaics and inscriptions from Panormus, and opposite
to it the Sala del Fauno, so named from the fine satyr in the style of
Praxiteles which it contains.
The adjoining Sala di Selinunte contains the celebrated *Metopes of
Selinus (p. 154). On the left, between parts of the ponderous entablature
of the oldest temple, are three rude and primitive metopes of the beginning
of the 6th cent. B. C. (quadriga, beheading of Medusa, Hercules and the
Cercopes); then the lower halves of two metopes, dating from about
the middle of the 6th cent. (battle of the gods and the giants); on the
back-wall four metopes of the early 5th cent., a period just before the
prime of Greek art (Hercules slaying the queen of the Amazons, Hera
unveiling herself before Zeus, Actæon torn to pieces by the dogs of Artemis,
Athene slaying a giant).
The stairs in the forecourt ascend to the—
First Floor. The steps to the left lead to the Sala Arăba, which
contains Arabian and Arab-Norman antiquities found in Sicily (door-frame
from the Martorana monastery, earthenware vase from Mazzara) and early
Arabian objects from Cairo. The Corridoio di Ponente contains painted
female figures (4th–3rd cent. B. C.), similar to the terracottas of Tanagra.
Beyond the cloisters is the room of the ancient bronzes, among which we
note a fountain-group of Hercules and the Cerynæan hind, from Pompeii,
and a ram marvellously lifelike. Next come two rooms on the left with
Greek vases. From the corridor on the opposite side we enter the Gabinetto
di Numismatica, an admirable collection of the ancient coins of Sicily
and of antique trinkets. The last room contains gorgeous church vestments.
On the Second Floor is the Gallery of Pictures, chiefly by Sicilian
masters (Pietro Novelli and others); a small winged altar-piece by Jan
Mabuse (1501?), a gem of Netherlandish art, should, however, be noted.
From the Museum the Via della Bara leads to the W. to the
Piazza Giuseppe Verdi (Pl. D, 3), in which rises the Teatro
Massimo or Vittorio Emanuele, the largest in Italy.—At the N.
end of the Via Maqueda (p. 149) is the old Porta Maqueda (Pl. D,
E, 3), whence the Via Ruggiero Settimo leads into the broad—
Via della Libertà (Pl. F, G, 3, 2), a fashionable evening
promenade, ending at the pretty Giardino Inglese (Pl. G, H, 2).
The Marina, officially named Foro Umberto Primo (Pl. C, B, 6),
which begins at the Porta Felice (Pl. C, 5, 6; p. 149), near the
harbour, affords a superb walk and is a favourite resort on summer
evenings after 6 (music at 9).
At the S. end of the Marina lies the *Villa Giulia or Flora
(Pl. A, B, 6), one of the most beautiful public gardens in Italy,
where the blossoming trees diffuse their fragrance in spring far
around. It is adjoined on the W. by the *Botanic Garden (Pl. A, B, 6;
gardener 25–50 c.), almost vying with the famous Jardin d’Essai at
Algiers (p. 232).
A visit to *Monte Pellegrino (1968 ft.), the ancient Heirkte,
a bare limestone hill to the N. of Palermo, should not be omitted
in clear weather. (Tramway No. 4 to Falde, near the S. foot of
152the hill, see p. 147; donkey, ordered in the town beforehand,
with attendant, 4 fr.)
The zigzag path, visible from the town, ascends in about 1½ hr.
from the Punta di Bersaglio, 5 min. to the N. of Falde, to the Grotto
of St. Rosalia (d. about 1170), which has been well described by
Goethe. Near it are a cottage, where bread and wine may be obtained
(bargaining advisable), and the restaurant Argos-Eden (open
only on Sun.).
A steep footpath ascends thence in ½ hr. to the Telégrafo,
the signal-station on the summit, where we enjoy a *View of the
beautiful basin of Palermo, of the indented N. coast of Sicily, and
of the Lipari Islands (p. 146). To the E., beyond the Madoníe
(p. 146) and the distant Nebrodian Mts., towers Mt. Ætna.
Monreale (tramway No. 9 and carr., see pp. 147, 148) is reached
from the Porta Nuova (Pl. B, 1; p. 150) by the Corso Calatafími.
Beyond (3 M.) La Rocca the road ascends to the (¾ hr.) top of the
‘royal hill’ (1148 ft.). The town of Monreale (Restaur. Savoy,
Eden; pop. 24,000) owes its origin to a Benedictine abbey, founded
by William II. (1174), and to the famous cathedral (1174–89) built
here as the seat of the second archbishopric in the island.
The **Cathedral is a Norman Romanesque basilica consisting
of nave, aisles, and three apses, 335 ft. long and 131 ft. wide. Externally
the choir end of the church, with its Arabian pointed arches
and mosaic decoration, is particularly fine. The magnificent main
portal, flanked in northern style with two square towers, has two
admirable bronze doors by ‘Bonannus Civis Pisanus’ (1186). The
doors of the side-portal are by Barisano. The pointed arches of
the nave rest on granite columns, and all the walls are lavishly
decorated with glass mosaics. The roof (172 steps; verger, who
shows the chapels also, 50–75 c.) commands a splendid view.
Of the Benedictine monastery nothing is now left except the
*Cloisters, the pointed arches of which are adorned with mosaics
and borne by 216 columns in pairs, remarkable for the variety of
their capitals and for the inlaid ornamentation of their shafts (date
ca. 1200). Entrance (1 fr.) from the Piazza del Duomo by the side-door
to the left. The custodian shows also the garden of the monastery,
where we have a charming view of Palermo.
See also Baedeker’s Southern Italy.
Pursuing our Voyage to Tunis we soon obtain a fine view of the
bold limestone rocks of Monte Pellegrino (p. 151). We next pass
the beautiful Bay of Mondello and the Cape Gallo and steer to the
W., away from the Sicilian coast and the Gulf of Castellammare.
That spacious gulf is bounded on the E. by the Punta di Raisi, a
spur of Monte Orso (2900 ft.), and on the W. by the mountains of
San Vito (Monte Sparagio and others).
153Beyond Cape San Vito (lighthouse) appear to the S.W. Monte
San Giuliano (see below) and the Ægadean Islands. The French
steamers bound for Tunis direct pass near these islands; first
Lévanzo (951 ft.; ancient Phorbantia), beyond which to the S. is
Favignana (1070 ft.; ancient Ægusa), the largest of the group;
then Marittimo (ancient Hiera), with Monte Falcone (2245 ft.).
The Italian steamer coming from Naples rounds Monte San
Giuliano (2464 ft.), a solitary mass of Jurassic rock, the ancient
Eryx, famed for its temple of Venus Erycina, and highly revered
by all the Mediterranean peoples, and next calls at—
Trápani (Grand-Hôtel, on the quay; landing or embarkation,
without baggage, 60 c.; Brit. vice-consul, G. Marino), the ancient
Drepana (from drepanon, a sickle), so called from the form of
the peninsula. Down to the first Punic war this was merely the
port of the ancient Eryx, but it is now a thriving commercial
place (pop. 38,000). The chief export is the sea-salt yielded by
the extensive evaporation grounds on the W. coast, towards Marsala.
The coral-fishery also is an important industry.
The Naples steamer next passes through the strait between the
islands of Levanzo and Favignana (see above) and the flat W. coast
of Sicily, and then steers to the S.W. through the Straits of Pantelleria
(p. 396), between Favignana and the Isola Grande, towards
Cape Bon (Arabic Râs Addar, the Roman Promontorium Mercurii),
the E. boundary of the Bay of Tunis (p. 129). High up
on this bold headland stands a lighthouse (410 ft.), visible for
32 M. around, one of the most important landmarks for mariners
between Gibraltar and Egypt. Beyond the cape rises Jebel Abiod
(1273 ft.), with its semaphore. The islands to the W. are Zembretta
and Zembra or Jamur (1420 ft.; the ancient Ægimurus).
The great quarries near El-Aouaria (the ancient Aquilaria),
between Cape Bon and the Râs el-Ahmar (318 ft.) yielded the
Phœnicians the material for building Carthage. We next pass the
Anse de Thonaire, with its important tunny-fishery (Ital. tonnara),
and the Râs al-Fortas.
The steamers usually enter the Inner Bay of Tunis and Lake
Bahira in the early morning. Tunis, see p. 329.
The Italian Cargo-Steamers (p. 146) first touch at Castellammare
del Golfo, then proceed to Trapani (see above), where they spend the
night. They next pass Favignana (see above), Isola Grande, the lagoon
of Lo Stagnone, and Capo Boeo or Lilibeo, the W. extremity of Sicily.
Marsála (Albergo Centrale; Leone; Stella d’Italia; landing or embarkation
60 c.; with heavy baggage 1½ fr.; Brit. vice-consul, Chas. F. Gray;
pop. 58,000) is a busy trading town, well known for its fiery wines. It
occupies the site of Lilybaeum, the chief fortress of Carthage in Sicily.
The modern name is of Moorish origin (Marsa-Ali, harbour of Ali).
Skirting the monotonous S.W. coast of Sicily the vessel next calls
at Mazzara del Vallo (Alb. Centrale; Alb. Stella; Brit. vice-consul,
O. Favara), founded as Mazara by the Greeks of Selinus, but destroyed
along with its mother-city by the Carthaginians in 409 B. C.
154Beyond Mazzara we pass the Punta di Granítola, the Râs el-Belât
of the Moors, who in 827 began their victorious progress through the
island, and the broad bay of Selinunte (Selinus), where the grandest ruined
temples in Europe are situated. Beyond Cape San Marco we come to—
Sciacca (Nuova Italia; pop. 25,000), a seaport situated on a steep
hill, 262 ft. above the sea, with its mouldering castles of mediæval nobility.
The name was originally Arabic, Shâkkah. In ancient times it
was called Thermae Selinuntiae, from the already famous vapour-baths
in the caverns at the foot of Monte San Calógero (1272 ft.) and the hot
salt-springs (132° Fahr.).
The steamer next steers to the W.S.W. through the Straits of Pantelleria
(p. 396), at a little distance from the shallows where the volcanic
Isola Ferdinandea, 4–5 M. in circumference, rose from the sea with a
crater, on 18th July, 1831, but disappeared on 12th Jan., 1832.
On the margin of the shallower water, in a great submarine basin
3900 ft. deep, lies the island of Pantelleria, also belonging to Italy.
Its chief town, off which the steamer anchors for some hours, is on the
N.W. side. This volcanic island, 32 sq. M. in area, culminates in an
extinct crater 2743 ft. in height, while numerous ‘fumaroli’, or smoking
and steaming fissures, and hot mineral springs testify to a continuous
volcanic activity. This was further indicated by a submarine eruption
which occurred in 1891, within 3 M. of the island to the N.W.
The steamer afterwards rounds Cape Bon (p. 153) and follows the
same course to Tunis as the larger passenger steamers.
From Naples to Messina (204 M.). 1. Steamers of the Ferrovie dello
Stato (Line D), leave Naples Sun. evening, arr. at Messina Mon. morning
(at Reggio at noon; returning from Reggio same afternoon and from
Messina same evening); fares 22 fr. 85, 14 fr. 70 c.—2.Società Nazionale:
a. Line XX (Linea Circolare, see pp. 134, 142), dep. from Naples Sat.
aft., arr. at Messina Sun. morning (returning from Messina Wed. aft.);
b. Line V (Genoa-Alexandria; p. 134), dep. from Naples Thurs. aft., arr.
at Messina Frid. morning (returning from Messina Sun. evening); fares by
these two lines 22 fr. 85, 14 fr. 70 c.; c. Lines X & XI, fortnightly from
Naples viâ Palermo (comp. p. 146) to Messina (fares 50 fr. 10, 33 fr. 40 c.).
From Naples to Catania (258 M.), the Linea Circolare (see below);
also the North German Lloyd (Mediterranean-Levant; RR. 23, 24) every
second Mon. (from Catania Tues.) in 16 hrs.; fare 36 or 24 marks.
From Messina to Syracuse (93 M.), only the Linea Circolare, dep.
from Messina Sun. morning, arr. at Reggio same morning, at Catania Sun.
afternoon, at Syracuse Mon. evening (returning from Syracuse Tues. forenoon,
from Catania Tues. midnight, and leaving Messina for Naples on
Wed. aft.). This steamer may be overtaken at Syracuse if we go by train
from Messina to Syracuse (comp. p. 158), in which case there will be time
to spend a night at Taormina and see the sunset and sunrise. At Syracuse
a drive through the old town should not be omitted (comp. p. 162).
Naples, see p. 135. Steering across the bay towards the Peninsula
of Sorrento, we enjoy a delightful retrospect of Mt. Vesuvius
and the hills around Naples. Farther on we admire the bold rocky
N. coast of the island of Capri.
After 1¼ hr. we pass through the Bocca Piccola, a strait 3 M.
in breadth, between the huge cliffs of Lo Capo, the N.E. point of
Capri, and the Punta di Campanella (154 ft.; lighthouse), the
extremity of the peninsula of Sorrento.
155The steamboat now proceeds to the S.S.E. towards the straits of
Messina. We have a fine view, in passing, of the Punta Tragara,
the S.E. headland of Capri, with the cliffs of the Faraglioni, and
of the precipitous Monte Soláro (1920 ft.), the highest hill in the
island. On our left lies the broad Gulf of Salerno, with the bays
of Positano and Amalfi on the S. side of the peninsula of Sorrento.
Conspicuous among the Neapolitan Apennines are the spurs of
Monte Stella (3708 ft.) with the Punta Licosa, and of Monte
Bulgheria (4016 ft.) with Cape Palinuro (lighthouse).
At length, far off the coast of Calabria, we sight to the S. the
volcanic Lipari or Æolian Islands, the ancient Liparaeae or
Æoliae. We pass close to Strómboli, the Strongyle of the Greeks,
which the ancients regarded as the seat of Æolus, god of the winds.
This island culminates in a peak (3038 ft.) with a crater on its N.
side, often shrouded in smoke, which is one of the few constantly
active volcanoes in Europe. To the S.W. we descry in clear weather
Panária (1381 ft.), with its archipelago of smaller islands; Lípari,
the largest of the group with Monte Sant’Angelo (1955 ft.); and
Vulcano with its ever smoking crater (1638 ft.).
Off Cape Vaticano (lighthouse), a spur of the Calabrian coast-hills
between the bays of Sant’Eufemia and Gioia, we sight the N.
coast of Sicily, with the Monti Peloritani, the Myconius Mons or
Mons Neptuni of the Romans, overtopped by Mt. Ætna (p. 159).
On the Calabrian coast, near the strait which was the chief scene
of the earthquake of 1908 (p. 156), appear the ruins of the little
town of Palmi, halfway up Monte Elia (1900 ft.; a famous point of
view), and those of Bagnara and of Scilla with its castle-rock.
The *Voyage through the Straits of Messina (Faro or Stretto
di Messina), the Fretum Siculum of antiquity, is one of the most
beautiful in the Mediterranean. Both banks are luxuriantly fertile,
shaded with palms, and yielding oranges, pomegranates, and prickly
pears. The Calabrian coast, thickly studded with villages, partly
in ruins, culminates in Montalto (5424 ft.), the highest peak of the
wooded Aspromonte, the ancient Sila, while we survey the Sicilian
coast as far as Mt. Ætna. The narrowest part of the straits, 2 M.,
is between the Punta del Faro (p. 158) and the Punta Pezzo,
where they are entered from the Tyrrhenian Sea; between Messina
and Villa San Giovanni (p. 159) they are 4½ M., and between Capo
di Scaletta (p. 158) and the Punta di Péllaro (p. 159) in the Ionian
Sea 8¾ M. wide. The currents which sweep past the headland
of Scilla (see above) and cause strong eddies near the harbour of
Messina, sometimes augmented by gales, gave rise at a very early
period to the legend of Scylla and Charybdis, and Homer has described
Scylla as a roaring, all-devouring sea-monster.
We pass the lighthouses of the Punta del Faro and the Punta
di Pezzo. Nearing the Harbour of Messina, in a bay formed by
156a sickle-shaped peninsula, we survey the ruins of the city on the
green slopes of the Monti Peloritani (p. 155), whose fissured peaks
tower above the sea of houses, once so picturesque.
The central point of the earthquake of Messina (28th Dec., 1908),
caused by dislocation or subsidence, was the strait and the W. slope
of Aspromonte (p. 155). The first terrific shock at 5 a.m. was followed
almost immediately by a great tidal wave caused by a submarine
earthquake, and aggravating the calamity in the lower parts
of the coast towns and villages. The effects of the earthquake were
disastrous also in Calabria as far to the N. as Cosenza, and in Sicily
as far to the S. as Pachino (near Cape Passero; p. 411). At Messina
the sea-wave rose to a height of 8–9 ft., at Reggio 11½ ft., and at
Giardini and Riposto 19½–20 ft. The area of the seismic disturbance
extended to the N.E. to Pizzo on the bay of Sant’Eufemia
(p. 155), to the E. to the mouth of the Amendolea, near Cape
Spartivento and the small town of Ferruzzano, the scene of the
earthquake of 1907, and to the S. to Riposto (p. 158). It was estimated
that 96,000 persons lost their lives. The value of the
buildings destroyed amounted to about 6,500,000l.
Messina.—Arrival. Landing or embarkation 1 fr., or without
baggage 50 c., but bargain advisable. Passengers are landed at the quay
(Approdo Ferry-boats) adjoining the old Stazione Porto, where, in connection
with the express from Naples (steam-ferry from Villa San Giovanni),
express trains to Catania and Palermo are in waiting.
Hotels (inquiries should be made as to prices), all with the exception
of the Excelsior built of wood and very fair. Gr.-Hôt. Regina Elena,
Viale Roosevelt, to the E. of Viale San Martino, in an open situation
commanding fine views, to be opened in 1911; Grand-Hôtel, R. 4½–5,
B. 1¼ fr.; Excelsior, R. 4–10, B. 1½ fr.; Belvedere, R. 2½–3½ fr., these
three in the Viale San Martino; Venezia, Piazza Cavallotti.
Cab per drive 60 (with luggage 80) c., at night 1 fr.; by time, 2 fr. for the
first hour, and 1 fr. 50 c. for each addit. hour; to the Punta del Faro 6–7 fr.
Post Office, Viale San Martino.—Telegraph Office in the piazza
of the chief station.
Tourist Agency.Mrs. Pearce, Via Primo Settembre, opposite the
railway-station.
British Vice-Consul, J. B. Heynes.
The town of Messina was like Reggio completely destroyed
by the earthquake of 1908 (comp. above) and has now only 80,000
inhab. as against 110,000 in 1908. Notwithstanding this catastrophe
it was finally decided in autumn 1909 to rebuild the town
on its former site. Its harbour, one of the best in the Mediterranean,
the third in importance in Sicily, sustained no damage and
has even now a very brisk trade (1908: 3589 vessels of 2,598,647
tons burden; 1910: 3148 vessels of 2,050,733 tons burden). The
great charm of Messina consists in the beauty of its environs and
the views they afford, particularly of the Calabrian coast by
evening light.
157Originally named Zancle (i.e. sickle), Messina was one of the earliest
of the Greek colonies in Sicily, having been founded about 730 B.C. Early
in the 5th cent. it was occupied by new colonists from the Messenian Reggio
(p. 159) and called Messana. From the earliest times the Messenians took
a leading part in almost all the political agitations in the island. In 228
the Mamertines, disbanded mercenaries of Agathocles (p. 163), treacherously
seized the town and soon afterwards invoked the aid of the Romans
against Hannibal, thus directly giving rise to the first Punic war. For a
time Messina enjoyed the special favour of the Romans, and even of
Verres, the notorious proconsul, but when it became the naval base of
Pompey, in 36 B.C., it was plundered by the soldiers of Octavian. From
the period of the Crusades, by which Sicily was partly affected, date the
privileges which made Messina a kind of free city and the seat of the Sicilian
opposition to foreign domination. The failure of its war against Spain
(1672–8), notwithstanding the help of French troops sent by Louis XIV.
and two naval victories won by Admiral Duquesne over the Spanish-Dutch
fleet under De Ruyter (1676), caused the downfall of the city.
Terrible pestilences (the plague in 1740 and cholera in 1854), severe earthquakes
(in 1783 and 1894), and the bombardment of the town by the
Neapolitan fleet (in 1818) had already seriously injured Messina prior to
its recent appalling calamity.
The ruins extend along the shore to the N., from the ‘sickle’
of the harbour and the citadel, to the Giardino a Mare, under
whose plane-trees is a Camp for the destitute. The Citadel itself,
with its broad moats and its bastions, is still standing.
On the Marina or Corso Vittorio Emanuele (formerly called
also La Palazzata) are still seen several palatial façades, interrupted
by archways and passages leading to the parallel Via Garibaldi.
These are mostly relics of a uniform row of palaces, erected
after the earthquake of 1783. Opposite the ruined Palazzo Municipale
rises the Neptune Fountain, by Montorsoli, a pupil of
Michael Angelo (1557), with a colossal statue of Neptune between
Scylla and Charybdis.
Beyond the Via Garibaldi lies the Piazza del Duomo, with
the almost intact Orion Fountain by Montorsoli (1547–51), a point
which may be reached direct from the Dogana by the Via Primo
Settembre. The Cathedral (la Matrice), founded by the Normans
in 1098, is now, with the exception of the choir niche, a mass of
ruins. The short Via Università degli Studi led to the S.E. from
this piazza to the University, now also destroyed.
A few paces to the S. of the University, in the coast-plain called
the Mosella, between the Torrente Portalegni and the Torrente
Zaera, and beyond the ruins of the new quarters of the town, lies
the main Camp of wooden barracks for the homeless, flanking the
Viale San Martino.
A good survey of the ruins, as well as a superb view of the straits, is
obtained from the old Forte Castellaccio, which, along with the modern
forts, the barracks of the mountain-artillery, and the powder-magazine,
has escaped destruction. The way to it (35–40 min.) is up the Torrente
Portalegni close to ruined houses; we then skirt the Botanic Garden,
cross the Piazza Venti Settembre occupied by barracks, and ascend straight
on the steep Via Castellaccio.
158The beautiful Excursion to the Punta del Faro (cab, see
p. 156; bargain advisable) affords a good survey of the devastated
environs. The road leads from the Giardino a Mare (p. 157) and the
camp called Villaggio Regina Elena, along the foot of the hills, past
luxuriant orchards, and through the ruined fishing-villages of Salvatore
dei Greci, Paradiso, and Pace; it then skirts two lagoons,
the Pantano Grande, or Lago di Ganzirri, below the ruins of
Faro Superiore, a village famed for its wine, and the Pantano
Piccolo. On the Punta del Faro or Capo Peloro (once Promontorium
Pelorum), the N.E. point of Sicily, are the ruins of the
fishing-village of Faro or Torre del Faro, and near it the quite
intact Lighthouse (200 steps; keeper 50 c.), which commands
a splendid *View of the Lipari Islands and the Calabrian coast as
far as Cape Vaticano (comp. p. 155).
From Messina to Syracuse, 115 M., railway in 6¼–7 hrs.; fares 22 fr. 60,
15 fr. 85, 10 fr. 25 c. (journey may be broken once; to Giardini-Taormina,
30½ M., in 1½–2 hrs.). The quick trains start from Messina harbour
(comp. p. 156); the morning train, which runs to Syracuse harbour, has a
dining-car (déj. 2½ fr.). The train skirts the coast, affording fine views;
it crosses the stony channels of several torrenti or flumare, which are
generally dry, and pierces a number of headlands by means of tunnels.
7½ M. Galati; 12 M. Scaletta Zanclea, with a picturesque castle, not
far from the Capo di Scaletta; 15½ M. Alì, with sulphur-baths. Beyond
the (23 M.) beautiful cape of Sant’ Alessio, with a deserted castle, we sight
the headland of Taormina.
30½ M. Giardini-Taormina. The village of Giardini lies in a small
bay, in a malarious region, 1¼ M. beyond the Capo di Taormina. Taormina
is reached by road (3 M.), by a bridle-path, or by a steep footpath.
(Diligence 1 fr.; down, 50 c.; carr. according to number of party, 2–5 fr.;
heavy luggage had better be left at the station.)
Taormina (673 ft.; San Domenico Palace Hotel, Hotel Castello a
Mare, Timeo, International, Villa San Pancrazio, Metropole, all often
crowded from 15th Jan. to April and closed in summer; plainer, San Giorgio,
Victoria, Naumachia, etc.; Brit. vice-cons., Dr. S. Cacciola-Cartella; pop.
4000), the ancient Tauromenium, a highly picturesque little town, lies
on the S.E. spurs of Monte Venere (2900 ft.), and is overlooked by a
ruined Castle (1300 ft.) and by the village of Mola (2083 ft.). Its chief
attraction is the *Ancient Theatre, at the E. end of the town, which is
open daily till dusk. Originally Greek it was entirely remodelled in the
Roman period. The spectators’ area (cavea), almost wholly hewn in the
rock, is 357 ft. in diameter, and the orchestra (seats for persons of distinction)
115 ft.; the stage (pulpitum) is particularly well preserved. The
*View from the site of the theatre is one of the most beautiful in Italy,
especially in the morning, when the sun rises above Calabria or, in winter,
from the sea, imparting a rosy hue to the snowy peak of Mt. Ætna
(p. 159), and gilding the rocky heights beyond the theatre.
Between Taormina and Catania the train crosses a number of the lava-streams
descending from Mt. Ætna. On the northmost of these, near
Schisò, between the bay of Giardini and the mouth of the Alcántara
(Arabic al-kántara, the bridge), lay Naxos, founded in 735 B. C., the
oldest Greek colony in Sicily.
41 M. Giarre-Riposto, the station for the country-town of Giarre
and for the seaport of Riposto which has a brisk trade in wine. It is
also the starting-point of the railway round the W. side of Mt. Ætna
(‘Ferrovia Circumetnéa’; 68½ M. in length).
51 M. Acireale (525 ft.; Sicil. Iaci), a wealthy country-town built on
159several lava-streams and much frequented as a bathing-place on account
of its mineral springs (sulphur, salt, and iodine).—Near (55½ M.) Aci
Castello we perceive on the left in the sea seven cliffs of columnar basalt,
the Scogli de’ Ciclopi or Islands of Cyclops, the rocks which according
to Greek myth the blinded Polyphemus hurled after the crafty Ulysses.
Running inland the train enters the Piana di Catania, the plain of
the rivers Simeto and Gornalunga, which is often flooded in winter. This
was the region of the Laestrygonian Fields of antiquity, extolled by Cicero
as the ‘uberrima Siciliæ pars’, and still the granary of the island. To the
right, beyond the Monti Cartina, in a malarious district lies the Lago
di Lentini, the largest lake in Sicily. On the left, beyond (77½ M.)
Lentini, Greek Leontinoi, is the swampy lagoon Pantano di Carlentini.
We pass numerous salt-works and snow-white pyramids of sea-salt.
94 M. Augusta (the ancient Xiphonia), a seaport with 16,000 inhab.,
lies in a site similar to that of Syracuse, on the N. margin of the Bay
of Megara, which is bounded by the headlands of Santa Croce and Santa
Panagia (p. 162). 98½ M. Mégara Iblea, not far from the site of the Greek
colony of Megara Hyblea. On the left is the Penisola Magnisi, the
ancient Thapsos, on the N. side of which lay the fleet of the Athenians
during their expedition against Syracuse (p. 163).
The train passes the small bay of Trogilos, where the fleet of Marcellus
once anchored (p. 163), and a tunny-fishery (tonnara), runs through
a cutting, and skirts the limestone plateau near Cape Santa Panagia. To
the left we have a fine view of the sea and the modern town, and at length
reach the (115 M.) harbour-station of Syracuse (p. 162).
From Messina to (8 M.) Reggio, a delightful trip, especially
by morning light, either by one of the steamers mentioned at
p. 154 or by one of the ferry-boats (comp. p. 156). To the left,
nearly opposite Messina, is the little town of Villa San Giovanni
(p. 155), now in ruins, as are also the villages of Catona, Gallico,
Archi, and others farther to the S.
Reggio (Alb. Veneto-Trentino, a temporary hotel-restaurant),
before the earthquake of 1908 a town of 35,000 inhab., called
Reggio Calabria to distinguish it from Reggio in the Emilia, lies
at the W. base of the Aspromonte (p. 155). The ancient Rhegium,
originally a Eubœan colony, but occupied by new Messenian settlers
in 723 B.C., has been destroyed eight times in war and twice by
earthquakes (1783 and 1908). Its last disaster was most appalling
in the upper quarters. Along the shore and in the piazzas the
survivors are now living in huts. The Strada Reggio Campi
above the town offers a beautiful view especially towards evening.
On the Voyage to Catania we enjoy a splendid view of the
whole of the straits as far as the Punta del Faro (p. 158), and later
of the coast of Calabria from the Punta di Pellaro (p. 155) to the
Capo dell’ Armi. On the Sicilian coast rise the Monti Peloritani
(p. 155) and the majestic Mt. Ætna (10,958 ft.; Ital. Etna), the
highest volcano in Europe, with its countless minor craters and the
great Valle del Bove, the remains of the enormous oldest crater,
3 M. broad, bounded by rocky slopes of 1900–3900 ft. in height.
The view is specially striking beyond Taormina (p. 158), and we
160obtain also a good idea of the volume and the direction of the old
lava-streams. After sixteen years’ quiescence fresh flows of lava
were emitted in the Valle del Bove in 1908 and from the volcano’s
S. slope in 1910.
Beyond Acireale (p. 158) and Cape Molini, the N. limit of the
broad Bay of Catania, we sight the Scogli de’ Ciclopi (p. 159).
As we enter the harbour of Catania we have a fine view of the S.
side of Ætna.
Catania.—Arrival. The steamers anchor in the Nuovo Porto
(Pl. F, G, 6), whence passengers are rowed (60 c.; with baggage 1 fr.) to
the Dogana (Pl. F, G, 5) in the Porto Vecchio, a harbour very much
contracted by the lava-stream of 1669 (see below).
Hotels. *Grande Bretagne (Pl. a; F, 4), Via Lincoln, R. 3½–6, B.
1½, déj. 3½, D. 5½ fr.; *Bristol & du Globe (Pl. c; E, 4), Via Santa Maria
del Rosario, R. 3½–6 B. 1½ déj. 3, D. 4½ fr.; Centrale Europa (Pl. d;
E, 5), cor. of the Piazza del Duomo and Via Raddusa, R. 2½–4, omn. ¾ fr.,
well spoken of; and others.
Restaurants.Marconi, Piazza Università 15, good; Savoia, Via
Marletta 15, behind the Municipio.—Caffè Tricomi, Via Stesicoro Etnea
30; Caffè Amato, Via Stesicoro Etnea 151.—Birreria Svizzera, Via Stesicoro
Etnea 139 (déj. 2½, D. 3 fr.), music in the evening, good.
Steamboat Agents.Società Nazionale, Piazza Duca di Genova 18
(Pl. F, 5); North German Lloyd, Munzone, Mineo, & Co., same piazza, No. 3.
British Vice-Consul, W. A. Franck.—Post & Telegraph Office
(Pl. E, 4), Via Manzoni.—English Church Services.
Tramways. The chief line is from the railway-station (Stazione
Sicula; Pl. H, 4) through Corso Vittorio Emanuele to the Piazza del Duomo
(Pl. E, 5); then to the N. through Via Stesicoro Etnea to the ‘Ingresso’
of Villa Bellini (Pl. E, 2) and Piazza Gioeni.—Cab 40 (at night 50) c. per
drive; first hour 1½ fr. (two-horse 2 fr. 30 c.).
Catania, a wealthy town of 162,000 inhab., the largest in
Sicily after Palermo, the seat of a university, a bishop, and a natural
science academy, has lately become the chief outlet for the
products of the island, especially those of the extremely fertile environs.
Katana, founded like Naxos by Eubœans, about 729 B. C.,
became famous as the home of Charondas, the framer of the earliest
Greek code of law (about 640). In the Athenian and Syracusan
war (p. 163) it formed the Athenian base of attack. Katana
was one of the first places in Sicily occupied by the Romans, and
under their sway became one of the most populous towns in the
island. In the middle ages it vied for a time with Palermo and
Messina as a favourite residence of the Aragon sovereigns. It has
repeatedly suffered severely from the eruptions of Mt. Ætna (especially
in 122 B. C. and in 1669) and from earthquakes (1169 and
1693), and the present town has been built almost entirely since 1693.
From the Porto Vecchio, into which falls the brook Amenana
after passing through the lava under the town, we walk through
the Peschería (fish and provision market) to the—
161Cathedral (Pl. E, 5; visible from the sea), begun by the Norman
Roger I. with materials from the ancient theatre (p. 161),
but almost entirely destroyed by the earthquake of 1169. In the
choir repose the Aragon sovereigns of the 14th cent.; in the right
side-apse are treasured the remains of St. Agatha, who, like St. Rosalia
(p. 152), was one of the most famous saints of Sicily, and
whose veil is said to have diverted the lava-stream of 1669 (Pl. B,
1–3) from the city at a point near the Benedictine monastery (see
below). Opposite, on the right, is the monument of the viceroy
Acuña (d. 1494), quite Spanish in style. By the second pillar on
the right is the tomb of Vinc. Bellini, the composer, a native of
Catania (1802–35).
In the Piazza del Duomo rises a fountain with an antique elephant
in lava, bearing an Egyptian obelisk of granite. Past its N.
side runs the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, with the Piazza dei Martiri
and the statue of St. Agatha at its E. end (Pl. G, 5). We follow the
Corso to the W. to the Via Sant’Agostino, by the church of that
name (Pl. D, 5), and here turn to the N. past the entirely altered
Roman Odeum (comp. p. 349) to the Via del Teatro Greco. Here,
near the corner on the right, at No. 37, is the entrance to the—
Ancient Theatre (Pl. D, 4, 5; custodian at No. 33; fee 50 c.),
once a fine structure, but now so buried in lava that some parts of
it can be explored only by candle-light. The foundations alone
date from the Greek period.—In the Piazza Dante, a little to the
N.W., is the suppressed Benedictine monastery of—
San Nicolò (Pl. C, D, 4), or San Benedetto, dating in its present
form from the early 18th cent., with an imposing baroque
church. The extensive buildings now contain barracks, a school, the
civic museum, the library, and the observatory. The church-tower
(entr. through the portal to the S. of the façade; gratuity) commands
a panoramic *View of the town, Mt. Ætna, and the Sicilian and
Calabrian coasts, which is finest before 9 a.m.
At the Piazza Dante begins the Via Lincoln (Pl. D-F, 4), the
second great thoroughfare of the town running W. to E., partly hewn
through the lava-stream of 1669. This street is crossed by the—
Via Stesicoro Etnea (Pl. E, 5–1), which intersects the whole
town, from the Piazza del Duomo (see above) to the N. end. Here
rise the chief public buildings of Catania, the Municipio (Pl. E, 5),
the University, and the Prefettura (Pl. E, 4).
Farther to the N. is the Piazza Stesicoro; on its left side is
the church of San Cárcere (Pl. E, 3), with an interesting Norman
portal brought from the cathedral. Close by the N. part of a Roman
Amphitheatre has been laid bare (greater diameter 138, smaller
116 yds.); the unusually large arena (77 by 55 yds.) is second
only to that of the Colosseum (94 by 59 yds.).
Still farther to the N., on the left, is the entrance to the Villa
Bellini (Pl. E, 2), a public park with fine views.
After returning to the Porto Vecchio we may follow the Via
162Scuto to the picturesque Castello Ursino (Pl. D, 6), dating from
the time of Emp. Frederick II. (after 1239). The quarter to the
E. of the castle is almost the only relic of the old town.
On the Voyage to Syracuse the steamer proceeds to the S.E.
at some distance from the Piana di Catania (p. 159), affording a
splendid view astern of Mt. Ætna, and passes Capo Campolato,
Capo Santa Croce (p. 159), and the Bay of Megara.
As we enter the Bay of Syracuse, bounded on the N. by the
plateau of Capo Santa Panagia (p. 159), and on the S.E. by the low
Penisola della Maddalena (177 ft.), the ancient Plemmyrion, we
obtain an excellent idea of the site of the present island-city, and
of the vast extent of the ancient city on the mainland to the N.W.,
stretching up the hill to the village of Belvedere (p. 166).
The entrance to the inner bay of the Porto Grande, now much
choked with sand, between the lighthouse at the end of the island
and that of the peninsula, behind the cliff of La Galera, is only
1312 yds. across. In the swampy and in summer malarious plain
on the W. bank of the harbour are the mouths of the rivers Anăpo
and Ciani, the ancient Anapos and Kyane.
Syracuse.—Arrival by Sea. The steamers anchor near the
landing-place at the Porta Marina (Scalo; comp. Map). Landing or embarkation
50 c., with baggage 1 fr.
Railway Stations. The Central Station (Stazione, see Map) is on
the Floridia road (p. 165), 1 M. to the N.W. of the town. The expresses
run down to the Stazione Porto.
Hotels (advisable to ask charges beforehand). *Grand-Hôt. Villa
Politi (V. P. on the Map), on the mainland, near and in the Latomia dei
Cappuccini (p. 165), with beautiful garden and fine views, R. 4–8, B. 1½,
déj. 3½, D. 5, pens. 10–16, omn. 1½ fr; *Hôt. des Etrangers (formerly
Casa Politi), near the Arethusa Fountain, similar charges; *Grand-Hôtel,
Piazza Mazzini, close to the busy harbour, similar charges.—Second-class:
Alb. Roma, Via Roma 64, R. 1¾–3 fr., well spoken of; Alb. Firenze, Via
Roma 73, R. from 1½ fr; Alb. Cavour, Via Savoia, behind the Dogana,
R. 1½–3 fr.; these three with restaurants (Ital. cuisine).
Café.Croce di Savoia, Piazza del Duomo.
Cabs. (Night fares from ½ hr. after sunset till sunrise. Fares should
be ascertained before starting.) Per drive in the town (incl. harbour-station)
40 c., with pair 1 fr., at night 70 c. or 1½ fr.; to or from chief
station 65 c. or 1½ fr., at night 90 c. or 1 fr. 90 c. (luggage over 25 kilos
or 55 lbs. 25, over 50 kilos or 1 cwt. 50 c.); first hour 1½ or 2½ fr., each
addit. ½ hr. 60 c. or 1½ fr.—For a long drive it is best to choose one’s
own vehicle in the Piazza del Duomo. For an afternoon (noon till ½ hr.
after sundown) 5 or 10 fr., whole day 10 or 20 fr. Cheaper fares may
generally be agreed upon out of the season.
Steamboat Agents.—Società Nazionale, Via Ruggiero Settimo 38,
close to the Dogana; Hungarian Adria Co., also Lloyd’s Agents, Gaet.
Bozzanca & Figlio.
British Vice-Consul, Joseph Lobb.—Post & Telegraph Office, Via
Roma.
English Church Service in winter.
163One Day. The chief sights in the modern town are the Cathedral,
the Museum, and the Arethusa Fountain (p. 164). The greater part of the
day should be devoted to the ancient town. The most interesting places
there (the Euryelus excepted) may be visited by carriage in 3–4 hrs.:
Latomia dei Cappuccini (p. 165), Catacombs of San Giovanni (p. 165), Amphitheatre
(p. 166), Hiero’s Altar (p. 166), Greek Theatre (p. 166; best towards
sunset for the sake of the view). Walkers should ferry direct from the
Prigioni in the town to the N. bank of the Porto Piccolo (10 c.).
Syracuse, Ital. Siracusa, the most populous town in Sicily in
ancient times, and indeed the most important of all the Hellenic
cities, now a mere shadow of its glorious past, with 27,000 inhab.
only, lies on an island separated from the mainland by a narrow
strait. It was founded under the name of Syracusae by Corinthians,
in 734 B. C., on the island then called Ortygia, where a Phœnician
settlement had perhaps already existed. Endless party conflicts
between the nobles and the townspeople led in 485 to the intervention
of the tyrant Gelon of Gela, who made Syracuse his residence.
In alliance with Theron of Acragas (Girgenti) he defeated
the Carthaginians at the battle of Himera in 480, the same
year in which the victory of Salamis (p. 506) saved the mother-country
from destruction. The Syracusans thereafter gradually
extended their sway over the greater part of Sicily till the year 415
when to their dismay the Athenians, instigated by Alcibiades, intervened
in Sicilian politics, and with the aid of the neighbouring
towns of Catana and Leontinoi (p. 159) proceeded to besiege the
city. In 413 the might of Athens was for ever shattered before the
walls of Syracuse, but the dread of being attacked anew by the
Carthaginians induced the Syracusans to entrust their government
to the tyrant Dionysius I. (406–367), next to the Persian monarchs
the most powerful prince of his age, who refortified and embellished
the city. The tyrant Agathocles (317–289) conducted a brilliant
expedition against Carthage, but without permanent success. The
last phase of the glory of Syracuse was witnessed in the long reign
of Hiero II. (275–216). As the Syracusans, after his death, allied
themselves with Hannibal, their city was besieged by Marcellus
in 214–212, and after its capture was sacked and destroyed. Since
then it has never again taken any part in political life, but in spite
of its downfall it is still one of the most interesting places in the
whole of Sicily, while the beauty of its environs is hardly less
fascinating than the monuments of its glorious past.
From the harbour-station (p. 162) the broad Corso Umberto
Primo (p. 165) crosses the strait to the island on which lies the
Modern Town, whose narrow winding streets are still of mediæval
type. A pleasant walk, with a view of Mt. Ætna, is by the Foro
Vittorio Emanuele Secondo and Passeggio Aretusa, leading from
the Piazza Mazzini and the landing-place (p. 162) along the harbour.
164In the grounds at the S. end of the promenade is a statue of the
famous mathematician Archimedes, who defended his native city
against Marcellus. Near it is the Fontana Aretusa, enclosed by
papyrus-shrubs. From this point the Via Maniace leads to the S.E.
to the Castello Maniace, a Hohenstaufen castle at the S. end of
the island, completed under Emp. Frederick II. in 1239, but now
modernized. To the N. of the Fontana lies the Piazza del Duomo.
The Cathedral is built into a Doric temple, probably of
Minerva, the beauty of which was extolled by Cicero in his oration
against Verres (p. 157). It stood on a basement of three steps,
about 61 yds. long and 24 yds. broad. The ancient columns with
their entablature still project on the N. side, and in the interior
nineteen columns also are visible.
The Archæological Museum, opposite the cathedral, to the
N.W., contains valuable antiquities, mostly Sicilian, from the earliest
ages down to the Christian period. Adm. on week-days, Oct.–June
9–3, July-Sept. 8–2, 1 fr.; Sun. (not all rooms accessible)
10–2, free.
Ground Floor. In Room I, Early-Christian inscriptions and the
sarcophagus of Adelfia (5th cent.) from the catacombs of San Giovanni
(p. 165). In Rooms III-V, Greek inscriptions, sarcophagi, cinerary urns,
and architectural fragments. Room VI. Earthenware sarcophagi from Gela
(6–5th cent. B. C.), Hellenistic and Roman sculptures. Room VII. Chiefly
Greek sculptures. In Room VIII, a fine Venus Anadyomene (Hellenistic).
The Staircase and First Floor (Rooms XI and XVII-XIX) contain
the ancient historical collection, showing the progress of Sicilian culture
from the pre-Greek period (from the 15th cent.) down to the 5th cent. B. C.—Rooms
XII, XIII. Greek vases from Sicily and Lower Italy, archaic
bronzes and coins from ancient Sicily. Rooms XIV-XVI. Terracottas.
The mediæval and modern collections of the Museum are to be transferred
to the Palazzo Bellomo, a building of the 15th cent., in the Via
Capodieci running to the E. from the Fontana Aretusa.
The Via Cavour leads to the N. from the Piazza del Duomo
to the Via Diana, where on the left are the ruins of the so-called
Temple of Diana (keys at the barber’s opposite; fee 30 c.), but
now believed to have been dedicated to Apollo. This is one of
the most curious of Greek temples. In front stood two rows of six
columns each. The side-walls were of unusual length and were
each probably flanked by nineteen columns.
Long before the Athenian campaign (p. 163) Ancient Syracuse
had extended her boundaries far beyond her island of Ortygia and
across the high plateau to the N. to the bay of Trogilos and the
present tonnara near Cape Santa Panagia (p. 159). The earliest
extension consisted in the Achradina, the smaller half of which
lay between the great harbour and the plateau, while the larger
half occupied the E. margin of the latter, and was enclosed by a
165wall whose ruins still exist. Adjoining the Achradina on the W.
were the Neapolis, or new city, on a terrace above the great harbour,
and the quarter named Tyche after a temple of the goddess
of Fortune. The Epipolae, the fifth and highest quarter, on the W.
side of the plateau, was the chief base of the Athenian besiegers;
but it was only completed after Dionysius I. had (about 402–385)
enclosed the entire half of the plateau stretching from the Achradina
wall westwards, with a huge city-wall, and had built the
fortress of Euryelus at its W. end. The circumference of the city,
which however embraced a good deal of unoccupied land, was thus
no less than 17 M. Of the enclosing wall 10½ M. still exist.
We begin with the Achradina. The Corso Umberto Primo
(p. 163), the main street of the new suburb on the mainland, leads
in 10 min. to a round piazza whence radiate the Floridia road, passing
the central station, and the Catania and Noto roads. The remains of
columns on the drilling-ground between this piazza and the small
harbour probably belonged to a superb Agora or market-place.
From this point we follow the Catania road to the N., whence
an avenue soon diverges to the right to the Porto Piccolo (ferry,
see p. 163), now choked with sand, and leads along the shore, below
the suburb of Santa Lucia, and across a railway cutting, to (25 min.)
the Capuchin Monastery (now a poor-house). Close by, on the
right, is the entrance to the—
*Latomía dei Cappuccino (adm. 30 c.), one of the wildest
and grandest of the old quarries of Syracuse, now clothed with rich
vegetation. It was here probably that the 7000 Athenian prisoners
of war languished in 413 B. C.
Following the road to the W. we skirt the plateau and pass the
Cimitero to (10 min.) the road coming from the upper Achradina,
and go on by a cart-road, whence, by the Latomia del Casale, we
see the Catania road before us and the church of San Giovanni
below, on the left.
San Giovanni occupies the W. part of an old Norman basilica;
steps in the N.E. corner lead to the crypt of St. Marcian (4th cent.).
A monk, who shows the church also if desired (fee ½–l fr.; ring,
on the S. side, door to the E. of the vestibule), conducts us to the—
*Catacombs of San Giovanni, which like most of the catacombs
of Syracuse and its environs, far surpass those of Rome in
extent. The main passage of this great burial-place (4–7th cent.
A. D.), 10 ft. high and 6 ft. wide, runs through the rock from W.
to E. for 116 yds., and from it diverge short lateral passages ending
in circular chambers. Of the mural decoration little is now left.
A little farther to the W. we cross the Catania road to the
region of Neapolis, and follow the road leading to the Greek
theatre. To the left, in 5 min., we reach the house of the custodian
(½ fr.) of the Roman—
166Amphitheatre, constructed in the time of Augustus, 153 by
130 yds. in area. In the arena lie many blocks of the marble parapet
belonging to a restoration of the 3rd century.
About 120 yds. farther to the W. is the entrance, also on the
left, to the great Altar of Hiero II. (30–50 c.). On this vast altar,
219 yds. long and 25 yds. broad and originally rising in two huge
steps to a height of 34½ ft., were probably sacrificed the annual
hecatombs of 450 bulls in memory of the expulsion of the tyrant
Thrasybulus (466).
Opposite we see the Latomia del Paradiso, an ancient
quarry 95–130 ft. deep, so-named from the most luxuriant vegetation
which now clothes it (entrance through the gateway on the
left). In its W. slope is the so-called Ear of Dionysius (entrance
below, on the left), an S-shaped cavern, 71 yds. deep, 6–12 yds.
wide, and 76 ft. high, tapering at the top, with remarkable acoustic
properties. As the tyrant is said to have had prisons where from
a certain spot he could hear every whisper, the tradition has been
arbitrarily associated with this cavern.
The road next passes under the modern arches of the aqueduct
and reaches, on the right, the *Greek Theatre (5th cent. B. C.),
one of the largest in the Hellenic world. It is hewn in the rock,
forming more than a semicircle. Its diameter is 147 yds.; 46 tiers
of seats are still preserved; the eleven lower rows were covered
with marble. Towards sunset we have a delightful *View of the
town, the Porto Grande, the headland of Plemmyrion, and the sea.
Above the theatre is the so-called Nymphaeum, a grotto into
which the aqueduct (see below) was led. On its left side the Via
delle Tombe, hewn in the rock, ascends in a curve for 165 yds., with
many lateral cuttings and tomb-chambers of the late-Roman age.
From the Catania road, ¼ M. to the N. of the branch-road to the
Greek theatre, diverges to the left the New Euryelus Road, 3 M. long.
It leads to the W., soon passing the Casa dei Gesuiti, to which walkers
may ascend direct from the Nymphæum. It runs parallel with an Ancient
Aqueduct (‘Acquedotto Galermi’), crosses the desolate plateau, very hot
in summer, once the site of the Greek Neapolis and of Epipolae (p. 165),
and joins the old Euryelus road beyond the S. wall of Dionysius I. A
little farther, where the road diverges to the left to the village of Belvedere
and the Posto Semafórico or Telégrafo (617 ft.; fine view), is the
Casa dei Viaggiatori (rfmts.; open from 15th Jan. to 15th May). Our road
ends on the W. side of Euryelus, 130 yds. from the custodian’s house.
The *Euryelus (adm. 50 c.), the ‘outer fort’ of the Epipolæ, built
about 400 B.C., at the junction of the N. and S. walls of Dionysius, is
one of the best-preserved of ancient Greek fortifications. The five massive
towers on the W. side, whence we survey the whole site of ancient
Syracuse and enjoy a fine view ranging from Mt. Ætna to Calabria, are
flanked with two deep moats hewn in the rock. In the first of these are
subterranean apertures for sallying purposes.
We may return to Syracuse by the Old Euryelus Road. On the
S. side of the plateau it joins the Floridia road, 1¼ M. from the station.
VI. ALGERIA. — 28. Oran. — a. The Harbour and the Old Town. — b. The New Town. — c. Environs. — 29. From Oran to Tlemcen. — 30. Tlemcen. — 31. Prom Tlemcen to Nemours viâ Lalla-Marnia. — 32. From Oran to Beni-Ounif de Figuig ( Colomb-Béchar ) viâ Damesme and Perrégaux. — 33. From Oran to Algiers. — 34. Algiers. — As to visiting the Mosques , see p. 174 .—Men are not admitted to the Mohammedan Cemeteries (p. xxvi) on Frid. and holidays 12–6. — a. Lower Quarter of the Old Town. — b. The Kasba. — c. Mustapha-Supérieur and Environs. — d. The S.E. Suburbs. — e. El-Biar and Bouzaréah. — f. Notre-Dame d’Afrique and St. Eugène. — 35. From Algiers to Tipaza and Cherchell. — a. Viâ Castiglione. — b. Viâ El-Affroun and Marengo. — 36. From Algiers to Cape Matifou and to Aïn-Taya viâ Maison-Carrée. — 37. From Algiers to Bougie viâ Beni-Mansour. — 38. From Algiers to Tizi-Ouzou. From Camp-du-Maréchal to Tigzirt. — 39. From Tizi-Ouzou viâ Fort-National to Maillot or Tazmalt. — 40. From Fort-National viâ Azazga to Bougie. — 41. Bougie. — 42. From Bougie through the Chabet el-Akra to Sétif. — 43. From Algiers to Constantine viâ Beni-Mansour, Sétif, and El-Guerrah. — 44. From Constantine to Biskra viâ El-Guerrah and Batna. — 45. From Batna viâ Lambèse to Timgad. — 46. Constantine. — 47. From Constantine to Philippeville. — 48. From Constantine to Bona viâ Duvivier. — 49. From Constantine or Bona viâ Duvivier to Souk-Ahras ( Tebessa , Tunis ). — 50. From Souk-Ahras to Tebessa.
167
Route
Page
Geographical and Historical Sketch. Preliminary Information
a. The Harbour and the Old Town, 178.—b. The New Town, 180.—c. Environs (Fort Santa Cruz, Belvédère, Mers el-Kébir, Promenade des Falaises), 182.—From Oran to Hammam Bou-Hadjar, 184.
Kalàa. From Relizane to Mostaganem; to Tiaret, 207.—Mazouna, 208.—From Orléansville to Ténès, 209.—From Affreville to the Cedar Forest of Teniet el-Haâd, 210.—From Miliana to Margueritte. From Bou-Medfa to Hammam Rhira, 212.—From Blida to Berrouaghia. From Boghari to Ghardaïa viâ Djelfa and Laghouat, 215.
a. Lower Quarter of the Old Town (Harbour, Mosquée de la Pêcherie, Great Mosque, Jardin Marengo, Archevêché, Cathedral, National Library), 222.—b. The Kasba, 226.—c. Mustapha-Supérieur and Environs (Museum, Chemin du Télemly, Birmandreis), 228.—d. The S.E. Suburbs (Jardin d’Essai, Hussein-Dey, Kouba), 232.—e. El-Biar and Bouzaréah (Forêt de Baïnem), 233.—f. Notre-Dame d’Afrique and St. Eugène, 235.
The Medracen, 274.—Zana. Jebel Touggour, 275.—Jebel Metlili. Gorges de Tilatou, 277.—The Aurès Mts., 278.—Environs of Biskra, 281.—From Biskra to Sidi-Okba, 283.—From Biskra to M’chounech; to Touggourt, 284.—The Oued Rhir. From Touggourt to Nefta viâ El-Oued. The Souf, 285.
Algeria, the central part of Barbary (Arab. Jezirat el-Maghreb) and since 1830 a French colony, covers an area of about 77,500
sq. M., or, including the S. territories (p. 170), about 342,500 sq.
M., and contains 5,232,000 inhab. (4½ million Mohammedans and
730,000 Europeans, mostly of French, Spanish, and Italian origin).
169It extends from Oued Kiss, which was substituted for the Mulûya
(p. 93) by the Morocco treaty of 1845, to Cape Roux (p. 131),
the boundary of Tunisia, and from the Mediterranean to the
Highlands of Ahaggar in the interior of the Sahara. The arbitrary
division of N. Algeria into the three départements of Oran, Alger,
and Constantine is a survival of the Turkish administration. The
orographical regions, sharply defined except towards the E., are
the Tell Atlas (p. xxx), the E. prolongation of the Rîf Mts. (p. 93),
the Great Steppe, and the Sahara Atlas.
The Tell Atlas (Atlas Tellien), the most important part of
this vast territory, consists of two parallel ranges of folded hills
of recent origin, which intersect a great basin stretching from the
Atlantic to the bay of Tunis. The highest points of the range next
the coast are the Traras (3727 ft.), the Dahra (5181 ft.), the Atlas
of Blida (5345 ft.), the Jurjura Chain (7572 ft.) in Great Kabylia,
and the Babor Range (6575 ft.) in Little Kabylia. In the interior
rise the Tlemcen Group (6047 ft.), the Ouarsenis (6512 ft.), the
Jebel Dira (5938 ft.), and the Hodna Mts. (6112 ft.), which last
form the only considerable link between the Tell and the Sahara
Atlas. The Littoral, 842 M. in length, with long, precipitous, and
almost inaccessible stretches, has ever been dreaded on account
of its storms; it is broken by the bays of Oran, Arzew, Algiers,
Bougie, Philippeville, and Bona, but does not possess a single good
natural harbour. Flanking the coast, in front of the Tell Atlas,
are several ranges of lower hills (Sahel), as the Sahel of Oran,
between Lourmel and the mouth of the Chélif, the Sahel of Algiers,
and the Sahel of Collo, while the Edough Group (3307 ft.), composed
of crystalline rock, forms an independent mountain. The
extensive plains behind the Sahels, which at Oran are marshy
(Marais de la Macta) and have besides the remains of great salt
lagoons (Sebkha d’Oran and Salines d’Arzew), and especially the
Mitidja near Algiers, once a bay of the sea, and the Plaine de
Bône, are the most fertile and richly cultivated parts of Algeria.
The Hauts-Plateaux or Great Steppe, an almost unwatered
region, was originally a deep depression between the Tell and the
Sahara Atlas, which in the course of thousands of years was gradually
filled up with the alluvial deposits of mountain-torrents, and
thus converted into a great and monotonous undulating plain, 2300–3300
ft. above the sea-level. The saline and gipseous soil is very
sterile and is only at a few places adapted for the culture of grain,
but has proved suitable for sheep-grazing. In the depressions of
the steppe lie a number of extensive shotts or salt-lakes, which
in summer are dry and recognizable only by their dazzling snow-white
incrustation. Among these are the Chott Gharbi (Rharbi)
and the Chott ech-Chergui in Oran, the Zahrès Gharbi and Zahrès
Chergui in Algiers, and the Chott el-Hodna at Constantine.
170The Sahara Atlas (Atlas Saharien) forms the great barrier
between Algeria and the desert. It is ‘a region of grand and wildly
fissured gorges, partly caused by erosion in the pluvial period, of
valleys worn by torrents, of lofty plains converted into mountains,
and of marine basins now filled up’ (Theob. Fischer). The chief
heights are the Montagnes des Ksour (7004 ft.), a prolongation of
the much higher Morocco Atlas (p. 93), Jebel Amour (6467 ft.),
the Monts des Ouled-Naïl (5295 ft.), and, beyond the depression
of the Monts du Zab (4304 ft.), the Aurès Mts. (7634 ft.), which
are wooded in their N. half, and next to Great Kabylia have the
finest hill-scenery in Algeria.
The Sahara, which belongs to the Territoires du Sud or de
Commandement, governed by the military ‘Bureaux Arabes’, consists
of the Bassin du Gourara or Bassin de l’Oued Saoura on
the W., a plateau 330–2600 ft. above the sea, and of the Bassin du
Melrir, named after the Chott Melrir, on the E., lying partly below
the sea-level. Within this desert region, which is divided by
the limestone plateau of the Mzab, are distinguished the Hammadas,
or lofty plateaux, with rocky or hard clay-soil, entirely waterless
and sterile, and the Areg (sing. Erg), the extensive sand-hills
rising a few hundred feet above the plains. From the Sahara Atlas
and from the hills of the S. Sahara descend numerous water-courses,
mostly subterranean, towards the plains, enabling the natives by
means of irrigation to form a girdle of oases, which like the coast-plains
are apt to be malarious in summer.
Climatically also Algeria is a land of striking contrasts. The
rainfall in the provinces of Algiers and Constantine, on the coast,
and especially in the higher parts of the Tell Atlas, is abundant
(thus at Algiers 25 inches, at Blida 37, Bougie 41½, Fort-National
45 inches). Being partly sheltered from the rainy N.W. winds by
the Tell Atlas, the Hauts-Plateaux have a lower rainfall (16–20
inches), which as in the Tell often takes the form of snowstorms.
In the Sahara Atlas and the Sahara itself, where the dry
trade-winds prevail during the greater part of the year, the rainfall
diminishes considerably as we go southwards (thus at Biskra 7, at
Goléa 2¾ inches). Even in the coast-lands, however, the prolonged
drought of summer necessitates the use of artificial irrigation by
means of barrages across the valleys. The temperature on the coast
varies comparatively little (thus at Algiers 54½° Fahr. in winter,
74° in summer), but the moisture of the air renders it almost
unbearably hot in summer. On the Hauts-Plateaux, on the other
hand, in the Sahara Atlas, and notably in the Sahara, there are
great extremes of heat and cold, the variations not only between
summer and winter, but also between day and night (in consequence
of the great evaporation after hot, cloudless days) being very marked
(thus, minimum at Constantine 16° Fahr., at Aïn-Sefra 17½° at
171Géryville 8½° Touggourt 19½°; maximum at Géryville 109°,
at Biskra 118°, at Touggourt 122°).
The fauna of Algeria is comparatively poor. The Barbary lion
and the ostrich have been exterminated, and the panther is now
rare; but we occasionally see camels, hyænas, jackals, maned
sheep (p. 277), one species of ape (Magot, Macacus ecaudatus), a
few poisonous snakes, and the unduly dreaded scorpion. The flora
on the other hand is strikingly rich and varied. In the coast-zone
occur all the usual Mediterranean plants. In the Tell Atlas there
still exist, in spite of the wanton destruction of trees by the natives,
remains of ancient forests of cork-trees (Quercus suber), evergreen
oaks (Quercus Ilex and Quercus cenis), Aleppo pines, and occasionally
of cedars (p. 210). In marked contrast to this vegetation is
that of the great steppes, where the saline plants, the meagre dwarf-palms
(Chamærops humilis), and particularly the alfa (halfa) or
esparto grass (Macrochloa tenacissima), of which immense quantities
are exported chiefly from the province of Oran, proclaim the proximity
of the sterile and dreary desert. At Bou-Saâda (p. 270), in
the hottest S. valleys of the Sahara Atlas, and in the oases of the
Sahara we find the home of the date-palm (Phœnix dactylifera,
Arabic nakhl), whose fruit is the chief food of the poorer classes
and also an important article of commerce, whose sap yields palmwine,
whose trunks afford building material, and with whose leaves
are made the mats and bedding of the natives.
The majority of the native inhabitants, who in the S. regions,
away from the oases, are chiefly nomadic, are Berbers (p. 94).
These, however, since the immigration of the Beni Hilal and Beni
Soleïm (p. 323), have mingled with Arabs much more than in Morocco,
and outside of their mountain fastnesses have completely
exchanged their own individuality for that of the Arab. The town
populations, especially in the province of Algiers, are composed of
a motley assemblage of Moors, descended from Spanish Moriscoes
or from pirates (largely Christian apostates), of Kabyles (p. 252),
Mozabites (p. 216), Biskris (p. 280), and lastly of Kuluglis,
descended from Turks and Moorish women. The Jews, partly
settled in Barbary since ancient times, partly immigrants from
Spain, have enjoyed, unlike the Mohammedans, the full rights of
citizenship since 1870, but, though thriving materially, they are
hardly superior in culture to the less favoured inhabitants.
Down to the end of the middle ages Algeria was historically
inseparable from Tunisia and Morocco (see pp. 95, 187, 188, 322).
After the whole coast as far as the Atlantic had been colonized by
the Carthaginians, and the whole of S. Algeria by the Romans, but
with diminishing energy as they proceeded from E. to W., a period
of decadence set in. Troubles began with the revolt of the Circumcelliones,
and were succeeded by the party strife between Catholics
172and Donatists, by the religious persecutions under the Arian Vandal
kings (p. 322), by the misgovernment of the Byzantines (534–698),
and by the irruption of the Arabs (p. 322). During the Moorish
period, as Algeria only formed an independent state for a time
under the Ibadites (p. 323) and the Hammadites (p. 263), while in
the W. regions the kingdom of Tlemcen (p. 188) was afterwards
founded, it proved a constant apple of discord between the powerful
dynasties of Morocco and Tunisia. The intrusion of the Spaniards
(p. 178) next led to the intervention of the Turks and to the establishment
of a piratical state by Horuk Barbarossa (comp. p. 221).
Under the sway of France great improvements have been introduced;
many of the most fertile regions on the coast and in the Tell Atlas
have become state property and that of French companies or of
industrious colonists (mostly Spaniards, S. French, Alsatians, and
Lorrainers), and the long neglected seaports have awoke to new
life. The whole country has been opened up by a network of excellent
roads, and railways have been carried to the confines of
the Sahara. In the towns, with the exception of Tlemcen and Constantine,
most of the old Moorish and Turkish buildings have been
superseded by French. While but few specimens of Moorish architecture
have been spared by enthusiasts for improvement, there
still survive in the Hauts-Plateaux some interesting relics of Roman
buildings, recently unearthed from the oblivion of centuries, and
now carefully preserved from further destruction.
For much fatigue and privation the traveller in Algeria will
be compensated by many a glimpse of picturesque Oriental manners
and costumes and by the varied scenery of the peaceful and luxuriantly
fertile plains, the wild mountains, and the stony and sandy
wastes of steppe and desert. Most striking of all are the wonderful
effects of light and shade on land, sea, and sky, under the glorious
African sunshine. Amid the manifold green hues of the rich subtropical
vegetation, enlivened by a wealth of flowers and blossom,
gleam the dazzling white Moorish country-houses and Mohammedan
shrines (kubbas or marabouts) and the red-tiled roofs of the mountain
villages and the European settlements. Travellers penetrating
from the coast to the Sahara will marvel, especially in winter, at
the extraordinary clearness of the atmosphere and the gorgeous
sunsets, such as neither Italy nor Greece can boast of, awakening
in every beholder an enthusiastic admiration for the desert.
Notwithstanding the considerable rainfall (p. 170) and the occasional
gales to which it is exposed, the town of Algiers is a favourite winter
resort. The best months for travelling on the seaboard and the Hauts-Plateaux
are April, May, and November, and for the Sahara February
and March. The favourite goals are, in the province of Oran: Oran,
Tlemcen, and Figuig; in the province of Algiers: Teniet el-Haâd, Miliana,
Hammam Rhira, Blida, Fort-National, and Michelet; and in the province of
Constantine: Bougie, the Chabet el-Akra, Constantine, Timgad, El-Kantara,
Biskra, and Tebessa.
173The Railways, with the exception of the Chemins de Fer Algériens
de l’Etat, belong to three private companies, the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée
Algérien, the Ouest Algérien, and the Bône-Guelma (et prolongements).
They are all single lines. The express on the chief line, that from Algiers
to Oran, travels 26¾ M. an hour only; the speed of the ordinary trains
is 12–19 M. per hour. On all the main lines dining and sleeping cars are
provided. On the branch-lines the trains often have one first-class carriage
only. For night journeys in the Hauts-Plateaux the heating by
means of foot-warmers is inadequate. In E. Algeria the traffic is sometimes
stopped for several days in winter by snow-drifts and cloud-bursts.
The time-tables are to be found in the Livret A. Jourdan (Indicateur
des Chemins de Fer, de la Navigation, etc.; 50 c.), in the Livret-Chaix
(Guide pour les Chemins de Fer de l’Algérie, de la Tunisie et de la Corse;
50 c.), or in the Indicateur Officiel (Guide-poche Algérien par L. Chappuis;
60 c.). Greenwich time (ca. 59 min. behind mid-European time), which has
been recently introduced in France, is observed everywhere. Travellers
should go to the ticket-office early, as the officials have much writing to do
and their proceedings are slow. In the larger towns tickets may usually
be taken and luggage booked beforehand at the town-office of the railway
company. As in France each passenger is allowed 30 kilos (about 66 lbs.)
of luggage. Return-tickets (billets d’aller et retour) for a distance of 50 kilomètres
(31 M.) are valid for two days, for distances over 400 kilom. (248 M.)
for at least seven days. The Indicateurs above named contain further information
as to return-tickets ‘collectifs pour families’, ‘collectifs d’excursion’,
and ‘demi-places’, which last only benefit those who make a stay
of several months in the colony.
As the roads are good and the trains slow, those who can bear the expense
will often find a Motor Car the swiftest and pleasantest kind of
conveyance. Among fine motoring trips may specially be noted those from
Oran to Tlemcen (comp. p. 184); from Algiers to Castiglione, Tipaza, Hammam
Rhira, Affreville, and Teniet el-Haâd, returning viâ Blida and Boufarik;
from Algiers to Cape Matifou, Ménerville, Tizi-Ouzou, Fort-National,
and Michelet (Tazmalt); from Bougie through the Chabet el-Akra to Kerrata,
or viâ Djidjelli and Mila to Constantine; also from Algiers or Constantine
to Biskra. The maximum speed allowed in towns and villages is
15 kilomètres (9½ M.) an hour, on highroads 30 kilom. (19 M.) per hour.
The cars offered for hire in the larger towns are generally good machines
of 15–60 horse-power.
Where neither railways nor motor-omnibuses are available persons
of limited means travel by Diligence (see time-tables in Jourdan’s Indicateur,
mentioned above). Besides the ‘Courrier’, or postal diligence, there
is sometimes a ‘Concurrence’, an inferior and cheaper vehicle. Careful
inquiry as to time-table and fares should be made, and front seats secured
beforehand. The officials sometimes charge strangers more than the legitimate
fare. If the passenger prefers to walk or ride part of the way,
he may arrange with the driver as to the carriage of his luggage.
Off the highroads and for mountain excursions Riding is often preferable
to walking. A mule (mulet) or a donkey (bourricot) is more commonly
used than a horse. The Arabian saddle with its high cantle and
pommel gives a certain sense of security to the novice, but the experienced
rider will prefer an English saddle, which may be obtained in the
larger towns. The animals are badly kept by the natives, but are quiet
and sure-footed. Instead of a saddle, mules and donkeys often have a
kind of sack thrown over their backs, into which the rider thrusts his
feet. The attendant has to provide food for himself and his beast, and
he is always expected to walk except on very long excursions.
For excursions of any length in the Sahara the traveller must have
recourse to the camel, the ‘ship of the desert’. The superior trotting
camel (mehara) must be distinguished from the ordinary beast of burden,
which only walks about 2½ M. per hour, but has wonderful powers of
endurance, even in the most trying weather. In the case of the trotting
174camel the rider sits on a narrow saddle and crosses his feet (with shoes
removed) on the animal’s neck. On the broad pack-saddle of the camel of
burden is a seat for men, and right and left are others for ladies, for
whom a kind of litter (attatouch) also is provided. While the rider
mounts the kneeling animal the attendant usually puts his foot on one
of its fore-legs to prevent it from rising too suddenly, as it is very apt
to do. As the camel rises on its hind-legs first, tilting the rider forwards,
it is advisable to lean well back at first, and then forwards, and
to keep firm hold of the saddle. Practice alone will enable the rider to
get used to the peculiar gait of the animal. The rider’s head should be
well protected by a pith-helmet or other efficient covering. Luggage is
best carried in two saddle-bags (gibera) of leather or carpet, for which
the natives ask 20 fr., or even in ordinary sacks. As to provisions,
see p. 97. Intending travellers are expected to present themselves at
the Bureau Arabe before starting, where they may apply for a Saharien
or Cavalier du Maghzen (p. 390) to accompany them. In some cases an
escort is considered indispensable.
The Money for a tour in Algeria had better be taken in the form
of notes of the Banque de France or the Banque de l’Algérie (for Algeria
and Tunisia only) or in gold of the Latin monetary union. Bank of
England notes and sovereigns are always readily exchanged in the larger
towns and tourist-resorts. Circular notes are less convenient, but have
the merit of being safer. Letters of credit addressed to the Compagnie
Algérienne or the Crédit Lyonnais also form a safe vehicle for large
sums, but the branch-offices sometimes require a week’s notice before
paying. The banks and public offices are mostly open at 9–11 and 2–5 only,
but the cashier’s office usually closes at 3.
Comfortable first-class Hotels, owned chiefly by French, Swiss, or
German proprietors, are to be found at Algiers, Oran, Hammam Rhira,
and Biskra. Those of the second class usually make a fixed charge (5 to
12 fr. per day) for room, déjeuner, and dinner. Charges vary greatly,
however, according to the season and to the traveller’s nationality. The
beds are very good as a rule, and the rooms fairly clean, but the sanitation
is often defective and the servants inefficient. Under these circumstances
the scale of gratuities is lower than in Europe.
As for food, the staple of almost every repast in Algeria is mutton.
The wheaten bread is generally excellent. Among the best wines are
the white of Médéa and Mascara, the red and the white of Tlemcen and
Staouéli, and the red of Miliana, Margueritte, and Hammam Rhira. At
the Cafés, which are often beset by shoe-blacks (cireurs; 10 c.), we may
try a cup of ‘Nossi-Bey’ (50 c.), considered a specially good coffee. A cup
of coffee or tea at the Moorish cafés costs one sou, but strangers are often
charged two (no gratuities). A few good Restaurants are to be found
in the larger towns, and food also is provided by the better brasseries.
Tobacco and cigars are much cheaper than in France, there being no government
monopoly here, but there is a duty of 36 fr. per kilogramme (2⅕ lbs.)
on imported cigars.
The Post Office arrangements are the same as in France. A favourite
way of sending small parcels is by sample-post (‘échantillons sans
valeur’; 12–15 days from Algiers to England), up to 350 grammes (about
12¼ oz.). Inland postage for letters of 20 grammes (not quite ¾ oz.) or
post-cards 10 c., foreign 25 c. (for 20 gr.) or 10 c.—Senders of registered
letters and telegrams must fill up a form giving their name and address.
Postal orders and parcel-post are not recommended.
Drawing or Photographing in fortified places, if not expressly forbidden,
is at least inadvisable, nor should maps or plans be too closely
studied in public places. With regard to intercourse with the natives,
see p. xxv. The police arrangements are generally as good as in Europe.
175The Mosques (p. xxv) in Algeria are all state property and may
therefore be visited at any time except during prayer. A fee (20–50 c.)
need only be given to the custodian for providing slippers or rendering
special services. Smoking is forbidden in the forecourts, and of course
in the buildings themselves.
The Moorish Baths (ladies’ hours 12–6) may be glanced at in passing.
Books (comp. also pp. vi, 325). Sir R. L. Playfair’s Bibliography
of Algeria (London, 2 vols.) goes no further than 1895. Among works
on the history of Algeria and its development may be mentioned:
M. Wahl, L’Algérie (5th ed., Paris, 1908; 5 fr.); Hanoteau et Letourneux,
La Kabylie (2nd ed., 3 vols., Paris, 1893; 25 fr.); R. L. Playfair, The
Scourge of Christendom (London, 1884); Graham, Roman Africa, History
of the Roman Occupation (London, 1902); Randall Maciver and Wilkin,
Libyan Notes (London, 1901). For the history of art: Stéphane Gsell,
Les Monuments antiques de l’Algérie (2 vols., Paris, 1901; 20 fr.);
W. et G. Marçais, Les Monuments Arabes de Tlemcen (Paris, 1903; out
of print). Delightful descriptions of the country and its inhabitants are
contained in R. S. Hichens’s The Garden of Allah (London, 1904); Frances
E. Nesbitt’s Algeria and Tunis (London, 1906; 20s.); Irene Osgood’s novel
‘Servitude’; Guy de Maupassant’s novel Au Soleil (nouv. éd., Paris,
1894; 3½ fr.); E. Fromentin’s Un été dans le Sahara (Paris, 1857) and
Une Année dans le Sahel (Paris, 1859); Col. Pein’s Lettres familières sur
l’Algérie (Châlons-sur-Marne, 1871; 3 fr.).
The French Carte de l’Algérie (of the ‘Service Géographique de
l’Armée’) is completed for the N. districts only. Each sheet on the scale
of 1:50,000 costs 1½ fr.; sheets on the scale of 1:200,000 cost 90 c. each.
Since 1908 M. Jourdan, of Algiers, has been bringing out a new official
map for the north (1:200,000) and the south (1:400,000) at 1 fr. per sheet.
Arrival by Sea. The steamers of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique
(RR. 19, 18) are berthed at the Quai Bougainville (Pl. C, 1),
those of the Transport Maritimes (R. 19) at the Quai de la Gare (Pl. C,
D, 2), those of the Navigation Mixte (RR. 19, 18) at the Quai Lamoune
(Pl. B, 1). Baggage is conveyed to the custom-house (Douane; Pl. B, 2),
and thence to the cabs or hotel-omnibuses. The porters (portefaix), mostly
natives, are notorious for their extortionate demands. Charges should be
agreed upon beforehand.
Railway Stations.1.Gare Centrale or du P. L. M. et de l’Ouest
Algérien (Pl. E, 4; p. 173), Boul. Marceau (p. 181), for Perrégaux and Algiers
(R. 33), Tlemcen (R. 29), and Aïn-Témouchent (p. 185).—2.Gare d’Arzew
(Pl. F, 5), 1 M. from the hotels, for the line viâ Damesme (Arzew) and
Perrégaux to Beni-Ounif de Figuig (R. 32).—The Gare de la Marine
(Pl. C, 2) is the terminus of the harbour goods-line.—Town Office of
the P. L. M. and Ouest Algérien railways, Boul. du Lycée 5.
Hotels. *Hôt. Continental (Pl. a; D, 3), Boul. Séguin 1, corner
of Place des Armes, fine open site, with restaurant, R. 4–6, B. 1½, déj. 4,
D. 5, pens. 11–15, omn. 1 fr.—Hôt. Victor (Pl. b; D, 3), Rue d’Arzew 5
and Rue de la Bastille 8, R. 2½–5, B. ½¾, D. 3, pens. 7½–8½, omn.
½–1 fr., plain but good; Hôt. du Théâtre, Rue Bosquet, next the theatre
(Pl. C, 3), new; Hôt. d’Europe (Pl. d; D, 3), Boul. Charlemagne 16, Hôt.
du Progrès (Pl. f; D, 3), Rue de Belleville 14, both with restaurants,
very unpretending.—Hôtels Garnis. *Royal (Pl. g; D, 3), Boul. du
Lycée 3, with restaurant, R. 3–8, omn. 1 fr.; Central (Pl. h; D, 3), Rue
de Belleville 13, R. 2½–4 fr.
Cafés.Continental (at the hotel), Riche, and de la Mosquée, all in
Boul. Séguin (Nos. 1, 22, 19); du Théâtre, Place d’Armes 11; Nouvel
Aquarium (p. 182), Promenade de Létang; Glacier, Place Kléber 3.
Restaurants at the hotels; also Nouvel Aquarium (p. 182); Brasserie
176Guill. Tell, in the Hôt. Royal, Boul. du Lycée 3, good; Brasserie de
l’Etoile, Rue de Belleville 11; Brasserie Alsacienne, Boul. Séguin 18.
Cabs (voitures de place):
By day
At night
Drive within the town-walls
1.—
1.50
„ to the suburbs (banlieue)
1.50
2.—
Course double (there and back, with stay of ¼ hr.)
1.50
2.—
Same to the suburbs
2.—
2.50
Per hour, in the town
2.—
3.—
„ „ within 8 kilomètres (5 M.) around
2.50
3.50
Excursion of a whole day (50 kilom. or 31 M.)
16.—
To Mers el-Kébir and back
4.—
Same drive, with stay of ½ hr.
5.—
Night is reckoned from 11 to 6 (in summer to 5). Fares raised on
Easter Monday and on race-days (see tariff). Luggage under 15 kilos
(ca. 33 lbs.) free; trunk 25 c., over 40 kilos (ca. 88 lbs.) 50 c.
Motor Cars and Bicycles. Serviès, Boul. Magenta 28; L’Universelle
(Schmitt & Co.), Rue d’Arzew 60; Palace Auto, Rue d’Alsace-Lorraine.
Tramways (from 6, in winter 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; 1st cl. 15, 2nd cl. 10 c.;
transfer 20 or 15 c.). 1. From Quai de la Douane (Pl. B, 1) to Rue
d’Orléans, Place Kléber (Pl. C, 3), Boul. Malakoff, Rue des Jardins, and
Place d’Armes (Pl. C, D, 3).—2. From Quai Ste. Thérèse (Pl. D, 1, 2)
to Rue Charles-Quint, Place Kléber, Rue de Turin, Rue Philippe, and
Place d’Armes.—From Place d’Armes: 3. to Boul. Séguin, Rue d’Arzew
(Pl. D-F, 3), and Gambetta (Pl. H, 2); 4. to Boul. Séguin, Rue de
Mostaganem (Pl. D-G, 4), and St. Eugène (Pl. H, 4); 5. to Boul. National,
Boul. Magenta (Pl. D, 4), Boul. Marceau (Pl. E, F, 4, 5); 6. to Boul.
National, Boul. Sébastopol (Pl. C, D, 4), Rue Dutertre (Pl. D, 5), and
Cimetière Tamazhouet (Pl. E, F, 5); 7. to Boul. National, Porte de
Tlemcen (Pl. C, 5), and Eckmühl (Pl. B, 5).
Omnibuses. Motor-omnibus from the Place Kléber (Pl. C, 3) every
½ hr. to Mers el-Kébir (p. 183); ordinary omnibus twice daily to Aïn-et-Turk,
Bou-Sfer (p. 184), and El-Ançor (p. 185); etc.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. 9; D, 3), Rue d’Alsace-Lorraine 7;
branches in the Dock No. 4, Quai du Sénégal, at No. 17 Boul. Malakoff, etc.
Steamboat Offices.Générale Transatlantique, Boul. Malakoff 28;
Transports Maritimes, Place de la République 9; Navigation Mixte
(Touache Co.), Rue Séguin 1.
Boats. For a row in the harbour (as far as the lighthouse), 1 pers.
50, 2–3 pers. 25 c. each, 4 pers. 20 c. each (there and back with stay of
¼ hr., 70, 35, or 30 c.); one hour for 1 or more pers. 1½, each addit.
hour 1 fr.—Sailing Boat to Kristel (p. 184) about 6–8 fr. (according to
bargain; should be ordered at the harbour in good time).
Baths.Beth, Boul. Séguin 1 (seaside of Hôt. Continental) and
Rue d’Arzew 48; Dussap, Boul. Oudinot 22.—Moorish (p. 175): Bains
Maures, Rue de la Mosquée 5, etc.—Sea Baths.Bains de la Plage
Ste. Thérèse; Bains Flottants, Grande Jetée (Pl. D, 1), opposite the Quai
Ste. Thérèse (ferry); Bains de la Reine (p. 183); also at Roseville (p. 183),
St. André de Mers el-Kébir (p. 183), and Aïn-et-Turk (p. 184).
Banks (comp. p. 174). Banque de l’Algérie (Pl. 1; D, 3), Boul.
Séguin; Comp. Algérienne, Rue d’Alsace-Lorraine; Crédit Lyonnais,
Boul. Séguin 3; Crédit Agricole et Commercial Algérien (J. Thibaud),
same street, No. 7.
Booksellers.Heintz, Boul. Séguin 4; Perrier, Rue de l’Hôtel de
Ville 10; Fouque, Boul. Séguin 26.—Newspapers (5 c.). L’Echo
d’Oran, Le Libéral, El Correo Español.
Shops.Maison Universelle, Boul. Séguin 27; Gradvohl, same boulevard,
177No. 20bis (Oriental goods).—Photographic Requisites.Luck, Rue
de Belleville 9; Schnell, Boul. Séguin 14.—Picture Post Cards.Caspari,
Rue d’Arzew 24; Craveya, same street, No. 20.
Tourist Offices.Lubin, Galerie Perez, Boul. Séguin; Syndicat d’Initiative,
Hôt. de Ville (p. 180); R. Heckmann, Place de la République 7.
Consuls. British Vice-Consul, Thos. A. Barber, Quai Ste. Marie 4
(Pl. B, 2).—U. S. Consular Agent, A. H. Elford, Rue Charles Quint 14.
French Prot. Church (Temple; Pl. 13, C, 3), Rue de la Révolution;
service on Sun. at 9.30 a.m.
Theatres.Grand Théâtre Municipal (Pl. C, 3), Place d’Armes;
Théâtre-Casino (Pl. 14; C, 2), Rue Philippe; Cirque-Théâtre des Nouveautés
(Pl. C, 4), Boul. National; Alhambra (Pl. D, E, 3), Rue d’Arzew 38bis.
Music (in winter, 4–5 p.m.). Sun., Promenade de Létang (p. 181), near
the Restaur. Aquarium; Tues., at the Cercle Militaire (p. 180); Thurs.
(fortnightly in both), Place de la République and Square du Palais de
Justice; Sat., at the Hôpital Militaire (Pl. C, 2).—Concerts in the Salle
Musicale (Pl. D, 3), Rue de Paixhans.
Two Days. 1st. In the forenoon, Place d’Armes (p. 180), Grande
Mosquée (p. 180), Promenade de Létang (p. 181), Old Town (p. 179); afternoon,
Belvédère (p. 182) or Plateau du Marabout (p. 183).—2nd. Forenoon,
Mers el-Kébir (p. 183); afternoon, Promenade des Falaises (p. 184).—As
to visiting the mosques, see p. 174.
Oran, Arabic Warân, the capital of the province of that name,
with 110,000 inhab. (29,700 being foreigners, mostly Spaniards,
16,000 Mohammedans, and 13,200 Jews), is a strongly fortified
place, the headquarters of an army corps and a torpedo-boat station,
and has been an episcopal see since 1867. Next to Algiers it is now
the greatest seaport and commercial place in Barbary. The town
lies in 35° 44′ N. lat. and 0° 58′ W. long., on a bay of the spacious
Gulf of Oran (p. 126), between Jebel Santon (1043 ft.; p. 183)
on the W. and the Pointe Canastel (784 ft.; p. 184) on the E. side.
At the W. end the quiet streets of the old town, overlooked by the
bare limestone rocks of the Pic d’Aidour or Montagne de Santa
Cruz (1221 ft.), ascend the ravine of the small brook Raz el-Aïn
or Oued Rehhi to the hill of the Kasba, the ancient Moorish castle.
The modern industrial quarters lie to the E. of the hill of Château-Neuf
and beyond the ravine of the Aïn Rouina, extending far over
the plateau of Karguentah (about 250–390 ft.), a tableland which
descends abruptly to the sea and slopes gradually to the S. E. down
to the plain of the Daya Morselli and the Plaine du Figuier
(p. 185). The town is defended by several old forts of the Spanish
period and by a number of modern coast-batteries, and, like most
of the Algerian towns, is enclosed by a wall for protection against
the natives. The chief suburbs outside the gates are Gambetta,
St. Eugène, Lamur, and Eckmühl-Noiseux.
Oran is essentially a modern town, which is being extended
and embellished with feverish zeal, but notwithstanding its French
veneer it derives a certain individuality from the preponderating
Spanish element in its population. The Mohammedan element is
diminishing here even more rapidly than in Algiers. Owing to the
scantiness of the rainfall the environs and their vegetation are
178quite African in character, and the neighbouring shotts, or salt-lakes,
resemble those of the Hauts-Plateaux (p. 169).
The Gulf of Oran, where the Portus Divinus (Mers el-Kébir, p. 183)
was the only Roman settlement, was unimportant in ancient times. Native
tradition ascribes the foundation of the town of Oran to Moorish merchants
of Andalusia in 902, but it was not till the late middle ages that the town
began to thrive. After the rise of the kingdom of Tlemcen (p. 188) Oran
superseded the neighbouring ports of Rachgoun (p. 185), Honeïn (p. 125),
and Arzew (p. 199) as the chief staple of the W. Algerian coast, its trade
being chiefly carried on by Italians.
Jealous of the successes of Portugal in Morocco (p. 96), and eager,
after the capture of Granada (p. 75), to carry their crusade against Islam
into African territory, the Spaniards sent an expedition against Melilla
(p. 124) in 1496, while the all-powerful Card. Ximenez, archbishop of
Toledo, proceeded to attack the Ziyanides (p. 188). In 1505 Mers el-Kébir,
which had been twice occupied by the Portuguese in the 15th cent., was
attacked and after a brave defence captured, and in 1509, on a second
expedition, Oran fell into the hands of the cardinal. Thenceforth Oran
formed the base of the further campaigns of the Spaniards, who in their
victorious career soon captured all the important towns on the seaboard
as far as Tripoli, and penetrated inland to Tlemcen. The Spanish governors
succeeded in defending Oran against all the attacks of the barbarescos
down to 1708, when the Bey Bu-Chlar’em bombarded the Spanish forts
from Jebel Murjajo, captured them, and slew the entire garrison. A
Spanish army under the Count of Montemar gained a brilliant victory over
the Moors at Aïn et-Turk (p. 184) and recaptured the town in 1732, but
the Spaniards soon found themselves again overmatched by their enemies.
In 1790 the town was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake, and
in 1792 the Spaniards at length withdrew their garrison.
Under the bey Mohammed el-Kebîr the town was erected into the
capital of the province of W. Algeria; but in consequence of the earthquake,
the interminable wars, and its entire separation from the inland
regions during the centuries of the Spanish occupation, Oran had declined
so lamentably that when it was occupied by French troops in 1831 it
scarcely numbered 4000 inhabitants. Its rapid recovery since that period
has been due to its favourable situation, its proximity to the Spanish
coast and to the rich inland district of Tlemcen, and particularly to the
extension of the Algerian railway system as far as the Sahara and to
the promotion of trade with Morocco by the opening of free marts at
Lalla-Marnia (p. 197), Aïn-Sefra (p. 202), and Beni-Ounif de Figuig (p. 203).
The Harbour (Pl. B-D, 1, 2), 72 acres in area, is bounded on
the E. side by the Quai Ste. Thérèse, 330 yds. long, and is sheltered
on the N. by the Grande Jetée or Jetée du Large, a pier 1200 yds.
in length, with a lighthouse at the end (Phare; Pl. D, 1). The
shallow Vieux Port (Pl. B, C, 1, 2), now the S.W. bay of the new
harbour bounded on the N. by the Quai Bougainville, was the
harbour of the Moorish and Spanish periods. The rapid increase of
the shipping trade (now exceeding 4 million tons annually) is being
met by the construction of an outer harbour (Pl. D-G, 1, 2). The
chief imports are sugar, coffee, rice, English coal, timber, petroleum,
candles, and paper; the chief exports wine, grain, flour, fruit,
early vegetables, alfa, ‘crin végétal’ (dwarf-palm fibre), tobacco,
cattle, hides, wool, marble, and onyx.
179From the Douane (Pl. B, 2) the Rue d’Orléans (Pl. B, C, 2; tramway
No. 1, see p. 176) ascends in a curve, skirting the Quartier de
la Marine and the Quartier de la Calère, the Spanish quarters,
to the upper part of the town. Halfway up, to the right, on the
parapet of the small Place d’Orléans (Pl. B, 2) are seen the Spanish
Armorial Bearings (1789).
Beyond the Palais Consulaire (Pl. 8, C 2; Chamber of Commerce
and Commercial Court) the street reaches the two chief
squares of the old French part of the town, the Place de la République,
with the Fontaine Aucour (Pl. C, 2; concerts, see p. 177),
and the Place Kléber (Pl. C, 3). Adjoining the latter is the Boulevard
Malakoff (Pl. C, 3), constructed over the vaulted channel of
the Raz el-Aïn (p. 177), with a fine avenue of planes.
On the S.W. side of the Place Kléber, between Boul. Malakoff
and Boul. Oudinot, rises the Préfecture (Pl. C, 3), the seat of the
provincial government.
The Boul. Oudinot leads to the Magasin du Campement
(Pl. C, 3; military stores; adm. by leave of the military authorities),
in the garden of which we perceive the minaret of a Mosque
(about 1800) dedicated to Sidi el-Hawâri, the chief saint of Oran.
The Rue Larrey leads past the E. side of the military stores to
a terrace above the harbour-quarter, on which rises the—
Church of St. Louis (Pl. 12; C, 2), an unimportant edifice
of 1839, whose choir-niche is a relic of the Spanish church of the
time of the Count of Montemar (p. 178). The Wall of the Rue de
Berlin (Pl. C, B, 2), which leads hence to the Porte du Santon
(p. 182), is of Spanish origin.
We return to the Boul. Oudinot and glance at the Quartier de
la Kasba, the oldest quarter of Oran, lying on the hill-side below
the Kasba (Pl. B, C, 3; adm. on application at the guard-house),
the old citadel. The old Moorish castle on this site was succeeded
in the 16th cent. by the Spanish Castillo Viejo, the nucleus of the
Spanish fortifications, and now occupied by French barracks. Above
the Porte d’Espagne, a side-entrance at the end of the narrow
Rue du Vieux-Château (Pl. C, 3), are still seen the arms of Spain.
The Rue de Madrid (Pl. C, 3, 2), a side-street of the Rue Larrey
(see above), and the steps in the Rue d’Orléans near the S.W. angle
of the Place de la République lead to the small public—
Musée Demaeght (Pl. 7; C, 2), Rue Montebello 9, founded
in 1886 and named after its founder. Admittance, except on great
festivals, daily 1–5, free. Catalogues of the antiquities and the
ancient coins, 1¾ fr. each. Curator, Prof. A. Mouliéras.
In the vestibule are Roman mosaics from a dwelling-house at Portus
Magnus (Saint-Leu, p. 199), freely restored in parts; Roman stelæ, milestones,
inscriptions, etc. from the province of Oran.
First Floor. On the left, in Room C, natural history collections,
180including specimens of marble and onyx from the province of Oran.—On
the right, in Room D, prehistoric relics from Barbary and ethnographical
collections.
Second Floor. On the left, in Room E, casts from the antique;
Moorish ornaments from Toledo and Granada; and a graphic collection.—On
the right, in Room F, modern paintings.
Third Floor. On the left, in Room G, natural history collections.—On
the right, in Room H, a fine collection of coins, Numidian, Mauretanian,
Roman, Byzantine, Moorish, old Spanish, etc.; in the wall-cases small
relics from Portus Magnus.
The loftily situated New Town is reached from the Place Kléber
(Pl. C, 3; p. 179) by several steep lanes in steps (Rue de Gênes,
etc.), but more easily by the Boulevard Malakoff (p. 179) and the
Rue des Jardins (Pl. C, 3; tramway No. 1, see p. 176), or by the
Rue de Turin (Pl. C, 3, 2) and Rue Philippe (tramway No. 2).
The Rue de Turin leads in a bend past the Marché Bastrana
(Pl. 5; C, 3) and the Promenade de Létang (p. 181).
The Rue Philippe, which ascends direct, passes on the right
the elegant Demeure de Hassan (Pl. 2; C, 3), which, apart from
the fortifications, is the sole relic of old Oran. According to the
inscription, it was built in 1700 and restored in 1900, and is named
after one of its later owners, a tobacco-merchant who became Bey
of Oran in 1812.
The adjacent Grande Mosquée, or Mosquée du Pacha (Pl. 4,
C, 3; Arabic Jâma el-Pasha), erected by order of the Dey of Algiers
after the withdrawal of the Spaniards in 1792, is now the
only mosque in the town used for divine service.
The front building, erected in the form of a kubba, or saint’s shrine,
at the sharp bend of the Rue Philippe, dates only from the French period
(1864). The pretty Sahn, or court of the mosque, enclosed by a
pinnacled wall, is planted with palms and bananas.
In the mosque itself, whose vaulting rests alternately on short pillars
and clustered columns, is the Sedda or stage, under the great central
dome, where at the Friday service the Mosammi, or leader of prayer,
repeats the words of the priest (Imâm) for the benefit of worshippers
at a distance. On the right, by the plain mihrâb or prayer-niche, is the
mimbar, the pulpit for the Friday sermon.
At the back of the mosque, in the Rue de la Mosquée, rises the
octagonal Minaret (Sauma), the tower from which the muezzin
summons the faithful to prayer five times daily.
The pretty Place d’Armes (Pl. C, D, 3; 233 ft.), where the
Rue des Jardins and the Rue Philippe end, is the business centre
of the town and the chief tramway station (p. 176). A Monument
here recalls the battle near the Kubba Sidi-Brahim (p. 198).
On the S. side of the square rises the Hôtel de Ville, or Mairie
(Pl. C, 3), a building in the French Renaissance style, approached
by a high flight of steps. On the W. side is the Grand Théâtre
Municipal (p. 177), opened in 1908. The grounds of the Cercle
181Militaire (Pl. C, D, 3; concerts, see p. 177), on the N. side of the
square, extend to the S. bastions of the Château-Neuf (p. 182).
On the margin of the plateau, to the S.W. of the Place d’Armes
and W. of the Rue de la Révolution, lies the poor Jewish Quarter,
with its dirty streets, of which the chief is the Rue d’Austerlitz
(Pl. C, 3, 4). Here an interesting fruit and vegetable market takes
place daily (Sat. excepted). The best time for a glance at the
Jewish quarter is a Saturday morning, between 8.30 and 9, when
the women in all their finery go to the synagogues (in the Rue de
Ratisbonne, etc.).
At the N.E. angle of the Place d’Armes begins the Boulevard
Séguin (Pl. D, 3, 4), now the main street, with the chief banks,
shops, and cafés, a favourite evening resort.—In a side-street, the
Boul. du Deuxième-Zouaves, rises the new Cathedral (Pl. D, 3, 4),
begun in 1905 and now nearly completed. To the S. of it is the
Palais de Justice (Pl. D, 4) in the pleasant square named after
it (music, see p. 177).—From the S. end of the Boul. Séguin the
Rue de Mostaganem and Boul. Marceau (Pl. D-F, 4, 5) lead to the
new Gare Centrale (Pl. E, 4; p. 175), in the modern Moorish
style (1907–9).
The S. quarter of the town, between the Barracks (Pl. C, D,
4, 5), built in the charming neo-Moorish style, and the town-walls,
is the so-called Village-Nègre (Pl. C, D, 5), a growth of the
French period. It consists chiefly of small one-storied houses, occupied
by the natives, the working classes, and the poorer Mohammedans,
with the Marché Arabe as its nucleus. A visit may
be paid to it in the morning, or better on a Friday or Sunday afternoon.
In an open site on the E. side of this quarter, near the Rue
Dutertre (tramway No. 6, see p. 176), is the picturesque Marabout
Sidi el-Bachir (Pl. D, 5; p. 172).
Near this is the Porte du Cimetière, leading to the Jewish
Burial Ground (Pl. D, 5), to the Christian Cimetière Tamazhouet
(Pl. E, F, 5), and to the suburb of Lamur occupied by natives.
The E. part of the new town is intersected by the Rue d’Arzew,
passing the new Gallerie Audéoud with its row of shops, a little
beyond which the Boul. de Tivoli diverges to the N. (left). In an
open site at the end of this street rises the Vieille Mosquée (Pl.
F, 3), built at the end of the 18th cent. (now being restored), with
a minaret resembling that of the El-Hawâri mosque (p. 179).
The chief boast of Oran is the *Promenade de Létang
(Pl. C, D, 2), the delightful grounds, shaded with palms, which
flank the N. and W. sides of the Château-Neuf. They are reached
from the Place d’Armes, either to the N.W. by the Rue Philippe,
or to the N.E. by a road beginning between the Cercle Militaire
and the Hôtel Continental. (To the E. of this road lies the Lycée,
182Pl. D, 3, a road to which crosses the ravine of the Aïn Rouina.)
The two N.E. platforms, above the Fort Ste. Thérèse (Pl. D, 2),
command a glorious view, especially towards evening, of the bold
coast as far as the Pointe Canastel (p. 184) and of the double-peaked
Jebel Kahar (p. 184). The terrace on the N.W. side, near the Nouvel
Aquarium (music, see p. 177), affords a good view of the harbour,
of Jebel Murjajo with the Plateau du Marabout and Fort Santa Cruz
(see below), and of the bay of Mers el-Kébir (p. 183).
The Château-Neuf (Pl. C, D, 2; now military headquarters and
barracks) was the Bordj el-Ahmar (red castle) of Moorish times,
the chief fort of the town next to the Kasba, the Rosalcázar of the
Spanish period, seat of the governor, and in 1792–1831 the residence
of the Bey of the province of Oran. Admittance on application
at the guard-house. The inconsiderable buildings date partly from
the Spanish occupation; on the outer walls and the entrance gateway
are an Arabic and several Spanish inscriptions.
(1). The old Fort Santa Cruz (Pl. A, 2; 1221 ft.; now an
observatory), on the Pic d’Aidour, the E. spur of the Jebel Murjajo,
is reached by the Rue de Berlin (p. 179) and the Porte de
Santa Cruz or du Santon (1¼ hr.). A very rough, shadeless path
ascends to it, beginning on a stony slope to the right above the
drilling-ground, crossing the road to Fort St. Grégoire, and passing
the chapel of the Vierge de Santa Cruz (Pl. A, 1; 1024 ft.; view).
It may be reached also by a bridle-path through the Ravin des
Planteurs (Pl. A, B, 2, 3), the gorge at the beginning of the Bois
des Planteurs. The fort was built in 1700, nearly destroyed by the
barbarescos in 1708 and 1792, and restored in 1856. It has always
been connected with the Château-Neuf (see above) by an underground
passage, 3 M. long. The platform commands a fine view of
Oran and the bay of Mers el-Kébir (custodian 30–50 c.).
The Belvédère is a more interesting point. We follow the road
from the Porte du Santon (see above), passing the drilling-ground,
and crossing the (8 min.) Ravin des Planteurs. Now called the
Chemin des Planteurs (Pl. B, A, 3), the road ascends in windings
through the Bois des Planteurs, a pleasant pine-grove on the S.
slope of Jebel Murjajo, where jackals are sometimes seen. To the
right, halfway up, a path (finger-post) diverges to the (10 min.)
*Belvédère (Pl. A, 3; rfmts.), a kind of temple where we enjoy
a superb view of Oran. We may now either go on to the Plateau
du Marabout, or else return to the town by the very attractive S.
branch of the Chemin des Planteurs (Pl. A, B, 4), which descends
to the valley of Raz el-Aïn (p. 177) and leads along its left bank
to the Porte du Ravin (Pl. B, C, 3).
183The road to the Plateau du Marabout (about 1360 ft.; carr.
in about 1¾ hr., 6–8 fr., according to bargain) ascends through
the Bois des Planteurs (p. 182). From the end of the road a
walk of 10 min. to the N.E. along the crest of the hill, through
meagre brushwood, and offering a glimpse of the bay of Mers el-Kébir
to the left, brings us to the Marabout Sidi Abd el-Kâder
el-Djilâni, the chapel of a Persian saint much revered throughout
Barbary as the founder of the Kadria brotherhood (p. 361). From
this point, especially towards evening, we obtain a splendid *View
of Oran, of Jebel Kahar and Jebel Orouze (p. 184) to the N.E., of
the salt-lake and the bay of Arzew (p. 199). To the S. we see part
of the Sebkha d’Oran (p. 185), backed by Jebel Tessala (p. 186).
From the plateau we may either descend, a few minutes’ walk
beyond the Marabout, to the left to Ste. Clotilde (see below), or we
may go straight on, across the saddle between the Jebel Murjajo
and the Pic d’Aidour, to the (40 min.) Chapelle de la Vierge and
the Fort Santa Cruz (p. 182).
(2). The excursion to Mers el-Kébir (motor-omnibus and carr.,
see p. 176; tramway to Aïn-et-Turk projected) is specially attractive
in the morning. We leave Oran near the Douane (Pl. B, 2)
and above Fort Lamoune (Pl. B, 1) skirt the bold E. slope of the
Pic d’Aidour (p. 182). On the wooded N. slope of the hill we
reach (2 M.) the Bains de la Reine, which have been in use since
the time of the Ziyanides (p. 188), but owe their name to a visit
paid them by Juana the Insane (p. 76). The plain bath-hotel lies
on the road above; the saline spring (130° Fahr.) and the bath-house
lie behind the rocks lower down. The baths are frequented, chiefly
in spring, both by Europeans and natives.
The road next passes below (2½ M. from Oran) the villa-suburb
of Ste. Clotilde (197 ft.; Hôt. Ste. Clotilde), with its charming
gardens in the shade of the hill (path to the Plateau du Marabout,
see above). Just beyond Ste. Clotilde, in the ravine of Salto del
Cavallo, is the spot where Tâkhfîn ben-Ali (p. 188) is said to have
been slain when attempting to escape.
3¾ M. Roseville (99 ft.; not visible from the road) has a good
bathing-beach. 4½ M. St. André de Mers el-Kébir (55 ft.; Hôt.
National, on the shore), a poor village, inhabited almost entirely by
Spaniards and Italians, lies at the S. base of the fortified Jebel
Santon (1043 ft.), the N. spur of Jebel Murjajo.
The open roads of Mers el-Kébir (Arabic Mersa el-Kebîr,
the great harbour), famed in Spanish military annals as Mazalquivir,
now the naval harbour of Oran, are admirably sheltered
from the W. and N. winds by Jebel Santon and by a rocky headland
(lighthouse). Beyond the (5 M.) little fishing-village (Hôt. de
l’Escadre, humble) rises a huge Fort, the outer walls of which
date partly from the Spanish period.
184To Aïn-et-Turk and Bou-Sfer (a day’s excursion from Oran; omn.
and carr., see p. 176; provisions should be taken), an interesting drive,
especially in spring, affording a good idea of the progress of agriculture
in this coast-region. Beyond the headland of Mers el-Kébir the road is
carried round the Jebel Santon, high above the sea, by means of cuttings,
and then descends to the fertile Plaine des Andalouses, which is now
inhabited chiefly by S. Spanish peasants. Its name recalls the landing
here of the Moors expelled from Andalusia.
9½ M. (from Oran) Aïn-et-Turk (65 ft.; ‘Turkish well’), a little village,
to which sea-bathers resort in summer, with a church on the hill
(177 ft.), 2½ M. to the S.E. of Cape Falcon (p. 125), from which it is
separated by a chain of sand-hills rising to a height of 397 ft.
The road, now perfectly straight, ascends to the S.W., through vineyards
and corn-fields, to (13 M.) the large village of Bou-Sfer (486 ft.),
on the well-watered N. slope of Jebel Murjajo, with its thriving farms
where vegetables are largely grown. To Bou-Tlélis, see p. 185.
From Bou-Sfer a road, with fine views, leads along the hill-side, and
then across the saddle (768 ft.) between Jebel Murjajo and Jebel Santon,
back to (22 M.) St. André de Mers el-Kébir.
(3). A splendid walk, especially by evening light, is offered by
the *Promenade des Falaises (Pl. G, H, 1), to the N.E. of
Oran. Tramway No. 3 (p. 176) should be taken to the station outside
the Porte d’Arzew (Pl. F, G, 3). Here we go to the left, skirting
the town-walls, then to the N.E. across the harbour goods-line
(p. 175), through the Ravin Blanc at a distance from the battery
of that name, and up the fields to the (20 min.) highly picturesque
margin of the plateau, whence we survey the whole coast from Mers
el-Kébir on the W. to the Pointe de l’Aiguille and Jebel Orouze
to the N.E. A little farther on we reach an avenue of palms which
leads in a curve to the (¼ hr.) tramway-terminus in the suburb of
Gambetta (Pl. H, 2).
Good walkers, starting very early, may extend their excursion from
the Promenade des Falaises to the Pointe Canastel (784 ft.), near which
ends the road coming from Gambetta (4 M.), and thence along the slope
of Jebel Kahar or Montagne des Lions (2008 ft.), in 4–4½ hrs., to the
Moorish village of Kristel (poor cafés), finely situated amid rich orange
groves. Or, in calm weather, we may take a sailing-boat (see p. 176) from
Oran to Kristel. We may now walk or ride (donkey 2½–3 fr.) up the
steep hill to the saddle between Jebel Kahar and Jebel Kristel (1970 ft.);
then past the Ferme Tazout (1105 ft.; to the left the iron and lead
mines on Jebel Borosse, a spur of Jebel Orouze; p. 199) to the S.E.,
partly through underwood, and down to the (2½ hrs.) railway-station
of Saint-Cloud (p. 199). We may there take the train viâ Damesme to
Arzew (p. 199) and return to Oran in the evening.
From Oran to Hammam Bou-Hadjar, 45 M., steam-tramway twice
daily (thrice on Sun., Mon., and Tues.) in 3¾–4¾ hrs. (fares 5 fr. 40,
3 fr. 95 c.). The line starts from the N. end of the Boul. Mascara (Pl. C, 4)
and proceeds to the S.E. viâ (4 M.) La Sénia (p. 185) to (7½ M.) Valmy
(p. 185), some distance beyond which it turns to the S.W. and runs
parallel to the S. shore of the Sebkha d’Oran (p. 185). 12 M. Arbal, on
the N. spurs of Jebel Tessala (p. 186); 25 M. St. Maur; 39 M. Aïn el-Arba.
45 M. Hammam Bou-Hadjar (574 ft.), near which are the baths
of that name (Hôt. des Bains, plain but good). The hot mineral water
(135–167° Fahr.), resembling that of Ems, rises among the calc-sinter
terraces of the Fer à Cheval. A cool spring (64° Fahr.), strongly impregnated
with iron, is used for drinking.
102½ M. Railway Train, with one 1st and 2nd cl. through-carriage, in
5¼–5¾ hrs.; (fares 18 fr. 55, 13 fr. 35 c., 10 fr.). Dep. from chief station
(p. 175). As far as Aïn-Fezza (p. 186) finest views to the left. Railway
Restaurant (D. 2 fr.) at Sidi Bel-Abbès only.
Motor Trip (p. 173) from Oran viâ Misserghin, Aïn-Temouchent, and
Pont-de-l’Isser to (82½ M.) Tlemcen, returning viâ Sidi Bel-Abbès (128 M.),
interesting; good road.
Between Lamur (p. 181) and Victor-Hugo, suburbs of Oran,
the train crosses the Damesme and Perrégaux line (R. 32). Beyond
the small salt-lake Daya Morselli, on the left, we enter the Plaine
du Figuier, on the N. side of the Sebkha d’Oran, one of the largest
salt-lakes in the Tell Atlas, 26 M. long and 6 M. broad.
3 M. La Sénia (325 ft.), a Spanish village, with productive
vegetable-gardens and vineyards; also a station on the steam-tramway
from Oran to Hammam Bou-Hadjar (p. 184).
To the S.W. from La Sénia diverges the Oran and Aïn-Temouchent
Line (from Oran 47½ M., in 2¼–3 hrs.; fares 8 fr. 60, 6 fr. 15, 4 fr. 60 c.). The
train skirts the S. base of Jebel Murjajo (p. 182), near the Sebkha d’Oran.
12½ M. Misserghin (360 ft.; Hôt. des Voyageurs, Hôt. de la Paix, both
poor; pop. 4400), situated 9½ M. to the S.W. of Oran by the Tlemcen
road, a spot much visited from Oran, possessing a large pépinière or
nursery, and several monastic foundations; charming walk to the (2½ M.)
Ravin de la Vierge through luxuriant orange, lemon, mandarin, and
banana groves.—22½ M. Bou-Tlélis (295 ft.), whence a road leads viâ the
Forêt M’Sila and El-Ançor to Bou-Sfer (p. 184). 29½ M. Lourmel (300 ft.),
near the W. end of the salt-lake. 35 M. Er-Rahel (450 ft.), connected by
road (6¼ M.) with Hammam Bou-Hadjar (p. 184). We cross the Rio
Salado (Arabic Oued Malah) to (40 M.) Rio Salado (279 ft.), famed for
its wine.—47½ M. Aïn-Temouchent (847 ft.; Royal Hotel; Hôt. de
Londres; Hôt. de la Poste; pop. 7500), founded in 1851 on the site of
the Roman Albulae, chiefly inhabited by Spaniards, lies amidst vineyards
and orchards in the narrow valley of the Oued Senane, into which the
Oued Temouchent falls here. The Thurs. market is worth seeing.
The Road to Tlemcen, 41 M. (diligence at 7 p.m. in 9 hrs., returning
from Tlemcen at 9 p.m.; coupé 6 fr.) leads to the S.W. from
Aïn-Temouchent through a hill-region, composed mainly of eruptive rock,
and well-watered, to the thriving village of Aïn-Kial (1477 ft.; noted
for its cattle), crosses the pass (1998 ft.; fine views) of Jebel Sebaa-Chioukh,
and then descends past the onyx-quarries of the hill-village of
Tekbalet to the Isser Valley. 20½ M. Pont-de-l’Isser (807 ft.; Hôt. Pomarès,
humble), a village amid orange-gardens and olive-groves, is almost
purely Mohammedan. The road, now shadeless, affording fine glimpses
of Tlemcen, ascends for a long time in the valley of the Oued el-Guettara,
and reaches (37½ M.) Safsaf (2493 ft.) and (41 M.) Tlemcen (2658 ft.; p. 187).
Another road (23 M.; omn. at 9 a.m.) leads to the W. from Aïn-Temouchent
to the little seaport of Beni-Saf, the outlet for the iron-ores
of the Comp. du Mokta el-Hadid (p. 303). From Beni-Saf a road (omn.
at 6.45 a.m., in 9 hrs.; 5 fr.) leads viâ (5½ M.) Rachgoun (opposite the
island mentioned at p. 125) into the fertile valley of the Tafna, the ancient
Siga, and to (8¾ M.) Takembrit, the modern name for the ruins of
the once important Roman town of Siga. Then, beyond the confluence
of the Isser with the Tafna, the road reaches (27½ M.) Montagnac
(735 ft.) and (36 M.) Hennaya (1346 ft.), whence it ascends to (42½ M.)
Tlemcen (2658 ft.).
The Tlemcen Railway, beyond La Sénia, crosses the Plaine
du Figuier, and beyond (6 M.) Valmy (p. 184) nears the salt-works
186on the Sebkha d’Oran (p. 185). 16 M. Ste. Barbe-du-Tlélat
(492 ft.) is noted for its table grapes.
Our train here diverges to the S.E. from the line to Perrégaux
and Algiers (R. 33), and follows the vine-clad valley of the Oued
Tlélat. Beyond (20 M.) St. Lucien we pass a barrage or reservoir.
26 M. Les Lauriers-Roses lies on the N.E. spurs of Jebel
Tessala (3481 ft.), the mountain which separates the great and
fertile tableland of Sidi Bel-Abbès, one of the granaries of the
province, from the basin of the Sebkha d’Oran.
The train crosses the Col des Ouled-Ali and the Oued Imbert
(1578 ft.) in the fertile valley of that name, and reaches the top
of the tableland. 38½ M. Les Trembles (1375 ft.); the village
lies on a height to the left, between the Oued Mekerra (Sig, p. 206)
and its affluent Oued Sarno. We then ascend the Mekerra valley
to (42½ M.) Prudon (1477 ft.), where many of the wine-growers
are Germans, old soldiers of the French foreign legion.
48½ M. Sidi Bel-Abbès (1542 ft.; Hôt. d’Orient & Continental;
Hôt. des Voyageurs; pop. 29,080), a prosperous agricultural
town, was founded in 1849 on the plan of a Roman camp, with
streets at right angles, and is surrounded by suburbs occupied
mainly by Spanish immigrants. This is the headquarters of the
Légion Etrangère, composed mainly of adventurers and deserters
from Germany and other countries, the first regiment of whom is
located here and the second at Saïda (p. 201). The legion is for the
most part stationed on the Sahara railway (p. 199), in Morocco,
or in the colonies. Great market on Thursdays. Outside the S.
gate, the Porte de Tlemcen, are pleasant public grounds (concerts).
A. E. W. Mason’s novel ‘The Truants’ (London, 1904) deals with the
Foreign Legion.
62½ M. Tabia (2035 ft.), the next important station, is the
junction for a line to (48 M.) Crampel (Ras el-Ma), used chiefly
for the esparto traffic (p. 171).
We now near the main chain of the Tell Atlas of Oran. 77½ M.
Aïn-Tellout, with the spring of that name and a waterfall. 83 M.
Lamoricière (2349 ft.), in a fertile tract, on the Isser. Near
Hadjar-Roum, to the E. of the station, lay the Roman Altava.
89½ M. Oued-Chouly, on the brook of that name, which bursts
forth in cascades from a ravine to join the Isser. Near this, at
Sidi-Hamza, are considerable onyx-quarries. The train now ascends
rapidly to (97 M.) Aïn-Fezza (2855 ft.).
We next enter the upper *Safsaf Valley, enclosed by the high
limestone slopes of Jebel Hanif (3928 ft.) and Jebel Chouka
(3786 ft.), and in a sharp bend, passing through several tunnels,
sweep round the gorge of El-Ourit (p. 196), with its waterfalls.
We skirt the foot of Sidi Bou-Médine (p. 194), obtaining a beautiful
view of the fertile hill-country to the right, and run through
olive-groves to (102½ M.) Tlemcen (see p. 187).
187
The Station lies to the E., 6 min. beyond the Porte de Sidi Bou-Médine
(Pl. D, 2, 3).
Hotels.Hôtel de France (Pl. b; C, 3), Rue de Fez, R. 2½–4, B. 1¼,
déj. 3. D. 4, pens. 9–12, omn. 1 fr.; Hôtel Charles (Pl. a; C, 2), Place des
Victoires, R. 3, B. ¾, déj. or D. 3, pens. 7½, omn. 1 fr., good, though plain,
with restaurant.—Cafés in the Place de la Mairie, Place des Victoires, etc.
Carriages (mostly with three horses, poor but not dear; fares according
to bargain) in the Place des Victoires and Esplanade du Méchouar.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. B, 2), Boulevard National.
One Day and a Half. 1st. Forenoon, *Great Mosque (p. 189), Museum
(p. 190), *Sidi el-Haloui Mosque (p. 191), Agâdir (p. 196); afternoon, *Mansura
(p. 193).—2nd. *Sidi Bou-Médine (p. 194). Mosques open daily 8–11
a.m.; at other times a permit of the sub-prefect (see Pl. B, 2) is required
(comp. also p. 174).
Tlemcen (2658 ft.), the old capital of the central Maghreb
(Maghreb el-Oust), was in the middle ages, along with Fez, one of
the great trading stations between the W. Sahara and the Mediterranean,
and had a factory of the Genoese and the Venetians. It is
now, after Oran, the most important town in the province, with
37,300 inhab. (including 25,500 Mohammedans, chiefly Berbers
and Moors, and 5000 Jews); it possesses the only Medersa (p. 228)
in the province of Oran, founded in 1904, and is the chief military
post on the W. frontier of Algeria. The town is very charmingly
situated on a flat hill at the base of a ridge crowned with the Kubba
Lalla-Setti (3363 ft.), a spur of the Jebel Terni or Massif de
Tlemcen. Beyond the extensive hilly region to the N., sloping
steeply down to the valleys of the Isser and the Tafna (p. 185), we
descry the bold mountains of the Traras group (p. 198) and of
Jebel Sebaa-Chioukh (p. 185). The nearer environs of the town,
on the upper margin of the plateau, are exuberantly fertile. Luxuriant
fruit-bearing hedges are interspersed with groves of gigantic
olive, carob, and pistachio trees, from whose shade peep forth
the white domes of numerous tombs of saints (p. 172).
Tlemcen still contains historic memorials of its mediæval prime
and a number of Moorish works of art, mostly of the Abdelwadite
and Merinide periods (p. 188). These last, like the buildings of
Fez and Kairwan (p. 372), are among the most interesting in
Barbary. Their great charm consists in the fact that their native
characteristics have been preserved in a picturesque environment
where customs and dress differ but slightly from those of the ancient
East.
Pomaria, the earliest settlement in this region, was once, like Altava
(p. 186) and Numerus Syrorum (p. 197), a Roman camp for the defence
of the most important military road in Mauretania Cæsariensis (p. 244),
but in Roman times, notwithstanding its favourable position, it was outstripped
by Siga (p. 185). On its site, by the time of Sidi Okba (p. 322),
there had already sprung up the Berber settlement of Agâdir, which,
188under Idris I. (p. 95) in 790, became the fortified capital of the E. province
of Morocco for defence against the Kharijite kingdom in Tiaret
(p. 208). For seven centuries from that time onwards it was involved
in all the party struggles for the possession of Barbary. During the
conflicts of Omaiyades (p. 69) and Fatimites (p. 323), the governors of Agâdir,
descendants of Solaïmân ben-Abdallah, brother of Idris I., maintained
their position as vassals of one or other of these dynasties, but in 973
the town was sacked by Bologgîn ez-Ziri (p. 323) in the course of a war
against the Omaiyades.
In 1081 the Almoravide Yûsuf ibn Têshufîn (p. 95) appeared before
the gates of Agâdir, and on the site of his camp (Berber ‘tagrârt’) founded
the new town of Tagrârt, afterwards the Telensîn or Tlimsân of the
Moors, and united W. Algeria with Morocco. In 1145 the vicinity of
Tagrârt witnessed the decisive battle between Tâkhfîn ben-Ali (p. 183)
and Abd el-Mûmen (p. 95) which sealed the fate of the Almoravide
kingdom. Since then Tagrârt appears in history as the seat of Almohade
governors of the family of Abd el-Wâd, settled near Tlemcen, a branch
of the powerful Berber tribe of the Zenata, and also as a military camp,
while the lower classes only inhabited Agâdir.
The fall of the Almohades (p. 95) gave rise to the kingdom of Tlemcen,
which was soon extended to the W. to the Mulûya (p. 124) and to the E.
to Bougie (p. 262). The first independent monarch was Yarmorâsen ben-Zeiyân
(1239–82), of the Abdelwadites, who, with the aid of Moorish
artists from Andalusia, transformed Tlemcen, his capital, into a rival of
Fez as one of the most brilliant art-centres in Barbary.
Embellished in legend and in poetry, and most famous among episodes
in the annals or the Maghreb were the two sieges of Tlemcen by
the Merinides (p. 95). The first siege by Abû Yakûb and his grandson
Abû-Tsâbit Omar (1299–1307) commenced with the foundation of the fortified
town of El-Mahalla el-Mansura, which, saving the mosque, was razed
to the ground by the Abdelwadites after the withdrawal of the Moroccan
army, but was rebuilt by Abû’l-Hasen Ali (1335–7) on the occasion of
the second, and this time successful, siege of Tlemcen.
To the brief sway of the Merinides (1337–59) Tlemcen is indebted
for almost all the important buildings outside of its walls. The chief
residence of Abû’l-Hasen Ali (d. 1348), next to Fez, was Mansura, where
he erected a new ‘palace of victory’ as his kasba; but the place was
abandoned under Abû Inân Fâres (1348–58), and from that time down to
the French period it merely served as a stone-quarry.
During the brilliant reign of Abû Hammu Mûsa II. (1359–89), the
first of the Ziyanides (1359–1517), the younger Abdelwadite dynasty, his
court vied with that of Granada as a resort of artists, poets, and scholars;
but from that time onwards Tlemcen shared the general decadence of
Barbary. It was not only the chief scene of all the conflicts between
the Merinides and Hafsides (p. 323), but was grievously torn by internal
dissensions also, so that it soon lost all importance. After the overthrow
of the Ziyanides by Horuk Barbarossa (p. 221), and after a short occupation
by the Spaniards (1518), Tlemcen became a poor provincial town
in the beylic of Oran. The present town-walls (1855–6) and a whole new
quarter are creations of the French régime, under which, in 1842, Tlemcen
was incorporated with their new colony of Algeria.
Comp. Marçais’s book on Tlemcen mentioned at p. 175 and A. Bel’s
‘Tlemcen et ses Environs’ (Oran, 1909).
From the Porte de Sidi Bou-Médine (Pl. D, 2, 3), the chief gate
of the town, the Rue de Sidi Bel-Abbès leads in 2 min. to the Esplanade
du Méchouar (Pl. C, 3), planted with fine plane-trees. On
the left rises the—
Méchouar (Arabic meshwâr, the king’s castle), the residence
of the Abdelwadites and Ziyanides, erected by Yarmorâsen about
1891255, a great quadrangular pile, forming like the Alhambra a
complete quarter of the town. The building was largely destroyed
during a revolt against Hassan, Bey of Mascara, in 1670, and in
1842 was replaced by French barracks. The only relics of the
original edifice are the Castle Wall, built by Abû’l-Abbâs Ahmed,
the thirteenth Ziyanide, with its modern clock-tower of 1843, and
the Castle Mosque, founded in 1317, which was long used as a
storehouse. The latter, having been converted into a chapel for
the military hospital, has lost its original character in the interior
(adm. on application).
From the E. end of the Esplanade the Rue du Théâtre leads to
the Place des Victoires (Pl. C, D, 2), planted with trees, from the
parapet of which we look down on the E. Mohammedan quarter
(p. 191) and the hills of the Safsaf valley.
A little to the N.W. is the Place de la Mairie (Pl. C, 2), which,
together with the Place d’Alger (p. 190) on its W. side, forms the
business centre of the town. On its S. side rises the Mairie (Pl. C, 2),
erected in 1843. In the court are two onyx columns from Mansura,
bearing two huge stone balls which were thrown into the town
during one of the Merinide sieges.
The *Great Mosque (Pl. C, 2; Arabic Jâma el-Kebîr), the
back of which bounds the N. side of the square, now the only edifice
of the Almoravide period at Tlemcen, is very important in art-history
as one of the few Moorish buildings of the 12th cent. that
have survived without alteration. The inscription on the frieze of
the drum of the mihrâb dome records the name of the founder, the
caliph Ali ibn Yûsuf, who with the aid of Andalusian artists erected
the court and the house of prayer adjacent to the Kasr el-Kadîm,
or royal castle, in 1135–8. The minaret was not added till the
reign of Yarmorâsen (after 1250). The kubba at the S.W. angle,
adjoining the Rue de France, once perhaps the tomb of Yarmorâsen
and several of the Ziyanides, now contains the vault of Mohammed
ben-Merzûg. On the E. side of the mosque, near the old vine in the
side-street, is a second saint’s tomb, the kubba of Ahmed Bel-Hasen
el-Ghomari (d. 1466). The library, a later addition next
to the minaret, has been removed by the French.
The square court of the mosque, which we enter on the E. side,
is flanked on three sides by triple or quadruple arcades; the two
aisles of the N. arcade, which precede the minaret, are of later
date. The irregular plan of the arcades and of the main portal
leading into the nave of the mosque was probably due to the situation
of the castle. The onyx pavement of the court is preserved
in part only.
The Interior, consisting of a central nave (15 by 10½ ft.) with
twelve narrower aisles, is entered by five portals on the S. side of
the court, whose arches are of round or pointed horseshoe form or
190multifoil, and also by two E. portals. The arcades, whose arches are
mostly horseshoe-shaped, but in a few cases pointed, rest on short
pillars. The open roof is well preserved. The nave is crowned with
two domes, the nearer rising behind the sedda (p. 180), while the
second, over the mihrâb chapel, shows beginnings of stalactite vaulting.
The great candelabrum under the central dome is modern and
is for the most part an imitation of the old one said to have been
presented by Yarmorâsen and now in the Museum (see below). The
mimbar and kursi (p. 451) are of no artistic value, and the maksûra
(p. 71) has disappeared. The elegant stucco ornamentation of the
*Mihrâb, which even extends to the exterior, where the stone
slabs are framed with multifoil arches, recalls the mosque of Cordova.
The prayer-niche is lighted by three perforated windows
of plaster. Behind the mihrâb is the sacristy.
The Minaret, 115 ft. high, resembling the tower of Agâdir
(p. 196), affords a beautiful view of the town and environs.
On the W. side of the Place d’Alger (Pl. C, 2), where the ruins
of the famous Medersa Jadîda or Tâkhfînîya, a school for the
learned erected by the Abdelwadite Abû Tâkhfîn (1322–37), existed
down to 1876, rises the—
*Sidi Bel-Hassen Mosque, now the Museum (Pl. 2, B, C, 2;
custodian in the court of the Mairie; fee ½ fr.), erected in 1296
by the Abdelwadite Abû Saïd Otsmân. It consists of nave and two
aisles, with a low minaret. Used by the French successively as a
storehouse and a school, it was carefully restored in 1900, and is
now a perfect gem in the interior. The stucco *Decoration of the
walls, preserved in part only, with its rich and graceful arabesques
(p. 445), and the geometrical ornamentation of the round-arched
plaster windows, recall the sumptuous rooms of the Alcázar at
Seville and the Alhambra of Granada. The half-dome of the
**Mihrâb, whose horseshoe mural arch rests on two small columns
of onyx, is borne by stalactite or honeycomb vaulting. The ancient
roof of cedar is well preserved in the left aisle only.
Below the two friezes with Cufic inscriptions adjoining the Mihrâb
are fragments, built into the wall, of fayence tiles from the old Medersa
Tâkhfînîya and the Méchouar. The beautiful onyx basin once belonged to
the latrine-court of the Great Mosque. Along the walls are several Roman
and numerous Mohammedan tombstones, some of them belonging to kings
of Tlemcen. Near the entrance is the so-called Coudée Royale, a marble
slab from the Kessaria (comp. p. 191), bearing an ell-measure and regulations
for the trade of Christian merchants with the natives (1328). In the
second room are the old candelabrum and remains of the old maksûra of
the Great Mosque (comp. above), Moorish and Turkish tiles, etc. On the
first floor is the Geological Museum.
The dirty streets to the S. of the Place de la Mairie and the
Place d’Alger, which have been laid out in straight lines under the
French régime, belong to the Jewish Quarter, where, however, a few
of the old one-storied houses with a kind of sunken flat, still survive.
191A pleasanter walk may be taken through the Mohammedan
Quarters, especially that to the E. of the Place de la Mairie,
where we may witness, especially on market-day (Mon.), the most
lively and picturesque scenes of native life. The busiest points are
the Marché Couvert (Pl. C, 2) in the Place du Kessaria, where the
Italian merchants had their offices in the middle ages, and also the
Rue de Mascara (Pl. C, D, 2, 1) and the Rue Kaldoun (Pl. C, D, 1).
Adjoining the Rue de Mascara, once the Sûk el-Berada’in (saddlers’
market), is an impasse called the Derb el-Msoufa, in which is situated
the little Mosque of Sidi Senoussi (Pl. D, 2; his tomb is
near Sidi Bou-Médine, p. 194), with a graceful minaret inlaid with
tiles and a small house of prayer on the first floor.
In the street between the Rue de Mascara and the Rue Kaldoun
are the so-called Bains des Teinturiers (Pl. D, 1; Hammâm es-Sebbâghîn),
an ancient Moorish bath-house (12th cent.?), the plan
of which seems to have been an exact copy of the Roman bath.
The ante-room, now much altered, was apparently the tepidarium.
Straight on we come to the apodyterium, a domed room on twelve short
mediæval columns, with a gallery running round it. To the left of this
room is the caldarium in three sections, with the heating apparatus on
the E. side. The S. side-room is the frigidarium.
At the end of the Rue Kaldoun we leave the town by the Porte
de l’Abattoir (Pl. D, 1; road to Agâdir, see p. 196), and turn to the
left, skirting the town-walls, above the dilapidated Sidi Lahsen
Mosque, built by Abû’l-Abbâs Ahmed (p. 189), which has an elegant
minaret and an interior restored in the Turkish period.
On a slope near the N.E. angle of the town-walls, below the
railway, and formerly below the Bâb Sidi’l-Haloui, is the tomb of
the saint of that name (d. 1307), adjoined by the—
*Sidi el-Haloui Mosque, a creation of the Merinide Abû
Inân Fâres (p. 188). The pinnacled outer gateway leads to the now
freely restored chief portal, with its fine inlaid mosaic tiles, two
friezes with inscriptions, and a projecting timber roof.
The ground-plan of this mosque is similar to that of the slightly
earlier mosque of Sidi Bou-Médine (p. 194). From the court, enclosed
by a single arcade, we enter the house of prayer with its nave
(11 ft. broad), double aisles (10 ft.), and transept. The square mihrâb
chapel is covered by a slightly elevated tiled roof instead of a
dome. The old timber ceiling of the interior has recently been
much restored, and remains of the superb stucco decoration have
lately been brought to light from under the whitewash. The mihrâb
has lost all its rich ornamentation save the stalactite vaulting. The
eight onyx *Columns, brought from Mansura, which support the
pointed horseshoe arches of the arcades, are remarkable for their
beautiful capitals in the Moorish style.
The minaret added at the W. angle of the court, with its multifoil
arched niches in the two lower stories and reticulated work on
192the upper, resembles that of the mosque of Sidi Bou-Médine. A
portal opposite with a projecting roof leads to the domed Latrines.
We now follow the path to the W., skirting the town-walls, and
affording fine views, to the Porte du Nord (Pl. B, 1), through which
we enter the Rue de France. From this street the Boulevard National
soon diverges to the right to the large Place Cavaignac (Pl. B,
1, 2), the chief square in the uniformly built French quarter. The
font in the church of St. Michel (Pl. B, 2) came from the mosque
of Mansura.
On the E. side of the church runs the Rue Ximénès, intersecting
the whole town. This street, or the Rue de la Victoire (Pl. C, B, 2),
which begins at the Place d’Algier, forms the chief approach to the
S. W. Mohammedan Quarter, which was inhabited in the Turkish
period mainly by Kuluglis (p. 171). At the S. end of the Rue Ximénès,
on the left, is the interesting Ecole Professionnelle Indigène
de Tapis (Pl. C, 4; adm. daily 8–11 and 2–5, except on Sun., Frid.,
and great festivals).
The busy Rue Haëdo, prolonging the Rue de la Victoire, leads
to the S.W. to the Porte de Fez (Pl. A, 4). In the Rue Sidi-Brahim,
the first side-street on the left, is the—
Sidi Brahim Mosque (Pl. B, 3), formerly belonging to the Medersa
Yakûbîya. The Medersa was built in 1362 by Abû Hammu Mûsa II.
(p. 188), and named after his father, but the last vestiges of it were
removed in 1846. This small mosque, with nave and double aisles,
received its present decoration in the Turkish period. The mihrâb,
adorned with the Turkish crescent, has mural tiles with gold lustre
in the Gubbio style. The present pulpit, from which the Friday
prayer was recited for the Kuluglis, was executed by the Turkish
artist Mohammed Ben-Hasen Ben-Ferfara (1831–2), and the door
of the old sacristy was carved by Sâlim Bu-Jenân Ben-Ferfara.
The Kubba of Sidi Brahim (d. 1401), adjoining the mosque, still
contains its old geometric stucco decoration and mosaic tiles.
The Oulâd el-Imâm Mosque (Pl. B, 3), to the N. of the Rue
Haëdo, was built about 1310 by the Abdelwadite Abû Hammu I.
as a chapel for the Medersa el-Kadîma, the oldest school of the
learned at Tlemcen, but is now in a sad state of ruin. The minaret
still shows traces of fayence mosaics. The fine mihrâb was probably
redecorated under the Ziyanides.
In the Rue d’Hennaya, near the Fez Gate, rises the modern
Medersa (Pl. A, B, 3), a tasteful new-Moorish edifice (visitors
admitted).
To the W. of the modern town-walls, between the Porte de Fez
and the Porte d’Oran, lies the Grand Bassin (Pl. A, 3; Arabic
Sahrîj el-Kebîr or ben-Bedda), a large reservoir, similar to the
reservoirs of Kairwan and Marakesh, constructed of concrete,
220 yds. long, 110 yds. broad, and 10 ft. deep, now used as a drill-ground.
193It is said to have been made by Abû Tâkhfîn (p. 190).
According to a tradition the last of the Ziyanide dynasty were
drowned here by Horuk Barbarossa (p. 221) in 1517.
To the N.W. of the French town-walls, between the Porte d’Oran
and the Porte du Nord (p. 192), rises the *Bâb el-Kermâdîn
(Pl. A, 1; potters’ gate), which already existed in the time of Yarmorâsen
(p. 188), so named from the potsherds contained in its concrete
masonry. The gateway, with its four towers and quadrangle,
resembles the propugnaculum of late-Roman town fortifications.
The *Ruins of Mansura, the old entrenched town of the
Merinides (p. 188), are reached from the Porte de Fez (p. 192) by
the road to Lalla-Marnia (p. 197), to the S.W., in 20–25 min. (carr.
there and back 2½–3 fr.), The road passes (¼ hr.) the so-called
Bâb el-Khemîs, a brick structure of unknown use, now much restored.
A little above it are the ruins of a second building of
uncertain origin (possibly the ancient Mosalla).
In 6 min. more we reach the old *Town Wall of Mansura,
near the former E. gate of the town, within the precincts of which,
to the left, above the road, is ensconced the modern agricultural
village of Mansura amid luxuriant vegetation. The walls, 40 ft. high,
constructed of concrete, enclose a great irregular quadrilateral
space of about 4400 yds. in length, and are still largely preserved
on the N.W. and S.W. sides. Of the towers, about 80 in number, connected
by a crenellated passage, most are rectangular in form, but
the four far-projecting corner-towers, like the eight gate-towers,
are quadrangular.
Near the old E. gate, above the road, are a Bridge and remains
of a rudely paved Street of the Merinide period. Of the old Palace
of Victory, the Kasba of Abû’l-Hasen Ali (p. 188), once sumptuously
fitted up, there are now, on the highest ground in the town
precincts, at the S.E. angle of the present village, a few scanty relics
only, the chief of which is the inner court, resembling the
myrtle court of the Alhambra (p. 83).
Close to the old W. gate, on a plateau above the road, rises the
**Mansura Tower (130 ft.), the minaret of the chief mosque,
founded by Abû Yakûb (p. 188). The back-wall, the staircase, the
upper platform, and the muezzin’s turret have fallen in, but the
ruin, with its golden-toned masonry glowing in the sunshine, its
peaceful surroundings, and the superb view from its base, has an
indescribable charm. The ruin was restored in 1877.
The portal of the minaret formed the central entrance to the court
of the mosque. Of the three concentric gateway arches the inmost horseshoe
arch, resting on two onyx columns, has been entirely renewed.
The first story here, as in no other Moorish minaret, is adorned with a
balcony, borne by corner brackets and stalactite pendentives, now without
columns. The second story, relieved by narrow window openings, has
the usual reticulated ornamentation, while the upper story is adorned
194with multifoil arched niches. Remains of the fayence mosaics are still
visible at places.
The custodian, who has generally to be asked for in the village,
shows the ruins of the court and of the mosque itself, which once had
thirteen arcades.
The hill-village of Sidi Bou-Médine (2841 ft.), picturesquely
situated amid olive-groves on the slopes of Jebel Mefroûch,
20 min. to the E. of Tlemcen, contains, like Mansura, some of the
finest existing memorials of the Merinide period. It was once named
Eubbâd el-Fûki (‘upper Eubbâd’), and at a very early period belonged
to a monastery, the Ribât el-Eubbâd, but it derives its
present name from Sidi Abû-Median, a scholar from Seville (about
1126–97), who was buried here by order of the Almohade Mohammed
en-Nâsir (1198–1213). Around the kubba of that great scholar and
saint, which for centuries attracted countless pilgrims, are grouped
the buildings of the Merinide sovereigns.
The road to Sidi Bou-Médine, only the lower half of which is
fit for driving, branches to the right from the Sidi Bel-Abbès and
Aïn-Temouchent road, 2 min. from the Porte de Sidi Bou-Médine,
and passes below the Mohammedan Cemetery (makbara), with its
wealth of cypresses. By the wayside are a number of saints’ tombs,
mostly in ruins, among which is the kubba of Sidi Senoussi
(d. 1490), with its green-tiled roof. We pass also the remains of
mosque walls and a ruined minaret, which belonged to the village
of Eubbâd es-Sefli (‘lower Eubbâd’) once situated here.
We ascend through a defile shaded with fine old fig and cherry
trees, and soon reach the lower entrance of the village, whence we
go straight on to the mosque, with its conspicuous minaret, and
the kubba of the saint (guide quite needless). The outer gateway,
decorated anew in the later Turkish period, with its clumsy wooden
penthouse in front, is the entrance to a forecourt, within which are
the two sacred edifices and the Maison de l’Oukil (now the works-office),
a building of the time of Mohammed el-Kebîr (p. 178), on
the site of the ancient Zaouïa or pilgrims’ hospice.
The Kubba of Sidi Bou-Médine, to which steps descend to the
left under the penthouse, was restored by the Merinide Abû’l-Hasen
Ali (p. 188), and towards the end of the 18th cent. was injured by
a fire. It owes its present decoration, save the four onyx columns
from Mansura and the sacred fountain in the vestibule, to Mohammed
el-Kebîr, whose artist, named in the inscription on the
frieze of the gateway, was El-Hâshmi ben-Sarmashîk (1793). The
vault, richly garnished with flags, ostrich-eggs, votive offerings, etc.,
contains the coffins of Sidi Abû-Median and the Tunisian saint
Sidi Abd es-Selâm side by side (custodian 20–30 c.).
The *Mosque, erected in 1339 by Abû’l-Hasen Ali, about the
same date as the myrtle-court palace of the Alhambra (comp. p. 80),
195is one of the most brilliant creations of the exuberant Moorish art
of the 14th cent.; and, thanks to the sanctity of its site, it has
survived the wars of the Ziyanide age and resisted the decadence of
the Turkish period without serious damage. The custodian is usually
to be found in the vestibule of the gateway.
The **Chief Portal, now skilfully restored, is a masterpiece
of artistic decoration. The superb outer gateway, whose lofty
horseshoe arch opens into the vestibule, is lavishly enriched with
fayence mosaics, which show beautiful arabesque patterns in the
rectangular stonework of the doorway, and geometrical designs
above the frieze with the inscriptions. The gateway is crowned by
a tiled roof resting on narrow brackets.
Eleven steps ascend to the vestibule, where the stucco decoration
of the upper wall-surfaces vies in beauty with the stalactites
of the dome. At the inner gateway the lower part of the doors of
cedar-wood has been skilfully encrusted anew with bronze. The
door-knockers resemble those of the present Puerta del Perdón at
Cordova (p. 70).
We now cross the simple Court of the Mosque, flanked with
single arcades, to the Mosque itself, with its nave and double aisles.
The somewhat broader nave and the transept by the wall of the
mihrâb recall the ground-plan of Sidi Okba’s Mosque at Kairwan
(p. 374). The arcades, whose horseshoe arches, like those in the
court, rest on pillars of masonry, and all the wall-surfaces are encrusted
with stucco. The richly coffered stucco ceiling of the aisles
is well preserved, but the perforated dome of the mihrâb chapel
was tastelessly restored in the later Turkish period. The *Mihrâb,
with its stalactite half-dome, its friezes with Cufic inscriptions,
and the three perforated plaster windows, deserves special attention.
The capitals of the two onyx columns which support the horseshoe
arch of the niche are the finest at Tlemcen. The pulpit is modern.
The *Minaret, like the Kutubia at Marakesh, which it resembles
in its lowest story, still shows the three copper balls on its
muezzin-turret. The rosette ornamentation under the platform is
peculiar. The ascent is recommended for the sake of the fine survey
we obtain of the village and the beautiful view of the hilly plain
of Tlemcen with the minarets of Agâdir (p. 196) and Mansura.
A few paces above the outer gateway of the mosque court a
flight of steps on the right ascends to the old Medersa, now a
national school. This edifice, erected by Abû’l-Hasen Ali in 1347,
is the only learned school of the kind still preserved in Barbary,
besides that of Marakesh; but it has been almost entirely restored,
first by Mohammed el-Kebîr about 1793, and lately by the French
government. The building is usually shown by the teacher (50 c.).
The portal, ornamented with fayence mosaics and surmounted by a
projecting roof like the chief door of the neighbouring mosque, opens
196into a court, adorned with a fountain and flanked with an arcade.
On each side are six cells for the students (tholba, sing. thaleb);
and there are four others in the small court adjoining the S.E. angle.
The niches in the walls for the books and lamps of the students
should be noticed. In the centre of the S. wall of the court is the
entrance to the old room for study and prayer, with a mihrâb and
a wooden dome which was probably restored in the time of Mohammed
el-Kebîr. The stucco enrichment of the walls is best preserved
on the entrance side. The old court of ablutions adjoins the
N.W. angle of the main quadrangle.
The platform of the upper floor of the court, where there are
twelve more cells, affords the best view of the minaret of the mosque.
At a small house near the Medersa we obtain the key (fee 30 c.) of
the so-called Petit Palais d’el-Eubbâd, a ruin popularly called Dâr es-Soltân
(palace of the sultan), situated below the Kubba of Sidi Bou-Médine.
The building, which also dates from the Merinide period, was
more probably a hospice for the richer pilgrims. It comprises three courts
with small side-rooms or alcoves, like those of the Alhambra, and remains
of baths and latrines. A visit to it hardly repays if time is limited.
On the way to the ‘Dâr es-Soltân’ we pass the Latrine Court of the
mosque and the so-called Kubba of Sidi el-Eubbâd. From (2 min. farther)
the E. end of the village we may descend, and cross the railway, to
(6 min.) the Sidi Bel-Abbès road.
This road leads to the E. through olive-groves, and then, turning
to the S., through the Safsaf Valley to (¾ hr., or from Tlemcen 1 hr.)
the gorge of *El-Ourit (p. 186; carr. there and back 4–5 fr.). The bridge
across it affords a fine view of the valley and the lower waterfalls. (Rfmts.)
The road to Aïn-Temouchent (p. 185) diverges to the left from
the Sidi Bel-Abbès road, at a point 10 min. from the Porte de Sidi
Bou-Médine (p. 188), and about ½ M. farther passes near the gorge
of the Oued Metchkâna, which lies a little to the left. Here, beneath
superb old terebinths (p. 202), on the site of the old Cemetery
of Agadîr (‘Cimetière de Sidi Yacoub’), are situated the pretty
kubba of Sidi Wahhâb, the oldest saint of this region, said to
have been a companion of the prophet, and the so-called Tombeau
de la Sultane, a dilapidated octagonal domed building (12th cent.?),
which served in 1412 as a tomb for a Ziyanide princess.
The ruins of Agâdir (p. 187) may be reached in about 10 min.
from the Porte de l’Abattoir (Pl. D, 1; p. 191) by the old Safsaf
road to the N.E. (p. 185). Of the chief mosque founded here by
Idris I. (p. 95) the only relic is the elegant *Minaret, 105 ft. in
height, erected by Yarmorâsen at the same time as the tower of the
Great Mosque (p. 190). The substructures, 19 ft. high, composed
of Roman blocks of stone from the ancient Pomaria, and with Roman
inscriptions built into them outside and in the staircase, probably
belonged to an earlier minaret.—A little to the E., beyond
the ravine, are preserved a few fragments of the E. Wall of Agâdir
197built by the Berbers. A few paces to the N. of the road rises the
handsome Kubba of Sidi’d-Dâoudi (d. 1011); the present building
is probably of the Merinide period.
64 M. Railway to (36½ M.) Lalla-Marnia (two trains daily in ca.
2¼ hrs.; fares 6 fr. 65, 4 fr. 75, 3 fr. 55 c.), going on thence to (43 M.)
Zoudj-el-Beghal, the terminus on the Moroccan frontier.
The Railway, admirably engineered, skirts the N. side of
Tlemcen, and then, near the Bâb el-Kermâdîn (p. 193), turns to
the S.E. to (3 M.) Mansura (p. 193) and crosses the Col du Juif
(2664 ft.). Behind us there is a fine view of Tlemcen, while the
distant view extends to the Plaine des Angad and Jebel Beni
Snassen (see below). We next skirt the N. spurs of the Jebel Terni
group (p. 187) and pass through superb valleys and ravines.
7½ M. Aïn-Douz. Beyond (9½ M.) Zelboun we are carried
through the valley of the Oued Zitoun, one of the chief tributaries
of the Tafna (p. 185).
18½ M. Turenne (1969 ft.; Hôt. Fournier and Hôt. Leclerc,
poor), a thriving village in a well-watered region. Esparto is the
chief export.
28½ M. Sidi-Medjahed, with a camp of wedded spahis (p. 390).
31 M. Tralimet.
36½ M. Lalla-Marnia (1197 ft.; Hôt. de France; Hôt. de la
Renaissance), properly Lalla-Maghrnia, on the site of the Roman
castle of Numerus Syrorum, was founded in 1844 on the occasion
of the campaign against Morocco, and named after the tomb of a
female saint. It is now the most important frontier-town of the
province of Oran; it was made a free mart in 1895, and holds a
great Sunday *Market, much frequented by Moroccans. Lalla-Marnia
forms the portal of the Plaine des Angad or Plaine
d’Oudjda. This great plateau is bounded on the N. by the Traras
Group (p. 198) and the fertile Jebel Beni Snassen (4659 ft.), both
inhabited by Berber tribes only, and on the S. by the main chain of
the Tell Atlas. The old caravan route to Fez by Tâza, the key to
N. Morocco, has been the scene of all the expeditions of the Arabs
against Morocco ever since that of Sidi Okba in the 7th century.
From Lalla-Marnia a new road (motor-omnibus twice daily) leads to
the S.W., crossing the frontier of Morocco halfway, to (ca. 15 M.) Oudjda
or Ujda (2241 ft.; Hôt. Figari, good, quarters should be engaged by telegraph;
pop. ca. 8000), the chief town of E. Morocco, which is said to have
been founded by the governors of Tlemcen in the 10th cent., and was
occupied by the French in 1814, 1859, and 1907. The picturesque town,
the most fertile oasis in the Angad steppe, lies amidst orchards and olive-groves,
not far from the Oued Isly, the battle-field of 1844 (p. 221). We
enter the town, passing the kubba of Oudjda, by the N. gate (Bâb el-Khemis).
Straight on is the French Consulate in a pretty garden, while
198to the left are the Custom House and Post Office. In the S. quarter of
the town rises the Kasba or Dâr el-Makhzen, the seat of the Moroccan
Amel or governor. At the N. angle of the Kasba is the Chief Mosque,
dedicated to Sidi Okba, to the N.E. of which lies the Sûk (p. 335). Behind
the mosque is the new Ecole Franco-Arabe. Outside the E. gate, the
Bâb Sidi Abd el-Wahhâb, is the camping-ground of the caravans; and outside
the S. gate (Bâb Oulad Amran), on a slight eminence 10 min. from
the town, are the quarters of the French troops of occupation. The Thursday
market is important. Famous horse-races in October, in connection
with those of Lalla-Marnia.
For a visit to Oudjda travellers may use also the railway as far as
Zoudj-el-Beghal (comp. p. 197) on the Moroccan frontier, whence Oudjda
is about 8 M. distant.
The Road to Nemours (diligence) leads to the N. from Lalla-Marnia
through a hilly region, crosses the Oued Mouïlah, a tributary
of the Tafna, near the Hammam Sidi-Cheikh, a small bath
with saline springs (91° Fahr.), and then winds up, past the Kubba
Sidi-Abdallah (on the left), towards the Traras Mts., which are
famed for the beauty of their outlines. In the Jebel Masser, near
the top of the pass, the Col de Bab-Taza (2664 ft.), is a cadmium
mine, worked like the neighbouring mines of Jebel Maaziz by a
Belgian company.—We now descend to the N.E. in many windings,
passing not far from the onyx-quarries near the Kubba Sidi-Brahim,
into the valley of the Oued Zebaïr.
53½ M. (from Tlemcen) Nédroma (1312 ft.; inn; pop. 4900),
superbly situated in a fertile basin, is an antiquated little Berber
town, with fine mediæval mosques. The *Market (Mon. and Thurs.)
is worth seeing for the sake of the picturesque costumes of the
peasants who flock to it from the mountains around. Home-industries
are much in vogue in the environs.
The Jebel Fillaoussen (3727 ft.), the highest of the Traras group, to
the E. of Nédroma, commands an extensive view, embracing in very
clear weather the Sierra Nevada in the far N.
The road soon leaves the Oued Zebaïr and turns to the N.W.
to the lower course of the brook, which takes the name of Oued
Tléta farther on, and from the influx of the Oued Taïma to the
sea that of Oued el-Mersa.
In the upper valley of the Taïma, on the slope of Jebel Kerkour
(1884 ft.), are the Kubba Sidi-Brahim, where a small French force under
Col. de Montagnac was almost entirely cut to pieces in 1845, and the
Kubba Sidi-Tahar, where Abd el-Kâder (p. 221) surrendered in 1847.
The former event is recalled by a monument in the Vallée des Jardins,
¾M. to the S. of Nemours.
64 M. (from Tlemcen) Nemours (Hôt. de France; pop. 3900),
a pleasant little town, noted for its mild and healthy climate, was
founded in 1844 on the site of the Roman Ad Fratres, a name derived
from two rocks near the beach. The banana culture thrives
in the environs. On the Plateau de Taount (407 ft.), to the N.E.
of the town, are the ruins of Djemâa el-Ghazaouât (‘marauders’
community’), once a Berber village, but afterwards a notorious den
of pirates (p. 221).—Nemours is a steamboat station (comp. R. 18).
199
396 M. State Railway. Direct communication with dining-car (déj. 3,
D. 3½ fr.) and sleeping-car (12 fr. extra) three times a week only (Tues.,
Thurs., and Sat.; returning Sun., Wed., and Frid.); express viâ (129½ M.)
Saïda to (305½ M.) Aïn-Sefra in 16 hrs.; thence by ordinary train to
Beni-Ounif in 5¼ hrs.; trains start from the Gare d’Arzew at Oran (p. 175).
As far as (55½ M.) Perrégaux we may travel by the Oran and Algiers
train on the main-line (R. 33), noting that the stations there are 550 yds.
apart (omn. 25 c.). Fares to Aïn-Sefra 39 fr. 35, 29 fr. 50 c. (sleeping-car,
1st cl. only, 12 fr. extra; 2nd cl. similar to Engl. 3rd); to Beni-Ounif
50 fr. 95, 38 fr. 20 c. (return-ticket, valid 16 days, 71 fr. 30 or 53 fr. 50 c.).—A
good supply of copper coins will be found very useful.
The journey from Oran to the Sahara is most interesting, as it carries
the traveller from the seaboard through a cultivated region, across
the Tell Atlas to the Hauts-Plateaux, and then over the Sahara Atlas to
the margin of the desert. The only good intermediate resting-place is
Aïn-Sefra. A stay of several days at Beni-Ounif will be found pleasant,
especially in spring. The oasis of Tiout is now eclipsed by that of
Figuig, one of the most beautiful in the Sahara. The line goes on from
Beni-Ounif to Colomb-Béchar, its present terminus.
Oran, see p. 175. Our train crosses the Algiers main-line (R. 33),
passes the suburb of Victor-Hugo and the Daya Morselli (p. 185),
and runs to the E. through vineyards, fields, and dwarf-palm underwood
in succession, and then past the S. base of Jebel Kahar (p. 184)
to (12½ M.) Fleurus.
17½ M. St. Cloud (502 ft.; hotel) lies pleasantly on the spurs
of Jebel Kristel, 6¼ M. to the S.E. of Kristel (p. 184). 21 M.
Renan-Kléber (433 ft.). The village of Kléber (505 ft.; Hôt.
Voinson) lies 2 M. to the N.W., at the foot of Jebel Orouze (2070 ft.;
semaphore), with its large quarries of white, yellow, and red marble
(‘rosso antico’).
26 M. Damesme, on the Bay of Arzew, the ancient Laturus
Sinus. The village lies above the station, to the S.
A Branch Line (3 M., in 12–15 min.) connects Damesme with Arzew
or Arzeu (7 ft.; Hôt. de la Nièvre; Hôt. des Bains; Brit. vice-consul, A.
Gautray; pop. 6000), a small seaport at the foot of Jebel Sicioun (532 ft.),
whence a goods-line runs to the S. to the (9 M.) salt-works on the Lac
Salin d’Arzew, or El-Mellaha. The harbour, naturally one of the best and
most sheltered in Algeria, but as yet little used, has been improved since
1906. From here chiefly alfa (p. 171) is exported to Great Britain and
Germany.
From Damesme the train runs to the S.E., close to the shore.
28 M. St. Leu (177 ft.; Hôt. de l’Europe). To the S.E. of the
village of St. Leu, and 1 M. from the station, is the Berber village
of Bettioua, near which are the scanty ruins of Portus Magnus,
the only Roman settlement on the bay of Arzew.
34½ M. Port-aux-Poules (Etablissement Thermal), with sulphur-baths,
a sea-bathing place in summer. The train skirts the
narrow strip of sand-hills and passes the mouth of the Macta.
20037 M. La Macta, a village at the N. end of the Marais de la
Macta, or swamps of the river-plain of the Sig (p. 206) and the
Habra, very malarious in summer, is connected by a branch-line
with (7½ M.) La Stidia, a village founded by German peasants
in 1844, and with (18½ M.) Mostaganem (p. 207).
The train now runs inland, past the E. margin of the morasses,
to (48½ M.) Debrousseville, in the broad Plaine de l’Habra. The
village belongs to the Domaine de l’Habra et de la Macta, the
largest estate in Algeria, watered by a network of cuttings (276 M.
in length) from the reservoir of the Oued Fergoug (see below).
Since the failure of two private companies the estate has been
owned by the Crédit Foncier de France. Of its 70,000 acres
44,000 are pasture-land, and the rest is devoted to grain and fruit.
Its headquarters are at La Ferme-Blanche, near the railway.
At (55½ M.) Perrégaux we cross the Oran-Algiers line (p. 206).
Ascending the valley of the Habra, here called Oued el-Hammam
(‘bath-river’), we now penetrate the Beni Chougrane Mts.,
the N. marginal chain of the Tell Atlas. On the left, just before
(61½ M.) Barrage, lies the *Barrage de Perrégaux or de l’Oued
Fergoug, the largest reservoir in Algeria, which irrigates some
90,000 acres of land. The embankment, is 550 yds. long, 130 ft.
high, and from 130 ft. thick at the bottom to 12½ ft. at the top.
The reservoir once contained 33 million tons of water, but the
quantity is constantly being diminished by the deposits of the stream.
67½ M. Dublineau (443 ft.). 78 M. Bou-Hanifia is the station
for the small baths of Hammam Bou-Hanifia, on the right bank
of the Habra, 2½ M. to the S.W. (Bath Hotel). The eight saline
springs (136° Fahr.) are the Aquae Sirenses of antiquity.
86 M. Tizi or Thizi (1490 ft.; Rail. Restaur.) in the Plaine
d’Eghris, a lofty and fertile tract between the N. lateral chain and
the main range of the Tell Atlas.
Branch Line (7½ M., in ca. ½ hr.) from Tizi to Mascara (1903 ft.;
Hôt. Bourelly, Rue de Dalmatie, R. 2½, B. 1, déj. 2½ omn. ½ fr., quite
good; Hôt. du Luxembourg, Rue Victor-Hugo; Café de la Brasserie,
Place Gambetta; pop. 22,930), beautifully situated on a chain of hills on
the N. margin of the Eghris plain. This was the capital of the beylic
of Oran in 1701–92, and in 1832–41 was the residence and chief stronghold
of Abd el-Kâder (p. 221). The chief quarter of the town, with the Place
Gambetta as its centre, has a Mosque (18th cent.) in the Place Nationale,
and a Beylic (now military offices), built by Mohammed el-Kebîr (p. 178),
in the street of that name. This quarter is separated by the ravine of
the Oued Toudman, now a public park, from the spacious Place de
l’Argoub (market on Thurs. and Frid.) and from the barracks quarter.
Outside the Porte d’Oran, the W. gate, we have a delightful view. Outside
the Bâb-Ali, the N. gate, lies the Mohammedan quarter of that
name (where burnouses are woven). Mascara is famed for its wine.
At (93½ M.) Thiersville (1601 ft.) the train crosses a range
of hills to the stony tableland of Guerdjoum (much overgrown
with dwarf-palms). Beyond (102½ M.) Oued-Taria (1618 ft.) it
201crosses the brook of that name, the chief feeder of the Habra, and
at (110½ M.) Charrier (1792 ft.), in the fertile valley of the Oued
Saïda, reaches the main chain of the Tell Atlas. 122 M. Les Eaux-Chaudes,
Arabic Hammâm Ouled-Khaled, with saline springs
(113° Fahr.); 126½ M. Nazereg (2625 ft.).
129½ M. Saïda (2746 ft.; Hôt. Lugan or Riu, in the market-place,
10 min. from the station, R. 2, D. 3, pens. 7, omn. ½ fr.;
Hôt. Vergnon; Hôt. de la Paix; pop. 8100), the southmost town in
the Tell Atlas of Oran, founded in 1854, lies in an uninteresting
region. In front of the Mairie rises an imposing Monument (1910)
to the soldiers of the Foreign Legion who fell in S. Oran. From
the Place du Marché Arabe (market on Mon.), where the Mosque is
situated, the Rue Thiers and the Rue Nationale lead to the S.W. to
the high-lying barracks of the Foreign Legion (p. 186). Above the
market-place lies the Native Quarter.
The train next passes (on the left) the scanty ruins of the last
Fortress built by Abd el-Kâder affording a view of Saïda as we look
back, and ascends between barren hills to the tableland on the S.
margin of the Tell Atlas. 136½ M. Aïn-el-Hadjar (3360 ft.; ‘rock-spring’),
a village of 1500 inhab. in a fertile well-watered district,
with a military prison.
On the bleak tableland, between the region of the Hassasna
on the N.E. and the Maalif Plain on the S.W., we pass several
small stations. 157 M. Kralfallah (3638 ft.), with great stacks
of esparto grass, was the scene of the massacre of the Spaniards at
the hands of Bou-Amama (p. 222) in 1881.
The train now descends to the Hauts-Plateaux (p. 169), where
an occasional caravan or a few grazing camels only are seen, while
the vegetation is limited to saline plants and patches of esparto
grass (p. 171). 166 M. El-Beïda (3497 ft.), the first fortified
station. 171 M. Modzbah (3471 ft.), with its great stacks of esparto
grass and the goods-station of a branch-line to (22 M.) Marhoum,
used solely for the esparto traffic.
192 M. Le Kreider (3241 ft.; Hôt. de Paris, R. 2, déj. 1½,
D. 2 fr.), on the N. bank of the Chott ech-Chergui (p. 169). commanded
by a small fort on the hill above it, was founded in 1881
as a military base of defence against the partisans of Bou-Amama.
The barracks, in the neo-Moorish style, are surrounded with plantations
which are watered by means of a wind-pump.
We at length reach the salt-marshes, pass between low sand-hills,
and are carried through the masses of mud by means of a short
embankment to (201 M.) Bou-Ktoub or Bou-Guetoub (3264 ft.),
the starting-point of a road to Géryville (66 M.; diligence). We
then mount gradually to the N. spurs of the Sahara Atlas (p. 170).
Stations uninteresting.
202242 M. Méchéria (3806 ft.; Hôt. des Voyageurs; pop. 700),
at the foot of the Jebel Antar range, contains barracks for convicts
of the foreign legion and a small mosque.—The train again traverses
the Hauts-Plateaux. To the left rises the distant Jebel el-Malha.
Near (262½ M.) Naâma (3825 ft.) is the salt-lake of that name,
not visible from the train.
384 M. Mékalis (4311 ft.), the highest point on the line, with
a few fruit-trees. The train now crosses the watershed between the
Hauts-Plateaux and the Sahara, and descends into the Faïdjet el-Betoum,
a broad valley so named after its terebinths (Pistacia
Terebinthus L.; Arabic b’tom or betoum). The valley is flanked
on the E. by Jebel Aïssa (7336 ft.), and on the W. by Jebel Morghad
(7008 ft.), the two highest of the Montagnes des Ksour, as
the Sahara Atlas is usually called here. Beyond (299 M.) Tirkount
appear in the foreground Jebel Mekter (6762 ft.), with a Poste
Optique or signal-station, used at the time of the conflicts with
Bou-Amama, and the long chain of sand-hills near Aïn-Sefra.
305½ M. Aïn-Sefra (3577 ft.; Hôt. de France or Plasse, R. 3,
déj. 3, D. 3½ fr.; 5 Hôt. des Voyageurs, both in the chief square,
very plain; Café Bienvenu), not founded until 1881, with a strong
garrison and about 1400 inhab., is grandly situated in a broad
valley between Jebel Aïssa and Jebel Mekter. The village, lying on
the left bank of the Oued Aïn-Sefra (‘yellow spring’), was devastated
by an inundation in 1904. A market (Mon.) is held here for
the Berbers of the environs, who still speak Tamâzirt (p. 94). An
iron bridge crosses to the Barracks, a neo-Moorish building.
Through the Berber Village (ksar, p. 281) behind the barracks we
may climb in ¾ hr. to the top of the reddish-brown *Sand Hills,
formed by disintegration of the rock, which give the landscape its
very peculiar character, and whose shifting sands threaten to overwhelm
Aïn-Sefra in spite of the sheltering plantations.
The famous oasis of Tiout, 10½ M. to the E. of Aïn-Sefra and 3 M.
to the N. of the railway-station of Tiout (p. 203), is a favourite goal of tourists.
A horse or mule should be ordered in good time, cheapest at the ‘Subdivision’
(2 fr.; attendant 1½–2 fr.); the traveller may shorten the long ride
by returning from Tiout by train. The track leads through the broad,
shadeless valley, some way from the brook Aïn-Sefra; we have a fine
retrospect of Aïn-Sefra and its sand-hills. We pass several red-sandstone
rocks. About halfway the rail. station of Tiout and the oasis
beyond it come in sight.
In this little oasis (3445 ft.), one of the highest palm-oases in the
Atlas, lies an interesting Berber Village (pop. 400). The low-lying gardens,
protected by high mud-walls, yield fruit and vegetables under the shade
of the well-kept date-palms. Their irrigation is provided by a small
Reservoir to the N. of the village, a charming spot, where we may rest
under the palms on the bank of the brook. A few minutes’ walk from
this point, to the N.E. of the village, rises a reddish rock, on which,
about 65 ft. above the valley, protected by a grating, are traced figures
of animals and hunters (archers), a prehistoric curiosity, called the Hadjra
Mektouba, with later Libyan-Berber and Arabic inscriptions.
203About 8 M. to the W. of Aïn-Sefra, on the road to Aïn-Sfissifa (4176 ft.)
and the Moroccan oasis of Ich (3724 ft.), is the copper-mine of Hasi-ben-Hedjir.
Beyond Aïn-Sefra the train (with the engine now at the other
end) follows the valley of that name and rounds the Jebel Mekter
group in a long curve to the E. Beyond (312½ M.) Tiout (oasis,
p. 202, visible on the left) it descends to the S., lastly through masses
of débris and rock-cuttings, to (321 M.) Aïn-el-Hadjadj. We then
pass through a defile between Jebel Mekter and Jebel Djara. To
the left, framed by rocks, lies a low reddish-brown sand-hill.
Farther on, to the left, between Jebel Djara and Jebel BouLeghfad
(5545 ft.), opens the broad mountain-valley of the Rouïba,
which at (328 M.) Rouïba joins the Aïn-Sefra to form the Oued
en-Namous. The train turns to the S.W., at the S. base of Jebel
Mekter, a little to the right of the palm-oasis of Moghrar-Tahtâni
(2710 ft.; ‘lower Moghrar’), famed for its prehistoric rock-drawings.
340 M. Moghrar-Foukâni (‘upper Moghrar’), beyond which
we pass its *Palm Oasis, overlooked by a kubba on a low hill.
We next pass through the Gorges de Moghrar, a sandstone
ravine full of rocky débris, into El-Faïdja, a valley at the S. base
of the Mir el-Jebel (6790 ft.) and Jebel Mezi (6988 ft.). 359 M
Djenien-bou-Resg (3254 ft.) has a Redoute, or fortified camp (on
the left), in the style of a Roman camp, a small palm-oasis, and a
pretty military club in the Moorish style, shaded with palms.
The train enters the valley of the Oued Dermel, one of the
sources of the Oued Zousfana. In the distance we sight Jebel Beni
Smir and Jebel el-Maïz (p. 204). An iron bridge carries the train
across the Dermel, usually dry, to the ruins of (379 M.) Duveyrier,
at the mouth of the Oued Douis, which has been deserted since an
inundation in 1904. We then descend between low ranges of hills,
Jebel Tamednaïa (2953 ft.) on the left, on the margin of the desert,
and Djermân-Tahtâni and Jebel el-Haïmer on the right, to the
Zousfana (beyond rises the old fort of Campo), where the palms
of Beni-Ounif become visible.
396 M. Beni-Ounif de Figuig (2707 ft.; Hôt. du Sahara,
B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 3½, pens. 12 fr., plain but good; advisable to
secure rooms beforehand by telegraph; 1300 inhab.), founded in
1903, as being then the terminus of the railway, adjacent to a ksar,
or Berber village (ât ouinîfi), and a Camp Militaire, is now a free
mart, rapidly growing in importance. Its total trade with Morocco
and the Tuat oases amounts to about 4 million francs. The few and
quiet streets, planted with palms, present a marked contrast to those
of Biskra, which is now overrun with tourists. The white domed
building near the railway-station serves at once as a church, a
town-hall, and a law-court. Behind it is a fondouk (p. 281).
The only sights are the Zaouïa Sidi Slîmân ben-Bou-Smaha,
204the chief sanctuary of the Ouled Sidi-Cheikh, a Berber tribe of S.
Oran, and the Ksar (p. 281), a poor village inhabited by Harrâtin
(p. 94), at the back of the barracks quarter, where the mode of
irrigating a palm-oasis may be observed.
Beni-Ounif, situated in a rocky wilderness, commanded on the
N. and W. by jagged and fissured mountains, Jebel Beni Smir
(6857 ft.), Jebel el-Maïz (6037 ft.), and Jebel Grouz (5328 ft.), and
separated from Figuig by a chain of low barren hills, possesses to
the full the fascination of a Sahara landscape (p. 172). The most
striking view, especially towards evening, of Beni-Ounif, the palm-oasis,
and the village of Figuig, as well as of the spurs of the
Sahara Atlas, is obtained from Jebel Melias (3986 ft.), a spur of
Jebel Grouz, 2 hrs. to the N. of the little town. For this ascent, and
for all the longer excursions, travellers must procure an escort
of Cavaliers du Maghzen (p. 390), who usually provide horses for
the journey (horse for half-a-day 2½–3, whole day 5 fr.; fee to each
‘cavalier’ 2 fr.). Application for the escort has to be made at the
Bureau Arabe (p. 174) in the Camp Militaire.
*Figuig, to the N. of Beni-Ounif, first visited by a European,
Gerh. Rohlfs, in 1862, is the largest and most fertile oasis in the
Sahara Atlas of Oran (containing about 400,000 date-palms).
According to the treaty of 1845 it belongs to Morocco, but only
nominally since its bombardment by French troops in 1903. From
the earliest times the oasis has been in high repute. It embraces
seven villages (ksûr), in three groups, the Feghiha castra tria of
antiquity. In the early 16th cent. Leo Africanus extols the artistic
skill of the inhabitants; their industries, however, are now limited
to the weaving of burnouses and carpets (similar to the knot-worked
carpets of Fez) and to the manufacture of small articles in leather.
The place is inhabited by Berbers, besides a large number of Jews,
the Harrâtin, and a few negro slaves. Tamâzirt (p. 94) is their chief
language, but Arabic also is spoken at places.
The S. margin of the oasis, and its boundary towards Beni-Ounif,
is formed by a range of hills running from Jebel Melias (see above),
W. to E., to Jebel el-Haïmer (p. 203), and crossed by four passes,
the Col des Moudjâhdine, the Col de la Juive (Arabic Teniet el-Ihûdia),
the Col de Zenâga, and the Col de Taghla or Tarla.
The shortest route is viâ the Col de Zenâga, commonly called El-Kheneg
(‘the pass’). By this route the whole excursion, there and
back, takes 5–6 hrs.; but, time permitting, it is preferable to go
by the Col de Taghla, watered by the Zousfana, and bounded on the
E. by the sombre rocks of Jebel Sidi-Youssef (3484 ft.), and to
return by the Col de Zenâga or the Col de la Juive, a full day’s
expedition. The ascent of one of the hills adjoining these passes
(stout boots advisable) in the company of an escort is to be recommended
on account of the fine view.
205The route over a stony plain to the (½ hr.) Zenâga Pass
crosses the Oued Melias, the bed of which is generally dry, near
the frontier of Morocco, indicated by heaps of stones. The vegetation
here is limited to a few thorn-bushes—jujubes (Zizyphus
vulgaris; Arabic sedra; French jujubier) and the prickly Anabasis
arietoïdes (Arabic ajerem), the ‘chou-fleur du Sahara’ of the soldiers,
which is much used in this part of the Sahara as fuel. At
the entrance to the pass, about 200 yds. in breadth, we may observe
to the left, on the stony slope of Jebel Zenâga (3435 ft.), several
graffiti, or rudely engraved sketches on the rock (comp. p. 202),
but not very distinguishable under the black patina. Beyond the
first palms of the oasis, at the exit of the pass, rise the Kubba
Sidi-Fedel, surrounded with numerous votive stones (kerkours,
rĕ-yems), and the Haouïta Sidi-Tifour, an open walled rectangle.
We have here a good survey of the lower part of the oasis, with
the village of Zenâga (p. 206) and numerous bordjs (round watch-towers),
backed by the Jebel Grouz range, while on the edge of the
plateau of the six upper villages gleams the conspicuous Kubba
Sidi ben-Aïssa l’Aredj.
Our route now leads to the N.E. across the barren, dazzling
white Plaine de Bagdbâd (2818 ft.). We may first visit El-Hammâmin,
the two E. villages, Hammâm-Tahtâni, on the slope of
the high plateau, and Hammâm-Foukâni (2950 ft.), where Bou-Amama
was encamped in 1900–2 (p. 222); but it is more usual to
go direct to the four W. villages, at first through small fields of
barley and vegetable-gardens, and then between the high mud-walls
of the palm-gardens.
We ascend through a picturesque defile on the rocky and fissured
slope of the upper plateau, whence the water flows down in open
cuttings (see p. 94) to the village of El-Maïz. We note here the
quaint architecture and the lanes arched over with palm-wood
beams, under which the natives take their siesta on stone benches
in the hot season. Some of the little houses of the Mellah, or
Jewish quarter, are owned by Morocco leather-workers.
Through the contiguous village of Ouled-Slîmân we pass to
El-Oûdâghîr (Berber ât a’addi), the largest village in Figuig next
to Zenâga. Since 1902 this has been the seat of a Moroccan Amel,
or governor, who with his few soldiers occupies the dilapidated
Dâr el-Beïda (‘white house’) on the barren H’sen, as the upper
plateau is called (2940–3000 ft.). The mud-built houses of the
village, mostly consisting of two or more stories, are overlooked by
the new square minaret of the Chief Mosque, where the governor
attends the Friday prayers. A second mosque has a very old and
graceful octagonal minaret. The Prison (visitors admitted), the
tents of the Amouriât, the girls of the nomad tribe of the Amour,
whose habits resemble those of the Ouled Naïl (p. 215), and the
206Mellah, where the escort prepare tea in their own peculiar manner,
also may be visited with interest.
To the W. of El-Oûdâghîr is the basin of the Aïn-Tzadert, a
spring which supplies Zenâga also and has often given rise to bitter
quarrels between the two villages. From the massive Bordj belonging
to the villagers of El-Oûdâghîr, adjoining the basin, we
obtain a splendid *Panorama of the oasis and the girdle of mountains
around it. At our feet lies El-Abîd (ât enneï), with its many
towers, the westmost village, now dilapidated and partly deserted.
On our way back, passing the underground Aïn-Meslout, with
two vaulted baths (hammâm), we come suddenly to the precipitous
brink of the plateau (here about 100 ft. high), where we enjoy a
beautiful view of the forest of palms around Zenâga.
The village of Zenâga (Berber iznâïn), 1¼ M. to the S. of El-Oûdâghîr,
and 4¼ M. to the N. of Beni-Ounif, with its one-storied
mud-built houses, its massive towers, its mellah, and many vaulted
lanes, has for its centre the chief mosque and the square in front
of it. A smaller mosque lies outside the village. The large basin
is fed by underground conduits (p. 94) from the Aïn-Tzadert.
262½ M. Railway. Day-train, with 1st and 2nd cl. saloon carriages
and ‘wagon-restaurant’ (déj. 4, D. 4½ fr.), in 11½ hrs. (fares 35 fr. 5, 26 fr.
5 c., 19 fr.); night-express in 9¾ hrs. (‘lit-salon’ 12 fr. more than 1st cl.
fare; sleeping-carriage 12 fr. extra). Scenery as far as Affreville uninteresting.
The best places for breaking the journey are Miliana, Hammam
Rhira, and Blida. At Perrégaux this line is crossed by the line from
Oran to Damesme and Beni-Ounif de Figuig (R. 32).
From Oran to (16 M.) Ste. Barbe-du-Tlélat, see pp. 185, 186.
Our train now crosses the Tlélat (p. 186) and the flat saddle between
the Tell Atlas and (left) the chain of Jebel Djira (1083 ft.). On
the S. slope of these hills lies the Forêt de Mouley-Ismael, an
expanse of 11,000 acres of underwood, where Sultan Mulaï Ismail
of Morocco (p. 96) was signally defeated by the Bey of Mascara
(p. 200) in 1707.
32 M. St. Denis-du-Sig (177 ft.; Hôt. du Louvre; pop. 11,900)
lies in the fruitful plain of the Sig (called Mekerra in its upper
course, p. 186). The environs are watered by the great Barrage du
Sig. Cattle-market on Sundays (‘marché arabe’).—38 M. Bou-Henni
(Habra; 66 ft.), at the foot of the Beni Chougrane Mts.
(p. 200), not far from the marshes of the Macta (p. 200). Melons
are much cultivated here.—The train crosses the Habra (p. 200).
47½ M. Perrégaux (148 ft.; Hôt. des Colonies, Rue de Mostaganem,
R. 2½, B. ½ fr., quite good; Hôt. des Voyageurs, near the
station for Beni-Ounif; pop. 10,100, largely Spanish), is a pleasant
207town with a pretty Jardin Public and a detachment of the Foreign
Legion (p. 186). Wednesday market.
Railway to Oran viâ Damesme (Arzew), and to Beni-Ounif, see R. 32.
To the left stretches the Plaine de l’Habra (p. 200); in the
distance rise the hills near La Stidia (p. 200) and Mostaganem
(see below). Beyond (55½ M.) Nouvion-Oued-Malah (420 ft.) the
train crosses the hill-region between the main chain of the Tell
Atlas and Jebel Bel-Hacel (see below), and at (65½ M.) L’Hillil
(410 ft.) enters the Plaine de la Mina, adjoining the plain of the
Chélif (p. 208), one of the hottest regions of Algeria in summer.
A Road (12½ M.; omn. in winter at 1.30, in summer at 8.30) leads to
the S. from L’Hillil to the interesting and purely Mohammedan hill-town of
Kalàa (pop. 4800; Sat. market), once famous for its carpet industry.
We cross the Mina, 2½ M. below the Barrage de la Mina,
which waters some 25,000 acres of land.
77½ M. Relizane (289 ft.; Rail. Restaur.; Hôt. de la Paix;
Hôt. de Paris, R. 2, B. ½, déj. 2, D. 2½, pens. 7 fr.; pop. 9000,
half Mohammedan) is a small town amidst rich orchards. Our line
is crossed here by the Mostaganem and Tiaret line.
From Relizane to Mostaganem, 47½ M., railway in 2¾–3 hrs. (fare
6 fr. 10 or 4 fr. 55 c.). The train crosses the Mina before (7½ M.) Bel-Hacel,
and then in a long bend to the N.E. skirts Jebel Bel-Hacel (1694 ft.). It
next turns sharply to the S.W. to (18 M.) Mekalia, crosses the hills of
the Forêt de Laktoube (1552 ft.), affording fine views of the Chélif valley
and of the Dahra range (p. 208), and then descends to (27½ M.) Oued-el-Kheir.
From (34½ M.) Aïn-Tédelès (657 ft.; Hôt. Bellocq; pop. 2900,
chiefly Mohammedan), surrounded with olive-groves and orchards, a road
leads to (4½ M.) Pont du Chélif (66 ft.) which, situated near the ancient
Roman town of Quiza, is named from the bridge built by Spanish prisoners
from Mazagran (see below) and rebuilt in 1850. Beyond (45 M.) Pélissier
we pass through the charming Vallée des Jardins.
47½ M. Mostaganem (341 ft.; Grand-Hôtel, near the Place de la
République; Hôt. du Louvre; Hôt. de la Gare; pop. 22,000, incl. 10,900
Mohammedans and 1100 Jews), a seaport on the E. shore of the Bay of
Arzew (p. 199), situated on an old coast-terrace rising abruptly from the
sea (perhaps the site of the Roman Murustuga), owes its foundation,
under the name of Bordj el-Mehal, to the Almoravide Yûsuf ibn Têshufîn
(p. 95). It is the oldest garrison of the Tirailleurs Indigènes, a
native regiment formed in 1847, and well known as Turcos in the Franco-German
war (1870–1). The main quarter of the town, with the station,
the fine Jardin Public, the Place de la République, a fine point of view,
the Market, and the Chief Mosque, founded by the Merinide Abû’l-Hasen
Ali (p. 188) in 1342, lies on the left bank of the Aïn-Sefra, fully ½ M.
above the harbour quarter. On the lofty right bank of the ravine are a
second European quarter and (outside the Porte des Medjes) the interesting
Mohammedan suburb of Tidjit. The Harbour, now choked with sand and
inadequately protected from N. and N.W. winds by two piers, lies between
two small tongues of land, La Salamandre on the S.W., and Karouba
(266 ft.), with its sacred grove, on the N.E.—The railway from Mostaganem
to La Stidia and La Macta (p. 200) passes (2 M.) Mazagran (459 ft.;
Hôt. Pujol), old-Berber Tamazaran, where the Spaniards sustained a
severe defeat in 1558, and where a small French force in 1840 repelled the
attacks of 15,000 adherents of Abd el-Kâder (p. 221; monument).
From Relizane to Tiaret, 75 M., railway in 4¾ hrs. (fare 9 fr. 65
or 7 fr. 25 c.). Scenery unattractive. Beyond (5½ M.) Oued-Khelloug the
208train follows the course of the Mina (p. 207), which separates the Beni
Chougrane (p. 200) from the Ouarsenis Mts. (p. 209). 12 M. Sidi-Mohammed-Benaouda
(417 ft.), noted for the strange cult of the local saint of that
name, in whose zaouïa sacred lions were once kept; the loftily situated
kubba, a great resort of pilgrims, is guarded by negroes who are said to
be descendants of a servant of the saint (popular festivals in Aug. and
Oct.).—27 M. Uzès-le-Duc or Fortassa (840 ft.).—54 M. Méchéra-Sfa-Prévost-Paradol.
Near Méchéra-Sfa, on the Mina, are two cemeteries,
with several dolmens, of the 4th cent., the sole relics of an ancient Berber
town.—69 M. Takdempt, with a ruined arsenal of Abd el-Kâder.
75 M. Tiaret (3577 ft.; Hôt. d’Orient or Lecat; Hôt. des Colonies,
R. 1½–3, déj. or D. 1½–3, pens. 4–6 fr.; pop. 7200; Mon. market) lies on
a mountain-pass not far from the fertile Plateaux du Sersou, on the S.
margin of the Tell Atlas, a cold but healthy site, once occupied by Tingartia,
the capital of W. Algeria in the Byzantine period. New Tiaret,
the capital of the Kharijite sect of the Ibadites (p. 323), probably lay
below the present town, in the direction of Takdempt.—About halfway
on the road from Tiaret to (35 M.) Frenda, among the hills to the S. of
Tiaret, are the *Djedar, step-pyramids in the style of the ‘Tombeau de
la Chrétienne’ (p. 238), but on square foundations, tombs apparently of
forgotten Christian Berber princes of the 6–7th cent., composed partly of
materials from 5th cent. buildings. Three of these, all in a very ruinous
condition, are on Jebel Hadjar; ten, including the largest (52 by 49 yds.),
lie on the Colline de Ternaten, 3¾ M. farther to the S.
The Algiers Railway, running to the N.E., at some distance
from the Sebkha de Relizane or de Sidi Bou Chiane, enters the
desolate lower plain of the Chélif (p. 215), the ancient Chylimath
(Arabic Kelmitu). 98 M. St. Aimé or Djidiouïa (243 ft.), with
a petroleum-refinery for the oil-springs of Aïn-Zeft (Taghia), lies
on the Dahra, the coast-hills to the N. of the Chélif. The train
crosses the Oued Djidiouïa.
104 M. Inkermann or Oued-Riou (263 ft.; Hôt. des Voyageurs;
Hôt. d’Inkermann; pop. 5200, of whom 4200 are Mohammedans),
with large quarries and a Wednesday market.
The little Berber town of Mazouna, 18 M. to the N. of Inkermann,
on a branch of the road to Renault, superbly situated, the capital of the
W. Algerian beylic before Mascara (p. 200), is one of the quaintest places
in the Algerian Tell Atlas. Home industries (burnouses, haiks, etc.) are
much in vogue. Interesting Thursday market.
The train crosses the Oued Riou. 110½ M. Le Merdja, the
last station in the province of Oran.
117½ M. Charon or Bou-Kader, a little town of 5200 inhab.,
almost all Mohammedans, lies in the province of Algiers (Thurs.
market). On a low hill, 2 M. to the N., are Roman ruins, called
El-Aouna by the natives. At Touchaïd, 3 M. to the S.W., is a
cavern in the rock, 330 ft. long, consisting of a number of low
passages, and containing huge layers of bats’ guano. The Trou du
Diable, 4 M. to the S. of Charon, is another object of interest.
We cross the Oued Sly, with its barrage, to (122 M.) Malakoff
or Oued-Sly, and then pass through a wood of Aleppo pines and
carob-trees.
131½ M. Orléansville (410 ft.; Hôt. du Palais, pens. 5 fr.;
Hôt. des Voyageurs; pop. 4900, of whom 2300 are Mohammedans),
209founded in 1843 on the site of the Roman Castellum Tingitanum,
is a smiling oasis, irrigated by a conduit from the Chélif, but one
of the hottest places in Algeria (maximum 125½° Fahr.). The chief
sight is the early-Christian Basilica in the Place de la Mosaique,
discovered in 1843, and recently further excavated. It was built
in 324, and is the oldest Christian church in Algeria. The foundation
walls are alone preserved. It consisted of a nave and double
aisles, without a transept, with two entrances from the outer aisles
and a rounded W. apse, to which was added in 475 a second choir-recess
at the E. end, containing the tomb of Bishop Reparatus. Considerable
fragments of the mosaic pavement also have been preserved.
The town has also a Mosque (1894) and a Carpet Making
School. The Saturday market is important. From the N. ramparts
we have a fine view of the Chélif ravine and the Dahra Mts.
A Road (railway in course of construction) leads from Orléansville to
Ténès (33 M.; diligence in 6 hrs., at 2, from Ténès at 6 p.m.). It crosses
the Chélif and beyond the suburb of La Ferme, hidden among trees,
leads through a eucalyptus avenue, and then to the N.W. across a plain
to (8½ M.) Warnier (394 ft.), at the mouth of the Oued Ouahran Valley.
Then to the N., through the Dahra Mts., inhabited almost solely by
Berbers, to (17 M.) Les Trois-Palmiers (525 ft.), with its gypsum quarries,
and across the (19½ M.) Col de Kirba (1476 ft.) to the valley of the Oued
Allala and (30 M.) Montenotte, with its orchards and iron-mines. 32½ M.
Vieux-Ténès, picturesquely situated above the gorge of the Allala, said
to have been founded by S. Spanish Moors in 875, was notorious as
a den of pirates in the Turkish period. 33 M. Ténès (164 ft.; Hôt. des
Arts; Hôt. de l’Univers, etc.; pop. 5000, Berbers 3300), founded in 1843,
is perched like Mostaganem on the edge of a plateau rising above its
little frequented harbour, which is fairly sheltered on the E. only by the
huge rocky Cape Ténès (2093 ft.; lighthouse visible for 40 M.). Of Cartenna,
the earliest settlement here, originally founded by Phœnicians, a
few Roman cisterns only have been preserved. At the W. end of Ténès
there are also some rock-tombs belonging to an early-Christian cemetery.
A second Road (36 M.; ‘courrier’ on Mon., Wed., and Frid. at 6 a.m.,
in 8 hrs.) leads from Orléansville to the S.E., through the Ouarsenis Mts.,
viâ (33 M.) Boucaïd, with the zinc and galena mines of the Belgian Vieille-Montagne
Co., to (36 M.) Beni-Hindel (3825 ft.) at the S. base of the triple-peaked
Ouarsenis (6512 ft.). To Teniet el-Haâd, see p. 211, 210.
Leaving Orléansville, the train runs to the N.E., near the Chélif,
to (135 M.) Pontéba. Fine view, to the left, of the hill-region
on the E. margin of the lower plain of the Chélif. 140 M. Le Barrage,
near the largest reservoir of the Chélif. The train sweeps
round to the S., away from the river, and traverses a fertile and
well shaded plain to (146 M.) Oued-Fodda (522 ft.), a small town
of 5300 inhab., near the left bank of the Oued Fodda, through
whose valley peeps the three-peaked Ouarsenis (see above).
In the Plaine des Attafs, as the very monotonous central plain
of the Chélif is called, we next come to (148 M.) Temoulga-Vauban,
at the foot of the bare Jebel Temoulga (1749 ft.; with iron-mines),
to (162 M.) Oued-Rouïna, and (166 M.) Kherba, the station for
a village 3 M. to the N., on the margin of the Dahra Mts.—To the
right, in the foreground, rises the range of Jebel Doui (3409 ft.),
210whose spurs bound the central Chélif plain. To the left, for a short
time, we have a *View of Jebel Bou Maad (4643 ft.), generally
snow-clad in winter, and of Jebel Zaccar Gharbi (p. 212). 171 M.
Duperré (820 ft.), at the foot of Jebel Doui, near the ancient Roman
Oppidum Novum.
The train crosses the Chélif above the influx of the Oued Ebda.
To the left, in the river-bed, is the pier of a bridge on the old
Roman military road. We now pass through a defile between barren
hills; to the right we have a glimpse of the broad upper plain of
the Chélif. 178½ M. Littré or Les Arib (853 ft.), in the Plaine
des Aribs, at the foot of the Dahra. 184 M. Lavarande (945 ft.),
on the spurs of the Zaccar range.
186½ M. Affreville (1020 ft.; Rail. Restaurant, with rooms,
good; Hôt. de l’Univers, in the village, next to the diligence-office,
R. 2, B. ½, D. 2 fr.; Hôt. du Haut-Chélif; Hôt. de Vaucluse, near
the station, well spoken of; pop. 2000), at the foot of Jebel Zaccar
Gharbi, is one of the stations (Miliana-Margueritte being the other,
see p. 211) for Miliana (6¼ M.; diligence 3 times daily, 1 fr.; carr.
10–12 fr.), and the starting-point for Teniet el-Haâd.
The Excursion to the Cedar Forest of Teniet el-Haâd takes a
day-and-a-half (motor-omnibus, 5 or 6 fr., in ca. 3 hrs.; diligence, leaving
at 11 a.m., returning at 9.40 a.m., in 8 hrs.; carriage 50 fr. or more,
hardly recommended). To the E. of Affreville, beyond the market (Thurs.)
and the Oued Souffay, our rather featureless road diverges to the S.
from the Dolfusville road; it leads among eucalyptus trees to the (2¾ M.)
Chélif, and then, beyond (7½ M.) Le Puits (971 ft.), ascends by the Oued
Massin through an almost uninhabited part of the Tell Atlas, between
hills thinly clad with pines. 10½ M. Pont-du-Caïd (1329 ft.); 16½ M.
Caravansérail de l’Oued-Massin; 22 M. Marbot (2287 ft.). Beyond the
39th kilomètre-stone (24½ M.) we observe on the right the curiously
shaped sandstone rock of Jebel Hadjra Touïla. We then cross a pass
(2920 ft.), whence We have a pleasing view of the valley of the Massin
behind us, to (27½ M.) Dutertre on the Oued Rouïna.
36 M. Teniet el-Haâd (3806 ft.; Hôt. du Commerce, R. 2, déj. 2,
D. 2½ fr., tolerable; Hôt. de la Colonie, humble; pop. 2100), the starting-point
of caravan-routes to Tiaret (p. 208) and to Chellala and Laghouat
(p. 215), situated on one of the most important passes of the Tell Atlas,
owes its name (‘Sunday Pass’) to its Sunday market, attended chiefly by
the inhabitants of the Plateaux du Sersou (p. 208). On the E. side of
the little town lies the poor ‘Village-Nègre’ (comp. p. 181).
The *Cedar Forest of Teniet el-Haâd, on the slopes of Jebel el-Meddad
(5863 ft.; ‘cedar-mountain’), to the W. of the town, is still the finest in
Algeria, although largely cut down of late and bereft of its primæval
character. The Atlas cedar (Cedrus Atlantica Manetti), with its silvery
and very short needles, and of gnarled and often fan-like growth, is
smaller and less showy than the Himalaya cedar (Cedrus Deodora Roxburg)
and the cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus Libani), but in a few cases
attains a circumference of 30 ft. The cedars are mingled, particularly
in the lower parts of the forest, with evergreen or holm oaks and cork-trees
(Quercus ilex, cenis, and suber). The excursion to the forest, as
far as the Rond-Point and back, takes 4½–5 hrs., or including Kef Siga
6–7 hrs. (Mule, obtained from the natives, or horse, from the Bureau des
Messageries, 5 fr.; carr. from the latter, 20–25 fr., hardly advisable as the
road is bad.) The road to the (8¾ M.) Rond-Point leaves the highroad
to the S. of the town, but riders and walkers take a short-cut from the
211W. side of the town, thus saving about 1¼ M. In about 40 min. we
come to the Parapluie, on the right side of the carriage-road, an umbrella-shaped
cedar on a rocky height on the N. slope of the Kef Sachi
(5134 ft.), and in 25 min. more to the forester’s hut (gourbi forestier) of
Pré-Maigrat. The finest parts of the forest are near the forester’s house
at the Rond-Point des Cèdres (4889 ft.; rfmts. if required), on the N.
margin of the Jebel el-Meddad, where the Sultane, one of the grandest
of the cedars is pointed out. From the Rond-Point a steep zigzag path
ascends to a saddle with a pasture in a clearing (on the right), where
we dismount, and whence we climb over the rocks to the top of the
Kef Siga (5624 ft.), the N.W. peak of the ‘cedar-mountain’. The *View
embraces the whole of the Ouarsenis group (p. 209); to the E. rise the
mountains of Boghar; to the N. the Zaccar range with Miliana. To the
S. we survey the Hauts-Plateaux, with the bare hills of Chellala, as far
as the distant Jebel Amour (p. 170) in the Sahara Atlas.
From the Rond-Point we may ride on to the W. to (5–6 hrs.) Beni-Hindel
(p. 209).
The train crosses the Oued Boutan. It then runs to the N.E.,
soon with a retrospect of the Ouarsenis Mts., and ascends the luxuriantly
fertile valley of the Oued Souffay, between the Zaccar range
and Jebel Gontas (2858 ft.), to (193½ M.) Miliana-Margueritte or
Adélia (about 1700 ft.), the station for Miliana, 5½ M. to the W.
(reached by steam-tramway, in connection with the trains, in ¾ hr.),
and for Margueritte (p. 212; diligence).
Miliana.—Hotels. *Hôtel du Commerce & d’Isly, Rue de Constantine,
near Place Carnot; Hôt. Valentin, Place Carnot, next the diligence-office,
with dépendance (Hôt. d’Europe) in Rue Fontenoy, R. 2 fr., B. 40 c.,
déj. or D. 2, pens. 6 fr., unpretending, attentive landlord.—Diligence
to Affreville (in the morning in connection with the motor-omnibus to
Teniet el-Haâd), see p. 210.
Miliana (2428 ft.; pop. 8400, incl. 5300 Mohammedans), which
is said to have been founded by Bologgîn ez-Ziri (comp. p. 221)
on the site of the Roman Zucchabar, lies most romantically on a
terrace on the S. slope of Jebel Zaccar Gharbi, amidst luxuriant
gardens, and is particularly charming in April when the fruit-trees
are in blossom.
The chief gate, the N. gate of the modern town-walls, is the
Porte du Zaccar, near the tramway-terminus, a few paces from the
small public Jardin Magenta.
Passing the covered Marché Arabe the Rue St. Paul, a beautiful
avenue of planes, leads in 3 min. to the Place Carnot, in the
centre of which rises an ivy-clad Minaret (now a clock-tower), a
relic of the chief mosque, which was destroyed during the war with
Abd el-Kâder (p. 221).
Near the S.W. angle of the Place Carnot passes the Rue St. Jean,
also planted with plane-trees, leading to the S. to the Esplanade de
la Casbah (nicknamed Pointe aux Blagueurs), which affords a delightful
view of the Chélif plain and the Ouarsenis Mts. The orchards
around and the cascades of the Oued Boutan (see above) are better
seen from the rampart promenade on the E. side of the town.
212The *Jebel Zaccar Gharbi (5181 ft.; ‘Western Zaccar’) is ascended
by a good mule-path in 2½–3 hrs. (mule 4–5 fr.). The view of the wooded
Dahra Mts., of the Chenoua (p. 242), of part of the Mitidja, and of the
S. Tell Atlas, is one of the finest in Algeria.
A delightful *Excursion, by carriage or on foot, especially in spring,
may be taken to (6¼ M.) Margueritte, the road to it being part of that
from Affreville to Blida and Algiers (comp. p. 214). The road branches
to the left, a few minutes to the N.E. of the Porte du Zaccar, from the
Adélia road, and soon passes close below the iron and copper mines
of the Société des Mines du Zaccar, which are connected by a line of
rails with the road tramway. Farther on, ascending gradually through
orchards, a perfect sea of blossom in spring, we reach the gorge of the
Oued Righas or Rirhas, between Jebel Zaccar Gharbi and Jebel Zaccar
Chergui (5027 ft.; ‘Eastern Zaccar’), which also is famed for its view.
Margueritte (2395 ft.; Hôt. du Zaccar, poor) lies picturesquely on the
S.E. slope of the hill, 3 M. above the rail. station of Miliana-Margueritte
(p. 211), with a fine view of the valley of the Oued Souffay, and yields
one of the best red wines in Algeria.—Farther on the road skirts the
E. slope of the Zaccar Chergui, rounds the gorge of the Oued Tizi-Ouchir,
and then descends in windings across the Col des Oliviers (1834 ft.; beyond
this a rough road to the left diverges to Hammam-Rhira, see below), aside
from the village of Vesoul-Benian (1653 ft.; 4½ M. to the N. of the rail.
station, see below), to (9 M.) the Pont de l’Oued el-Hammam (see below).
Just beyond Miliana-Margueritte the Railway passes through
a tunnel (2525 yds.) into the bleak valley of the Oued Zeboudj.
200½ M. Vesoul-Benian, station for the village (see above).
205 M. Bou-Medfa (797 ft.), about 1 M. to the W. of the
village of that name, is the station for the baths of Hammam
Rhira. (Hotel-omnibus meeting every train, up in 1, down in
¾ hr.; trunk ½–1½ fr.)
The road ascends to the W. from the station in the valley of the Oued
el-Hammam, which at Bou-Medfa joins the Oued Zeboudj to form the
Oued Djer (p. 213). 2 M. Pont de l’Oued el-Hammam (883 ft.), at the
junction of our road with that leading from Affreville and Miliana to
Bourkika (p. 243), Blida, and Algiers. We follow the latter into the
side-valley of the Oued Djir, whence we ascend to the S.W. in windings
to the (7 M.) village of Hammam Rhira (1542 ft.; Hôt. d’Orient, poor).
7½ M. Hammam Rhira (1706 ft.; *Grand-Hôt. des Bains, of the
first class, with beautiful grounds shaded with palms, and baths including
two hot swimming-baths, R. 4–8, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 5, pens. 10–18 fr.,
open 15th Dec.–15th May only; Hôt. Bellevue, dépendance of the former
and below it, also with baths, plainer, pens. 7–9 fr., open May-Dec.), the
Aquae Calidae of antiquity, Arabic Hammâm Sidi-Slîmân (Solomon’s
Bath), is the most fashionable watering-place in Algeria. It lies on a
barren terrace descending abruptly to the S.E. to the Oued el-Hammam,
affording a fine view of Jebel Zaccar Chergui to the W., and of Jebel
Gontas (p. 211), Jebel Louhe (4751 ft.), and Jebel Mouzaïa (p. 213) to
the S. The hot springs (113–166° Fahr.), which are strongly impregnated
with carbonate and hydrated sulphate of lime, are used as a cure for
rheumatism, gout, etc., while the water of a cold chalybeate spring is
drunk by anæmic and dyspeptic patients. The chief season for foreign
visitors is from the middle of Feb. to the middle of April; in summer
the military hospital, which contains three restored ancient piscinæ, and
the Mohammedan and Jewish baths below the Hôt. Bellevue are much
frequented by Algerians. The Allée des Ruines in the public grounds
contains a few relics from the ancient Aquæ Calidæ. We may walk thence
to the W., between vineyards which yield excellent red wine, in ¼ hr.
to the Forêt de Chaïba, a pine-forest of 2000 acres, in which the ‘petit
tour’ of 2½ or the ‘grand tour’ of 5 M. may be taken. The Samsam
(2800 ft.) commands a fine view of the Mitidja and the Sahel (p. 221).
Pleasant drives (carr. 15–40 fr. per day; driver and horses to be fed by
the hirer) viâ (12½ M.) Margueritte to (18½ M.) Miliana (comp. p. 212); viâ
Bourkika and Marengo to (23 M.) Tipaza or to Cherchell (see pp. 243, 244).
213From Bou-Medfa the train descends to the N.E., skirting the
Oued Djer, and through a defile, overgrown with underwood, at the
foot of the Nador des Soumata (2507 ft.), to (214 M.) Oued-Djer,
and then to the E. into the broad plain of the Mitidja (p. 221). To
the left in the distance rises the Chenoua (p. 242), and on the Sahel
range (p. 221) may be seen the ‘Tombeau de la Chrétienne’ (p. 238).
219½ M. El-Affroun, a village on the Affreville and Algiers
road, is like Castiglione (p. 238) a starting-point for Tipaza and
Cherchell (steam-tramway, see p. 243). To the right rise the hills
of Blida, with the deep incision of the Chiffa ravine (p. 215).
222½ M. Mouzaïaville (368 ft.; pop. 5000) lies near the spurs
of the wooded Jebel Mouzaïa, inhabited by the Berber tribe of
that name. 225½ M. Chiffa (364 ft.), near the left bank of the
Chiffa (see p. 238), and nearly 4 M. from the entrance to the ravine
(by the Rocher Blanc, p. 215).—We cross the stony bed of the
Chiffa, opposite the influx of the Oued el-Kébir (see below), and
then ascend through fields, vineyards, and cactus-hedges to—
230 M. Blida.—The Station (689 ft.) lies about ¾ M. below the
town, to the N.W., 18–20 min. from the chief hotels. Omnibus to the Place
d’Armes, with luggage, 10 (at night 20) c.; cab 50 c.
Hotels.Hôt. d’Orient (Pl. a; C, 3), Rue d’Alger and Place d’Armes,
R. 3–5, B. 1–12, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 12, omn. ½ fr. good; Hôt. Géronde
(Pl. b; B, 2), Rue Lamy, plainer; Hôt. de la Mitidja (Pl. c; B, 2), Rue
Flatters, corner of Rue Pélissier, R. 2, déj. or D. 2 fr., plain but good;
Hôt. de la Gare, near the station, déj. 1½, D. 2 fr., humble.—Café
d’Orient, in the hotel, and Brasserie Lyonnaise, both in the Place d’Armes.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. 5; C, 3), Place d’Armes.
Cabs (stand in the Rue de l’Hôpital, behind the Place d’Armes). In
town ½, to Sid-el-Kébir 3–5, Chiffa Ravine 8–12 fr. (according to bargain).
Sights. Forenoon, Jardin Bizot, Bois Sacré, cemetery of Sid-el-Kébir,
and Stud Farm (‘la Remonte’); afternoon, trip to the Chiffa Ravine,
either from Sidi-Madani or Camp-des-Chênes (p. 215). If desired Algiers
may be reached by train the same evening. The attractive mountain
tours (Les Glacières, etc.) are feasible in summer only.
Blida (886 ft.; pop. 18,400, incl. 10,700 Mohammedans), one
of the pleasantest provincial towns in Algeria, with a strong garrison,
is charmingly situated at the N. base of the Tell Atlas, on
the right bank of the Oued el-Kébir. To this so-called ‘great river’,
as well as to the considerable rainfall in winter, the town is indebted
for the splendid timber in its public grounds and the luxuriant
vegetation of its orchards, notably the orange-groves between the
N. suburbs of Joinville and Montpensier. The town is said to
have been founded by Andalusian Moors in 1535; in 1825 it was
destroyed by an earthquake; it has been rebuilt since 1838, but in
1867 was again much damaged by an earthquake.
214From the station we proceed viâ the Avenue de la Gare to the
Bab el-Sebt (Pl. A, B, 2), 5 min. to the N.E. of the Bois Sacré (see
below), and within the town-walls we follow the Rue Lamy, called
also Boulevard Trumelet, to the—
Place d’Armes (Pl. C, 3), which, with the adjoining Rue d’Alger
(Pl. C, 3, 2), is the centre of traffic. This pleasant square is planted
with plane-trees and has a fountain in the centre shaded by a great
date-palm (a band plays here in winter). Adjacent is the Place
Lavigerie with the Catholic church of St. Charles (Pl. C, 4).
The streets to the N. of the Place d’Armes, with the two small
Mosques (Pl. 3 & 4; C, 3, 2), and the lanes near the Place du
Marché-Indigène (Pl. C, D, 3; interesting Friday market) are inhabited
mainly by Mohammedans and Jews. From the Place d’Alger,
at the end of the Rue d’Alger, the Rue Zaouïa leads to the left
to the large Stud Farm (Dépôt de Remonte; Pl. C, 1), where fine
horses of the Arab and Barb breeds may be seen.
From the Place d’Armes the Rue and Porte Bizot lead to the
S.W. to the *Jardin Bizot (Pl. B, 4), containing fine araucarias,
palms, and magnolias. On the N. side of the Avenue du Champ-de-Manœuvres,
5 min. to the W. of the Porte Bizot, lies the famous
Bois Sacré (Pl. A, 3, 4), where two picturesque tombs of saints are
shaded by superb groups of Aleppo pines, araucarias, and olive-trees.
The Avenue du Champ-de-Manœuvres joins, near the drill-ground,
the highroad to Boukirka (and Affreville; comp. p. 212), from which, just
before Chiffa (p. 213), 5 M. to the W. of Blida, the road to the Chiffa Ravine
and Médéa (p. 215) diverges to the left. This route to the Rocher Blanc
(p. 215) is uninteresting and in summer extremely dusty (cabs, see p. 213).
From Porte Bizot we may turn to the E. and walk round the
town-walls through an avenue of carob-trees to the Bab el-Rabah
(Pl. D, 4), the S.E. town-gate, which is reached also from the Place
d’Armes by the busy Rue Tirman. To the S. of this gate the
Avenue des Moulins, a broad avenue of planes, leads along a conduit
with several mills into the pretty valley of the Oued el-Kébir.
After 10 min. we diverge to the right by a shadeless road, passing
pleasant orange-groves and crossing the stream twice, and then,
just beyond (½ hr.) a mill, ascend a path to the left to the poor
village of Sid-el-Kébir. Above the village are the Zaouïa and the
picturesque Cemetery of Sid-el-Kébir, with the tombs of Ahmed
el-Kebîr (d. 1560), the founder of Blida, and his two sons, to which
on great Mohammedan festivals pilgrims flock from far and near.
A second footpath to the N. descends hence into the valley.
The highest mountains of Blida, the Jebel Mouzaïa (p. 213) and
the *Pic des Beni-Salah or Jebel Sidi Abd el-Kâder (5345 ft.),
are famed for their cedar-forests, where the natives, however, have
made sad havoc, and for the grand panorama they command. The
distant view embraces the Tell Atlas from the Ouarsenis (p. 209)
to Jebel Dira (p. 250), the Dahra (p. 208), and the whole of the
215Mitidja with the Sahel and the Jurjura chain (p. 258). The ascent
of the Jebel Sidi Abd el-Kâder viâ Aïn-Talazit takes 4 hrs.—Hardly
less repaying is the ascent of the Kef Chrea (5085 ft.), to
the S.E. of Blida, to which a bridle-path (mule 4–5 fr.) leads from
the Avenue des Moulins (p. 214), viâ the village of Les Glacières
(3957 ft.; Hôt. d’Altitude, déj. 3 fr., good) in 4 hrs.
From Blida to Berrouaghia, 52 M., railway in 4 hrs. (fares 9 fr. 40,
6 fr. 70, 5 fr. 5 c.). The train diverges to the S.W. from the Oran and
Algiers line, crosses the Oued el-Kébir and the Chiffa (p. 213), and beyond
the Rocher Blanc (466 ft.; inn) enters the Gorges de la Chiffa, a grand
defile, flanked with the slopes of the Pic des Beni-Salah and Jebel Mouzaïa,
here over 3000 ft. high. At (7½ M.) Sidi-Madani (597 ft.) begins
the finest part of the ravine; the grandest scenery is around the Hôt.
du Ruisseau-des-Singes (738 ft.; déj. 1¾–3, D. 3 fr.), at the mouth of the
side-valley of the Oued Tamesguida, and at the waterfalls beyond the
inn. The numerous apes (p. 171) that dwell in the rocks here sometimes
descend to the bottom of the valley.—12 M. Camp-des-Chênes (1253 ft.;
inn), beyond the lateral valley of the Oued Merdja. Following the
valley of the Oued Mouzaïa the train leads round the S. slope of Jebel
Mouzaïa to (19½ M.) Mouzaïa-les-Mines (1640 ft.), with its deserted copper
and iron mines, and then, in numerous windings, ascends the W. slope
of Jebel Nador (3675 ft.; fine views) to (28 M.) Lodi (3042 ft.).—31 M.
Médéa (3019 ft.; Hôt. d’Orient; Hôt. du Commerce; pop. 3800, incl.
1900 Mohammedans and 1200 Jews), a small town, perhaps on the site
of the Roman Lambdia (Tirinadis?), was founded by Bologgîn ez-Ziri
(comp. p. 221), and was the capital of a beylic in the Turkish period under
the name of Titteri. Great native markets (Thurs. and Frid.). The environs
yield excellent white wine, but it is often adulterated.—The train
next ascends to the S.E., in numerous windings, to (44½ M.) Ben-Chicao
(3790 ft.), the highest station on the line.—52½ M. Berrouaghia (2953 ft.;
Hôt. de France; Hôt. des Voyageurs), a small town of 2300 inhab., is the
present terminus of the line, which is being continued to Djelfa.
A diligence runs daily in 5½ hrs. (at 1 p.m., returning at 9.35 a.m.)
to (27½ M.) Boghari (2077 ft.; Hôt. Célestin, R. 2, déj. or D. 2½ fr.),
a small trading town of some importance on the upper Chélif (p. 208),
with a Monday market and a picturesque Ksar on a hill (evening dances
by girls of the Ouled Naïl tribe; see below).
Boghari is the starting-point of the important caravan-route to the
Sahara oases of Laghouat and Ghardaïa. Diligence every other day at
3 a.m. vîa Aïn-Oussara and Djelfa (night-station) to Laghouat in 58 hrs.
(also motor-omnibus sometimes); most of the stopping-places have
very fair inns or caravanserais (R. usually 2, déj. or D. 2½ fr.). 13 M.
Boughzoul or Bou-Guezoul (2100 ft.); 32½ M. Aïn-Oussara (2330 ft.);
57 M. Guelt es-Stel (all three in the Hauts-Plateaux, p. 169); 85 M. Zmila
(good drinking-water); 96 M. Djelfa (3803 ft.; Hôt. de France, quite
good; Hôt. du Roulage; pop. 2200), in the midst of the Sahara Atlas.
This little town, situated in the valley of the Oued Djelfa or Melah,
where dolmens abound, and at the junction of our road with the caravan-route
to Bou-Saâda (p. 270), is the capital of the nomad tribe of the Ouled
Naïl, whose daughters usually lead an evil life in the S. Algerian towns
before marriage. (Their valuable trinkets are noticeable.) 118 M. Aïn-el-Ibel
(3412 ft.); 137 M. Sidi-Maklouf (3019 ft.).—177½ M. Laghouat
(2461 ft.; Hôt. Storace, good; Hôt. Mendane; pop. 5700, incl 5000 Mohammedans
and 400 Jews). This picturesque little town, on the S. slope of
the Sahara Atlas, with its military headquarters and brisk trade, lies on
the Oued Mzi (called Oued Djedi lower down; p. 284), amidst the fruit-trees
of a palm-oasis. It has a pretty Jardin Public. The native quarters
present a curious and lively scene.
The journey from Laghouat to (130½ M.) Ghardaïa by the rough
216Sahara road is very fatiguing. (Diligence every second day, in winter at
4 a.m., in summer at 5 p.m., in 30 hrs.; fare 30 or 25 fr.; motor-omnibus
projected.) The chief stages are: 220½ M. (from Boghari) Tilghemt
or Tilrempt (quarters), in an oasis of terebinths (p. 202); 265 M. Berrian
(1936 ft.), a little town of 3800 inhab., the northmost settlement of the
Mozabites (17th cent.), lying on the chalky limestone plateau of the Chebka,
with a palm-oasis on the Oued Bir.
308 M. (from Boghari; 130½ from Laghouat) Ghardaïa (1805 ft.;
Hôt. du Sud; pop. 8200, incl. 5400 Mozabites), a free market, is one of
the most picturesque and interesting places in the Sahara. Situated on
the Oued Mzab, in a beautiful oasis, with 64,000 palms, the town is enclosed
by a lofty wall defended with towers, and is dominated by the
great minaret of the chief mosque. It holds high market on Fridays, and
has two places of amusement (for Arabian music and dances). Ghardaïa
is the headquarters of the Mzab, a small republic of towns which was
founded in the 11th cent. by fugitive Berber Ibadites (p. 208) after the
destruction of Tiaret, was presided over by a priestly caste (tholbas), and
in 1852 became a protectorate of the French who annexed it in 1882. The
Mozabites or Mzabites, who hold aloof from the other Mohammedans, are
often met with as artisans and small traders in the towns of the Tell Atlas
and in the oases of the E. Sahara, but in their old age they always return
to their original home. Their manners and customs are still somewhat
mediæval; their mosques with minarets in the form of blunted pyramids,
their curious cemeteries and tombs with votive offerings, and their schools
will be found interesting. Their language is a Berber dialect akin to
those of the Kabyles (p. 252) and the Tuâreg, but Arabic and French also
are generally spoken.
Among places worth seeing near Ghardaïa are (¾ M.) Mélika, with
its black inhabitants and large cemeteries, and (1¼ M.) Beni-Isguen, a
wealthy place of 5400 inhab., the sacred town of the Mozabite league,
from which Arabs and Jews are excluded, with a massive town-wall,
clean streets (smoking forbidden), and a loftily situated castle. The oldest
town of the league is El-Ateuf, founded in 1012, with 2000 inhab., 5½ M.
to the E. of Ghardaïa, on the caravan-route to (55½ M.) the Mozabite
colony of Guerrara. Other caravan-routes lead from Ghardaïa to the
S.W. viâ (166 M.) El-Goléa (1280 ft.), with its small oasis, to In Salah
and the Tuat Oases, and to the S.E. to (112 M.) Ouargla (p. 285).
Beyond Blida the train, running to the N.E., through orange-groves
and fields of vegetables, again descends to the Mitidja.
234 M. Beni-Mered (459 ft.), with fertile gardens.
239 M. Boufarik (164 ft.; Hôt. Benoît, Boul. National; Hôt.
Nemoz, Place Mazagran, D. 2 fr., quite good; Hôt. de la Gare,
humble; omn. to the Place Mazagran; pop. 6000), once a fever-stricken
village of peasants, is now the centre of trade for the produce
of the Mitidja. Around it are admirably irrigated vineyards and
orchards (oranges, mandarins, etc.), sheltered from the prevailing
winds by planes, thujas (arbor vitæ), or cypresses. Near it are factories
of perfume and immense wine-cellars. To the W. of the town
is the large Marché Arabe (cattle-market; Monday), 12 min. from
the Place Mazagran, or reached by a road direct from the station.
On the right, farther on, we observe the hill-ranges of Rovigo
and L’Arba (pp. 248, 247) and the Jebel Bou-Zegza (p. 249).
Beyond (245½ M.) Birtouta-Chebli we near the low spurs of the
Sahel (p. 221). 252½ M. Gué-de-Constantine, in the plain of the
brook Harrach (p. 247), where the eucalyptus abounds.
217254½ M. Maison-Carrée (p. 247), junction of the lines to Tizi-Ouzou
(R. 38), Bougie (R. 37), Constantine (R. 43), and Biskra
(R. 44), and also of the tramways to Aïn-Taya and Rovigo (p. 219).
The train turns to the N.W. and reaches the shore. High up on
the left lies Kouba (p. 233). 257½ M. Hussein-Dey, see p. 233.
Skirting the Jardin d’Essai, on the left (p. 232), we now sight
Algiers. Beyond the S.E. suburbs of Le Hamma, Belcourt, and
Mustapha-Inférieur (p. 232), we come to the minor station of
(260½ M.) Agha and then to the (262½ M.) main station of Algiers.
Arrival by Sea. The French steamboat lines (RR. 20, 22) have their
own piers. The fare for landing by boat from other steamers is 30 c.
(trunk 20 c.; small articles free). The tariff of the porters (portefaix-commissionnaires,
largely natives, mostly exorbitant) to the lower part
of the old town is 25 c. for a trunk of 25 kilos (55 lbs.), 50 c. up to
50 kilos, and 1 fr. up to 100 kilos; for porterage to the custom-house (Douane;
where baggage is not cleared on Sun. or festivals) 25–50 c., according to
bargain. The numbered porters of the steamboat companies had better be
employed; or the matter may be entrusted to the hotel-agents. The services
of guides, interpreters, and the like should be declined.
Railway Stations. 1. Chief Station (Gare; Pl. C, 3), Quai Sud,
below the Rampes Magenta (p. 223) and Boul. Carnot, 5–15 min. from the
hotels in the town, ¾–1 hr. from those at Mustapha-Supérieur: station for
all the hotel-omnibuses (no tramway; cabs, see p. 218).—2. Gare de l’Agha
(Pl. C, 5, 6; also goods-station), Rue Sadi-Carnot, at Agha-Inférieur (p. 232),
a subordinate station for the S. quarters of the town.—Town-offices of the
railways, Boul. Carnot 2 and at the Agence Lubin (p. 219).
Hotels (comp. p. 174; in Feb. and March rooms should be ordered in
advance). In the Villa Quarter (Mustapha-Supérieur and Quartier d’lsly;
mostly closed in summer), suitable for some stay, clientèle largely English
and American: *Hôt. Continental (Pl. c; A, 6), Chemin du Télemly and
Boul. Bon-Accueil (entered also from the Station Sanitaire, p. 228), on a
high site, with fine views and garden, R. 5–20, B. 1½, déj. 4–5, D. 6–8,
pens. from 13, omn. 3 fr.; *Hôt. St. George (Pl. a; A, 8), Rue Michelet,
with beautiful grounds, R. 5–15, B. 1½, déj. 4–4½, D. 6–7, pens. 13–25,
omn. 3 fr.; Alexandra (Hôt. Kirsch; Pl. b, A 8), same street, with garden
and small terrace, R. 4–18, B. 2, déj. 3½–4½, D. 5–6, pens. 12–25, omn.
3 fr., good cuisine; these three are of the first class.—Hôt. Oriental
(Pl. f; A, 6), Boul. Bon-Accueil (entrance from Station Sanitaire), with
garden, R. 5–10, B. 1¼, déj. 3, D. 4, pens. from 9 fr., good cuisine; Grand-Hôtel
(Pl. g; A, 7), above Rue Michelet, with fine grounds, pens. 9–12 fr.;
Hôt. Beau-séjour (Pl. e; A, 6), Rue Michelet, below the Museum Terrace
(p. 228), R. 3–8, B. 1, déj. or D. 3, pens. 8–10, omn. 2½ fr., open
throughout the year; Pens. Villa Olivage, beyond the Bois de Boulogne
(p. 230), good; Pens. Victoria, Rue Michelet, near the Colonne Voirol.
In the Town, nearer the sights, more convenient for excursions:
*Hôt. Excelsior (Pl. h; C, 4, 5), Boul. Laferrière, 8 min. from the Gare
de l’Agha, well fitted up, with restaurant, R. 1–30, B. 1¼, déj. 3½, D. 5,
board 8, omn. (also from the Agha station) 1 fr.; *Hôt. de l’Oasis (Pl. k;
C, 3), Rue du Laurier 2 and Boul. de la République 9, with fine views,
restaurant, and American bar, R. 3–18, B. 1½, pens. from 10, omn. 1¼ fr.;
Hôt. de la Regence (Pl. 1; C, 2), Place du Gouvernement 3, R. 4–10, B. 1½,
déj. 3½, D. 4½, pens. 12–20, omn. 1½ fr.; Gr.-Hôt. Arago & du Palmier218(Pl. m; C, 3), Rue Arago 6, quiet; Hôt. de Nice (Pl. n; C, 8), Rue Garibaldi
2 and Place de la République (Square Bresson).
Hôtels Garnis.Hôt. des Etrangers (Pl. i; C, 3), Rue Dumont-d’Urville
1, near the Place de la République, R. 3½–7½, B. 1½, Hôt.
d’Europe & Terminus (Pl. o; C, 3), Rue Garibaldi, corner of Boul. Carnot
(R. 3–7, B. 1 fr.), Royal Hotel (Pl. p; C, 3), Boul. de la République 10
(R. from 2½ fr.), both with fine views; Hôt. Regina, Boul. Bugeaud.
Cafés.Café Continental (Brasserie Maxéville), Café d’Alger (Brass.
de Tantonville), both Place de la République; Café de Bordeaux, Boul.
de la République 1, corner of Place du Gouvernement; Café d’Apollon,
Place du Gouvernement 4.—Confectioner.Maison Fille, Rue Bab-Azoun 2.
Restaurants. At the Hôtel Excelsior (p. 217); London House, at the
Hôt. de l’Oasis, Boul. de la République 9, déj. 3, D. 4 fr.; *Taverne Gruber,
same boulevard, No. 7, a favourite resort (music in the afternoon and
evening); Jaumon, Rue Dumont-d’Urville, déj. 2, D. 2½ fr., plain but good.—For
Luncheon (fish, sea-crayfish, shell-fish, etc.): *Restaur. Cassar and
Restaur. de la Pêcherie, Rampe de la Pêcherie.—Beer at the *Brasserie
Terminus, Boul. Carnot 1 (in Hôt. de l’Europe), D. 3 fr.; also, Rue de la
Liberté 6, Brass. de l’Etoile (music in the afternoon and evening) No. 11,
Brass. Suisse; No. 8, Brass. du Phénix; No. 1, Brass. Lorraine.
Cabs (voitures de place).
‘Double courses’ (there and back):—
per hr.
a)
within the First Zone, extending as far as the European cemetery of St. Eugène (beyond Pl. B, 1) to the N. and as the beginning of the Champ de Manœuvres (Pl. C, 7) to the S.
1.50
2.—
Each ¼ hr.
—.50
b)
within the Second Zone, including the W. margin of the town (Prison Civile, Télemly, Palais d’Eté at Mustapha, etc.) and extending as far as Deux-Moulins beyond St. Eugène (comp. Map, at p. 233) to the N. and the Cimetière Musulman (Pl. D, 9) at
2.—
2.—
Belcourt to the S. To the Jardin d’Essai (and back)
2.50
Each ¼ hr.
—.75
Within the Third Zone comprising the regions beyond those just named:
Half-day (6 hrs.), within a radius of 15 kilometers (9½ M.)
11.—
Whole day (12 hrs.), within a radius of 25 kilomètres (15½ M.)
20.—
During the night-hours (12–6 a.m.) a fare and a half is charged.—For
waiting, ½ fr. extra for each ¼ hr.—Hand-luggage up to 20 kilos (44 lbs.)
free; each piece exceeding that 50 c.
Motor Cabs (Automobiles de place; stand, Rue Garibaldi). Drive
under 900 mètres (984 yds.) 1 fr. 50 c.; for each addit. 300 m. 20 c.; small
articles free; trunk 50 c.
Carriages (cabs and ‘voitures de grande remise’; fares raised on Sun.
and holidays). Vitoz & Co., Rue Michelet 105, Mustapha-Supérieur; Sanino,
Rue de Strasbourg 3, and Rue Michelet 117; Comp. Générale des Voitures,
Rue de Strasbourg 7.—Saddle Horses let by Vitoz and Sanino.—
Motor Cars for excursions: Metrot, Marcé, both Rue d’Isly 39;
Anglo-American Garage, Chemin du Télemly; E. Paul, Rue d’Isly 73.
Tramways (1st and 2nd cl.). 1 (without name-board). From Hôpital
du Dey (Pl. A, B, 1) to Rue Bab el-Oued (Pl. C, 1, 2), Place du Gouvernement
(Pl. C, 2), Rue Bab-Azoun (Pl. C, 2, 3), Rue d’Isly (Pl. C, 3, 4),
Rue Michelet, and Station Sanitaire (Pl. A, 6), every 5 min. (but 5–6 a.m.
and 10–12 p.m. every 10 min. only); fare 5–20 c.—2 (red name-board).
From Place du Gouvernement to Rue d’Isly, Rue Michelet, and Colonne
219Voirol (comp. Pl. A, 8), every ½ hr. (from 6 a.m., last car at 8.5 p.m.),
in 40 min.; fare 30 or 20 c.—3 (blue). From Place du Gouvernement to
Rue d’Isly, Rue Michelet, and Boul. Bru (Pl. A-C, 8, 9), every ½ hr.
(last car 7.50), in ½ hr.; 30 or 20 c.—4 (green). From Place du Gouvernement
to Boul. Carnot (Pl. C, 3), Rue de Constantine (Pl. C, 4), Rue Sadi-Carnot
(Pl. B, 5, 6), Rue de Lyon (Pl. B-E, 7–9), Le Ruisseau, and Kouba;
as far as Marabout (Cimetière Musulman de Belcourt) every 5 min.; to
Les Platanes (Jardin d’Essai) every 10 min.; to Kouba every 40 min.; fare
35 or 30 c.—5 (red). From Place du Gouvernement to Boul. Carnot, Rue
Sadi-Carnot, Jardin d’Essai (Oasis des Palmiers, in 27 min.), Nouvel Ambert,
Maison-Carrée (in 1 hr.); as far as Nouvel Ambert every 10 min., to
Maison-Carrée every 20 min.; fare 60 or 45 c.—6. From Place du Gouvernement
to Rue de la Lyre (Pl. C, 2, 3), Rue Rovigo (Pl. C, 3), Prison Civile
(Pl. B, C, 2; 20 or 15 c.), El-Biar (comp. Pl. A, 4; 40 or 35 c.), and Château-Neuf
(in 50 min.; 50 or 40 c.); as far as Prison Civile every ¼ hr., to El-Biar
every ½ hr., to Château-Neuf once every hr. (Sun. every ½ hr.).—7.
From Place du Gouvernement to Boul. de France (Pl. D, 2), Esplanade
(Pl. C, 1), Bab el-Oued (Pl. B, 1), St. Eugène (comp. Pl. B, 1), and Deux
Moulins, every 9 min.; 30 or 20 c.
Steam Tramways from the Place du Gouvernement: to (7½ M.)
Maison-Carrée (p. 247), and thence either to (4½ M.) Fort-de-l’Eau
(p. 248) and (12½ M.) Aïn-Taya (p. 248), or to (10½ M.) L’Arba (p. 247)
and (15½ M.) Rovigo (p. 248); to (22 M.) Mazafran (p. 238), and thence
either to (6¼ M.) Koléa (p. 238), or to (6½ M.) Castiglione (p. 238).
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. 22, C4; p. 226), Rue de Constantine
133; branches at Rue de Strasbourg 2, in the Palais Consulaire (p. 223), at
Rue Michelet 64 (Mustapha-Inférieur), near the Palais d’Eté (p. 230), etc.
Steamboat Agents.Cunard, North German Lloyd (R. 15b),
Hamburg-American, German Levant (RR. 15b. 22), and Hungarian
Adria (R. 22). R. Heckmann, Rue Colbert 1; Comp. Générale Transatlantique
(RR. 20, 22), Boul. Carnot 6 and Quai de la Marine; Soc. de
Transports Maritimes (R. 20), Boul. de la République 2 and Quai de la
Marine; Comp. de Navigation Mixte (R. 20), Boul. Carnot 2 and Quai do
la Marine; White Star Line, Austro-American Line, J. Crispo, Boul. de
la République 3; Nederland Royal Mail, J. Bergeret, Boul. Carnot; Compañía
Mallorquina de Vapores (R. 20), J. J. Sitges Frères, Quai Nord 40.
Tourist Agents.R. Heckmann (Universal Tourist Office), Boul. de
la République 11; Agence Lubin, Rue de la Liberté 7; Agence Duchemin,
same street, No. 4.—Information obtainable also from the Comité d’Hivernage,
Rue Combe 2. 8–11 and 2–6 (Sun. 8–11).—Club Alpin Français (section
de l’Atlas), Palais Consulaire (p. 223).
Consuls. British Consul-General, B. S. Cave, Boul. Carnot 6; vice-consuls,
L. G. C. Graham, L. Graeme Scott.—U. S. Consul, A. W. Robert,
Rue d’Isly 64.
Physicians.Dr. Dangerfield, Kent House, Colonne Voirol; Dr. Gubb,
Mustapha, Chemin des Glycines; Dr. Nissen, Mustapha-Supérieur, Villa
Bey, Rue Michelet.—Chemists.Grandmont (Obrecht), Rue Bab-Azoun 28;
Licht, Rue Michelet 85; Brenta, Rue Bab-Azoun 3.
Baths.Bains du Palmier, Rue Arago 6 (Gr.-Hôt. Arago & du Palmier);
Bains du Hamma, Rue du Hamma 1 (near the Théâtre Municipal); Bains
Michelet, Rue de Richelieu 25.—Moorish Baths (comp. p. 175): Bains de
l’Alhambra, Rue Marengo 4.—Sea Baths (June-Oct.; plainly fitted up;
costume 50 c.): Bains du Jardin d’Essai (p. 233); Bains Nelson, Avenue
Malakoff.
Banks (comp. p. 174). Crédit Lyonnais, Boul. de la République 6;
Comp. Algérienne, Rue Dumont-d’Urville; Banque de l’Algérie, Crédit
Foncier et Agricole d’Algérie, Crédit Agricole et Commerciel Algérien
(J. Thibaud), all three in the Boul. de la République (Nos. 5, 8, & 4).
220Booksellers.Jourdan, Place du Gouvernement and Rue Cléopâtre 1;
Chaix, Rue d’Isly 11bis; Relin, Rue d’Isly 11; Ruff, Rue Bab-Azoun 10;
Carbonnel, Ledoux, both Boul. de la République (Nos. 2 & 7).—Newspapers
(5 c.). La Dépêche Algérienne (morning); Les Nouvelles, Le Cri
d’Alger (evening). For strangers, The North African News (Sat.; 25 c.).
Shops (caution almost as necessary as at Tunis; comp. p. 331). Photographs
and Views.Geiser, Place de Chartres 2; A. Wollenweider, Rue du
Divan 4; Hyam, Station Sanitaire (Pl. A, 6).—Oriental Articles (partly
made in France and Germany; also Indian, Japanese, and Turkish wares).
Ratto (goldsmith), Rue Socgémah 12; Pohoomull Frères, Rue Bab-Azoun 11;
Ratto-Magana, Rue de l’Etat Major 5; Miss Jockyl, English Club Buildings,
Mustapha-Supérieur.—Embroidery.Mme. Hémery, Rue Michelet 89,
Mustapha-Supérieur.—Copper and Brass Work.Zagha (from Damascus),
Rue Bruce 27; Nassan, Place Malakoff.
Theatres.Théâtre Municipal (Pl. 26; C, 3), Place de la République,
for operas, operettas, and dramas, closed in summer; Kursaal (Pl. C, 1),
Esplanade de Bab-el-Oued (tickets sold in advance at 4 Boul. de la République.—Casino
Music Hall), Rue d’Isly 9 (fauteuil 2½ fr.).—Fêtes
Mauresques at the Kasba, arranged by the Comité d’Hivernage (p. 219),
with native musicians and dancers (adm. 5 fr.).
Band plays in winter, Sun. and Thurs., 4–5, in the Place du Gouvernement;
in summer (May-Oct.), on Mon., Wed., and Sat., from 8 to
10.30, in the Place de la République (Square Bresson), and on Sun., Tues.,
and Thurs., from 8 to 10.30, in the Place du Gouvernement.
Golf Club, with good nine hole course, near the Pens. Villa Olivage
(p. 217).—Skating Rink at the corner of Boul. Carnot and Rue Waïsse
(Pl. C, 4).
Churches.English (Ch. of the Holy Ghost; p. 230), Rue Michelet
(Pl. A, 7), to the N. of the Alexandra Hotel (p. 217); Sun. services at 8
and 11.30 or 9.45 a.m.; chaplain, Rev. A. P. Cronyn, M. A.—Presbyterian
(St. Andrew’s; Pl. 7, A 6) also Rue Michelet, Sun. service at 10.30 a.m.;
minister, Rev. T. E. Jubb, M. A.
Synagogue (p. 227), all Frid., Sat. after 12, at other times apply to
keeper, 30–50 c.
Two Days. 1st. Forenoon, Place de la République, Boul. de la République,
Place du Gouvernement, Great Mosque, Archevêché (pp. 222–224),
*Kasba Quarter (pp. 226, 227), *Mosque of Sidi-Abderrahmân (p. 228),
and *Jardin Marengo (p. 224). Afternoon, Mustapha-Supérieur with the
*Museum (pp. 228–230).—2nd. Forenoon, Mohammedan Cemetery at Belcourt
(p. 232), *Jardin d’Essai (p. 232). Afternoon, Notre-Dame d’Afrique
(p. 236) or Bouzaréah (p. 235).
221Algiers, French Alger, Ital. Algéri, the capital of the French
colony of Algeria, with 154,000 inhab. (incl. 35,200 foreigners,
mostly Italians and Spaniards, 33,200 Mohammedans, and 12,500
Jews), seat of the archbishop of Algeria, a fortress, and a naval
harbour, lies in 36°47′ N. lat. and 3°2′ E. long., on the W. side
of the nearly semicircular *Baie d’Alger, which is bounded on
the W. by the Pointe Pescade (p. 237), and on the E. by Cape
Matifou (p. 248). It is the most important coaling-station on the
whole coast, and shares with Oran the chief trade of Algeria. The
town extends along the slopes of the Sahel of Algiers, a range of
hills about 44 M. long, culminating in Mt. Bouzaréah (p. 235), continued
beyond the mouth of the Oued el-Harrach by low sand-hills,
and separated from the Tell Atlas by the Mitidja (p. 169). With
regard to climate, see pp. 170, 172.
On the site of the Roman Icosium, an unimportant place on the road
to Tipasa and Cæsarea (Cherchell, p. 244), Bologgîn ez-Ziri (p. 323),
about 940 (about the same date as the foundation of Miliana and Médéa)
founded the new colony of Al-Jezaïr Beni Mezghanna, so called from
the adjacent coast-islands (jezîra, pl. jezaïr) and from the Berber tribe
of the Beni Mezghanna who dwelt in this region. It is recorded that in
the 11th cent. the inhabitants of the new settlement used the old Roman
baths, of which there is now no trace, for their amusements and an old
Christian basilica for their worship. From that time the history of Al-Jezaïr
is a blank down to the end of the 15th cent., when it began
to serve the Moorish exiles from Spain (afterwards called Tagarins here)
as a base of their retaliatory expeditions against Spain. In 1509 or 1510
the Spaniards, in the course of their victorious career, occupied the
largest of the coast-islands, where they erected the fortress of El-Peñón,
and conquered the Mitidja which had recently been colonized by the
Arabian tribe of the Tsaliba. The little town, called Argel by the
Spaniards, was inhabited by Mohammedans, who in 1516 summoned to
their aid, from Djidjelli, Horuk (Arudj) Barbarossa, a Turkish pirate
of Christian descent. Horuk complied with the request and established
himself at Al-Jezaïr, where, after repelling a Spanish expedition under
Diego de Vera (1516), he erected the Jenina as his residence and the Kasba
as his citadel.
Having fallen in a battle with the Spaniards near Tlemcen (p. 187),
Horuk was succeeded by his brother Kheireddin Barbarossa (1518–36), who
became the real founder of the new barbaresco or piratical state. As a
vassal of the sultan of Turkey he extended his sway over the greater
part of Algeria. He defeated Hugo de Moncada, the Spanish viceroy, in
1519, and in 1530, after having stormed the fortress of Peñón, he constructed
the Jetée de Kheireddin with its materials and with others from
Rusguniæ (p. 248) and Tipasa, thus creating the first harbour of Algiers.
Thenceforwards for three centuries the ‘Algerian pirates’ were the terror
of the seas, to whom, for protection of their trade, England, Holland,
the Hanseatic towns, and other maritime countries ignominiously consented
to pay tribute. Fourteen times the European powers, from the time of
the fruitless campaign of Charles V. in 1541 to the British expedition of
1824, had besieged and bombarded Algiers in vain. The beys (or, after
1600, deys) had succeeded in maintaining their position, and in 1627 had
even carried their piratical expeditions as far as Iceland. It was not
till 1830 that these barbarous piracies were put a stop to by the French,
and that the way was thus paved for conquest of the whole of Algeria.
The most stirring events in the recent history of Algeria were the
conquest of Constantine (1837), the protracted struggles against Abd el-Kâder
(1839–47), the defeat of his Moroccan allies on the Oued Isly (1844),
222the subjection of Great Kabylia (1856–7), the revolts of the natives in
1871–2, the rising of Bou-Amama in S. Oran (1881), the occupation of the
Sahara as far as Tidikelt and the Tuat oases (1892–1901), and lastly the
French advance towards Morocco (comp. p. 96).
The Algiers of the Turkish period consisted solely of the triangular
quarter on the slope of the Kasba Hill, between the old
landward gates, Bab Azoun on the S. and Bab el-Oued on the N.,
with the Sûk or Market Street (now Rue Bab-Azoun and Rue Bab
el-Oued) as its nucleus. Between these two gates ran the old Turkish
wall, on whose site lie the Boul. Gambetta (Pl. B, C, 3), on the S.,
and the Boul. Valée (Pl. C, 2), on the N. The French ramparts
constructed in 1845 extended the town as far as the present Boul.
Laferrière (Pl. C, 4, 5) to the S., and to the Boul. du Général Farre
to the N. (Pl. C, 1). Since the demolition of these fortifications in
1904 the industrial suburbs on the coast and the lofty villa-suburbs,
Quartier d’Isly (Pl. B, 4, 5), Télemly (Pl. A, 5, 6), and Mustapha-Supérieur
(Pl. A, 7, 8), which last is little frequented except in
winter, have all been brought within the precincts of the town.
The chief business parts of the town are the arcades, with their
numerous shops, in the Rue Bab-Azoun (Pl. C, 2, 3) and Rue Bab
el-Oued (Pl. C, 2; p. 224), the Place du Gouvernement (Pl. C, 2;
p. 223), the focus of all the tramways, and above all the spacious
Place de la République (Pl. C, 3), with the gardens of Square
Bresson (band, see p. 220), adorned with bamboos and magnolias, the
Théâtre Municipal (p. 220), and the most showy cafés. Between
these two places and the sea, at a height of 65 ft. above the quay and
its warehouses, run the uniform rows of houses of the Boulevard
de France (Pl. D, 2; p. 223), the Boulevard de la République,
completed in 1866, and the Boulevard Carnot (Pl. C, 3, 4), with the
new Préfecture (Pl. 23; C, 4) in the Moorish style (1910). These
streets, together 1 M. long, form a coast-promenade, whence in clear
weather we enjoy a splendid *View of the blue bay, the Atlas Mts.
of Blida, and the distant Jurjura chain (p. 258). In stormy weather,
however, the Rampe de l’Amirauté (Pl. D, 2; p. 223) and the Boul.
Amiral Pierre (Pl. C, D, 1, 2; p. 224) attract many walkers.
The sole Harbour, prior to the French period, was the Ancien
Port, or Darse de l’Amirauté (Pl. D, 2), constructed by Kheireddin
Barbarossa, once a nest of piratical vessels, and now a torpedo-boat
station and anchorage for yachts and fishing-boats. The new
Port de Commerce and Port Militaire, 213 acres in area, with the
Quai de la Marine, which was extended in 1908, have been formed
since 1848 at a cost of 46 million francs. They are protected by
the wave-beaten Jetée du Nord, 984 yds. long, the prolongation
of the old Jetée of Kheireddin (comp. p. 221), and by the Jetée du
223Sud, 1350 yds. in length. The entrance is 268 yds. in breadth. A
second commercial harbour, the Arrière-Port (Pl. C, D, 5, 6), was
begun in 1898, but is still uncompleted.
The harbour is approached by the Rampes Magenta, descending
from Boul. Carnot to the principal railway-station (p. 217),
by the Rampes Chasseloup-Laubat, connecting the Boul. de la
République with the Douane (Pl. D, 3) and with the warehouses
and offices of the French steamboat-companies, and by the Rampe
de l’Amirauté (Pl. D, 2), on the old Jetée of Kheireddin. This jetty
or quay, the oldest of all, connects the old Porte de France on the
mainland (once the Turkish sea-gate) with what was once the island
of Peñón (p. 221), now the Presqu’île de l’Amirauté. Walkers
may descend also by the Escaliers du Bastion Central, opposite
the Square Bresson (p. 222), or from the Place du Gouvernement
by the Escaliers de la Pêcherie, past the mosque of that name
and the Fish Market, which is worth seeing in the early morning.
On the Quai du Nord, between the approach to the fish-market
and the old Porte de France, a pretty Turkish Fountain has been
preserved. Adjoining the neo-Moorish Palais de l’Amirauté (Pl. D, 2)
is the Turkish Gate, with two heraldic animals (panthers?), an
interesting relic of the Bordj Ras el-Moul which was burned down
in 1816. We notice also several muzzle-loading guns built into
the wall, now serving as bulkheads or as posts for mooring vessels.
Visitors are not admitted to the Phare (Pl. D, 2; lighthouse), a
relic of the Turkish fort erected in 1544 on the site of the Spanish
castle of Peñón, nor to the small Station Zoologique (Pl. D, 2).
We now follow the Boul. de France, past the handsome Palais
Consulaire (Pl. 19, D 2; chamber of commerce, exchange, etc.),
to the—
Place du Gouvernement, the noisiest place in the town, crowded
with natives at all hours (concerts, see p. 220). The equestrian
statue, in bronze, of the Duke of Orleans (1810–42), a distinguished
general in the Algerian campaigns, is by the Piedmontese Carlo
Marocchetti (1845). Behind the statue, and half concealed by the
Boul. de France, is the curiously incongruous—
Mosquée de la Pêcherie (Pl. 16, D 2; Arabic Jâma el-Jedid,
new mosque), erected by Turkish architects in 1660 for
adherents of the Hanefite ritual (p. 445). It is a cruciform building
with nave and aisles, a huge central dome tastelessly painted inside,
a rich marble pulpit of Italian workmanship, and a square
minaret (now clock-tower). Entrance in the Rampe de la Pêcherie
(adm., see p. 220).
A few paces to the E. of the Place du Gouvernement, adjoining
the Rue de la Marine (Pl. D, 2), the harbour-street of the Turkish
and early French period, is the small Place de la Pêcherie, the
site of the pirates’ Slave Market.
224Close by is the Great Mosque (Pl. 15, D 2; Arabic Jâma el-Kebîr),
the oldest and largest mosque in the town, founded in 1018
for believers in the Malekite ritual, but often altered since then.
Both the mosque and its minaret, originally built by the Abdelwadite
Abû Tâkhfîn (p. 190) in 1322–3, have now been modernized.
The entrance is by a portico in the Rue de la Marine, erected in
1837 with materials from a mosque of the Jenina (p. 225), leading
into a court, embellished with a Turkish fountain, and to the
unadorned sacred building itself, with its eleven aisles or arcades
and horseshoe arches resting on low pillars.
The quarter to the N.W. of the Rue de la Marine, between
Boul. Amiral-Pierre (Pl. C, D, 1, 2) and Rue Bab el-Oued (see below),
is inhabited mainly by Italians and natives and still contains many
mediæval features in its sombre lanes and passages. Soon after
entering it, we come to a pleasing Turkish House, Rue Duquesne,
No. 15, in the small square of that name, with a marble portal
and a two-storied court.
The building of the Conseil Général (Pl. 5a, D 2; adm., see
p. 220), close by, Rue de la Charte No. 5, a good example of Moorish-Turkish
architecture, with its Renaissance portal, was the British
consulate in the Turkish period. No. 29, in the adjoining Rue
d’Orléans, has a remarkably rich Italian Renaissance portal.
The short Rue du Quatorze-Juin, the last houses in the Rue
des Consuls (Pl. D, 2), occupied by the other European consuls in
the Turkish period, and the adjacent narrow Rue Navarin and Rue
Jean-Bart, all have the character of the Kasba quarter (p. 227).
The narrow passage called Rue des Postes leads here to the
Rue Volland (Pl. C, 1), the cross-street between Boul. Amiral-Pierre
and the Avenue Bab el-Oued (Pl. C, 1). Here, on the right, are
the barracks and the Kursaal Theatre (p. 220), and on the left
the Lycée National, on the site of the Turkish janissaries’ barracks.
The Rampe Valée ascending hence to the Kasba quarter skirts
the *Jardin Marengo (Pl. C, 1), a public park, laid out in
1834–47 on the site of the Mohammedan cemetery; the grounds,
with their wealth of palms, yuccas, and bamboos, climb the hill-side
as far as the mosque of Sidi Abderrahmân (p. 228).
We now return by the Rue Bab el-Oued (Pl. C, 2; p. 222) to
the Place du Gouvernement. Halfway, in the Rue de la Kasba
(p. 227), rises on the right the church of Notre-Dame des Victoires
(Pl. 8; C, 2), formerly a mosque (Jâma Bitchnîn, of 1622).
From the W. side of the Place du Gouvernement (p. 223) the
Rue du Divan and Rue du Soudan lead to the small Place Malakoff,
on the E. side of which, between these streets, rises the—
*Archevêché (Pl. 1, C 2; archbishop’s palace), the finest and
but little modernized relic of the Jenina founded by Horuk Barbarossa
(p. 221) in 1516. In the course of centuries this residence of
225the beys was gradually extended to the Rue Jenina and the Rue
Socgémah, and in 1816 was at length superseded by the Kasba
(p. 227). The entrance is by the Renaissance portal (adm., see
p. 220; apply to the concierge).
The fine court, with its two stories and horseshoe arches resting on
slender winding columns, is remarkable for its harmonious proportions.
The walls are adorned with tiles of little value, but the rich wrought-iron
gratings of the windows deserve notice. The upper story, whose
galleries have small domed chambers at the four corners, is adjoined by
rooms sumptuously decorated like those of the Alcázar at Seville (p. 61).
We note in particular the lavish ornamentation in stucco, the elegant
window-shutters, restored in part, and the beautiful ceilings in cedar
and oak panelling. The room converted into a chapel has been materially
altered.
The Cathedral (Pl. 3, C 2; St. Philippe), on the W. side of
the same Place, built since 1843 in a strangely mingled Moorish
and Romanesque style, occupies the site of the Ketshâwa Mosque
erected by Hassan Pasha in 1791 (see below). The façade is adorned
with two towers resembling minarets. The first chapel contains
the bones of the so-called Gerónimo, a Christian Arab (comp.
p. 230), who is said to have been immured alive in 1569.
The Palais d’Hiver du Gouverneur (Pl. 21, C 2; adm., see
p. 220), built by Hassan Pasha (1791–9), like the National Library
(see below), is one of the latest specimens of Moorish-Turkish
architecture in Algeria; but it has been entirely remodelled to
suit its present purpose and has been provided with a new façade.
Above the old portal, Rue du Soudan No. 5 (now Bureau Arabe; see
p. 174), is a pretty carved projecting roof. No. 7, next door, has
a rich marble portal. The roof affords a good survey of the whole
of the Jenina buildings.
To the N. of the Place Malakoff, in the Rue de l’Etat-Major,
No. 12, on the left, is the—
National Library (Pl. 2; C, 2), in the old palace of Mustapha
Pasha (1799–1805), containing about 40,000 vols. and 2000 MSS.
Adm., see p. 220. Librarian, M. E. Maupas.
Adjoining the vestibule (skiffa), adorned with clustered columns and
Delft fayence, on the left, is the two-storied *Quadrangle, similar to
that of the archiepiscopal palace. In the gallery of the first floor are
views of Old Algiers (including the bombardment by the British fleet in
1824). Adjacent are two small reading-rooms containing a valuable collection
of Arabic, Berber, and Turkish MSS. (shown only on application
to the curator M. Abdeltif). The charters of the Turkish period also are
important.
The Bureaux du Gouvernement, Rue Bruce 10, which once
belonged to the Jenina buildings, also are worth seeing (apply
to the governor’s secretary). So, too, is the pleasing Dwelling
House, Rue Socgémah 12 (now owned by M. Ratto, goldsmith;
p. 220).—The old Dâr Soof (wool-exchange), Rue de l’Intendance 1,
one of the most ornate Mauro-Turkish buildings in the town, is
now a private house and can be seen only by special introduction.
226We now turn to the E. to visit the Rue de Chartres or the Rue
de la Lyre (Pl. C, 2, 3), which, like the neighbouring Rue Randon
in the Kasba quarter (p. 227), contain countless little shops kept
by Jews and Mozabites (p. 216). The Marché de Chartres and
the Marché de la Lyre (Pl. 14; C, 3) are the chief provision
markets. In the afternoon the former is devoted to the sale of
second-hand goods. The Rue de Chartres and the two flights of
steps in the Place de la Lyre, next to the theatre, lead back to the
Place de la République (p. 222).
To the S. of the Place de la République are the new quarters
of the town. At the beginning of the Rue de Constantine (Pl. C,
3, 4), on the left, is the new Palais de Justice (Pl. 20; C, 3), in
the pseudo-classical style. On the right is the new-Romanesque
church of St. Augustin (Pl. 9; C, 3).
At the back of this church runs the Rue Dumont-d’Urville
(Pl. C, 3), passing almost immediately on the left the Rue de Tanger,
in which rises the small Mosque of the Mozabites (p. 216),
and leading to the long and monotonous Rue d’Isly (Pl. C, 4).
The latter crosses the Place d’Isly. (Pl. C, 4), where a monument
has been erected to Marshal Bugeaud (1784–1849), the conqueror
of Abd el-Kâder (p. 221).
Farther on in the Rue de Constantine, on the left, at No. 32 is
the Musée Municipal des Beaux-Arts (adm., see p. 220), containing
a small collection of pictures mostly by French painters.
The Rue de Constantine and Rue d’Isly reach the boundary of
the old town at the new Post Office (Pl. 22, C, 4; p. 219), a neo-Moorish
building (1910), on the N. side of the Boulevard Laferrière
(Pl. C, 4, 5; p. 222), or Boul. Militaire Sud. To the right,
above, are the handsome offices of the Dépêche Algérienne (p. 220),
in the neo-Moorish style. The open space on the left, down by
the sea, is destined for the future Central Station.
From Boul. Laferrière to Mustapha-Supérieur, see pp. 231,
230; to Belcourt and Le Hamma, see p. 232.
To avoid the steep ascents in the Kasba Quarter we take the tramway
(No. 6, p. 219) to the Prison Civile, glance at the Mohammedan Cemetery
and the Kasba Barracks, and then descend from the Boul. de la
Victoire by one or other of the streets (very slippery in wet weather)
between the Rue de la Kasba (Pl. C, 2) and Boul. Gambetta (Pl. B, C, 3).
It should be noted that all the ascending streets lead to the Boulevard
de la Victoire, and the descending streets to Rue Randon or Rue Marengo.
Ladies in particular may sometimes gain admission to one of the better
Moorish houses (comp. p. xxvi), where they should not omit to see the
view from the roof. A walk through the Kasba quarter by moonlight is
delightful, but safe only for a considerable party.
227The *Kasba Quarter (Pl. B, C, 2, 3), the almost unaltered
main portion of old Algiers, bounded by the Rue Randon, Rue
Marengo, and Boul. de la Victoire, lies on the hill-side below the
Kasba, the old castle and afterwards the residence of the Turkish
rulers, and still presents a highly attractive picture of Oriental life,
though partly inhabited by Maltese and Spaniards as well as by
Mohammedans of various races and creeds (p. 171). A few streets
only, with small mosques, coffee-houses, and shops, show signs of
life in the daytime, and that chiefly on Fridays and Sundays. Most
of the streets, however, often only 6–7 ft. wide, with their jutting
upper stories and balconies supported by brackets of beams, and
the numerous blind alleys and sombre vaulted passages are shrouded
in silence, while their bare, almost windowless walls and their closed
doors, marked with the sign of the warning hand (p. 81), enhance
their impenetrable mystery.
The chief business street of the Kasba is the Rue Randon
(Pl. C, 2, 3; comp. p. 226), especially the S. part of it with its
shops, between the Marché de la Lyre (p. 226) and the Synagogue
(Pl. 24, C 2; adm., see p. 220), a building with a huge dome and
three women’s galleries.
The Rue de la Girafe and Rue Caton, the last two side-streets
before the Synagogue, ascend to the Rue Kléber (Pl. C, 2), where,
at the crossing of the Rue d’Anfreville and Rue du Palmier, opposite
an Arabian coffee-house, rises the small Mosque of Sidi Mohammed
ech-Chériff (Pl. 17; C, 2).
The Rue d’Anfreville leads to the left to the long Rue de la
Porte-Neuve (Pl. C, 2, 3), a street starting from the Rue de la Lyre
(p. 226). A little way down we may visit its side-streets, Rue des
Dattes and Rue Médée, and then return by the Rue de la Mer Rouge
to the upper part of the Rue Kléber. We may next follow the Rue
du Palmier (see above) and the Rue Annibal, or its side-street Rue
Tombouctou, to the long and steep Rue de la Kasba (Pl. C, 2),
which ascends in steps from the Rue Bab el-Oued (p. 224) to the
Kasba barracks.
The small square at the top of the Rue de la Kasba, adjoining
the Boulevard de la Victoire (Pl. B, C, 2), is a resort of jugglers
and story-tellers, with their admiring audience.
Passing the Prison Civile (Pl. B, C, 2; on the right), and
crossing the moat, we may now visit the Mohammedan Cimetière
d’el-Kettar (Pl. B, 2), prettily situated on the slope above the
Frais-Vallon (p. 234).
The Kasba (Pl. B, 2; 427 ft.), originally an octagonal pile of
buildings, surrounded by large gardens, was erected by Horuk
Barbarossa in 1516, but was afterwards much altered. In 1816–30
it was the residence of the deys (comp. p. 221), and now serves as the
228Zouave barracks. The large two-storied quadrangle in the Mauro-Turkish
style is a relic of the original building. The old mosque is
now used as a storehouse. Adm., see p. 220.
The road to El-Biar (p. 234) leads through the Kasba and then traverses
the old Quartier des Tagarins (comp. p. 221), which extended to
the Porte du Sahel (Pl. B, 3).
From the Prison Civile the steep Boulevard Valée (Pl. C, 2;
p. 222) leads back to the town, the lower part commanding a superb
*View of Algiers and its bay.
This boulevard joins the Rue Marengo, opposite the Medersa
(Pl. C, 2; adm., see p. 220), opened in 1904, one of the three recently
founded Mohammedan colleges of Algeria, a building in an appropriate
neo-Moorish style. No. 46, nearly opposite, is the pretty
little Medersa of the Turkish period.
The *Mosque of Sidi Abderrahmân (Pl. 18, C 2; adm., see
p. 220), built in 1696 and dedicated to the learned marabout Sidi
Abderrahmân et-Tsalbi (1387–1468), the chief saint of the Tsaliba
(p. 221), has no attraction beyond its elegant minaret, adorned with
coloured tiles; but its situation near the Jardin Marengo (p. 224),
and the charming view it commands, are most impressive. The
kubba of the saint is bedecked, as is usual in the case of such tombs,
with flags, ostrich-eggs, and other offerings. The small burial-grounds
attached are relics of the chief Mohammedan cemetery
(p. 224).
The narrow coast-plain, here called Plaine de Mustapha, is the somewhat
abrupt margin of the Sahel, to the S. of the old town, on which lie
the Quartier d’Isly, Télemly, and Mustapha-Supérieur, where the white
villas dating from the Turkish period, with their superb gardens and
luxuriant orchards, are occupied chiefly by English and American residents.
This is the favourite promenade of foreign visitors. Tramways Nos. 1, 2,
and 3, see pp. 218, 219. To avoid ascents the traveller had better begin
his walk at the terminus of line No. 2 or No. 3.
The main street of *Mustapha-Supérieur is the Rue Michelet
(Pl. B, A, 5–8), a street nearly 2½ M. long, in line with the Rue
d’Isly. The first third of it is uninteresting. It passes the former
Académie (Pl. B, 5), situated on a high terrace below the Quartier
d’Isly, which was converted into a university in 1909 (1442 students).
Farther on the road leads through the suburb of Agha-Supérieur
to the (½ M.) so-called Plateau Saulière (Pl. B, 6, 7;
tramway-terminus, Station Sanitaire; p. 218).
The upper Rue Michelet, which, in spite of its steep hills, is
the most fashionable drive in Algiers, ascends, partly in windings,
past the hotels (p. 217), a number of handsome villas, and several
charming points of view, to the top of the Sahel. Beyond the
Scottish Church (p. 220) at the first sharp bend in the road, rises,
behind the view-terrace of the Museum Garden, the—
229*Museum (Musée National des Antiquités Algériennes; Pl.
A, 6, 7), opened in 1897, containing the finest collection of the kind
in Algeria. Adm., see p. 220. Catalogue rather old (1899). Director,
M. Stéphane Gsell.
The Garden contains a dolmen (of the Beni-Messous) from Guyotville
(p. 237), Roman tombstones, vases, etc.
In the Vestibule are views of Old Algiers, from the 17th cent. onwards.
Over the inner door is an early-Christian mosaic from Rusguniæ (p. 248)
representing Christ as the Good Shepherd.—The Court contains modern
views of Algiers and Arabic, Jewish, and Turkish inscriptions. In the
centre is a Roman mosaic from Sila, representing Scylla (p. 155) and marine
deities.—On the right is—
Room I. The cases in the middle and most of the wall-presses
contain prehistoric antiquities from the provinces of Algeria and Oran
and from the Sahara, including the Flamand collection (1889–90). Along
the walls are ranged casts and copies of the graffiti or rock-drawings of
Tiout (p. 202), Moghrar-Tahtàni (p. 203), etc.; Libyan (early Berber) tomb-stelæ;
on the end-wall to the right, a warrior on horseback, from Abizar
in Great Kabylia; two cases with relics from Phœnician tombs at Gouraya
(some of them imported from Greece); also Punic tomb-stelæ, etc.—In
the centre are a fine mosaic from Aïn-Babouch and models of the mausoleum
of Le Khroub (p. 273), of the so-called Tombeau de la Chrétienne
(p. 238), and of the Medracen (p. 274).—We now pass through R. IV
into—
Room II. In the centre are antique marbles: *Torso of a Venus (in
the style of the Capitoline Venus), draped female *Statue (replica of a
work of the age of Phidias; the head added later), colossal statue of Poseidon
(after a Greek original of the 4th cent.), torso of Bacchus, Satyr
and Hermaphrodite (after a group of the Hellenistic period; a torso), two
elegant decorative pillars, all of these coming from the so-called museum
of king Juba at Cherchell (p. 244); then a colossal bust of Minerva from
Khamissa; bronze *Figure of a boy with an eagle, from Lambèse. By the
wall next the court is a fragment of a sarcophagus-relief, Warrior with
wounded Amazon (Achilles and Penthesilea?). By the back-wall are casts
of the chief antiques of Cherchell, marble busts, including Jupiter Serapis
and a god of the lower regions, both from Carthage. The wall-cabinets
contain Greek and Etruscan vases and fragments of Roman sculptures
and inscriptions. Around are mosaics: Boar and panther hunt from
Orléansville; fragment of a representation of the Four Seasons, from
Lambèse; Europa with the bull, Jupiter and Antiope, Oceanus and Nereids.
In the centre is a relief-plan of Timgad (p. 289).—We next pass
through R. V into—
Room III. Among the bronzes in the first case are a mask (3rd cent.
B. C.) from El-Grimidi; a statuette of Venus untying her sandal, from
Cherchell; adjacent, an early-Christian bronze lamp (5th cent.). Then
come cases with Greek, Roman, and Mauretanian coins, lamps, etc. The
case by the wall next the court contains early-Christian reliquaries (in
terracotta). Along the walls are ranged Roman and early-Christian inscriptions,
reliefs, and architectural fragments; by the entrance-wall is
the tombstone of a bishop from Mouzaïaville (5th cent.); by the end-wall
Roman busts (incl. Hadrian); a slab bearing regulations as to rights
of using water, from Lamasba (Mérouana); early-Christian sarcophagus
from Dellys (4th cent.).
The corner-rooms (IV and V) contain the Oriental Section (Art of
Islam), which has received considerable additions and for which five
new rooms are being prepared.
Room IV. Berber and early Moorish works of art. In the ante-room
Berber vases, tissues, and wood-carving from Great Kabylia, etc., incl.
an ancient Kabylian cradle. In the central case are Berber trinkets,
chiefly from Great Kabylia (Dra el-Mizan; work of the Beni-Yenni), and
230Tunisian vases. Cases with Algerian bronzes and curiosities from Kalâa
des Beni-Hammad (p. 270; stucco-work, fragments of vases). Cases and
two wall-presses containing superb Moroccan embroidery (some showing
Spanish-Moorish influence), mostly from the region of Fez. A large
majolica vase from Palma (Majorca). Also, on the walls, *Carpets from
the district of Jebel Amour, from Kalâa (p. 207), Kairwan, Rabât, and
of the tribe of the Rirha (near Sétif).
Room V, devoted mainly to the Mauro-Turkish art of the barbaresques.
At the entrance is a marble portal of Italian workmanship. Stands
with weapons (some of them in the Louis XVI. style), trinkets, richly embroidered
slippers, pistol-cases, cartridge-belts, etc., and also gorgeous
feminine apparel. On a stand, with gold embroidery from mosques and
saints’ tombs, is placed the cast of the so-called Gerónimo (p. 225). By
the walls are two superb saddles, copper vessels, furniture inlaid with
mother-of-pearl, etc.; presses with Algerian *Embroidery (curtains of
ladies’ chambers, bath-veils, etc.). By the back-wall, Jewesses’ costumes
from Constantine. In the gallery are Smyrna carpets.
In the Rue Michelet, a few paces farther, beyond the Chemin
du Télemly (see below), is a small round space with a marble
Statue of Mac Mahon (1808–93; governor of Algeria in 1864–70).
Opposite, to the left, is the—
Palais d’Eté du Gouverneur (Pl. A, 7), a fine neo-Moorish
building with beautiful grounds. Adm., see p. 220.
Farther on we cross the Chemin de Gascogne or Chemin Romain,
the shortest route from Mustapha-Inférieur (p. 232) to the
Colonne Voirol (see below). Near the lower half of that road is the
Orphelinat St. Vincent-de-Paul (Pl. A, 7), on the site of a villa
of Mustapha Pasha (p. 225), to whom this quarter owes its name.
Following the Rue Michelet farther to the S. we pass, on the
right, the new English Church (p. 220), in the Moorish style. The
cost of building, which amounted to 7000l., was defrayed by the
French Government in compensation for the site of the former
English church which was required for the new post-office (p. 226).
Beyond the bifurcation of Boul. Bru (p. 231) the Rue Michelet
takes a sharp turn to the N.W. and leads along the margin of the
so-called Bois de Boulogne (Pl. A, 8, 9), a sparse pine-wood, to
the Colonne Voirol (689 ft.; tramway-terminus, see pp. 218, 219),
a monument in memory of General Voirol.
One of the finest and easiest walks at Mustapha-Supérieur is the
*Chemin du Télemly (Pl. A, B, 6–4), which diverges to the
right from the Rue Michelet just beyond the Museum garden (p. 228)
and leads along the slope of the Sahel, halfway up, passing through
several verdant ravines (Ravin des Sept-Sources, etc.), to the
(1¾ M.) Quartier d’Isly (Pl. B, 4, 5), a charming, loftily-situated
villa-quarter. This road affords several splendid views of the bay.
From the Quartier d’Isly we may either descend by the Rue
Edouard-Cat and Avenue Pasteur to the lower Rue Michelet and the
Rue d’Isly (p. 226), or we may follow the main road as far as the
231town-wall, between the Boul. Laferrière (p. 226) and the Porte du
Sahel (p. 233).
Side-roads connect the Chemin du Télemly with the Campagne
Bellevue (see below) on one side, and with St. Raphaël (p. 234) on the other.
As the road, mostly bordered with hedges, which leads from
the Colonne Voirol (p. 230) to (1¼ M.) El-Biar (p. 234), passing
the Campagne Bellevue (794 ft.) halfway, is monotonous, the
Chemin de Maclay, leading from the Colonne Voirol to (1¾ M.)
Château-Neuf (p. 234), is far preferable. It passes through the
upper valley of the Oued Knis (see below), verdant with fruit-trees,
eucalypti, and pines, runs to the N.W. to the (½ M.) Café d’Hydra,
and at the (½ M.) Café-Restaurant du Retour de la Chasse joins
the highroad coming from Blida.
A little way to the S.W. of the Colonne Voirol, on the road from
Algiers to Douéra and Boufarik (p. 216), is the beautiful Château d’Hydra,
once a country-seat of the Deys, but now private property.
From the Colonne Voirol we may now walk through the Bois de
Boulogne (p. 230), or follow the road to the S.E. in the valley of the
Oued Knis, past the sanatorium of Dr. Verhaeren and the Villa
des Grottes (curious rock sculptures, among others the expulsion of
Adam and Eve from Paradise), to (1 M.) the poor agricultural village
of Birmandreis (354 ft.; Café-Restaur. des Platanes). From
Birmandreis we have the choice of two routes. We may walk through
the Ravin de la Femme Sauvage (to the N.E. and E.), as the cool
and shady lower Oued Knis valley is popularly called, to (1¾ M.)
the village of Le Ruisseau (tramway No. 4, p. 219), ½ M. beyond
the Jardin d’Essai (p. 232). Or we may take the road (to the S.E.
and E.), through orchards and market-gardens, and across a fine
open hill, to the (1¼ M.) poor village of Vieux-Kouba and (½ M.)
Kouba (p. 233).
From the Rue Michelet the Boulevard Bru (Pl. A-C, 8, 9;
p. 230; tramway No. 3, see p. 219) leads between villas, affording
near the farther end a beautiful view of Algiers, to (¾ M.) the Cimetière
de Mustapha (Pl. C, 9), incorporating the English Cemetery.
Here at the tramway-terminus the Boul. Bru joins the Chemin de
Fontaine-Bleue, a road coming up from Mustapha-Inférieur (p. 232).
We follow the latter road straight on to its junction with the
Chemin Shakespeare or des Crêtes, beyond which, in the same
direction, the Rue Laurent-Pichat brings us to the (¼ M.) Villa
Sesini (Pl. D, 9), superbly situated above Belcourt (p. 232). Straight
on we follow the Rue de Béhagle, a narrow field-road diverging
from the Rue Laurent-Pichat; this road after 5 min. leads to the
left, through a small oak-copse and past the Fort des Arcades
(Pl. D, 9), to the verge of the plateau (*Bench with view) and then,
taking the name of Chemin des Arcades, goes on to the hill-garden
of the Jardin d’Essai (see p. 232).
232
The only attractions here are the Mohammedan Cemetery at Belcourt
(near the Marabout station of tramway No. 4; p. 219) and the Jardin
d’Essai. It is best to go to the latter by the inner line, just mentioned,
and to return by No. 5, the outer line.
The suburbs of Agha-Inférieur, with its railway-station (p. 217)
and the new Arrière-Port (p. 223), Mustapha-Inférieur, Belcourt,
and Le Hamma, together with the adjacent little town of Hussein-Dey,
are the industrial quarters of Algiers.
Along the coast, beyond Boul. Laferrière (p. 226), run the Rue
Baudin (Pl. C, 5), in line with the Rue de Constantine (p. 226), and
the Rue Sadi-Carnot (Pl. B-E, 5–8), over 2½ M. long, from which,
at the N.E. angle of the Champ de Manœuvres (Pl. C, 7; also a
race-course), diverges the Rue de Lyon (Pl. B-E, 7–9), 2 M. in
length, the route of the inner tramway-line (No. 4).
The unattractive Rue de Lyon leads to (about ¾ M.) the Cimetière
Musulman de Belcourt (Pl. D, 9), the finest Mohammedan
burial-ground in Algiers, containing a number of handsome
monuments and the picturesque Kubba of Sidi Abderrahmân Bu-Kobrin
(d. 1793), a famous Algerian saint, a native of Great Kabylia.
Adm., see p. 220. As a rule only the side-entrance in the
Rue Colonel-Combes is open.
The so-called Grotte de Cervantes (Pl. D, 9), with a bust and
memorial tablet of the famous Spanish author, who lived in captivity at
Algiers in 1575–80, is said to have been his hiding-place when attempting
to escape. Ascending a road from the end of the Rue Col. Combes
beyond the cemetery, we follow a (5 min.) path to the left, and turning
to the left again, somewhat downhill, we reach the (9 min.) grotto.
The Rue de Lyon next leads through the suburb of Le Hamma
to the (½ M.) *Jardin d’Essai (Pl. E, 9; adm., see p. 220), or
Jardin du Hamma, the botanic garden of Algiers and at the same
time a nursery-garden and public promenade. Founded by government
in 1832 and frequently extended, it became the property of
the Compagnie Algérienne (p. 219) in 1878. In wealth of vegetation
it vies with the botanic gardens of Palermo and Lisbon, which,
however, have been more advantageously laid out. It consists of
two sections: a hill-garden on the verge of the Sahel plateau and
the main garden in the once marshy, but now extremely fertile
coast-plain.
Opposite the S. Entrance of the main garden, in the Rue de Lyon,
is the dilapidated Mauro-Turkish Fontaine du Hamma (16th cent.). From
this point, near the small Hôt.-Restaurant du Château Rouge, the Chemin
des Arcades (p. 231) ascends to the Hill Garden, a wooded park, with
tall araucarias, huge eucalypti, and other trees.
Through the Main Garden a magnificent avenue of planes runs
from the chief entrance towards the sea. Halfway is a circular space
with a café. The W. half of the garden, to the left of the avenue, is
occupied by the less interesting nursery-garden.
233The E. half of the garden is intersected by shady walks at right
angles to each other. Parallel with the main avenue are the narrower
dragon-tree and palm avenue and the magnolia and fig-tree avenue. The
chief cross-walks, parallel with the Rue de Lyon, are the date-palm, the
bamboo, and the dwarf-palm and rose avenues. From the S. entrance
we turn at once to the right into the date-palm avenue, where, from the
steps opposite the offices (‘administration’), we have a charming view of
the dragon-tree and palm avenue. Then, passing the magnolia and fig-tree
avenue, we go straight to the S. angle of the garden, where we are struck
with the profusion of tropical plants, outstanding among which are the
huge Ficus nitida with its exposed roots and a group of yuccas (the rare
Yucca draconis and other palm-lilies). A little lower down, near the
artificial island with its aquatic plants, are a group of *Strelitzias and
(beyond a tall Livistona australis) a beautiful little palm-grove. We next
follow the *Bamboo walk, and from it turn to the right into the *Dragon-tree
(p. 30) and palm avenue, which leads towards the sea. Farther on,
to the left, beyond the dwarf-palm (Chamærops excelsa) and rose avenue,
is the small Zoologie (adm., see p. 220), with a few specimens of Algerian
animals.
Opposite the N. Entrance, in the Rue Sadi-Carnot, at the station
of the outer tramway-line, rises a group of date-palms, where the cafés
Oasis des Palmiers and Closerie des Palmiers are much frequented by
the citizens in the afternoon (déj. 2½, D. 3 fr.). Beyond the railway line,
from the shore near the sea-baths (p. 219; restaur.), we obtain a delightful
*View of Algiers. When the wind is to the N. or N.W. the breakers here
are grander than at the Rampe de l’Amirauté (p. 223).
The Rue Sadi-Carnot ends at the Oued Knis (p. 231), on the outskirts
of the small town of Hussein-Dey (Hôt. de la Gare; railway
and tramway station; see pp. 217, 247), where the Tobacco
Factory has swallowed up the villa of the last deys of Algeria.
The inhabitants (5700) are mostly Spaniards from the Balearic
Islands (‘Mahonnais’), who grow early vegetables.
From the village of Le Ruisseau (p. 231), at the end of the Rue
de Lyon and at the mouth of the Ravin de la Femme Sauvage, a
road ascends in windings to the (1¼ M.) village of Kouba (427 ft.;
tramway No. 4, see p. 219), in a charming, well-wooded site. At
the entrance to the village, on the site of a kubba, stands a Church
with a long flight of steps. The flat roof of the Grand Séminaire,
a training-college for priests founded by Card. Lavigerie (p. 346;
adm. by leave of the Superior), commands an extensive *Panorama
of the Mitidja, the Atlas of Blida, and the Jurjura range.
From Kouba vià Vieux-Kouba to Birmandreis, see p. 231.
Tramway (No. 6, p. 219) to El-Biar and Château-Neuf. From Château-Neuf
diligence several times daily to Chéraga and six times daily to Bouzaréah
(notices are posted in the Place du Gouvernement, at the corner
of Rue Bab-Azoun).
A favourite circular trip for one day (motor-cars and carriages, see
p. 218) embraces El-Biar, Château-Neuf, Chéraga, Staouéli-Trappe, Sidi-Ferruch
(p. 237), Guyotville (p. 237), Pointe-Pescade (p. 237), St. Eugène
(p. 236), and Algiers. A popular drive for half-a-day includes Bouzaréah,
Forêt de Baïnem, Bains Romains (p. 237), Pointe Pescade, and Algiers.
(1). The road to El-Biar leads from the old town through the
Kasba and the Porte du Sahel (Pl. B, 3; comp. p. 228). Walkers
234may note two possible digressions. To the left, just outside the
gate, a path descends in 10 min. to Boul. Laferrière (p. 226). To
the right, 2 min. farther, diverges the Chemin de Fontaine-Fraîche
(Pl. A, 3, 4), the road to (10 min.) the charmingly situated village
of Birtraria, whence one may either ascend to the S.W. in 20 min.
to El-Biar (see below), or walk to the N.E. through the pretty
Frais-Vallon and then descend the Avenue du Frais-Vallon (Pl. A,
B, 2, 1), on the right bank of the Oued M’Kacel, to (½ hr.) the
Quartier Bab el-Oued (see below).
The highroad passes near the foot of the Fort l’Empereur
(Pl. A, 4; 689 ft.), almost hidden by trees. This was the site of the
camp of Charles V. (p. 221), and on it was built the Mulaï Hassan
Fort (1545), which was partly blown up by its Turkish defenders
when bombarded by the French in 1830. The road then winds up
to the tramway station of St. Raphaël (788 ft.), whence a charming
road branches off to (1¼ M.) Mustapha-Supérieur (to the left, and
after 3 min. to the left again, joining the Chemin du Télemly close
to the Hôt. Continental).
The large village of El-Biar (784 ft.), 2 M. to the S.W. of the
Porte du Sahel, and the village of Château-Neuf (*Hôt.-Restaur.
Mallard, pens. from 6 fr.; a favourite Sunday afternoon resort),
lying on the monotonous plateau ½ M. beyond El-Biar, uninteresting
in themselves, are the starting-points of the roads to the Colonne
Voirol and to Bouzaréah (p. 235).
A road leads from Château-Neuf to (5½ M. from the Porte du Sahel)
Chéraga (650 ft.; Hôt. des Voyageurs, humble), a pleasant village among
fruit-trees, and (3 M.) Staouéli-Trappe (p. 237), situated on a shelf-like
terrace above the coast, where the French first encountered the troops
of the dey in 1830. The old Trappist monastery founded here in 1843
was purchased in 1904 by the Swiss Consul Borgeaud, who has converted
the abbey-lands of about 3000 acres into a model farm (no admittance).
The burial-ground contains the tomb of Col. Marengo (1787–1862).
From Staouéli-Trappe a road descends to the N.W. to (1 M.) Staouéli
(p. 237). The highroad joins the Castiglione road at (11 M.) Sidi-Ferruch
(p. 237), a station on the steam-tramway.
(2). To Bouzaréah a new road (2½ M.) leads to the N.W. from
El-Biar (see above), through the pretty valley of the Oued bel-Elzar,
one of the feeders of the Oued M’Kacel (see above), while
the old road (2 M.) leads to it from Château-Neuf (see above),
crossing an uninteresting plateau and, about ½ M. short of Bouzaréah,
passing the Ecole Normale Primaire.
A more interesting route to (5 M.) Bouzaréah is from the Quartier
Bab el-Oued (Pl. B, 1), formerly the N.W. suburb of Algiers, inhabited
chiefly by Spaniards. From the Boul. du Général-Farre
or Boul. Militaire Nord (Pl. C, 1; p. 222) we follow the Avenue
de la Bouzaréah (Pl. C, B, 1) and the Avenue Beau-Fraisier, in the
old suburb of Cité Bugeaud, to the Pont du Beau-Fraisier crossing
235the Oued M’Kacel. We thence ascend the fine Chemin des Carrières,
passing near the blue-limestone quarries on the spurs of Mont
Bouzaréah, then through a side-valley of the Frais-Vallon (p. 234),
with its luxuriant vegetation, and lastly mount in windings past
the Hospice des Vieillards.
The village of Bouzaréah (1230 ft.; Hôt. de France, humble;
pop. 2500), in an open site on the crest of Mont Bouzaréah (1335 ft.),
the culminating point of the Sahel, is a favourite goal for excursionists
in summer. A road leads to the N.E. from the village, past
the Fort de la Bouzaréah, on the left, and the Christian Cemetery,
on the right, to (¾ M.) the Observatoire d’Alger (1148 ft.). The roof
of the observatory affords a fine view of the Bay of Algiers and of
the hills of Great Kabylia as far as Cape Bengut (p. 254).
From the Observatory we may descend either to the E. by the steep
Chemin Sidi Ben-Nour, passing the fort of that name, to the Avenue des
Consulats (see below), or to the N. by a steep and stony path to the Vallée
des Consuls (p. 236).
A road leads to the N.W. from Bouzaréah in ¼ hr. to the poor
huts of the Village Arabe de la Bouzaréah, on the slope of a flat
hill (1178 ft.), overgrown with cacti and dwarf-palms, where we
have a splendid *View of the forest of Baïnem, Cape Caxine (p. 237),
the S.W. chain of the Sahel, with the ‘Tombeau de la Chrétienne’
(p. 238), and Jebel Chenoua (p. 242), as also of the Blida Atlas
with the deep incision of the Chiffa Ravine (p. 215).
From the Arab village the road descends to the W. to the (1¼ M.)
Forêt de Baïnem, the largest wood (1250 acres) near Algiers. We follow
the ‘Route Forestière Wendling’, high on the slope of the Sahel, with
a fine view of the coast between Pointe Pescade (p. 237) and Cape Caxine,
at first through underwood, richly carpeted with flowers in spring. We
then pass through the remains of a pine-forest to the (1¾ M.) Rond des
Eucalyptus, a bifurcation in a small eucalyptus grove (straight on is
the Route Forestière Mignerot leading to Guyotville, 3¼ M.; p. 237).
We follow, to the right, the beautiful Route Forestière Combe (2 M.),
which descends through groups of cork-trees, pines, and eucalypti, past a
ravine, to the Maison Forestière, whence it is continued by a eucalyptus
and mimosa avenue down to Villas (p. 237), on the Castiglione road, a
station on the steam-tramway.
Tramway (No. 1, p. 218) to the Hôpital du Dey; thence an omnibus
every ½ hr. (1–4 pers. 1 fr. 20 c.; each addit. pers. 30 c.) to the church of
Notre-Dame d’Afrique.—Tramway (No. 7, p. 219) to St. Eugène. The
terminus ‘Deux-Moulins’ is only a few paces from the station of the steam-tramway
to Castiglione (R. 35).
The tramway through the Avenue des Consulats ends at the
Hôpital Militaire du Dey (Pl. A, B, 1), which, with its gardens,
occupies the site of a villa of Hassan Pasha (p. 225). We follow
the Boul. de Champagne, and then diverge to the right by the Route
de Notre-Dame d’Afrique (½ hr.), a narrow road, shady towards
evening, affording splendid *Views of the Bay of Algiers.
236The large domed church of Notre-Dame d’Afrique (443 ft.),
a pilgrimage-church for sick persons and mariners, founded by
Card. Lavigerie in 1872, rises conspicuously on a spur of the N.E.
slope of Mont Bouzaréah (p. 235), above the Christian and the
Jewish burial-grounds (see below). From the terrace in front of
the church, where the blessing of the sea by the clergy every Sunday
at 3.30 attracts many spectators, we survey the coast as far as the
Pointe Pescade (p. 237). Behind the church is the Hôt. Bompard.
The Vallée des Consuls, which has its name from the villas of
the European consuls of the Turkish period, a shady and extremely
fertile vale above St. Eugène (see below), affords charming walks.
A pleasant road leads through it from Notre-Dame d’Afrique, shaded
by gnarled old olive-trees. We may thence mount to the Observatory
(comp. p. 235), or else descend in 20 min. to St. Eugène;
but the descent viâ Fort Duperré to Deux-Moulins (p. 237) is
very rough and fatiguing.
From the lower end of the Boul. du Général-Farre (p. 234),
beyond the still uncompleted Quartier de l’Esplanade (Pl. C, 1),
runs the Avenue Malakoff (Pl. C, B, 1), close to the shore and
protected against the breakers by a high limestone wall, leading to
the Fort des Anglais, an old Turkish fort on a rocky headland.
Opposite, to the left, on the spurs of Mont Bouzaréah, lie the
Christian Cemetery and the interesting Jewish Cemetery of Algiers.
Beyond the cemeteries we come to the little town of St. Eugène
(Hôt.-Restaur, du Château-Vert, déj. 2½, D. 3 fr.; Restaur. Deux-Moulins;
pop. 4800, incl. 500 Jews), with several factories and
pretty villas. The tramway-terminus, Deux-Moulins, at the N.W.
end of the town, is the starting-point for walks to the Pointe Pescade
(p. 237), the Forêt de Baïnem (p. 235), and other places.
Steam Tramway (p. 219) from the station in the Quartier Bab el-Oued
(Pl. B, 1 ; in connection with the electric tramway from Rue Waisse, Pl. C, 4)
to (28½ M.) Castiglione; four trains daily in 2¾–3½ hrs. (fares 3 fr. 15,
2 fr. 30 c.).—Diligence from Castiglione three times daily to (5 M.) Bérard
and twice daily viâ (43½ M.) Tipaza to (60½ M.) Cherchell. In order to
visit the Tombeau de la Chrétienne we have to take a private vehicle
(costing, from Castiglione to Tipaza, with a stay of 2–3 hours at the Ferme
Seuillet or the Ferme du Rocher-Plat, about 12–15 fr.).
Interesting Round of Three Days: 1st. By early train to Castiglione;
drive (taking provisions) to Ferme Seuillet (walk to Tombeau de la
Chrétienne) and to Tipaza (see pp. 238, 239); there visit the E. hill, sending
carr. on to the hotel.—2nd. Visit lighthouse and W. hill of Tipaza early;
drive to Cherchell about noon (see pp. 242, 243).—3rd. Drive about noon
to Marengo (see pp. 244, 243; lunch); take afternoon train to Blida, and
evening train thence to Algiers.—Attractive but more costly, Four Days’
237Round: 1st. By early train to Blida; by midday or evening train to Bou-Medfa;
by omnibus to Hammam Rhira (p. 212).—2nd. By carr. from hotel
to (16 M.) Marengo, and thence by steam-tramway (see pp. 243, 244) or
by carr. to Cherchell.—3rd. Drive about noon to Tipaza (see pp. 243, 242).—4th.
Tombeau de la Chrétienne; towards evening by steam-tramway from
Castiglione back to Algiers.—Tours by Motor Car, comp. p. 173.
From Algiers to (3¾ M.) Deux-Moulins (St. Eugène), see
pp. 235, 236. Here begins the finest part of the coast-road, which
will repay walkers as far as Cape Caxine or Guyotville. The spurs
of Mont Bouzaréah (p. 235), furrowed by many little ravines,
come close down to the sea. The coast, undermined at places by the
surf, presents a picturesque series of small headlands, bold cliffs,
and rocky islets.
The most striking spot is the (5 M.) *Pointe Pescade (Restaurant),
a headland crowned with the mouldering walls of a Turkish
fort (1671), overlooking the blue sea and the coast as far as
Cape Matifou and beyond.
By road and railway we next come to the (5½ M.) Bains Romains
(Hôt.-Restaur.) and the Hôt. de la Fontaine Romaine, both
sea-bathing places in summer, to (7 M.) Villas, lying below the
Forêt de Baïnem (p. 235), and to (8 M.) Cape Caxine, on the gneiss
rocks of which rises a Lighthouse (210 ft.; visible 24 M. round).
Beyond the precipitous Grand Rocher lies (9½ M.) St. Cloud-sur-Mer,
a sea-bathing place. The coast now grows flatter.
10 M. Guyotville (82 ft.; Hôt. des Touristes, humble), a village
of 3500 inhab., with a colony of Italian peasants, who cultivate
early vegetables and grapes on the sandy soil, protected from
the sea-winds by plantations of Spanish reeds (Arundo donax) and
in spring by narrow fields of rye. On the plateau to the S. of the
village, in the territory of the tribe of Beni-Messous, a number of
dolmens (see pp. 324, 229) still exist.
From Guyotville to the Forêt de Baïnem, see p. 235.
Near the low headland of Râs Acrata the road reaches the broad
*Bay of Castiglione, much exposed to N.W. gales, which extends
in a slight curve to Jebel Chenoua (p. 242), a hill we sighted soon
after leaving Guyotville. We have a view also of the pretty adjoining
bay of Sidi-Ferruch. To the right, near (12½ M.) Les Dunes,
part of the sand-hills is cultivated.
13 M. La Trappe and (14½ M.) Staouéli (Hôt. Malakoff, quite
good) are stations for Staouéli-Trappe (p. 234).
From Staouéli and from the (15½ M.) Station Sidi-Ferruch
roads lead to the N.W. (one 2¼, the other 2 M.) to the small sea-bathing
village of Sidi-Ferruch (49 ft.; Hôt. de la Plage, plain),
at the end of a sandy tongue of land formed by the surf and by the
deposits of the Oued Mazafran (p. 238). It attracts also jackal-hunters
and anglers from Algiers in winter. An inscription at the
entrance to the Fort recalls the landing of French troops here in
2381830 (comp. p. 234). A little to the N.W. are the scanty remains
of an Early Christian Church, with baptistery, etc.
As we proceed, the Atlas of Blida (p. 169) is visible for a time.
18 M. Zéralda (62 ft.; Hôt. de Zéralda), an agricultural village,
lies in a broad coast-plain, the lowest of four old beach-terraces
which mount to the N.E. in gigantic steps to Staouéli-Trappe.
The road now leads between low sand-hills, with pines and
underwood, to the Oued Mazafran (called in its upper course Oued
Chiffa, p. 213), through whose valley, deeply furrowing the Sahel,
we have another glimpse of the Atlas of Blida.
22 M. Mazafran, on the left bank of the stream, is the junction
of a branch-line to (6¼ M.) the little town of Koléa (460 ft.;
Hôt. de France; Hôt. du Commerce), founded by Andalusian Moors
in 1550, finely situated on the S. slope of the Sahel, and noted for
its fruit-culture. The Jardin des Zouaves deserves a visit.
The next stations are for the use of villages situated above the
line, on the N. margin of the Sahel plateau. 23½ M. Douaouda-les-Bains,
25½ M. Fouka-Marine, two small sea-bathing places. In
the distance, on the crest of the Sahel, appears the Tombeau de
la Chrétienne, resembling a haystack.
28½ M. Castiglione (128 ft.; Hôt. du Tapis-Vert, good;
Hôt. de Paris; Hôt. de l’Oasis, humble) is a large village of 2000
inhab., on the vine-clad slope of the Sahel. Below are the unpretending
sea-baths, where lodgings may be procured.
The High Road to (43½ M.) Tipaza, affording at first a beautiful
view of the coast, of Jebel Chenoua, and the hills of the Dahra
(p. 209) beyond Marengo, leads viâ the fishing-villages of (30 M.)
Chiffalo (founded by Sicilian fishermen from Cefalù) and (31 M.)
Bou-Haroun, whose inhabitants are engaged in the anchovy and
sardine fishery, to (33½ M.) Bérard (66 ft.; Café-Hôt. Bérard,
poor), a banana-growing village.
36 M. Ferme Seuillet (102 ft.), a large farm, is the starting-point
for the Tombeau de la Chrétienne. The rough road to the
tomb (2½ M.) ascends in windings (partly avoided, after 10 min.,
by a short-cut to the left), at first through underwood, and then to
the S.W. through vineyards.
The so-called *Tombeau de la Chrétienne (856 ft.; Arabic
Kbûr er-Rûmia), the largest tomb in the Atlas regions and one
of the most conspicuous of sailors’ landmarks on the whole coast
of Algeria, stands on one of the highest points of the S.W. range
of the Sahel. It was probably erected by Juba II. (p. 244), in imitation
of the Medracen (p. 274), as a tomb for his family. The
building consists of a low square pedestal, of about 70 yds. each way,
and a circular substructure relieved by sixty Ionic half-columns
and four blind portals, crowned with a pyramid rising in steps, of
which 33 still exist. The present name is derived from the cruciform
239mouldings of the door-panels. The monument, originally
130 ft. in height, but now 108 ft. only, has suffered severely from
the vandalism of native treasure-hunters, who bored two tunnels
into it, and from bombardment by two deys of Algiers, bent on the
same quest. Further damage was done by earthquakes in 1825 and
1867, and the masonry also has been loosened by the removal of its
leaden cramps. The building is surrounded by dense underwood
and is partly overgrown by it on the N. side. Key and candles at
the keeper’s hut on the N.E. side (fee 50 c.).
The Entrance is under the blind portal on the E. side, where the
original vestibule has almost disappeared. A short passage leads to the
antechamber; in the wall on the right, near two rude reliefs (lion and
lioness), is a passage, once closed by stone slabs, with a flight of seven
steps. Beyond this is a winding gallery, about 165 yds. long, probably
destined for funeral processions, with small wall-niches for lamps. The
gallery leads to the two inner chambers, an ante-room, and the larger
chamber, with three wall-niches, in the centre of the monument, probably
the tomb of the kings, but now quite empty.
The Ascent of the monument, from the S. side, rather a toilsome
climb, conveys a still more striking idea of its grandeur than the long
groping in the inside. The *Panorama from the top embraces the coast,
from Sidi-Ferruch to Jebel Chenoua; the hills of the Dahra, with Jebel
Zaccar Chergui (p. 212) to the S.W.; the broad Mitidja plain to the S.;
and the Atlas of Blida with the ravine of the Chiffa.
We return to the Ferme Seuillet by the same route, or descend
to the N.W. by the steep road to (37½ M.) the Ferme du Rocher-Plat
(85 ft.).
The highroad next passes the (42 M.) Ferme Demonchy, intersects
a beautiful eucalyptus-grove, and passes the E. hill of Tipaza
(p. 242). In approaching Tipaza we obtain a charming view of its
little bay and the lighthouse.
43½ M. Tipaza.—Hotel.Hôtel du Rivage, prettily situated
at the S. base of the lighthouse hill, with a small garden, R. 2½, B. ½,
déj. or D. 2½–3, pens. 7 fr.
Tipaza, a small seaport of 2000 inhab., mostly Mohammedans,
founded in 1854, stands on the ruins of Tipasa, a place with a
Berber name, but originally an ancient Phœnician settlement, and
from the time of Emp. Claudius (about 40 A. D.) a Roman colony.
Thanks to its advantageous site near the Nador valley, the main
outlet in Roman times of the densely-populated W. Mitidja, Tipasa
became in the 2nd cent. one of the most prosperous seaports of
Mauretania. The most glorious period in its history was at the
close of the 4th cent. when Tipasa, famed for its staunch adherence
to the Catholic faith, repelled the attacks of Firmus, the Berber
prince (p. 244); but after a century of prosperity most of the inhabitants
fled to Spain in 484 in order to escape from the persecutions
of Hunerich, king of the Vandals. Since its occupation by the
Arabs the old town, already much impoverished, has disappeared
from the page of history.
240The site of Tipaza, secluded and peaceful, is strikingly picturesque.
The adjoining coast is richly varied, and close by rise the
great limestone rocks of Mt. Chenoua. At the same time there are
remains of numerous Roman and early-Christian buildings around,
all in complete ruin, and partly overgrown with luxuriant vegetation.
Ancient Tipasa, originally occupying only the central castle-hill,
which now bears the lighthouse (see below), gradually extended
over the coast-plain to the S. of the bay, and also along
the slopes of the W. and E. hills. The late-Roman Town
Walls, 2410 yds. in length, are still traceable at places. The
busy trade of the port led, probably at an early period, to the
construction of a broad Landing Place with substantial quays, the
space for which was obtained by the levelling of the rocky terrace
on the coast. The Roman Outer Harbour, behind the rock-islets
near the E. hill, probably served as a place of refuge in stormy
weather only. Since the middle ages the coast-line has been much
modified by the encroachments of the sea.
We begin our walk on the N. side of the village, at the present
Harbour, which occupies the site of the now submerged Roman
landing-place. The huge rock (possibly used as a mausoleum),
undermined by the sea, which rises in the middle of the harbour,
was left untouched by the Roman engineers. During the construction
of the new harbour the remains of a Roman Cistern and underground
Conduits were unearthed.
From the harbour we walk to the N., round a small bay, to the
Lighthouse Hill (112 ft.), gorgeous with flowers in spring, where
a few vestiges of Roman streets, cisterns, and a temple are traceable
(see above). At the Lighthouse (phare) we obtain a delightful
view. Near it, on the N. margin of the hill, a precipice has been
formed by a landslip.
The road connecting the highroad with the harbour and the
lighthouse hill leads past the Hôtel du Rivage and through the
*Thermæ, a grand bath-house of the 2nd or 3rd cent., rivalling
the W. baths of Cherchell (p. 246). Among the ruins, still 30 ft.
high in places, extending into the Jardin Trémaux, the frigidarium
on the E. side is still quite recognizable.
Near the hotel, to the left, we enter the Jardin Trémaux
(adm. kindly granted), the garden of a private estate, adorned with
antique and early-Christian relics. On the E. side, near the baths,
we observe, protected by a roof, a fine late-Roman sarcophagus,
bearing nuptial and sacrificial scenes. Near it is an old Christian
sarcophagus, with Christ, the Good Shepherd (beardless); on the
sides are lions tearing a gazelle to pieces.
In the middle of the grounds, to the left of the road, are a few
relics of a Roman Amphitheatre (3rd cent.?), which even during
the French period has served as a quarry.
241The road, farther on, passes the Nymphæum (on the left), a
sumptuous late-Roman fountain (3rd or 4th cent.), 26 yds. in breadth,
backed with a semicircular wall. In front of it is a platform 6½ ft.
high, once bedecked with Corinthian columns and with statues, over
which the water descended into a narrow trough or basin.
Immediately behind the fountain is a well-preserved vault, once
the Reservoir for the water brought to Tipasa by an underground
conduit, 5½ M. long, from the valley of the Nador. A few paces
away are the noteworthy ruins of a Roman Mausoleum (1st cent.?).
The Roman Theatre, at the exit of the gardens, to the right
of the park-road, yielded the materials for building the hospital
of Marengo. Several tiers of seats are still traceable.
From the W. Gate, of whose round towers alone a few relics
remain, we follow the vestiges of the town-walls to the N. W. to the
(5 min.) West Hill (about 100 ft.), the Râs el-Knissa (‘church
promontory’) of the natives.
A few paces to the right of the town-walls, just above the undermined
margin of the coast-terrace, some fragments of a wall and
two arcades of an aisle mark the site of the Bishop’s Church
of Tipasa. Erected in the 4th cent., the church was a basilica,
57 yds. by 49 yds., with nave and triple aisles; the nave, 14½ yds.
in breadth, was afterwards trisected by the addition of two rows
of columns; little remains of the semicircular choir-recess.
Of the square Baptistery, on the N. side of the church, there
remain the round font, with three steps, and fragments of the external
walls. An adjoining chamber has a fine mosaic pavement;
several other rooms show traces of a heating apparatus.
On the left, to the W. of the town-walls, lay the early-Christian
Western Cemetery, with countless rock-tombs, sarcophagi, and
monuments sadly desecrated by herds of cattle. About a hundred
paces to the N. of the church, in the rocks rising above the sea, are
several Grottes Funéraires. Near them is a large round Mausoleum,
once adorned externally with sixteen half-columns, containing
fourteen wall-niches (arcosolia) for coffins and the slab of a
table for love-feasts (agapai).
About 2 min. to the S. W. is the Burial Church of Bishop Alexander,
built at the end of the 4th cent., a small basilica with nave
and aisles, of irregular shape, of which the foundations only remain.
On the E. side is a rectangular altar-niche with nine sarcophagi,
containing, as the eulogistic inscription in the nave declares, the
remains of ‘the nine righteous men’ (probably the nine predecessors
of Alexander). The right aisle contains many sarcophagi and a
semicircular table for love-feasts. At the W. end of the nave are a
mosaic with fish in seven rows and an inscription in memory of
the founder, who was probably buried in the W. apse, added later,
and accessible by a narrow portal only.
242We now return to the harbour, and ascend thence, close to the
sea, past the remains of a small Roman Burial Ground, to the
(10 min.) East Hill (115 ft.), outside the town-walls where thousands
of graves indicate the great extent of the early-Christian
Eastern Cemetery.
Here, beyond a few peasants’ huts, we reach the best-preserved
ruin at Tipasa, the *Basilica of St. Salsa, the patron saint of
the town. This church, built in the first half of the 4th cent,
over the heathen sarcophagus of Fabia Salsa, was a square burial-chapel,
about 16 yds. each way, with nave and aisles, but in the
5th or 6th cent. was prolonged westwards into a basilica 33½ yds.
long, with a vestibule and with galleries over the aisles. At the
same time the remains of the saint were transferred to a Roman
sarcophagus, which was placed on a high pedestal in the old
nave, now the choir of the enlarged church. The rows of clumsy
columns in the nave are a later addition. The walls between the
choir-pillars belong to a restoration of the 7th or 8th century.
Among the ruins of the walls, still 10–12 ft. high at places, lie Ionic
capitals and other fragments in picturesque confusion. Near the
façade are preserved relics of the old stairs to the galleries.
The small Chapel and the square Hall (later a burial-place)
on the S. side of the church date perhaps from the 4th century.
An *Excursion to Cape Chenoua will be found attractive. We first
follow the Cherchell road for 1 M.; we then turn, beyond the Ferme
Trémaux (p. 244), to the right and cross the Nador valley to the small
sea-baths of Chenoua-Plage, at the E. base of Mt. Chenoua. A narrow
road leads thence, up and down hill, along the beautiful Baie du Chenoua
to the Anse des Grottes, which owes its name to the numerous caves in
the limestone rocks (Grottes du Nador). On the narrow coast-terrace
between (7½ M.) Cape Chenoua and the Râs el-Amouch is the secluded
settlement of a French contractor, who with a staff of Spanish hands
carries on a cement-factory and quarries the red marble of the cape,
which was already known to the Romans.
The ascent of *Jebel Chenoua is interesting, both for the sake of
the view from the top and for the glimpse it affords of its peculiar,
purely Berber inhabitants. From the hilly coast-road just mentioned the
route ascends to Tenzirt and (2–2¼ hrs.) a Pass (about 2300 ft.) between
the two chief heights of the Chenoua. Thence in 40 min. more we reach
the E. peak (2976 ft.), crowned with the kubba of Lalla Tefouredj (Berber
Lalla Tzaforalz). The path descending from the pass to Desaix (see below)
will be found convenient.
The Road from Tipaza to (17 M.) Cherchell (diligence, see
p. 236) branches off to the W. from the Marengo road at (2 M.)
Gué du Nador (p. 243), crosses the stream, and leads past (3 M.)
Desaix (p. 244), through a bleak tract at the foot of Mt. Chenoua.
5½ M. Castellum du Nador, a late-Roman fortified country-seat
(3rd or 4th cent.), was originally a quadrangular walled enclosure
of 55 by 47 yds.; immediately to the left of the road there
now remain the ruins of two round corner-towers and of a handsome
gateway flanked with two square towers.
243The road leads on to the watershed, from which one has a view
of the Atlas of Blida behind and the Dahra mountain spurs (p. 208)
in front. Thence it dips into the valley of the Oued el-Hachem.
9½ M. Marabout Sidi-Ameur (164 ft.), on the left bank of
the stream, at the junction of the Marengo road (p. 244).
About ¾ M. farther on we observe, on the left, the *Cherchell
Aqueduct, coming from the village of Marceau, the largest Roman
work of the kind in Algeria, which, rising in three tiers to a height
of over 100 ft., here bridges a side-valley.
Passing several hill-farms, owned by French families, the road
next turns to the N.W. into the valley of the Oued Bellah. Beyond
the (14 M.) Café de l’Oasis we pass under the aqueduct, of
which twenty pillars and five arches, built of great blocks of limestone,
are still standing here at the foot of the beautiful pine-wood.
Beyond the aqueduct begins the finest part of the road. At first
it skirts a pine-clad slope and then, leaving Cap Blanc to the
N. E., leads to the W., up and down hill, along the coast. Lastly
it passes the fissured Cape Zizerin and two saints’ tombs.
Railway (Algiers and Oran Line, R. 33) viâ (31½ M.) Blida (p. 213)
to (43 M.) El-Affroun, six trains daily, in l–3/4–2¾ hrs. (7 fr. 75, 5 fr. 80,
4 fr. 25 c.).—Steam Tramway from El-Affroun viâ (12½ M.) Marengo to
(30½ M.) Cherchell, two (as far as Marengo three) trains daily, in ca.
2¾ hrs.; fare 3 fr. 70 or 2 fr. 70 c.—For the combined visit to Tipaza
and Cherchell, comp. also the diary on pp. 236, 237.
From Algiers to (43 M.) El-Affroun, see pp. 217–213. From
the railway-station at El-Affroun the Steam Tramway runs to the
W., at the foot of a range of low hills, through the plain of Mitidja,
which is here very monotonous. To the right, on the crest of the
Sahel, is the Tombeau de la Chrétienne (p. 238); in front of us
rises Jebel Chenoua (p. 242). We pass the two poor villages of
(3½ M.) Ameur-el-Aïn, and (8½ M.) Bourkika (345 ft.), where
the road from Miliana and Hammam Rhira (p. 212) joins ours.
12½ M. Marengo (305 ft.; Hôt. d’Orient, Hôt. Marengo,
both unpretending; carriages at the inns only; pop. 4300), a large
agricultural village, has an important Wednesday *Market. About
5½ M. to the S. is the reservoir of the Oued Meurad.
The Road from Marengo to (8 M.) Tipaza (carr. 6–8 fr.) crosses
the Oued Meurad and intersects the fine *Forêt de Sidi-Slîmân
(‘Solomon’s Forest’), still primæval in character, with dense underwood
and luxuriant ivy climbing to the tops of the trees.
At the Oued Nador, near the (6 M.) Gué du Nador, our road
joins the Cherchell road (see p. 242). At the (7 M.) Ferme Trémaux
it leaves the valley of the Nador, whose estuary is flanked with
low sand-hills, and leads to the E. to (8 M.) Tipaza (p. 239).
244The highroad (carr. 12–15 fr.) from Marengo to (16 M.) Cherchell (see
below) ascends to the W. from the Mitidja through a hilly region and
after about 6 M. turns to the N. It joins the road from Tipaza to Cherchell
at (10 M.) Marabout Sidi-Ameur (see p. 243).
Beyond Marengo the Railway crosses the highroad to Tipaza
and then runs parallel to it to (17 M.) Desaix (220 ft.; p. 242).
We skirt the S. side of Jebel Chenoua (p. 242).
20 M. Ruines Romaines. We cross the Oued el-Hachem (p. 243).
23 M. Zurich (263 ft.). The thriving village of that name,
with a fine avenue of plane-trees, lies about 1½ M. to the S. of the
station and is inhabited chiefly by natives, who cultivate oranges
and vines. The great Thursday market is well attended by the
Beni Menasser (see below).
Beyond Zurich the train runs to the W. of the Cherchell highroad.
To the left lies the Cherchell Aqueduct (p. 243), while to
the right Jebel Chenoua may be seen. 24 M. Bled Bakora;
25½ M. Bou-Hamoud; 27½ M. Oued-Bellah.
30½ M. Cherchell or Cherchel (108 ft.; Grand-Hôtel or Hôt.
Nicolas, R. 2½, déj. or D. 2½ fr., plain but good, Hôt. Juba,
humble, both in the Place Romaine; Hôt. de Valence; pop. 6800,
incl. 4700 Mohammedans), a pleasant little seaport, lies on a narrow
limestone plateau, an old coast-terrace, at the foot of green hills
(750–800 ft.). Behind these hills rises a mountainous region, once
well wooded, inhabited by the Berber tribe of the Beni Menasser.
Cherchell occupies the site of the ancient Phœnician colony of Iol.
From the year 25 B. C. it took the name of Caesarea, and in the Roman
imperial age it became the capital of Mauretania and residence of Juba II.
(25 B. C. to 22 A. D.), one of the most learned and enlightened men of
his time, under whom it rapidly rose to importance. Under Emp. Claudius
it became the provincial capital, under the name of Colonia Claudia
Caesarea, of Mauretania Cæsariensis, and in rivalry with Carthage and
Hippo Regius (p. 309) grew to be one of the greatest and wealthiest cities
of N. Africa. After the erection of Mauretania Sitifensis (p. 271) into a
new province the prosperity of Cæsarea began to wane. About 371 its
art and industry were almost annihilated by its capture and pillage by
the Donatists (p. 172) under the Berber prince Firmus, and it lost the
last vestige of its ancient glory when the Vandals transferred their residence
to Carthage. In the 10th cent. the town is mentioned under the
name of Cherchell, but from the 11th cent. onwards it was entirely
deserted. At length, at the end of the 15th cent., it was revived by
Andalusian Moors, who brought with them their famed potter’s art. In
1516 it was occupied by Horuk Barbarossa (p. 221), in 1531 it was unsuccessfully
attacked by Admiral Andrea Doria (p. 115), and lastly, after
being taken by the French, it was enclosed by a wall in 1843. As the
harbour affords but little shelter the town has now little or no trade.
Archæologists may like to examine the scanty remains of the
Roman Fortifications (2735 by 1640 yds.), which extend over the
crest of the hill-range with its fine views; but the chief attraction
is the Museum of sculptures of the period of Juba II., which form
the only certain memorials of ancient Cæsarea, ‘an oasis of Greek
culture in the midst of the Berbers’.
245The Place Romaine or Esplanade forms the nucleus of the
little town. Among the trees here rises a Marble Fountain,
composed of Roman architectural fragments found in the environs,
remains perhaps of a palace of king Juba’s era (the four colossal
masks are copies; see below). The Corinthian column and fragments
of other columns at the back of the fountain were excavated
in the Roman theatre (p. 246). The parapet of the Place Romaine
affords a survey of the harbour (p. 247).
On the E. side of the Place Romaine rises the new *Museum,
which consists of four galleries enclosing a central court. Among
the sculptures exhibited here are admirable replicas of famous
Greek works of the archaic and of the culminating periods of
Greek art (5–4th cent.), which were executed by Greek masters for
the adornment of king Juba’s residence. Adm. at any time; the
custodian (½–1 fr.) shows also the Thermes de l’Ouest (see below).
Catalogue (1902), 3 fr.; conservator, M. A. Munkel.
Passing through the Entrance Room (S.W. Pavilion; busts, statues,
etc.) we enter the—
Salle Berbrugger (S. Gallery). 31. Marble statue of Venus; *1. Athena
(torso), a copy in marble of a famous bronze by Alcamenes (5th cent.);
46. Torso of a youth or Dionysus, probably after a marble statue of the
School of Praxiteles; 10, 13. Two torsos of Diana; 39 B. Female statue
with the attributes of Ceres; 33 B. Aphrodite (or Proserpine); several
draped female statues.—In the middle of this gallery are several marble
heads on brackets: *64. Apollo, after an archaic Attic original (early
5th cent.); 69. Juba II. as a youth; without number, Agrippina.
South-East Pavilion. On the walls, mosaics (hunting-scenes, three
Graces, etc.). In the centre, 11. Onyx statuette of Diana hunting; 109.
Egyptian basalt statue of a king Thutmosis; 23. Marble group of Pan and
a Satyr; 34. Venus.
The Salle Jonnart (E. Gallery) contains in glass-cases pottery, lamps,
bronzes, glass, coins, etc. In the middle, casts of statues found at Cherchell
but now in the Museum of Algiers.—We now cross the Central
Court, with interesting architectural specimens, to the—
Salle Victor Waille (W. Gallery). 19. Hercules, after an original
of the 5th cent.; *7. Dionysus; 19. Æsculapius, both after originals of the
4th cent.; *17G. Shepherd, replica of a work of Praxiteles; 21, 22. Two
torsos of Hermes; *47. Torso of a youth.
North-West Pavilion. In the middle, draped female statue (Muse?),
found in the theatre; numerous inscriptions; fragments of sculpture and
architecture.
Salle Cagnat (N. Gallery). *39. Colossal female statue after a model
by Phidias; 37. Canephor (archaic); 38. Hermaphrodite and a Satyr
(Hellenistic). On the N. wall on brackets: Four colossal masks from
king Juba’s palace mentioned above (Pergamenian School; 1st cent.).
North-East Pavilion. Inscriptions; several objects of Punic origin.
In the centre, 68. Bust of Augustus; 49B. Muse.—Leaving this room by
a door in the N. wall we enter a—
Court containing sarcophagi and numerous architectural fragments.
Leaving the Museum we cross the Place Romaine to its W. side,
where we follow the third side-street (from the N.) to the W.
and soon reach on the right, nearly opposite a little mosque, the
*Thermes de l’Ouest (W. Baths), dating from the 2nd or 3rd
246cent., the grandest Roman ruins in the town, with walls still rising
to a height of 10–13 ft. (concrete faced with brick) and bits of old
mosaic pavement. Most of the antiques in the museum were found
in these baths, in which they seem to have been collected in the
early-Christian period.
The ancient Portico, on the E. side of the baths, once with granite
columns 26 ft. high, is now embedded in the building of the Manutention,
and on the S. side are several chambers hidden under the Prison Civile.
From the present entrance on the S. E. side we first come to a suite
of five important chambers. The central hall, 26 by 16 yds., was probably
the Frigidarium, which was flanked on three sides with smaller basins
(piscinæ). The two narrow passages behind the S. and the N. basins
show traces of the stairs that once ascended to the upper story.
On the W. side of the frigidarium is a room supposed to have been
the Tepidarium, which, like its side-rooms, is accessible only by climbing
over the walls. The hall behind the tepidarium, with its semicircular
niche, was apparently the Caldarium.
The Baths command a delightful view of the sea and of the coast to
the W., as far as Cape Ténès (p. 209).
Proceeding from the Thermes de l’Ouest we take the side-street
at the mosque mentioned at p. 245 to the S. and reach the Rue de
Ténès, the principal street of the town which leads to the W. (right)
to the Porte de Ténès (see below). We, however, turn to the E. (left)
and then follow the Rue du Centre, the first S. side-street. In the
first side-street of the last, on the right, is the entrance to the famous
old Chief Mosque ‘of the hundred columns’, completed in 1573, now
the Military Hospital. Into the original ‘house of prayer’ a corridor
and four hospital dormitories have been built; the antique columns,
which are said to have been brought from the W. Baths, have been
disfigured by a coating of paint.
At the S. end of the Rue du Centre, on the right, is a brick
wall, the sole relic of the Roman Thermes du Centre.
A few paces to the left, on the hill-side above the Rue du Caire,
are the remains of the Roman Theatre, unearthed in 1905. The
E. side-entrance (parodos), between the stage and the auditorium,
still exists, but the 27 tiers of seats were used for building the
neighbouring barracks in 1845.
The Barracks of the Tirailleurs, on the hill above the theatre, stand
on six antique Cisterns, once fed by the Cherchell aqueduct (p. 243). Passing
through the Porte de Miliana, the S. gate behind the barracks, we
may now follow a path through the fields to the ruined walls of the
Roman Circus, once over 435 yds. long, which still lay within the ancient
town-walls.
Outside the Porte de Ténès (comp. above), the W. town-gate, on the
old Gunugu (Gouraya) road, lay several Roman Burial Grounds. A collection
of objects unearthed here has been made by the commandant, M.
Archambeau, at his country-seat ½ M. from the gate.
From the Roman Theatre we follow the winding street to the
N. and reach the S. side of the Place Romaine at the Catholic
Church, built in the pseudo-classical style. In front of the high-altar
and at the end of the left aisle are two early-Christian mosaics.
247We may go down to the Harbour, either from the Place Romaine
or viâ the W. Baths (p. 245), passing a large Roman Basin (piscina)
and a ruined Turkish Fort of Horuk Barbarossa (p. 221).
The very shallow harbour, scarcely 5 acres in area, lying behind
the fortified Ilot Joinville with its lighthouse, is probably
identical with the Roman Naval Harbour, where part of the
Alexandrian and Syrian fleet was always stationed to defend the
coast against pirates. The short pier at the point of the lighthouse-island
and an old embankment on the cliffs on the E. side of the
bay protected the ancient Commercial Harbour.
To the E. of the Place Romaine and the Porte d’Alger, at the
S.E. angle of the Champ de Manœuvres, are relics of the Thermes
de l’Est (E. Baths), including part of the chief hall, 22 by 13 yds.,
with two niches.
From the highroad, 5 min. to the E. of the drilling-ground, a
short path to the right leads to the foundation walls of the Roman
Amphitheatre, overgrown with dense scrub. Since 1845 the ruins
have served as a quarry.
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
248orange-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
249a 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).
162 M. Railway, in 7¾. hrs. By the Constantine morning-express
(p. 269) in 4¾ hrs. to Beni-Mansour (Rail. Restaurant; meals at Bouïra
or at Bougie should be ordered beforehand) where carriages are changed;
thence by ordinary train to (3 hrs.) Bougie (fares 29 fr. 20, 20 fr. 85,
15 fr. 65 c.). The Constantine night-express (p. 269) may be taken as far
as Bouïra, where in this case the rest of the night must be spent.—Or
we may take the Motor Omnibus from Algiers to Bouïra.—Sea Voyage
from Algiers to Bougie, comp. R. 22.
From Algiers to (7½ M.) Maison-Carrée, see p. 247. Here
our line, which forms part of the main E. Algerian line to Constantine
(R. 43) and Biskra (R. 44) diverges from the Oran line
(R. 33) to the S.E. The train crosses the Harrach and skirts the
S. side of the hills near Maison-Carrée. View, to the right, of the
Tell Atlas and the serrated Jebel Bou-Zegza (3386 ft.).
Beyond (12 M.) Maison-Blanche (36 ft.) the plateau adjoining
Cape Matifou (p. 248) appears on the left. We cross the Oued
el-Hamiz.
16 M. Rouïba (60 ft.; Hôt. Glacier; Hôt. de France), a large
village in the most fertile part of the E. Mitidja, with many vineyards.
Diligence to (4½ M.) Aïn-Taya, see pp. 247, 248.
20 M. Réghaïa. We cross the Oued Réghaïa and pass through
the so-called Forêt de la Réghaïa, with its sparse cork-trees.
24½ M. Alma (66 ft.; Hôt. du Cheval-Blanc; Hôt. d’Europe,
etc.), ¾ M. to the S. of the station, occupies an idyllic site among
hills on the left bank of the Oued Boudouahou.
The High Road leads from the right bank of the Boudouahou in long
windings through the beautiful hill-country of the Sahel, which flanks
the N. side of the Tell Atlas. Passing mostly through underwood it
crosses the Oued Corso, and leads viâ the villages of Ste. Marie-du-Corso
(125 ft.) and Belle-Fontaine (p. 250), on the left, to Ménerville (p. 250).
The railway, carried partly through cuttings, intersects the
Sahel to the N.E. 26 M. Corso-Tahtâni (118 ft.), ¾ M. from the
sea, near the mouth of the Oued Corso. To the left we have a brief
outlook towards the sea. In the foreground rise the hills of the
Sahel as far as Cape Djinet (p. 253).
The train leaves the coast, passing at places through cuttings
and between pleasant hills planted with mimosa, and enters, to the
250S.E., the vale of the Oued Bou Merdès, resplendent in spring with
its mantle of golden broom.
30½ M. Belle-Fontaine (167 ft.); the village lies on a fine
open hill to the right (466 ft.). We next pass between mimosa-clad
hills, backed by wooded mountains, and through a defile which
forms the portal of the Isser valley and Great Kabylia (p. 252).
34 M. Ménerville (492 ft.; Hôt. Blanchard, plain but good),
on the Col des Beni-Aïcha, a dirty village of 3000 inhab., is the
junction for Tizi-Ouzou (R. 38).
Our line descends to the S.E. into the valley of the Isser, and
then ascends on its left bank. 38 M. Souk el-Haad (230 ft.).
Beyond (40½ M.) Beni-Amran (420 ft.) begins the grand
Ravine of the Isser (Gorges de Palestro or des Beni-Hinni), which
pierces the Massif des Beni-Kalfoun, 4½ M. long, rivalling the
gorge of the Chiffa (p. 215). Views chiefly to the right; but owing
to the numerous tunnels we see little of the bold limestone rocks.
48 M. Palestro (525 ft.; Hôt. de France, déj. 2 fr., Hôt. du
Commerce, both humble), a poor village of 600 inhab. (with Wednesday
market), defended by a fort, lies in the fertile central section
of the Isser valley. Near it rises Jebel Tegrimoun or Tegrimont
(3373 ft.), the highest of the Massif des Beni-Kalfoun (see above),
commanding the famous view of the Jurjura Mts. (p. 258).
Beyond (55 M.) Thiers (624 ft.) the train leaves the Isser, offering
a glimpse of the head of its valley to the right, and turns to
the E. into the tame valley of its tributary Oued Djemâa.
61½ M. Aomar-Dra el-Mizan (778 ft.), station for Aomar
(1266 ft.) and (7½ M.) Dra el-Mizan (p. 254; diligence).
The train runs to the S. E. along the foot of the Beni Smaïl
Mts. (p. 254), and then, curving far round to the E., ascends
rapidly to the head of the valley of the Djemâa, here called Oued
Bezzit, and to the Col de Dra el-Khemis (1962 ft.), the saddle
between the W. Jurjura range and the hills of Aïn-Bessem (see
below). Threading a tunnel the train then descends to the S. to the
Plaine du Hamza, the upper region of the Oued Eddous valley
(called Oued Sahel lower down; p. 251).
76½ M. Bouïra (1722 ft.; Rail. Restaur.; Hôt. de la Colonie,
R. 2–3, B. ¾–1, déj. 2½, D. 3 fr.; Hôt. des Voyageurs; pop. 7500),
a small town with an old Turkish fort and a great Saturday market
largely attended by Kabyles (p. 252), is connected by hill-paths
with Boghni (p. 254) and Fort-National (p. 257).
A Road (diligence twice daily) leads to the S.W. from Bouïra through
the valley of the Oued Lekhal to (15½ M.) Aïn-Bessem (2221 ft.) in the
Plaine des Aribs, and thence to the S. to (29 M.) Aumale (2907 ft.; Hôt.
Grossat, R. 2½, déj. 3, D. 3½, pens. 10–12 fr.; Hôt. Raveu; pop. 6100), a
little town on the N.E. spurs of Jebel Dira (5938 ft.). This was the ancient
Auzia, an important station on the Roman road to Mauretania (p. 124),
of which numerous epigraphical monuments are now in the Museum.
251A beautiful road (p. 248) leads from Aumale to L’Arba and Algiers;
another to (20 M.) Sidi-Aïssa and (84 M.) Bou-Saâda (p. 270; diligence
at 11 a.m., in 22 hrs.).
The train now descends to the E., on the right bank of the Oued
Eddous; on the left tower the rocks of the Jurjura (Jebel Haïzer
and Jebel Akouker, p. 258). 85 M. El-Esnam. 93½ M. El-Adjiba
(1247 ft.), near the influx of the Oued Zaïane into the Eddous,
which now takes the name of Oued Sahel (the ancient Navasath).
From El-Adjiba across the Tizi n-Assoual to Fort-National, see p. 258.
100½ M. Maillot (1477 ft.; Hôt. des Voyageurs, R. 2 fr., déj.
or D. 2 fr., Hôt. de la Poste, Hôt. de l’Union, all poor), a small
village 2½ M. to the N. of the station (about 1050 ft.; diligence
meets some of the trains), lies on the slope of the Lalla Khedidja
(7572 ft.; p. 259), the highest peak of the Jurjura, famed for its
cedar-forests (comp. p. 210).
From Maillot viâ the Tirourda Pass to Michelet, Fort-National, and
Tizi-Ouzou, see R. 39; viâ Fort-National to Azazga (Bougie), R. 40.
107 M. Beni-Mansour (948 ft.; Rail. Restaurant, déj. or
D. 3 fr., good), junction of the main line to Constantine and Biskra
(RR. 43, 44) with the Bougie branch, lies on the boundary between
the provinces of Algiers and Constantine. Near it is the finely
situated old French fort, Bordj de Beni-Mansour, now a school.
Sunday market near the station.
The Bougie line (change carriages) crosses the Oued Mahrir
(p. 269), near its influx into the Oued Sahel, and crosses the latter
near the mouth of the Oued Tixiriden (p. 260).
112 M. Tazmalt (902 ft.; Hôt. des Voyageurs), ½ M. to the
N.W. of the station, the first village in the province of Constantine,
with extensive olive-groves, lies near the Oued Beni Mellikeuch.
This, like Maillot, is a station for the Tirourda Pass (R. 39).—To
the S. of the railway rise the Beni Abbès Mts.
Below (115 M.) Allaghan (774 ft.) the Sahel valley contracts.
On the left rises the Piton d’Akbou, crowned with a late-Roman
tomb of the 3rd cent, (a step-pyramid on a square base), but not
visible from the train. On the right, beyond the mouth of the
copious Oued Bou Sellam (p. 269), which rises in the mountains of
Little Kabylia (p. 266), the serrated Jebel Gueldaman (2638 ft.)
juts far into the valley.
122 M. Akbou (1050 ft.; Hôt. du Sahel; Hôt. Bellevue; pop. 1200;
Mon. market), a large village, is the starting-point of a path to the
Col de Chellata (p. 260). Grand eucalypti in the environs.
Far away to the left as we proceed towers Jebel Arbalou (p. 262).
126 M. Azib-ben-Ali-Chérif (512 ft.); 128½, M. Ighzer-Amokran,
at the mouth of the brook of that name. The broad floor of the
valley is clothed with meagre underwood.
133 M. Takritz, or Takriets (364 ft.), is the station also for
Seddouk, 5½ M. to the S.E.; 136 M. Sidi-Aïch (295 ft.) has a
252Wednesday market well attended by the neighbouring Fenaïa
(p. 261) and Beni Himmel tribes. Olives abound on the hill-sides
farther on; in the valley below is a small grove of fig-trees.
142 M. Il-Maten (361 ft.), on the left bank of the Sahel, whose
valley, now called La Soummam, is fever-stricken lower down.
On the left bank of the Sahel, near Tiklat, a village about halfway
between Il-Maten and El-Kseur, are the interesting ruins of the Roman
town of Thubusuctu or Thubusuptus. Fragments of the walls of the
baths, 33 ft. high, are still standing; the great Cisternes d’El-Arouia are
83 yds. long and 41 yds. wide; and there are relics of two aqueducts
besides many tombs.
147 M. El-Kseur-Amizour. The village of El-Kseur (p. 261)
lies ½ M. to the N., on the Azazga road; that of Oued-Amizour is
3¾ M. to the S.E. of the station. 149½ M. Tombeau de la Neige.
154½ M. La Réunion (53 ft.), on the slope to the left, is near
the mouth of the Oued Rhir or Ghir. Road (8 M.) to Toudja (p. 262).
The train, running to the N.E., now enters the plain at the
mouth of the Sahel. Fine view, to the right, of the Gulf of Bougie
and the hills of Little Kabylia. In the foreground, beyond the
wooded and fertile Plaine, watered by the Oued Srir, appears
Jebel Gouraya (p. 265).
From Algiers to Tizi-Ouzou, 66½ M., railway in 3½–6¾ hrs.; fares
12 fr., 8 fr. 55, 6 fr. 45 c.; 1st cl. return 16 fr. 90 c. (to Camp-du-Maréchal,
56 M., in 3–5¾ hrs.; fares 10 fr. 10, 7 fr. 20, 5 fr. 40 c.).—From Camp-du-Maréchal
to Dellys, 19½ M., light railway in ca. 1¾ hr. (2 fr. 35 or
1 fr. 70 c.).—From Dellys to Tigzirt, 16 M., diligence in 3 hrs. (at night
only).—Motoring Tours, comp. p. 173.
The railway to Tizi-Ouzou forms the chief approach to Great Kabylia
or Grande Kabylie, for which the best season is April or May, when
the bare limestone peaks of the Jurjura (p. 258) are still capped with
their winter snow, while the lower hills are clothed with the fresh verdure
of spring. Most travellers are satisfied with a visit to Fort-National and
Michelet and the drive across the Tirourda Pass (R. 39) but the long route
from Fort-National to Bougie viâ Azazga and Taourirt-Ighil (R. 40) also is
quite interesting. Beautiful coast scenery between Dellys and Tigzirt.
The ruins at the latter will interest archæologists. The hotel-charges are
everywhere disproportionate to the services rendered, and the cuisine is
generally indifferent. Fairly good quarters are to be found only at Tizi-Ouzou,
Tigzirt, Michelet, Azazga, and Taourirt-Ighil.
The so-called Kabyles (from the Arabic kebila, tribe) consisted, as
far back as the Roman period, of five Berber tribes, united to form a
state with a democratic constitution. In their remote mountain villages
(thaddart) they successively repelled the attacks of the Romans, the Arabs,
and the Turks, and it was not till 1852–7 that the French after protracted
struggles succeeded in subduing them. During the Turkish period they
were called Zuawas, whence the modern French Zouaves derive their
name. Their language is a Berber dialect mingled with Latin and Arabic
words. The men in the over-peopled W. and S. regions often migrate
253to the Algerian towns and even to foreign countries as hawkers (iattaren),
or to the Mitidja as harvest labourers. The women, who are unveiled
and often adorned with valuable trinkets, are seen to advantage at the
wells. Many of the girls have pretty faces and good figures.
From Algiers to (34 M.) Ménerville, see pp. 249, 250. To the
left of the train, halfway to Félix-Faure, is the so-called Mausolée
de Blad-Guitoun, the sadly dilapidated tomb, originally 33 ft. high,
of a Christian Berber prince (4th or 5th cent.), in the style of the
later Djedar (p. 208), but with an octagonal base. The interior,
like that of the Tombeau de la Chrétienne (p. 238), contains a lion
in relief, a winding gallery, and a tomb-chamber. The pyramid
with its steps has disappeared.
38 M. Félix-Faure-Courbet. From the village of Félix-Faure
(236 ft.), formerly called Blad-Guitoun, near the station, a road
(diligence twice daily) leads to the N. through the hilly Sahel to
(4½ M.) Zaatra and (5½ M.) Courbet (253 ft.), two villages chiefly
inhabited by settlers from Alsace and Lorraine.
The road ends at (8¾ M.) Port-aux-Poules or Mers el-Hadjadjeh (p. 248),
a decayed seaport on the site of the Roman Rusubricari, the ruins of
which have been almost entirely swept away by the waves.
The train crosses the Isser by viaducts of 110 and 160 yds. in
length. 40½ M. Les Issers (82 ft.; Hôt. du Marché, Hôt. des
Issers, both humble) is the station for Isserville (213 ft.; Hôt. Sigé),
which holds a busy Thursday market. Diligence to (24½ M.) Dra
el-Mizan (p. 254).
43½ M. Bordj-Ménaïel (53 ft.; Hôt. du Roulage; pop. 1100)
holds market on Fridays.
A Road leads to the N. from Bordj-Ménaïel through the Isser valley,
avoiding the sand-hills at the mouth of the stream, and then skirting
Jebel Djinet, the ‘frontier pillar’ of Great Kabylia, to (10 M.) the small
bay, opening towards the W., of Mersa Djinet, near Cape Djinet (164 ft.),
whose basalt-quarries have yielded paving-stones for Algiers.
The train leaves the Isser and ascends to the E. in the valley
of the Oued Chender to (51 M.) Haussonvillers (492 ft.; Hôt. des
Postes), peopled by settlers from Alsace-Lorraine. We are now
carried over four viaducts, each over 100 ft. high, and through
tunnels on the N. slope of the finely-shaped Beni Mekla hills
(2920 ft.), down to the Sebaou Valley, the chief valley of Great
Kabylia. In the distance appears Jebel Belloua (p. 254).
56 M. Camp-du-Maréchal (184 ft.; Hôt. Frœliger), peopled
by Alsace-Lorrainers, has a Tuesday and a Thursday market. Cork-tree
woods in the environs.
From Camp-du-Maréchal to Dellys and Tigzirt, see pp. 254, 255.
We cross the Bougdoura. 60½ M. Mirabeau (154 ft.; Hôt.
Caratero, humble).
From Mirabeau to Boghni, 18¾ M., light railway (continuation of
the line from Dellys), in ca. 1¾ hr. (2 fr. 25 or 1 fr. 65 c.). The train at first
runs to the S. on the Dra el-Mizan road (p. 254), through a eucalyptus
avenue in the broad and featureless lower valley of the Bougdoura, to beyond
(4½ M.) Tléta. A little farther on it leaves the highroad and penetrates
254very narrow cuttings up the winding upper Bougdoura valley, past (12 M.)
Maatkas, in the territory of the tribe of that name, to (18¾ M.) Boghni
(755 ft.; Hôt. Ricard, Hôt. Grossiard, both humble). The little village lies
in the fertile green valley of the stream, here called Oued Boghni, between
the lower hills and Jebel Haïzer or Haïzeur, the chief peaks of which
are Râs Tachgagalt or Pic Ficheur (7044 ft.) to the E. and Tamgout
Haïzer (6965 ft.) to the W. From Boghni to Aïn-Sultan and Fort-National,
see pp. 258, 257.
From Mirabeau to Dra el-Mizan (26 M.). The highroad, beyond the
cuttings near Tléta (p. 253), crosses the Bougdoura and runs to the W.
for a short time in the valley of the Oued Aguergoun, in view of the
fine S. slopes of the Beni Mekla Mts. (p. 253). It then bends to the S.W.
into the pretty and secluded valley of the Acif Tléta or Oued Kessari,
which here intersects the lower hills and for a distance of 17 M. contains
not a single human habitation. The hill-sides, however, are carefully
cultivated by the neighbouring villagers, and are well planted with fig and
olive-trees, eucalypti, and cork-oaks. We then ascend a high plateau,
with a superb view of Jebel Haïzer (see above), to the village of (26 M.)
Dra el-Mizan (1525 ft.; Hôt. Bellevue, Hôt. du Commerce, both humble),
once famed for its textile fabrics, situated on the N.W. spurs of the
Beni Smaïl Mts. (p. 250; 10 M. to the W. of Boghni; diligence). A picturesque
road (7½ M.; diligence) leads from Dra el-Mizan, to the S.W.,
across the Tizi el-Arba (beyond this, another view of Jebel Haïzer), to
the rail. station of Aomar-Dra el-Mizan (p. 250).
The train next crosses the Oued Sebt, approaches the Sebaou
after a long bend to the N., and then ascends past the Alsatian village
of (64½ M.) Bou-Khalfa (161 ft.), near the wooded W. slope of
the finely situated Jebel Belloua (2280 ft.).
66½ M. Tizi-Ouzou (620 ft.; Hôt. Lagarde, R. 3–5, B. 1¼,
déj. 3, D. 3½, omn. ½ fr., quite good; Hôt. du Square and Hôt. du
Roulage, unpretending; pop. 29,620), the chief town and market
(Sat.) in the interior of Great Kabylia. Jebel Belloua may be ascended
hence, and the poor and dirty Kabyle village at the N. end
of the little town may be visited by the curious.
From Tizi-Ouzou to Fort National and Michelet (Tirourda Pass),
see R. 39.
The Light Railway to Dellys (19½ M.; p. 252) descends to
the N. from Camp-du-Maréchal (p. 253) through the broad Sebaou
Valley, past unimportant stations; then, near the mouth of the
stream, it turns to the N.E., away from the highroad, and skirts
the coast, which is at first flat and sandy and afterwards bold, and
abrupt. To the left rises the lighthouse, famed for its view, on
Cape Bengut (207 ft.), a spur of Jebel Ouamri (1227 ft.), composed
partly of basalt and other eruptive rocks.
We now proceed to the E., at first through orchards and then
on an embankment 26 ft. high, on the brink of a grand abraded
terrace, 1 M. long, flanked with narrow perpendicular ledges of
sandstone. We then pass through a short tunnel under the ‘dagger-pointed’
Cape Dellys.
19½ M. Dellys (203 ft.; Hôt. de la Colonie; pop. 3000, of
255whom 2000 are Mohammedans, mostly Berbers of the Arab type),
a quiet little seaport, the W. sea-gate of Great Kabylia, probably on
the site of the Roman Cissi, rises in terraces with luxuriant gardens
on the E. slope of Cape Dellys, at the end of which is a small lighthouse.
The deserted harbour is fairly protected against N. and
N.W. winds only; the unfinished works at the end of the headland
have been destroyed by the waves. Dellys offers little attraction
beyond the strikingly beautiful view, stretching as far as Cape
Tedlès (p. 256). A few relics of Roman Cisterns and Thermae also
may be visited. The Native Quarter is very picturesque. The
Ecole Nationale d’Apprentissage des Arts et Métiers, numbering
many Kabyle pupils, was transferred hither from Fort-National
(p. 257) in 1871.
The *Coast Road to Tigzirt (16 M.; diligence, see p. 252)
leads to the E. from Dellys, up and down hill, in many windings,
past small headlands and bays and the estuaries of torrents. At first
we observe isolated European settlements, but farther on we pass
through underwood and the fields and fig-groves of the Kabyle hill-folk.
The latter half of the route leads through remains of the Forêt
de Mizrana.
16 M. Tigzirt (66 ft.; Hôt. des Ruines-Romaines, plain; pop.
barely 200), a poor little agricultural village founded in 1888, with
a lively Wednesday market, occupies part of the site of the ancient
Rusuccuru. This, as the name indicates, was originally a Berber
settlement; it afterwards became a Phœnician seaport. In the late-Roman
period it vied with Saldæ (p. 263) as one of the most populous
places on this part of the coast, and under the Byzantines it was
still fairly prosperous.
The village lies on a low coast-terrace behind Cape Tigzirt, a
small headland, running out to a storm-beaten rocky island, with
which in the Roman period it was connected by a quay. The
Roman Town Wall extended from one shore to the other, as did
also the shorter Byzantine Wall, which was nearer the promontory.
The new buildings erected by the Byzantines, now a mass of
ruins overgrown by bushes, superseded most of the Roman edifices
on the promontory. The sole relic of the latter is a small *Temple
(14¾ by 7 yds.) of the time of Septimius Severus, of unusually
heavy and massive form, which, according to the inscription, was
dedicated to the genius of the municipium of Rusuccuru. The lofty
front-wall of the cella, borne by two columns, immediately adjoins
the small court of the temple without an intervening vestibule.
The Roman ruins between the two town-walls, on the inland
side, have been mostly either destroyed or built over by the modern
villagers.
The most important of the old buildings at Rusuccuru is the
*Bishop’s Church, situated close to the Roman town-wall in the
256E. part of the village. Originally a columnar basilica, 44 by 23 yds.,
probably of the 5th cent., it is now a picturesque chaos of ruins,
with remains of the old mosaic pavement.
The entrances were through the chief portal in the narrow W. vestibule
and by three smaller doorways in the wall of the façade, leading
into an inner vestibule built into the nave. There are still traces of the
two arcades of the nave, borne by clustered columns, all brought from
ancient buildings, which rested without bases on stone pedestals. The
rich plastic decoration of the imposts, with a touch of the Punic style,
is noteworthy. The galleries over the aisles, accessible by outside stairs
on the N.E. side only, were ruined by fire at an early period.
On each side of the oldest altar-table at the end of the nave four
steps ascended to the choir-recess, where remains of the columns of the
later ciborium altar still exist. Two small doors led from the apse into
the sacristies, which were shut off from the aisles. The diaconicon, on
the left, was adjoined by the quatrefoil-shaped baptistery, also on the
left, containing fragments of the old font. The W. portal of the baptistery
led into a rectangular hall.
In the late Byzantine period the E. half of the nave was walled off
for the use of the greatly reduced congregation, while the old aisles and
the sacristies were converted into burial-places.
A few paces to the S. of the bishop’s church, above part of the
ancient Roman baths, are relics of a smaller early-Christian Basilica,
ending in a trilateral apse. Outside of the town lay the E.
burial-ground, with an early-Christian Chapel of similar design.
From Tigzirt we may climb, 1 hr. to the N. E., through underwood, to
the Berber village of Taksept, on the crest of the abrupt Cape Tedlès
(870 ft.). Among the stone huts of the villagers are many fragments of
Roman buildings, hardly now recognizable, probably the ruins of Iomnium,
whose harbour lay on the E. side of the promontory. On the highest
point of the cape stands the chief landmark of this part of the coast,
the so-called Phare or Mausolée de Taksept, a late-Roman tomb, still
about 29 ft. high, with an octagonal substructure adorned with eight
Corinthian columns, above which probably once rose a step-pyramid.
65 or 63½ M. Road. From Tizi-Ouzou to Fort-National 17 M. (diligence
in 4 hrs., at 5 a.m. and 12.30 p.m.; returning at 8.45 and 1.15). From
Fort-National to Michelet 12½ M. (diligence in 2½ hrs., at 5.15 p m., returning
6 a.m.). From Michelet to Maillot 35½ M., to Tazmalt 34 M. (no
diligence). Carriage from Hôt. Lagarde at Tizi-Ouzou to Fort-National
25–45, to Michelet (two days) 50–75, to Maillot or Tazmalt 125–175 fr.;
cheaper at the diligence office of Aug. Passicos (p. 257), who will send
a carriage to the Tizi-Ouzou station if ordered by letter or telegram. Mules
also may be hired at Michelet (on Frid. they must be ordered in advance).
The Tirourda Pass is seldom fit for driving before the end of April.
Tizi-Ouzou, see p. 254. The Fort-National Road descends to
the E. into the valley of the Sebaou, where, at the bridge (259 ft.)
across its affluent Oued Aïssi, we enjoy a splendid *View of the
Jurjura Mts. (p. 258). It then branches off to the S.E., a little
before the village of Sikh ou Meddour, from the Azazga road on
the left bank (p. 260), and begins to ascend rapidly to the long
257Massif de Fort-National, the most important branch of the
*Massif Kabyle, which extends from the Sebaou to the base of
the Azerou-Tidjer (p. 259).
The road ascends in short windings, dangerous for motorists
descending, at one time following the S.W. slope of the hill above
the Oued Aïssi, where we have splendid mountain views, at another
running along the N.E. slope, above a second side-valley of the
Sebaou. On every side we see countless fig-trees, the favourite
fruit-trees of the natives. We pass isolated cottages and a few
small Kabyle villages (Adeni, Tamâzirt, and others), where the
curious may obtain access to one or other of the poor and uninviting
huts. Lastly, the road ascends by a long bend (cut off by a
mule-track) to the N. to the top of the hill.
17 M. Fort-National.—Hotels (comp. p. 174). Hôtel des Touristes,
R. 3, déj. 3, D. 3½ fr., food tolerable; Hôt. Bellevue, humble.—Carriages
at the diligence-office, kept by Aug. Passicos.—Picture post-cards at
Boussuge’s, photographer.
Fort-National (3035 ft.; pop. 1000), in the territory of the
Beni Raten or Iraten tribe, was built in 1857, to overawe the
natives, on the site of a Kabyle village, and is now the capital of
the Massif Kabyle, with a busy Wednesday market, and like Michelet
(p. 258), is a favourite centre for excursions. It consists of
little more than a single main street between the two town-gates.
Several shops contain Kabylian pottery and wood-carvings. The
trinkets sold here are often of Moroccan manufacture. The ‘cavalier’
or high bastion of the Citadel (3153 ft.; adm. only by leave
of the commandant) is a fine point of view, reached from the N.W.
town-gate by the short Rue Maréchal. A similar distant view is obtained
by walking round the Town Walls on the N.E. side, and
also from the Michelet road (p. 258).
Excursions. The best insight into the character of the people and
their land is afforded by the interesting, but rather fatiguing walk or
ride through the Djemâa Valley to Michelet (5–6 hrs.; mule 4–6 fr.;
path unfit for riding at places). We leave the road a few hundred paces
outside the S.E. gate of Fort-National, pass the large village of Taourirt-Amokran
(2424 ft.), the capital of the Aït Ousammeur tribe, a place
noted for its quaint old-fashioned pottery, and then descend abruptly to
the S. to the (1 hr.) Djemâa Bridge (about 1300 ft.). On the left bank
of the brook we ascend through the territory of the Beni Yenni, well
known for their various art-industries, to the village of Aït-Larbâa
(2166 ft.; mission-house of the White Fathers in the vicinity; p. 247), and
then to the S.E. to (9½ M.) Taourirt-Mimoun (2435 ft.), whose white
school-house is conspicuous from a distance. The main track now leads
to the S.E. on the crest of the Beni Yenni Mts. viâ Taourirt el-Hadjadj
(2598 ft.) to Tassaft ou Guemoun (2545 ft.), and thence down steep zigzags
to Souk el-Djemâa (1477 ft.), where we reach the steep road ascending to
Menguellet (3350 ft.) and Hôpital Ste. Eugénie (p. 258). Shorter, but often
impassable after rain, is the mule-track from Taourirt-Mimoun to the
(¾ hr.) Djemâa Ford (about 1395 ft.), and thence through a side-valley to
(1¼ hr.) Menguellet.
To Boghni (8–9 hrs.; mule 8–10 fr.), a pleasant day’s excursion. From
Fort-National we first follow, to the S.W., the fine open road to the village
258of Aït-Atelli (2648 ft.), and then descend viâ Aït-Frah (2126 ft.) to the
Lowest Djemâa Ford (about 900 ft.). Thence we follow the right bank
of the Oued Aïssi (p. 256) and go through the side-valley of the Acif
Djerra to Souk el-Haad (about 1300 ft.), the chief market of the Ouadhia.
We then skirt the S. slope of Jebel Iril ou Moula, crowned with the village
of that name, and reach Aïn-Sultan (1313 ft.), a copious spring shaded
by huge nettle-trees (Celtis australis L.), 3¾ M. from Boghni (p. 254).
Good climbers, properly equipped, may in the warmer season explore
some of the fine passes among the *Jurjura or Djurdjura Mts., the
Roman Mons Ferratus, and ascend some of the higher peaks. Provisions
and guides necessary; night-quarters are obtainable at the school-houses.
1. To Souk el-Haad, see p. 257 and above; then viâ Aït-Krelifa (2230 ft.),
along the W. spurs of the Chenacha Mts., and through the wild valley of
the Beni Bou Addou to the Lac de Tizi-Koulmin, one of the few mountain-lakes
in the Atlas. The lake lies at the foot of the pass (5813 ft.) of
that name, which separates the Râs Tachgagalt or Pic Ficheur (p. 254)
from the Azerou-Ncennad or Pic de Galland (7002 ft.), the westmost peak
of Jebel Akouker. From the pass we descend to the S.W. through remains
of a fine cedar-forest to Bouïra (p. 250).—2. From Fort-National viâ
Taourirt-Amokran (p. 257) to Aït-Lahssen (2851 ft.), the north-westmost
village of the Beni Yenni (p. 257); then viâ Souk el-Arba (1221 ft.), a
market-village in the valley of the Acif el-Arba, to Aït-Touddeurt (2271 ft.)
and Taguemoun (3852 ft.), on the S. slope of Jebel Kouriet (5027 ft.), one
of the Chenacha Mts. (see above); thence across three passes, the Col de
Taguemoun (3681 ft.), the Tizi Guessig, on the E. side of the Azerou es-Guessig,
one of the Akouker group, and the Tizi Boulma (5532 ft.), between
the Azerou-Ncennad (see above) and the Râs Timedouine (7563 ft.), the
highest peak of Jebel Akouker; thence down to Bouïra.—3. Viâ Souk
el-Arba (see above) to the village of Tiroual (2664 ft.), on the spurs of
the Azerou ou Gougane (7080 ft.) and Azerou Thaltatt; next across the
Tizi n-Assoual (5683 ft.) to Ansor el-Akhal or Ansor Lekhal (about 2950 ft.),
and through the valley of the Oued Beurd to El-Adjiba (p. 251).
The Road to Michelet (29½ M.; diligence, see p. 256), starting
from the S.E. gate of Fort-National, leads at first along the
S.W. slope of the Massif de Fort-National, soon affording a superb
*View of the Jurjura Mts., from Jebel Haïzer (p. 254), on the W.,
and from Jebel Akouker (see above) to the Lalla Khedidja (p. 259).
To the right, in the valley, lies the village of Taourirt-Amokran
(p. 257); opposite us, beyond the deep ravine of the Oued Djemâa
(see p. 257), rise the Beni Yenni Mts. (p. 257).
About 4½ M. beyond Fort-National a rough road diverges to the left
to (20 min.) the small hill-village of Icherridêne (3494 ft.) and the Monument
d’Icherridêne, erected by the French in memory of the decisive
battles of 1857 and 1871. Near the pyramid we obtain a splendid distant
*View. We may descend to the highroad on the other side.
For a short distance the road skirts the E. margin of the hills
and overlooks the hill-country of the Aït Yahia. It then ascends in
windings, passing near the villages of Azerou-Kellat and Taskenfout
on the right, to a height where the road to (20 min.) Hôpital
Ste. Eugénie and Menguellet (p. 257) branches off to the right.
29½ M. Michelet (3543 ft.; Hôt. des Touristes or Calanchini,
R. 3–3½, B. 1–1½, déj. 3, D. 3½ fr., clean and quite good; mule
to the Tirourda Pass 4–5, to Tazmalt 6 fr.; pop. 200, chiefly French),
the capital of the Canton du Djurdjura, one of the most thickly
259peopled districts in Algeria, is prettily situated, on the partly vine-clad
S.W. slope of the hills, with fine views all around.
From (½ hr.) the crest of the hill (4042 ft.), to which a path ascends
to the left from the Hôtel des Touristes, we have an extensive *Panorama
of the neighbouring Jurjura Mts., among which the Lalla Khedidja (see
below) stands forth grandly, of the Massif Kabyle, the depression of the
Sebaou Valley, and the distant coast hills. The view is peculiarly impressive
in the early morning, when the snow-capped Jurjura and the green
lower hills with their countless Kabylian villages protrude like islands
from the sea of mist in the valleys.
The *Lalla Khedidja (7572 ft.), the highest of the Jurjura Mts.,
may be ascended from Michelet by one of two different routes. One route
is viâ Souk el-Djemâa (p. 257), the hill-villages of Aït-Saada (3055 ft.)
and Darna (3314 ft.; night-quarters), and the passes Tizi Tirkabin (4587 ft.)
and Tizi n-Kouïlal (5178 ft.), near the sources of the Oued el-Hammam.
The other route is viâ the Tirourda Pass (p. 260), the village of Aït-Ouabane
(about 3380 ft.), in the basin between the offshoots of the Azerou
Tidjer (see below) and the Azerou Madène (6401 ft.), and across the Tizi
n-Kouïlal, where the mules are left behind. The ascent is, however, easier
and shorter from Maillot (p. 251). A bridle-path leads thence to the
(4½ hrs.) village of Tala Rana (4508 ft.; night-quarters). Then 1 hr.
through cedar-forest (see p. 210), and lastly an ascent on foot, over loose
stones, in 2 hrs. more to the top, where three ruinous stone huts afford
some shelter. The imposing view embraces the whole mountain region
of Great Kabylia, the main ranges of Little Kabylia (p. 266), the Sahel
valley (p. 266), the Chaîne des Biban (p. 270), and the extensive Hauts-Plateaux
(p. 169). Early in the morning in clear weather we may descry,
with the aid of a telescope, the white houses of Algiers, while the sea
is visible in the direction of Bougie. In the height of summer, on seven
Thursdays, hundreds of the neighbouring Kabyles make this ascent.
Beyond Michelet begins the finest part of the road, which now
rapidly nears the Jurjura range. After ½ hr. it skirts for a short
time the E. slope of the range, where a path to the left diverges to
the village of Aït-Mellal; then, returning to the W. slope, it passes
close below the villages of Tifferdout (3927 ft.) and Tazerout
(3884 ft.). The *View is particularly grand at a bend near the
53rd kilomètre-stone (33 M.), whence we observe a road-mender’s
house in the foreground, at the foot of the bare Azerou Tidjer
(5745 ft.), which conceals the Lalla Khedidja. Opposite, on the
hill beyond the head of the Oued Djemâa valley (p. 257), lie the
three large villages of the Beni Akbil.
35 M. Maison Cantonnière (4111 ft.; closed in winter). The
road soon crosses (7 min.) the narrow saddle between the lower hills
and the Azerou Tidjer, and is then carried along the abrupt E. slope
of the latter by means of numerous embankments, galleries, and
two short tunnels. On the left lies the deep-set Tirourda Valley,
enlivened by herds of cattle in summer, with the village of Tirourda
(about 3870 ft.), viâ which the pass may sometimes be reached
when the road is blocked with snow. Behind it rise the four bare
peaks of Jebel Tizibert (5754 ft.) and the pointed cone of the
Azerou n-Tohor (p. 260).
The road at length pierces the E. margin of the Azerou n-Tirourda260(6437 ft.) by means of a cutting called the Porte Civili
after its engineer, and ascends in a curve to the pass.
39½ M. Col de Tirourda (5775 ft.), the most frequented pass
in the Jurjura, where we have a striking view of the hills of the
Sahel valley, the Chaîne des Babors (p. 266), and Chaîne des Biban
(p. 270).
Most travellers are satisfied with the ascent of the slight hill on the
right of the road. The view is, however, much more extensive from the
Azerou n-Tirourda (see p. 259 and above), and still more so from the marabout
on the Azerou n-Tohor (6181 ft.), which may be scaled in ½ hr. from
the Piste de Chellata, the road to the Col de Chellata (4806 ft.; p. 251).
The road descends from the pass in many windings into the
valley of the Oued Aghbalou, called Oued Tixiriden lower down,
and beyond the (44½ M.) Maison Cantonnière d’Aïn-Zebda
crosses to the right bank. The small villages of Selloum (about
2630 ft.) and Tixiriden (about 1970 ft.) lie a little to the right.
Near the 94th kilomètre-stone (58½ M.) we reach the road in the
valley, above the left bank of the Sahel, about halfway between
(65 M.) Maillot and (63½ M.) Tazmalt (p. 251). The direct descent
to Tazmalt by the bridle-path is preferable to the long drive round
by the road.
77½ M. Road. From Fort-National to Azazga 22 M. (no diligence); from
Azazga to Yakouren 7½ M. (diligence at 10.30 a.m., in 1½ hr.); from
Yakouren vià Taourirt-Ighil to Bougie about 48 M. (no conveyances). Carr.
from Hôt. Lagarde (p. 254), at Tizi-Ouzou, viâ Fort-National to Bougie
150–275 fr.; from Tizi-Ouzou to the Tirourda Pass (R. 39), returning viâ
Fort-National to Bougie 175–300 fr.—Carr. hired from Aug. Passicos (comp.
p. 257) and those also in the opposite direction, from Bougie (p. 262),
when hired to Azazga or Fort-National only are rather cheaper.
The Azazga road between Fort-National and the Sebaou Valley is
hardly less attractive, especially in the reverse direction, than that between
Tizi-Ouzou and Fort-National, although lacking the mountain view.
Between Azazga and Bougie our route leads partly through the forests of
the Algerian Tell Atlas (cork-trees, evergreen oaks, etc.), now sadly thinned.
Fort-National, see p. 257. The Azazga Road branches to
the left from the Michelet road (R. 39) a few hundred yards from
the S.E. gate of the town, and leads through vineyards into the
picturesque valley of the Oued Bou Aïmeur, the deep incision
between the hills inhabited by the Oumalou, on the E., and the
Aït-Akerma Mts. on the W., on the crest of which stand a series
of five villages. Behind us is a fine view of Fort-National, which
remains in sight as far as (6¼ M.) Fontaine-Fraîche.
The road now runs on the E. slope of the hill, through fig-gardens
and olive-groves, soon in full view of the beautiful wooded
261valley of the Oued Rabta to the right, and descends in short
windings to the saddle between the Oumalou hills and the Takorrabt
Bou Achbatzene (981 ft.), crowned with a saint’s tomb. Sweeping
round to the W. our road next enters the featureless Sebaou
Valley (p. 254), where it joins that on the left bank coming from
Tizi-Ouzou. A branch to Mékla diverges ½ M. farther on.
About 5½ M. farther we cross the Sebaou and then pass through
a eucalyptus avenue to the Tizi-Ouzou and Azazga road on the right
bank, where we ascend rapidly through underwood and fields to—
22 M. Azazga (1418 ft.; Hôt. Gebhardt, R. 3, B. 1½, déj. or
D. 3 fr.; Hôt. Vayssières, plainer, good cuisine; pop. largely Alsatian),
a large village on the N.W. spurs of the wooded Jebel Bou
Hini (3327 ft.).
The road ascends, soon affording a pleasant view as we look
back to the Sebaou plain, through beautiful woods in the territory
of the Beni Ghobri, to the saddle between Jebel Bou Hini on the
right and Jebel Zraïb (3061 ft.) on the left.
29½ M. Yakouren (about 2460 ft.; tavern), a small French
settlement, near the Kabyle village of that name. As we ascend to
the (35 M.) Col de Tagma (3094 ft.) we look back for the last time
to a great part of the Massif Kabyle (p. 257) and the Jurjura Mts.
Beyond the pass we enter the Province of Constantine and descend
through oak-forest and underwood, and then through fields and
orchards, skirting for many miles the N. slope of the hills of the
Forêt de Tizi Oufellah (4285 ft.). The road runs high above the
valley of the Oued el-Hammam, where many Kabylian villages
are perched on hills or ensconced among rocks. These and the
small baths of Acif el-Hammam lie on the left.
Passing at some distance from the Forêt d’Akfadou, the most
famous of the oak-forests of Great Kabylia, the road next skirts
the N. slope of Jebel Toukra (4806 ft.). Then, affording a distant
view of the fine hill-region of the Oued Dahs to the left, it passes
close to the large village of K’Bouch on a hill and approaches the
neglected oak-woods of the Forêt de Taourirt-Ighil.
50½ M. Chalet de Taourirt-Ighil (about 2950 ft.; rustic but
good, R. 2, déj. 3–4 fr.), a resort of sportsmen.
Beyond the hamlet of Taourirt-Ighil the old road descends to the S.E.,
in wide curves, overlooking on the right the valley of the Fenaïa and
the hills of the Sahel Valley (p. 266), to the (54 M.) Col de Talmetz (2703 ft.;
road-mender’s house). A little below the pass we survey the upper valley
of the Oued el-Kseur (p. 262). In the distance rises Jebel Arbalou
(p. 262). Besides oak-forest we pass also through beautiful underwood,
where the fragrant erica abounds, vying in spring with the macchia of
Corsica.
Next to the forest-zone comes the fertile hill-region above the Sahel
valley, beyond which are seen the mountains of Little Kabylia (p. 266).
Passing several Kabylian villages, the road descends in many windings
to (64½ M.) the village of El-Kseur (295 ft.; Hôt. de l’Union, rustic).
65 M. El-Kseur-Amizour, and thence to (80 M.) Bougie, see p. 252.
262The new Bougie road reaches, on the S. slope of Jebel ou
Chiouen (3289 ft.), the upper valley of the Oued el-Kseur, a dull,
uninhabited forest region, and then nears the S. base of the bare
Jebel Arbalou.
Farther on, in the vale of the Oued Rhir, we cross the La
Réunion and Toudja road (p. 252).
Toudja (650–1000 ft.) is a group of Kabylian villages in the abundantly
watered upper valley of the Oued Rhir and on the S.E. slope of
Jebel Toudja (1998 ft.), the E. spur of Jebel Arbalou (4291 ft.), the latter
of which may be scaled in 3–3½ hrs. Toudja is famed for its oranges. The
modern Bougie, like the ancient Saldæ (p. 263), is supplied with water
from the springs of Toudja. The Roman Aqueduct was 13 M. long; remains
of its pillars are still to be seen on the Col d’El-Hanaïat (about
1475 ft.), ½ hr. to the N.E. of Toudja.
Lastly we descend into the vale of the Oued Srir (p. 252) and
reach (77½ M.) Bougie (see below).
Railway Station (Pl. B, 3), in the plain, to the W. of the old town,
not far from the Kasba hill.
Arrival by Sea. The steamers of the Comp. Générale Transatlantique
(RR. 20, 22; office on the quay) anchor close to the Jetée Abd
el-Kader (Pl. D, 3). Landing or embarkation 30, trunk 30–60 c.; small
articles free.
Hotels (comp. p. 174). Hôt. de France & Royal (Pl. a; C, 2), Chemin
de l’Hôpital, quiet, R. 4–6, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 12–14, omn. 1 fr.—Hôt.
d’Orient (Pl. b; C, 2), R. 3–6, B. 1, déj. 3, D. 3½, pens. 10½–13½,
omn. ½ fr.; Hôt. des Voyageurs (Pl. c; C, 2), poor; these two in Rue
Trézel, with splendid view.
Café.Richelieu, with terrace, Rue Trézel.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. 3; B, 3), Place Gueydon, corner of
Rue Trézel.—Banks.Banque de l’Algérie, next to the post-office; Comp.
Algérienne, etc.
Carriages let out by Spiteri, Pacce, and Ali ben Abdelkrim Frères.
Arrangements should be made personally with these or the drivers.—Motor
Cars let out by Vogelweith, Rue Jeanne d’Arc.—Motor Omnibus,
Messageries Automobiles Djidjelliennes.—Diligence Offices, Place
Gueydon and Rue Trézel.
One Day (when time is limited). In the morning, visit to Cape Carbon
(p. 264); in the afternoon, walk round the town and the bay of Sidi
Yahia. Photographing and sketching in or around Bougie are prohibited.
The quiet seaport-town of Bougie (pop. 11,000, of whom 6000
are Mohammedans and 600 Jews), defended by several forts, rises
in terraces on the W. shore of the bay of that name, at the S. base
of the steep Jebel Gouraya (p. 265). The Anse de Bougie or
d’Abd el-Kader, a small bay between two headlands, the Kasba
Hill to the W. and the Bridja Hill to the E., forms the harbour.
The so-called Darsenâa (see p. 90), the ancient Roman and Moorish
harbour adjoining the plain to the W. of the Kasba Hill, and near
the industrial suburb close to the station, is now choked with the
deposits of the Oued Sahel (p. 251). The upper part of the Kasba
Hill to the N., above the new French quarters, is the Ville Indigène
or Kabylian quarter (Pl. A, B, 1, 2), whose red-tiled stone huts
resemble those of the villages of Great Kabylia (p. 252). A second
native quarter, the Faubourg des Cinq-Fontaines (Pl. B, C, 1),
lies in the upper part of the valley, between the two hills.
263The environs of Bougie, owing to the copious winter rainfall
(p. 170), are remarkable for their luxuriant vegetation and their
splendid timber. The town is most beautiful in spring, when the
gardens don their freshest verdure and the terraces and slopes are
gorgeously carpeted with bougainvilleas. In winter the blue bay
contrasts most picturesquely with the snow-clad mountains of Little
Kabylia (p. 266).
Under the Carthaginians Bougie, like Igilgili (Djidjelli), was probably
one of the chief seaports on this part of the coast, but its Punic name
is unknown. In the Roman period, under the name of Saldae, it was
the principal town on the bay. Its present name (Ital. and Span. Bugia)
is derived from the Berber tribe of the Bejaïa or Bujaïa, who settled
in the vicinity in the 10th century. The town attained its brief prime in
the middle ages, and was one of the most flourishing of the minor Moorish
principalities when under the sway of the Hammadites (1090–1152), fugitives
from Kalàa des Beni-Hammad (p. 270). The Pisans, the Genoese,
and the Venetians had their factories here. Wax being the chief export,
the French still call their wax-candles bougies (originally, in Ital., candele
di Bugia). From the 15th cent. down to the French occupation, save
during the Spanish period (1510–55), when it afforded an asylum to Emp.
Charles V. on his retreat from Algeria (1541; comp. p. 221), it was a
notorious haunt of the barbaresque pirates. The recent improvement of
the harbour is expected to revive the ancient prosperity of the place.
The finest mediæval building in the town is the dilapidated
Porte Sarrasine (Pl. C, 2; Arabic Bâb el-Bahar, sea-gate),
probably a relic of the town-walls erected by the governor En-Nasr,
in 1067, extending along the top of the two headlands, up
to the Plateau des Ruines (p. 265).
Since the 16th cent. the bay has been commanded by the Kasba
(Pl. B, 3), a fortification of the Spanish period, and the ruinous
(originally Turkish?) Fort Abd el-Kader (Pl. D, 2, 3) on the rocky
summit of the Bridja Hill. Both are now barracks (no adm.).
The Harbour, exposed to the infrequent N. and N.E. winds
only, one of the ‘least bad’ in Algeria, and now 65 acres in area,
was improved in 1905–9 by the extension of the Jetée Abd el-Kader
(Pl. D, 3; a fine point of view), by the formation of a quay
at the Pointe de la Kasba, and by the construction of the Jetée du
Large, an outer breakwater, 525 yds. long.
The town is entered from the harbour either by the Boul. des
Cinq-Fontaines (Pl. C, 2, 1) or by the Rue de la Marine (Pl. C, 2)
and Rue Duvivier, all ascending to the Rue Trézel. From the
railway-station we ascend to the Place de l’Arsenal by the Rampe
of that name (Pl. A, B, 2).
The Rue Trézel (Pl. B, C, 2), which ascends to the S.W. from
the lower ground to the Kasba Hill, is the only fairly animated street
264in the town. On the left is the Hôtel de Ville (Pl. 2; C, 2), which
contains a few antiquities, including a Roman mosaic (Oceanus and
the Nereids) found near the hospital. The Fountain in front of the
Hôtel de Ville has a hexagonal column with a Roman inscription
in three parts recording the building of the aqueduct (p. 262).
The Place Gueydon (Pl. B, 2, 3), the focus of traffic, named
after Admiral Gueydon (governor of Algeria, 1870–3), and adorned
with a Monument (a genius in bronze), affords a splendid *View
of the bay from the parapet.
From the Rue Trézel we cross the Place de l’Arsenal (Pl. B, 2)
and ascend the Rue Fatima to the booths of the Kabylian Market
and to the Kabylian quarter, the chief boast of which is the pretty
Mosque (Pl. A, B, 2), completed in 1902. Close by is the Porte
Fouka (Pl. A, 2), the substructions of which are ancient.
Fort Barral (Pl. B, 2; formerly Fort Moussa), to the E. of
the Rue du Gouraya (p. 265), dates from the Spanish period. Behind
the Hôpital Civil are the Citernes Romaines (Pl. B, 1; 509 ft.),
which have been frequently altered. These and a few fragments
of the Roman Town Walls are the sole memorials of antiquity.
The Rampe des Spahis (Pl. B, 2, 1) descends to the Cinq-Fontaines
(Pl. C, 1), a Mauro-Turkish fountain in the valley, whence
the Chemin de Bridja leads to the Porte du Cimetière (Pl. C, 1),
the town-gate on the Bridja Hill.
A charming walk is afforded by the road from the gate just
named, passing the Jewish Burial Ground (Pl. D, 1), and descending
in windings through olive and carob groves and ruins of old
fortifications, to the beautiful Anse de Sidi-Yahia. Thence, at
the lime-kiln and cement-works, we may either turn to the right
and go through the tunnel under Fort Abd el-Kader (p. 263) back
to the harbour, or we may follow the coast-road (p. 265) leading
to the E. to the bay of Les Aiguades.
The *Excursion to Cape Carbon (there and back 3½–4 hrs.)
is best made on foot or by mule (3 fr., attendant 1 fr.). We leave
the town by the Porte du Cimetière and follow the rough road to
the N.E., passing (on the left) the Catholic Cemetery (Pl. C, D, 1),
and ascending amidst rich vegetation on the E. slope of Jebel
Gouraya (p. 265).
Passing the pleasant path which diverges to the Petit Phare
(482 ft.) on Cape Bouak, we soon reach the Vallée des Singes,
whence we look down on the peaceful Anse des Aiguades (p. 265),
and the (1 hr.) Pic des Singes, on whose steep rocky slopes we
may often see monkeys disporting themselves (comp. p. 171). Just
beyond the short rock-tunnel, where the road ends, we obtain a
superb **View of Cape Carbon (722 ft.), whose limestone precipices,
265descending sheer on every side, are crowned with a semaphore
and the old lighthouse. We cross the low saddle between
the Anse des Salines (see below) on the left and the bay bounded
by Cape Carbon and the Cape Noir (p. 130) on the right, and ascend
past the Old Lighthouse to the (20 min.) *Semaphore, from whose
flat roof we have a splendid survey of the bay and of the bold coast
of Great Kabylia as far as the Ile Pisan (p. 130).
From the saddle just mentioned a path descends to the New
Lighthouse at the foot of Cape Carbon.
The beautiful new *Coast Road leads round the Anse de Sidi-Yahia
(p. 264), passing the marabout of that name and the large quarries and
skirting the abrupt slopes of Cape Bouak (p. 264). It pierces the point of
the cape by means of a short tunnel, and ends, beyond the old pumping-works,
at the *Anse des Aiguades. Its extension to the new lighthouse
at Cape Carbon is projected.—When the sea is calm we may row
from the harbour of Bougie (4–5 fr.; bargain necessary), past Cape Bouak
and through the Roche Percée at Cape Carbon, to the Anse and the Pointe
des Salines, with the Grotte Ste. Anne. On the return we may for
variety land in the Anse des Aiguades and walk back to Bougie by the
coast-road.
The ascent of Jebel Gouraya (2166 ft.) takes 2–2½ hrs. on
foot or 1¾ hr. by mule (3 fr., and fee of 1 fr.). We first follow
the Rue du Gouraya and Chemin du Gouraya, or else a road on the
Bridja Hill above the Faubourg des Cinq-Fontaines, to the Porte
du Grand Ravin (Pl. B, 1). A steep road ascends thence in windings,
through underwood, to the Plateau des Ruines, where there
is a Pénitencier for military convicts. Hence a path leads in
½ hr. to the small Fort du Gouraya, within which is the shrine
of Lalla Gouraya. We then ascend to the right, round the fort,
to the cairn on the W. peak, where we are rewarded with a charming
view of the bay, the lower Sahel valley, the coast of Great
Kabylia as far as Cape Sigli (p. 130), and Jebel Arbalou (p. 262).
Excursion to Toudja (carr. 20–30 fr.), and drive viâ Taourirt-Ighil to
Azazga (and Fort-National), see pp. 262, 261.
72 M. Road. Motor-omnibus (p. 262) from Bougie at 6 a.m., in 7½
hrs. (to Kerrata, déjeuner station, in 4¾ hrs.); from Sétif at 7 a.m., in
6½ hrs.; fare 25 fr. 20 or 12 fr. 20 c. (to Kerrata 11 or 4 fr.); luggage at
the rate of 10 fr. per 100 kilos (220 lbs.) for every 100 kilomètres (62 M.).
Also a diligence to Kerrata, both from Bougie and from Sétif: from
Bougie at 3.30 a.m., in 7½ hrs., from Sétif, at 5 a.m., in 6 hrs. (allowing
an hour for lunch at Kerrata, 11–12); fare for the whole journey
15 fr. (intérieur 8 fr.). Those who do not care for the unattractive drive
from Kerrata to Sétif, where there is direct correspondence in the
direction of Constantine and Biskra only, or who are bound for Djidjelli,
will return at once from Kerrata to Bougie.—Private carr. from one of
the hirers at Bougie (p. 262) to Sétif about 100–140 fr. (or to Kerrata and
back 50–60 fr.). Motor-car at Vogelweith’s (p. 262) ½ fr. per kilomètre
266Carr. from Sétif to Bougie 120, half-open (calaffe) 100 fr.; it is possible
to drive all the way in one day, but in the reverse direction (Bougie
to Sétif) it is best to spend a night at Oued-Marsa or Kerrata.
The road skirts the gulf of Bougie (p. 130) all the way to the deep
depression of the Agrioun Valley. Between Bougie and Kerrata it passes
through the finest scenery of Little Kabylia or Petite Kabylie, a wooded
hill-region, thinly peopled by Berber tribes. The Chaîne des Babors, the
higher mountains, unlike those of the Jurjura (p. 258), rise but little over
the intermediate hills. The Chabet el-Akra is the grandest mountain-defile
in Algeria.
Bougie, see p. 262. The Road leads through the suburb at
the station and then to the S.W. across the plain of the Oued Srir
(p. 252).
Passing through the featureless plain on the right bank of the
Oued Sahel (p. 251), we obtain retrospects, growing finer as we
advance, of Bougie and Cape Bouak and then of Cape Noir and
Cape Carbon also. We soon reach the vine-clad coast-plain on the
verge of the wooded hills of Little Kabylia, where the cork-oak
abounds, and for a time turn away from the sea.
Halfway between Bougie and Cape Aokas the coast-plain narrows.
High above the rocky shore the road mounts a spur of the
Beni Mimoun Djoua Mts., and then the (10½ M.) Pointe Tichi,
an offshoot of the Beni Amrous hills, beyond which it descends, in
view of the picturesque Cape Aokas and the coast as far as Cape
Cavallo (p. 267), into the vine-clad valley of the Oued Djemâa.
At the (12½ M.) bridge over the stony bed of the stream, we observe
up the valley the Beni Slimane Mts. (4160 ft.) and those
of Beni Bou Aïssi, with the lofty Jebel Imoulentaour (5715 ft.).
Beyond the Djemâa valley begins one of the finest parts of the
coast. The hills again come down close to the shore. The road
passes the handsome Villa Poizat, with its great wine-cellars, and
crosses the wild Oued Zitoun. On the slope above the torrent is
a pretty farm-dwelling, nestling among eucalypti, bananas, and
bamboos. We next round the Cône d’Aokas (1519 ft.), precipitous
all round, and come to a bend in the road at (15 M.) Cape Aokas,
where we have a beautiful *View of the whole bay.
Just before the village of Oued-Marsa, 6 min. beyond the
cape, is the prettily situated little Hôt. du Cap Aokas (R. 2½–3,
B. 1, déj. or D. 3½ fr., quite good). The road now enters the broad
coast-plain between the Oued Marsa and the Oued Agrioun, lately
brought under cultivation, overlooked by the Beni Hassain Mts.
(4567 ft.), and still showing a few vestiges of the primæval Forêt
d’Acherit, a swampy region notorious for malaria.
We cross the Oued Sidi Réhane and pass the village of that
name, with its kubba shaded by venerable trees. A double tunnel
under the bed of the torrential Oued Sidi Resgoun next brings us
to the broad mouth of the Oued Agrioun.
22 M. Souk et-Tenine (Hôt. des Voyageurs, déj. 1½ fr., poor),
267the Monday market of the Beni Hassain, lies on a low hill at the
entrance to the Agrioun valley. The road ascends on the left bank
of the valley, flanked with cork-trees and beautiful underwood.
The road to Djidjelli diverges at the 36th kilomètre-stone
(22½ M.) to the left from the Sétif road.
The beautiful Djidjelli Road (from Bougie 60 M.; motor-omnibus
daily, fare 14 fr. 30 or 10 fr. 30 c.; diligence daily at 5 a.m., in the reverse
direction at 4 a.m., in 12 hrs., fare 10 or 7 fr.; provisions should be taken
for the journey) continues to skirt the bay of Bougie, passing at places
through fine old forest of cork-trees, pines, etc., thickly overgrown with
creepers. It crosses the Oued Agrioun beyond the 36th kilomètre-stone
and the Oued Boulzazène, and then returns, to the N.E., to the coast.
Near the 42nd kilomètre-stone (26 M.) begin the *Grandes Falaises, a
series of bold cliffs, extending along the coast for 1¼ M., through which
the road is tunnelled at places. Fine view of the bay behind us, as far
as Jebel Gouraya. We next skirt two secluded bays, separated by Jebel
Afoerer (473 ft.), pass the Pointe Ziama (450 ft.), and cross the Oued
Ziama.
32 M. Ziama consists of a group of settlers’ dwellings near the
site of Choba, a Roman seaport, where there are still considerable remains
of the Roman town-walls, of baths dating from 196 A. D., and of the
Byzantine ramparts.
Beyond the cliffs of Pointe Mansouria (hotel), off which rises the rocky
islet of that name, we come to (37½ M.) the mouth of the Oued Guelil
or Dar el-Oued, near the stalactite Grottes de Mansouria or de Dar el-Oued,
discovered in 1901. The chief grotto, 165 yds. long and 16 ft. high,
is lighted with acetylene (adm. 1 fr.).
Passing several caverns on the coast, we next skirt the small Anse de
Taza, at the mouth of the Oued Taza, which, farther up, has carved out
a grand defile through the S. margin of Jebel Taounnart (2546 ft.). Partly
through cuttings and tunnels, the road now leads to (47½ M.) the village
of Cavallo, near Cape Cavallo (p. 130), the E. limit of the bay of Bougie.
Near it are large granite-quarries.
Off the rocky coast lie on the left the islets of Grand and Petit
Cavallo (p. 131). 50½ M. Montaigne or Agadie is the only European
settlement on this part of the coast. A little beyond the Oued Kissir a
road diverges to the left to the lighthouse on the Râs Afla (p. 131). Our
road skirts the wooded flanks of Jebel Mes Ritan or Mezritane (1294 ft.),
and at the Anse el-Kalâa sweeps round to the S., inland. Lastly, passing
the small Anse des Beni-Caïd (see below), it reaches the Porte de Bougie,
the W. gate of—
60 M. Djidjelli (Café de France, R. 2 fr., déj. or D. 2 fr., quite good;
pop. 6400, incl. 5000 Mohammedans), a poor seaport, consisting mainly of
two streets planted with fine plane-trees. This was the ancient Igilgili,
once an important mart of the Carthaginians, which in the middle ages
long retained its trade as the seat of a Genoese factory, but after its
occupation by Horuk Barbarossa (p. 221) became a mere den of pirates.
The small Harbour, open towards the E., and inadequately sheltered on
the N. and N.E. sides, admits lighters and fishing-boats only. On the
adjacent Crique de l’Ouest rise the Citadel and the Poudrière, an old
fort. At the Vigie, the clock-tower on the neighbouring aloe-clad hill,
we enjoy a charming view of the hill-region around, noted in spring for
its gorgeous wealth of flowers, backed by Jebel Sedderts (3153 ft.) to the
E. and by the inland hills of Little Kabylia. To the W. of the town,
particularly on the headland between the Anse des Beni-Caïd and the
Anse el-Kalâa (see above), are many Punic Rock Tombs, now empty.
A highroad leads from Djidjelli to (42½ M.) El-Milia, (84½ M.) Collo
(p. 131), and (95½ M.) Robertville (p. 303; motor-omnibus in 10 hrs., fare
25 fr. 30 or 20 fr. 30 c.); another viâ (66 M.) Mila (Hôt. du Commerce,
268R. 2 fr., déj. or D. 2 fr., tolerable), the Roman Mileum (with an interesting,
well-preserved Byzantine town-wall), to (102½ M.) Constantine (p. 297).—Railway
viâ El-Milia and Mila to Constantine projected.
The Sétif Road ascends gradually to the S., on the left bank
of the wooded Agrioun valley, at the E. base of the hills of the
Beni Hassain (p. 266). On the opposite bank, on the slope of the
finely shaped Jebel Beni Bou Youssef (3061 ft.), runs the new
mineral railway of Tadergount (see below). 25 M. Aux Deux-Fontaines
(about 410 ft.; inn).
The road ascends more steeply, high above the river-bed. At
a bend just before the 43rd kilomètre-stone we have a splendid
survey of the central Agrioun valley, enclosed in a semicircle by
the lofty and barren crests of the Chaîne des Babors. The road
then descends to the S.W. into the valley again. To the left we
look into the lateral valley of the Oued Tiraz, with the iron-glance
mines of Tadergount, on the slope of Jebel Beni Felkaï (4452 ft.).
Wild oleanders abound in the bed of the Agrioun. On the wayside
are several Kabylian huts with orange and fig-gardens.
Beyond the 49th kilomètre-stone we see, high above us, on the
right, Beni-Ismaïl or Smaïl, a mission-house of the White Fathers
(p. 247) called after the tribe of that name, placed near a waterfall
between Jebel Imoulentaour (p. 266) and Jebel Takoucht (6221 ft.).
Beyond the 50th kilomètre-stone (31 M.) two massive pillars of
rock mark the lower end (about 590 ft.) of the **Chabet el-Akra,
the grand ‘ravine of death’ (4½ M. long), between the bold and partly
bush-clad Jurassic rocks of Jebel Takoucht, on the W., and Jebel
Adrar Amellal (5817 ft.) and Kef Randek, on the E. An inscription
on the rock to the right records the construction of the extremely
costly road (1863–70). Monkeys (p. 171) are sometimes seen on
the hill-sides.
Near the 54th kilomètre-stone (33½ M.) the road crosses the
stream, which dashes over huge rocks far below the bridge, whence
we have a fine view down the valley. About ½ M. farther the valley
again contracts to a narrow defile. An inscription on a slab of
rock in the bed of the stream recalls the first march of French
troops through the gorge (1864). In the foreground rises a great
rocky cone called the *Pain de Sucre (Arabic Drâ-Kalawi),
apparently closing the valley. Passing some strange rock-dislocations,
with vertical strata, we reach (35½ M.) the upper end of
the gorge.
37½ M. Kerrata (1575 ft.; Hôt. du Chabet, R., déj., D., each
2½–4 fr., very fair; Hôt. de Kerrata, humble; Tues. market), a
village of the Beni Meraï tribe, lies in a bleak hill-plain, adjoining
the stony S. slope of the Chaîne des Babors.
From Kerrata viâ Aïn-Abessa to Sétif, 34 M., pleasanter, by carr.
or cycle, than the main road viâ El-Ouricia, particularly in the reverse
direction. This road leaves the highroad near (3¾ M.) the mouth of the
269Oued Atteba, one of the sources of the Agrioun, ascends its valley, and
crosses a pass to (17½ M.) Aïn-Talaouart. Here to the right diverges
the so-called Route des Caravansérails to the little town of Aïn-Roua
(3806 ft.), at the foot of Jebel Anini (5243 ft.), noted for its mineral
wealth, and to the sulphur-baths of Hammam-Guergour or Sidi el-Djoudi,
in the Massif de Guergour, which were already known to the Romans.
From Aïn-Talaouart our road turns to the S.E. and ascends past the
(20½ M.) village of Aïn-Abessa (3616 ft.; Hôt. Copel) to the saddle (4019 ft.)
between Jebel Megriss (5700 ft.) and Jebel Matrona (4679 ft.). Descending
to the Oued Bou Sellam (p. 251) the road here rejoins, a little before
(30 M.) Fermatou (see below), the main road to (34 M.) Sétif.
The highroad ascends out of the Agrioun valley, soon offering
a glimpse of Jebel Babor (6575 ft.) on the left, and mounts in
windings, to the S.E., through a once wooded hill-region to the
(48 M.) Tizi N’Béchar (2910 ft.), 1¼ M. below the large Berber
village of Takitount (3448 ft.), and 2 M. to the W. of Aïn el-Hamda,
a village noted for its mineral water, known as ‘eau de Takitount’.
We descend from the pass to (52½ M.) Amoucha (Hôt. des Voyageurs,
déj. 3½ fr.), in the upper valley of the Agrioun.
A road leads to the S.E. from Amoucha to (7½ M.) Périgotville,
the chief village in the Canton de Takitount, on the Oued Aïn-Kebira.
It lies on the site of the small Roman town of Satafis. The school-yard
contains a few antiquities. Diligence viâ El-Ouricia (see below) to Sétif
(p. 271).
As the road ascends we have another view of Jebel Babor. It
winds up to the S. to the (59½ M.) Teniet et-Tine (3806 ft.), a
pass on the N. margin of the plateau of Sétif (p. 271) commanding
fine views, and then descends to (64½ M.) El-Ouricia (3543 ft.),
a village near the head of the Oued Bou Sellam valley (p. 251),
with a few vineyards. 68 M. Fermatou, at the mouth of the brook
of that name.
288½ M. Railway (comp. p. 173). Two express trains daily in 12¼–12¾
hrs. (fares 51 fr. 95, 37 fr. 10, 27 fr. 85 c.), one in the morning (with
dining-car), the other in the evening (sleeping-berth 15 fr. extra). El-Guerrah
is the junction for Biskra (R. 44); Le Khroub for Bona (R. 48)
and Souk-Ahras (and Tunis; RR. 49, 51). Railway Restaurants at Bouïra,
Beni-Mansour, Sétif, El-Guerrah, and Le Khroub.
From Algiers to (107 M.) Beni-Mansour, see R. 37. The train
now leaves the Sahel valley (p. 251), enters, to the S., the valley
of the Oued Mahrir, and passes through a series of gorges flanked
with blackish limestone rocks, between the hills of the Beni Abbès
on the left and the Beni Mansour on the right, here almost uninhabited.
To the left we have a final glimpse of the Jurjura range
(p. 258) behind us.
270115 M. Les Portes-de-Fer, the first station in the province of
Constantine, with a Sunday market, lies at the entrance of the two
passes over the Chaîne des Biban (pl. of bâb, gate) or Chabet es-Sétif.
These are the *Grande-Porte (Arabic Bâb el-Kebîr),
through which flows the Oued Chebba, the main branch of the Oued
Mahrir, and the Petite-Porte (Bâb es-Serîr), the ravine of its tributary
the Oued Bou-Ketoun. The train runs through the former
of these passes, a grand defile, where the rocks are curiously
stratified.
125 M. Mzita (1811 ft.) lies in a bleak plain on the S. margin
of the Chaîne des Biban. The train now ascends rapidly to the S.E.,
between Jebel Mzita (4813 ft.) on the left and Jebel Kteuf (6109 ft.)
on the right, to (130 M.) Mansoura (2297 ft.), a village of immigrant
peasants, with a sulphur-spring.
Leaving the Chebba valley, we next pass, to the E., through a
tunnel of 2405 yds. (5 min.) into the Medjana, a lofty and unattractive
plain on the N. borders of the Monts du Hodna (see below).
149 M. Bordj-Bou-Arréridj (3002 ft.; Hôt. des Voyageurs,
unpretentious; pop. 3500, incl. many Alsatian settlers; Wed.
market), a small town adjoined by a large Berber village.
This is the best starting-point for the highly attractive Tour to Bou-Saâda,
which vies in interest with the excursions to Figuig (p. 204),
Ghardaïa (p. 216), and Biskra (p. 279). The road (78 M.; diligence at 4.30 a.m.,
in 17 hrs.; fare 10 fr. 10 or 6 fr. 60 c.; returning from Bou-Sâada at 5 p.m.)
turns to the S. into the valley of the Oued Ksob, flanked on the W. and
E. by Jebel Gourin (3400 ft.) and Jebel Mâadid (6112 ft.). The stream,
having forced a passage through the Monts du Hodna, the N. borders of the
lofty steppe, where phosphates abound, is afterwards called Oued M’Sila
and falls into the Chott el-Hodna (see below). In the E. side-valley of the
Oued Oucedjiit, 2 M. off the road, and 8 M. from Bordj-Bou-Arréridj, lies
Lecourbe or Ouled-Agla, with scanty vestiges of the Roman Equizetum (?).
On the S. edge of Jebel Mâadid, about 9½ M. to the E. of the road, or
reached from Bordj-Bou-Arréridj by diligence viâ (19 M.) Bordj-R’dir
(very poor inn), lie the extensive ruins (palaces, minaret, etc.) of the
Berber town of Kalâa des Beni-Hammad, the residence of the Hammadites
in 1001–90 (p. 263).
At (36 M.) the little town of M’Sila (1539 ft.; Hôt. Duhoux, Hôt.
Reyre, both poor) we reach the Plaine du Hodna, a vast steppe, very hot
in summer, notable for its abundance of game and the thousands of camels
which browse on the extensive pastures. We cross several river-beds,
where curious rose-shaped crystals, ‘roses of the desert’, are often found,
and descend gradually past several artesian wells to the S.E. to the Chott
el-Hodna (1312 ft.), a vast salt-lake, 44 M. long and 12½ M. broad at its
widest part, whose swampy shores are enlivened by countless water-fowl.
Between this lake and Bou-Saâda we pass several shifting sand-hills.
78 M. Bou-Saâda (1903 ft.; cafés-hotels: Bailly, R. 2½–3, B. ¾–1,
déj. or D. 2½–3, pens. from 5 fr., all according to bargain; Aragonés;
pop. 7000, mostly Arabs, Mozabites, as to whom see p. 216, and Jews),
the chief scene of the ‘lettres familières’ of Col. Pein (p. 175) and for
ages a favourite resort of French painters of Oriental subjects, is most
charmingly grouped round the Kasba hill (a fine point of view). The
dates of its little *Palm Oasis rival those of the Sahara. Busy Monday
and Tuesday markets.
An important caravan-route (69½ M.; diligence every other day in
15 hrs.; 12 or 10 fr.; provisions necessary) connects Bou-Saâda with Djelfa271(p. 215). To the E. of the road, 9½ M. to the S. of Bou-Saâda, on the
Oued Bou-Saâda, lies the zaouïa of El-Hamel, a famous seminary for
priests, where good quarters are obtainable.
The train now turns to the S.E., in view of the Hodna Mts.
(p. 270) to the right, crosses several affluents of the Oued Ksob
(p. 270), and passes unimportant stations.
164 M. Aïn-Tassera (3395 ft.). Thence to the N.E. to (168 M.)
Tixter-Tocqueville, the station for Tocqueville (Arabic Râs el-Oued),
8½ M. to the S., the ancient Roman Thamalla, with remains
of a Byzantine fortress, and beds of phosphate near it.
On the left, farther on, we have a view of the Massif de Guergour
(p. 269), usually snow-clad in winter. We then enter the valley
of the Oued Bou Sellam (p. 251). 176½ M. Hammam;
184½ M. Mesloug, in the Plateau de Sétif, one of the granaries
of Algeria, but often bitterly cold in winter.
191½ M. Sétif.—Rail. Restaurant.—Hotels (comp. p. 174), all
in the Rue de Constantine: Hôt, de France, R. 3½–4, B. 1½, déj. 3½,
D. 4, omn. 1 fr., well spoken of; Hôt. de Paris, R. from 2, déj. or D.
2 fr., plain but quite good; Hôt. d’Orient, similar charges.—Brasserie
Gambrinus, in the Hôt. de France.—Motor Omnibus viâ Kerrata to Bougie
(comp. p. 265).—Diligences to Bougie, to Hammam-Guergour (p. 269)
viâ Aïn-Roua, and to Périgotville (p. 269).
Sétif (3596 ft.; pop. 21,790, incl. 7800 Mohammedans and
1800 Jews), on one of the highest sites in Algeria, stands on a slight
eminence to the N.W. of the station. It was the Sitifis of the
Romans, which became the capital of the new province of Mauretania
Sitifensis in 297 (comp. p. 244), but after the irruption of
the Arabs it lost all importance. Horse-breeding is one of the chief
resources of the natives, and the horse-races are famous.
From the suburb near the station we enter the town through the
Porte de Constantine. Near the Porte d’Alger, in the Place Nationale,
adorned with a fountain, rise the Hôtel de Ville and the new
Mosque. In the Jardin d’Orléans, outside the Porte d’Alger, are a
few Roman antiquities (altars, tombstones, etc.). The old Byzantine
fortress with its eleven towers, to the N. of the town, has been converted
into the Quartier Militaire. Outside the Porte de Biskra,
where the Marché Arabe is held daily, lies a large Berber Village
with thatched houses.
On the old Roman road to Saldæ (Bougie), which runs past the E.
side of the Jardin d’Orléans (see above), about 1 M. to the N.W. of the
town, rises the Mausolée de Sétif (popularly called Tombeau de Scipion),
a rectangular edifice, 10 by 8 yds., on a basement with two steps, one of
the best-preserved Roman tombs in Algeria.
From Sétif through the Chabet el-Akra to Bougie, see R. 42.
The region between Sétif and El-Guerrah is one of the dreariest
in Algeria. 200 M. Chasseloup-Laubat (3445 ft.).
210½ M. St. Arnaud (3117 ft.; Hôt, de la Gare, poor), a small
town of 2100 inhab., on the N. border of the barren Plaine des
272Eulmas, with its small salt-lakes, continued to the N.E. by the
Plateau des Sbakh (p. 274).
The Excursion to Djemila, 19 M. to the N. of St. Arnaud, toilsome
but very repaying, is best made in one day, as there are no good night-quarters
on the route. We start very early, by mule, carrying a supply
of food. We follow the highroad to Sillègue (diligence in the aft.) as
far as the (12 M.) crossing of the bridle-path from Sétif, and ride thence
to the N.E. in about 2 hrs. to Djemila, a poor Berber village on a narrow
and lofty plateau amid barren mountains. This was once the Roman
Cuicul, whose ruins, partially excavated of late, are the finest memorials
in Algeria of the late-Roman epoch. The W. entrance to the forum was
the Arch of Caracalla, a single gateway 40 ft. high, of the year 216, recently
marred by a buttress for its support. On the S.E. side of the forum
is a Temple, of which part of the peribolos (55 by 37 yds.) and the walls
of the cella alone survive. To the N.W. of the forum are remains of a
Fountain. In the S.W. part of the ancient town are the ruins of Thermae.
The *Theatre, which originally had 24 tiers of seats, is remarkable for
its well-preserved stage, 37 by 8 yds., and still 19 ft. in height, the front-wall
being similar to that of Timgad (p. 293) or of Khamissa, etc.
220 M. Navarin (3170 ft.; Arabic Bîr el-Arkh); 228 M. St.
Donat (2812 ft.), on the Rhumel (p. 297).
239 M. Mechta-Châteaudun, station for Châteaudun-du-Rhumel
(2625 ft.), a small town 5½ M. to the N., on the Sétif and
Constantine road, with a great Thursday cattle-market. Near it are
extensive pastures, enlivened in summer by thousands of Sahara
nomads with their herds of camels.
250½ M. Oued-Séguin-Télergma (2480 ft.), in the Plaine de
Télergma, where the neighbouring garrisons have their summer
training. It is the station for (5½ M.) the little town of Oued-Séguin
(2474 ft.), on the river of that name, a tributary of the
Rhumel, and for Oued-Athménia, with the splendid thermæ of the
Roman villa of Pompeianus, and Aïn-Smara, with its marble quarries,
two villages on the Sétif and Constantine road.
265½ M. El-Guerrah (2412 ft.; Rail. Restaurant; Hôt. de la
Gare, R. 3, D. 3½ fr., quite good), junction of the line from Constantine
to Batna and Biskra (R. 44), lies on the Garah or Guerrah,
one of the sources of the Oued Bou Merzoug (see below). The station
occupies an isolated site on a steppe enclosed by barren mountains.
Extensive view to the S.W. towards Batna.
The Constantine train descends to the N.E. into the Oued Bou
Merzoug valley.
271½ M. Ouled-Rahmoun (2264 ft.; Rail. Restaurant, plain),
around which are many megalithic tombs.
From Ouled-Rahmoun to Aïn-Beïda and Khenchela, 91½ M., narrow-gauge
line in 5¾–6¼ hrs.; fares 15 fr. 80, 11 fr. 75, 8 fr. 85 c. (change at Aïn-Beïda).
The line traverses a hilly steppe, ascending to the S.E. along the
Oued Bou Merzoug, the main stream of which is called Oued Kleb farther
up. 7½ M. Sigus (2523 ft.), on the site of the Roman town of that name,
with scanty relics of a forum-basilica with three halls. Near it are a Roman
and a contemporaneous Berber burial-ground, the latter containing many
dolmens (p. 324) and also remains of old quarries. Beyond (20½ M.) Aïn-Fakroun
(3032 ft.) we ascend rapidly to the Col d’Ourkis (about 3480 ft.),
273which crosses one of the offshoots of the Plateau des Sbakh (p. 274). 41 M.
Canrobert (3041 ft.; Arabic Um el-Buaghi), at the S. base of Jebel Sidi
R’gheïss (5341 ft.; with argentiferous lead-mines). The line runs to the E.,
across an upland plain where ruins abound.
58 M. Aïn-Beïda (3307 ft.; Hôt. d’Orient, Hôt. de Paris, both rustic;
pop. 2400), in the territory of the Haractas, a large Berber tribe differing
but slightly from Arabs, is the starting-point of a road (diligence in
11 hrs.; railway under construction) viâ (20 M.) Meskiana to (52½ M.)
Tebessa (p. 315). The Jardin Public contains several Roman inscriptions.
From Aïn-Beïda the line turns to the S.W. towards the spurs of the
Aurès Mts. (p. 278). Stations unimportant. 72½ M. Tarf, near the salt-works
of the great salt-lake Garaet et-Tarf (2723 ft.). Far to the left rises
Jebel Tafrent, rich in phosphates. 83 M. Baghaï (2914 ft.), on the Oued
Baghaï, formerly Bagai, was one of the chief towns of the Donatists in
the 4th cent. (Thamugadi being the other, p. 289), where in 394 a council
of 310 Donatist bishops was held, but after the 12th cent. it fell to decay.
The only memorial of its ancient importance is the ruinous Ksar Baghaï,
a Byzantine fortress (built in the time of Justinian, after 539), 360 by
335 yds., with 25 towers. On the N.W. side is a castle dominated by a
keep 84 ft. high.—The line then winds up to—
91½ M. Khenchela (3730 ft.; Hôt. de France, Hôt. du Square, both
poor), a little town of 2900 inhab., once the Roman Mascula, the key of
the E. Aurès passes, and still the starting-point of important caravan-routes
to the Sahara. It carries on a thriving art-industry (manufacture of trinkets,
etc.) and holds a busy Tuesday market. The Roman ruins were
swept away when the present town was founded about 1860; but there
is a small collection of antiquities (conservator M. Catalogne).
Road to Timgad, Lambèse, and Batna, see p. 286. From that road
another diverges to the left to (4½ M.) Aïn-el-Hammam (about 3940 ft.),
prettily situated in the wooded valley of the brook of that name, with
a hot chalybeate spring (158° Fahr.). This was the Aquae Flavianae of the
Romans, whose *Thermae, probably erected under Vespasian, and restored
under Septimius Severus in 208, the best-preserved in Barbary, are now
again in use. We note specially the round hall, once domed, with its
circular piscina 26 ft. in diameter, and the large open piscina, 45 by 33 ft.,
with two vaulted lateral passages, flanked with side-rooms and basins.—A
bridle-path leads to the S.W. from Aïn-el-Hammam to (12½ M.) the
forester’s house of Aïn-Mimoun (4413 ft.), amidst fine cedar-woods (p. 210),
whence we may descend to the N.E. to Foum-Tizourit on the Batna road.
278½ M. Le Khroub (2051 ft.; Rail. Restaurant; Hôt. Victoria,
near the station; Hôt. d’Orient; pop. 9700, all Mohammedans but
500), the next station on the Constantine railway, has an important
cattle-market. On a stony hill to the E. of the town (2527 ft.), about
1 hr. from the railway, rises the Mausolée du Khroub, called by
the natives Sauma (tower), the tomb of a Berber prince of pre-Roman
times, built of huge blocks of stone in the Græco-Punic
style. The square pedestal, resting on a basement in three steps,
and part of the groundfloor adorned with round shields still exist.
The upper story, which consisted of a hall resting on eight Doric
columns with a grooved cornice, and the conical (?) summit were
probably destroyed by an earthquake.
From (Constantine) Le Khroub to Bona, see R. 48; to Souk-Ahras
(Tebessa, Tunis), see R. 49.
Near (281½ M.) Oued-Hamimin we sight the suburbs of Constantine
to the left. To the left rises also Jebel Chettaba (p. 297).
286 M. Hippodrome, station for the Constantine race-course.
274287 M. Sidi-Mabrouk, a villa-suburb of Constantine. To the
left, on the Batna road, are five arches of the *Roman Aqueduct,
once extending from Ras el-Aïn Bou Merzoug (near Ouled-Rahmoun,
p. 272) to the Coudiat-Aty (p. 297), a distance of 23 M.
At the foot of the Plateau de Mansoura (2303 ft.) the train
enters the Rhumel Valley. On the left are the blue-washed houses
of the native quarter of (288½ M.) Constantine (p. 297).
149 M. Railway. Through-train, including a 1st class saloon carriage
(10 fr. extra) with ‘wagon-restaurant’ in winter, in 7 hrs.; ordinary train
in 8¾ hrs. (fares 26 fr. 85, 19 fr. 20, 14 fr. 40 c.). Views to the right as
far as Fontaine des Gazelles. Railway Restaurants at El-Guerrah, Batna,
and El-Kantara.
Among the intermediate stations Batna is important only as the
starting-point for Lambèse and Timgad (R. 45). El-Kantara deserves a
stay of some days for the sake of its own scenery and as a base for excursions
to Tilatou, the Maâfa valley, etc.
From Constantine to (23 M.) El-Guerrah, see above and pp. 273,
272. Passing (31 M.) Aïn-M’Lila (2527 ft.), we reach the Plateau
des Sbakh, the great steppe of E. Algeria, with its numerous salt-lakes,
‘dreary in the extreme, yet grand in its motionless repose,
with tufts of grey-green alfa growing here and there on the salt
soil, backed by the bold precipices and pinnacles of bare rocky
mountains’. Appropriate accessories are, however, furnished now
and then by the huts or tents of nomadic tribes with their herds.
On the right rises the bare Jebel Nif-Ensser. Farther on we
obtain, especially by morning light, a fine view of the salt-lake of
Tinsilt, backed by the spurs of the Sahara Atlas (p. 170).
42½ M. Les Lacs (2592 ft.), on the neck of land between Lake
Tinsilt and (on the left) Chott Mzouri. We now traverse a long
embankment crossing Lake Tinsilt, which is often enlivened by
flamingoes and wild-duck. 53 M. Aïn-Yagout (2891 ft.).
58 M. Fontaine-Chaude (about 2790 ft.), with a few tents of
nomads, near the small Oued Mader.
Just before the station we observe on the left the Medracen (Arabic
Madghasen), a pre-Roman royal tomb (of Masinissa?), the finest of
the kind in Algeria after the Tombeau de la Chrétienne (p. 238). The
huge monument (reached by a field-road from the station in 1¼ hr.)
stands in an ancient Berber burial-ground on the flat saddle between two
low, bare ranges of hills, about halfway between Fontaine-Chaude and
the (6 M.) Sebkha Djendeli, the ancient Lacus Regius. The Medracen,
one of the few existing tumulus-tombs in the Græco-Punic style, consists
of a massive cylindrical basement, 64 yds. in diameter and only 14½ ft.
high, on which rises a conical pyramid in twenty-four steps, crowned with
a platform of 12½ yds. in diameter (the total height being 60 ft.). The sixty
unfluted Doric half-columns recall the oldest Greek temples of Sicily,
while the concave moulding above the architrave is Egyptian in character.
275The rude engravings on the basement, as well as the Libyan and late-Punic
inscriptions, are ancient. Of the vestibule, 26 by 16 yds., but few
vestiges are left. The straight passage leading to the two small tomb-chambers
in the centre of the building collapsed in 1865. The two other
shafts were bored by treasure-hunting natives.
In the lofty valley of the Oued Mader we now reach the N.
fringe of the Sahara Atlas, between the spurs of the Bellezma Mts.
on the W. and Jebel Bou Arif (5728 ft.), a range parallel on the
N. with the Aurès Mts. (p. 278).
62½ M. El-Mader-Pasteur (2851 ft.) is the station for El-Mader,
the Roman Casae, a village with a little Byzantine fortress,
situated 5 M. to the S.E., at the foot of Jebel Bou Arif. A road
leads from this station also to (8 M.) Pasteur and (19 M.) Zana.
The village of Pasteur (two inns), on the Oued Seriana, was the
ancient Lamiggiga. In the market are Roman and early-Christian relics.
Zana (no inn), the Roman Diana Veteranorum, a considerable colony
of veterans, has several interesting ancient buildings. A triumphal arch
of 165 A. D. is well preserved with the exception of the attica. An arch
of Macrinus (217 A. D.) formed afterwards part of a small Byzantine
fortress. The portal of a temple is still standing. The ruined Byzantine
church in the forum was built chiefly of materials from Roman ruins.
The train mounts a steep gradient to (66½ M.) Fesdis (3032 ft.),
in a defile scantily overgrown with bushes, between Jebel Azeb
(4485 ft.; on the left) and the Bellezma Mts.
73 M. Batna.—Rail. Restaurant, déj. 3, D. 3½ fr., good.—Hotels
(sometimes crowded in the season): Hôt. des Etrangers, Rue de Sétif. R.
3–4, B. 1½, déj. 3–3½, D. 3½–4, omn. ¾–1 fr.; Hôt. de Paris, Rue de Constantine,
next the town-hall, R. 2½, B. 1¼, déj. 2½, D. 3, omn. ½ fr.,
plain but good; St. Georges, Rue de Sétif, unpretending (attentive host).
Batna (3412 ft.; pop. 7500, incl. 2400 Mohammedans and
700 Jews), founded in 1844 as a military base for the advance upon
Biskra, and now the chief military station in S. Constantine and the
key to the important Sahara pass of El-Kantara, is a peaceful country-town
with regularly-built streets, and offers no attraction save
perhaps the ‘Village-Nègre’ (comp. p. 181), to the S.E. of the
Quartier Militaire. It lies near the sources of the Oued Mader in
a broad valley, often very cold in winter, between the wooded
Bellezma Mts. on the W., Jebel Azeb (see above) on the N.E., and
the spurs of the Aurès Mts. (p. 278) on the S.
Tho finest point of view is Jebel Touggour or Pic des Cèdres
(6870 ft.), to the W. of tho town, a grand pyramid belonging to the Bellezma
group. A rough road (mule 4–5 fr.), leading close past the station, ascends
the valley to the W. and then the Ravin des Gardes, between Jebel
Touggour and Jebel Bou Merzoug (5840 ft.), to (7½ M.) the Maison Forestière
Oued Hamla. Thence a bridle-path on the richly wooded S. slope
of Jebel Touggour; lastly a climb, towards the N.E., through ancient but
neglected cedar-forest (p. 210), to the (4 hrs.) summit. The immense panorama
embraces tho Bellezma group and the distant Hodna Mts. (p. 270) to
the W., the Plateau des Sbakh and the Tell Atlas near Constantine to
the N.E., the long range of the Aurès Mts. to the S.E. and S., and part
of the Sahara to the S.W.
From Batna to Lambèse and Timgad, see R. 45.
276Beyond Batna the train crosses the watershed (3543 ft.) between
the Plateau des Sbakh and the Sahara. Far away to the S.W. are
seen Jebel Metlili and the depression of the pass of El-Kantara
(see below). 80 M. Lambiridi (3527 ft.), near the scanty ruins
of the Roman town of that name.
We descend the broad valley of the Oued el-Ksour or Oued
Aïn Touta, one of the sources of the Oued Biskra (p. 279), to (94 M.)
Mac-Mahon (3002 ft.; Arabic Aïn-Tuta), a poplar-shaded oasis
and alfa station (p. 171), originally founded by Alsatians. The
next part of the line, through a steppe furrowed by the brook and
the winter rains, is curious and interesting.
99 M. Les Tamarins (about 2460 ft.) is not far from the famous
gorge of the stream, here called Oued Tilatou (comp. p. 277).
The train next threads tunnels and cuttings through the saddle
between the Tilatou valley and that of the Oued Fedhala or
Guebli, the second feeder of the Oued Biskra, whence we descend in
a wide bend to the E. to (103 M.) Maâfa (about 2130 ft.), at the
influx of the brook Maâfa into the Fedhala (excursion to the
Maâfa valley, see pp. 277, 278).
In the foreground we again sight the bold rocky slopes of El-Kantara.
We recross the Oued Guebli, which, below the mouth
of the Tilatou (see above), is named Oued el-Kantara, skirt the
S.E. base of the Metlili (p. 277), and cross the stream to—
114 M. El-Kantara.—Rail. Restaurant.—Hotel (comp. p. 174).
*Hôt. Bertrand, with view, R. 3–3½, B. 1, déj. 3–3½, pens. 10, omn. ½ fr.—Post
Office, opposite the hotel.—Carriage 2½ fr. per hour.—Mule
with English saddle, per day 5 fr., with Arabian saddle 3½ fr. (in the
villages of the oasis 2½ fr., when not ordered through a guide).
El-Kántara (1772 ft.; ‘the bridge’, so named from its Roman
bridge), the Roman Calceus Herculis, one of the most important
caravan-stations in E. Algeria prior to the opening of the railway,
owes its fame to the grand gorge of the Oued el-Kantara, called
by the natives Fumm es-Sahara (‘mouth of the desert’). The river
here suddenly emerges from a wild Alpine region, flanked by the
red limestone rocks of Jebel Gaous and Jebel Essor, into a highly
picturesque palm-oasis, below which it skirts the spurs of the Aurès
Mts. (p. 278) and careers rapidly down to the Sahara.
From the station the road on the left bank, overlooking the
river-bed, with its profusion of wild oleanders, and the charming
orchards on the floor of the valley, descends in 10 min. to the Hôtel
Bertrand, situated at the finest and wildest point of the ravine, in
a basin almost entirely shut in by grey rocky slopes. A few hundred
paces farther, just before the mouth of the *Gorge (here barely
45 yds. wide), is the Roman Bridge, which was too thoroughly
restored in 1862 under Napoleon III., carrying the old road, now
partly destroyed by a landslip, from the right bank of the river to
277the left. From the bridge we enjoy a peculiar and striking view
across the palm-oasis to the red weather-worn rocks of the Montagne
d’Albâtre (p. 278). A similar view is offered by the Iron Bridge,
8 min. lower down, whence we may look back also into the ravine
with Jebel Metlili rising behind it.
The neighbouring *Oasis (pop. 3500), with its three mud-built
villages, inhabited exclusively by natives of Berber descent, is, next
to Bou Saâda (p. 270), the northmost palm-oasis in Barbary. From
the iron bridge the road leads past a kubba and cactus-gardens
to (12 min.) Dahraouïa, the only village at the foot of the red rocks
of the right bank of the stream, named also Village Rouge from
the red mud-walls of the houses at its W. end, below the old burial-ground.
The flat roof of the lower mosque, situated on the steep
bank of the stream, affords a splendid view of the village and of
the oasis as far as the Village Noir (see below).
We now descend through luxuriant gardens to the right bank
of the El-Kantara, above which the village extends picturesquely,
cross the stream 10 min. lower down (by mule, or wading, or carried
by a native), and then, from the generally dry bed of the Rivière
Blanche (p. 278), mount to the right to Bourabès or Village Noir.
From the N. end of this village we ascend the valley in 8 min. to
Gueraguère or Khrekar, known also as the Village Blanc, the
largest village in the oasis. We may walk through it and regain
the hotel in 20–25 minutes.
If the El-Kantara is swollen we must return from Dahraouïa
to the iron bridge and visit Gueraguère and Bourabès from the left
bank. By carriage (7½ M., in 1½ hr.) we drive viâ Dahraouïa to
the S. end of the oasis, and return on the left bank viâ Bourabès
and Gueraguère. In the villages themselves we alight that we may
better appreciate the novelty of the scene.
The *Jebel Metlili (4900 ft.), a range of hills to the N.W. of El-Kantara,
scantily overgrown with scrub and alfa-grass (p. 171), commands
a splendid view of the steppe of El-Outaya (p. 278) and the Sahara, as
well as of the fringes of the Sahara Atlas as far as Jebel Ahmar-Khaddou
(p. 284). The clearness of the air and the wonderful effects of light and
shade enhance the fascination of the scene. The mule-track (2½–3 hrs.)
leads to the W. through the valley of the generally dry Oued Chebba
and then winds up through a gorge and over the hill-side to the summit.
On the way are sometimes seen gazelles and aoudads or maned sheep (Ovis
tragelaphus, Arabic arwi; occasionally even at El-Kantara).
The excursion to the *Gorges de Tilatou takes a whole day, or about
5–6 hrs. only if we go by train to Les Tamarins (p. 276), sending mules
thither beforehand (provisions should be taken). Travellers from Biskra
should go by the morning train to El-Kantara and proceed thence on
mule-back to Les Tamarins, where they arrive in time for the afternoon
train to Constantine.—The very picturesque entrance to the Tilatou valley
is about 3 M. to the N.W. of El-Kantara. The grandest part of the gorge
is at the Berber village (dasbera) of Tilatou, with its curious, still partly
inhabited rock-dwellings. The village lies about halfway between the
mouth of the river and the station of Les Tamarins.
A visit to the Maâfa Valley takes a whole day from El-Kantara,
278or from the Maâfa station (p. 276), with the ride back to El-Kantara,
6–7 hrs. at least. The mule-track leads past the S. base of Jebel Groun
(3905 ft.) and the small mosque of Sidi Yahia to the rock-villages of
Fetatcha and Ameradsa, inhabited by the Chaouïa (see below), at the
entrance to the wildest parts of the ravine. Good riders may return to
El-Kantara viâ Beni-Ferah (see below).
The Aurès Mts., the Mons Aurasius of antiquity (Arabic Auras), inhabited
almost exclusively by the Chaouïa (‘shepherds’), a Berber tribe,
not subdued by the French until 1845, rise to the E. of El-Kantara, culminating
in Jebel Chelia (7634 ft.) and Kef Mahmel (7615 ft.), the two highest
peaks in Algeria. This grand mountain-region, with the wild and interesting
valleys of the Oued Abdi and the Oued el-Abiod, is as yet almost
inaccessible to tourists, no quarters being obtainable except by the courtesy
of the French officials or of the natives. A tour here, especially
in winter, necessitates almost as tedious and costly preparations as travelling
in Morocco (comp. p. 97). Better communication will, however, be
provided by the new, still unfinished road from Markouna (p. 289) to
Biskra (p. 279), by way of Medina (4780 ft.) and Aris (3842 ft.), opening
up the head of the Oued el-Abiod valley, thence following the line of
the ancient Roman road through the grand Ravine of Tighanimine, and
descending from the zone of the cedar-forests to M’chounech and Droh,
the palm-oases on the Ahmar-Khaddou (p. 284).
A glance at the wild scenery of the Aurès Mts. is obtained by riding
past the Jebel Haouidja (see below) to (10 M.) Aïn-Zatout or Beni-Ferah
(about 2950 ft.), a picturesque hill-village of the Beni Ferah tribe. Strength
permitting, we may ride thence to the S. to (17½ M.) *Djemmorah (quarters
at the sheikh’s) and (29 M.) Branis (988 ft.), two palm-oases in the lower
Oued Abdi valley, belonging to the Ouled Ziane, the only Arab tribe in
the Aurès, and to (42½ M.) Biskra (p. 279).
After leaving El-Kantara the Railway passes through three
short tunnels into the Gorge of El-Kantara (p. 276). Near the
Roman bridge we obtain a striking glimpse of the Palm Oasis,
which, farther on, beyond the bed of the Rivière Blanche, we
survey in its full extent. Looking back, on the right, we have a
fine view of the red rocks in the gorge.
Running to the S.W., generally close to the Oued el-Kantara, the
train skirts the slopes of the Montagne d’Albâtre or Kef ed-Darsa,
a spur of Jebel Haouidja or Jebel Kteuf, which are geologically
interesting and have a splendid red glow in the sunshine.
125 M. Fontaine des Gazelles (1280 ft.) lies in a stony waste between
Jebel Selloum (2569 ft.), the S.W. buttress of Jebel Haouidja,
and the singular Jebel Kroubset. The small sulphur-baths of Hammam
Sidi el-Hadj, ½ hr. to the S.E. of the station, used by the
natives only, occupy the site of the Roman Aquae Herculis; an elliptical
Roman piscina, 107 yds. in circumference, still serves as a
bath. The spring (97° Fahr.) rises at the N. base of Jebel el-Melah
or Gharribou (2057 ft.), noted for its rock-salt.
Nearing (131 M.) El-Outaya (905 ft.), we survey on the right
the extensive steppe of El-Outaya (‘the plain’), a kind of forecourt
of the Sahara, bounded on the S. by the Chaîne de Sfa (p. 282) and
Jebel Matraf. The soil is white with saltpetre in places. To the
left, beyond the station is a small palm-grove.
279A little before (138 M.) Ferme Dufourg, the station for a modelfarm
2½ M. to the W., on the right bank of the stream, we sight
on the left the hills of Ahmar-Khaddou (p. 284), sometimes snow-clad
in winter, the landmark of Biskra.
We cross the Plaine de Dar-Raous or Dar el-Aroussa, often
enlivened by gazelles; it lies between the Aurès streams Oued Bou
Gatou and Oued Abdi (p. 278), which here fall into the El-Kantara,
now called Oued Biskra.
Beyond the ‘Col des Chiens‘, a barren gorge at the foot of
Jebel el-Mlaga (p. 282), we observe on the left the Barrage of the
Oued Biskra, constructed in 1897 and guarded by a block-house.
On the right lies the Catholic cemetery and in the distance are
the palm-oases of—
149 M. Biskra. The Station (Pl. A, 1) is at the N.W. end of the
town, 8–12 min. from most of the hotels. Sleeping-car office at Bouillard
& Simon’s, Rue Berthe.
Hotels (comp. p. 174; often crowded in Feb. and March). *Royal
Hotel (Pl. a; C, 3), Avenue Delacroix, at the S. end of the town, with
garden-court, terrace, belvedere (p. 281), and restaurant, R. 4–20, B. 1½–2,
déj. 3½–4, D. 5–7, pens. 13–25, omn. 1 fr., closed May-Oct.; *Palace
Hotel (Pl. b; B, C, 4), next the Casino (see below), well situated, with
pretty garden, R. 6–20, pens. 16–25 fr., closed 16th April to 30th Nov.;
Grand-Hôtel Excelsior (Pl. g; B, C, 4), with garden, R. 3–10, B. 1½,
déj. 3–4, D. 4–5, pens. 12½–25 fr., closed 16th May–31st Oct., well spoken
of.—*Hôt. Victoria (Pl. c; A, 2), Boul. Gambetta, with small garden,
R. 3–6, B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 4, pens. 11–15, omn. ¾ fr., closed 16th May to
14th Oct.; *Hôt. du Sahara (Pl. e; B, 2), Rue Berthe, with restaurant and
garden-court, R. 3–7, B. 1¼, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 9–10, omn. ¾ fr.; Hôt.
de l’Oasis (Pl. d; C, 2), Rue du Card. Lavigerie, with restaurant, R. 3–5,
B. 1, déj. or D. 3, pens. 9–12, omn. 1 fr., patronized by the French, open the
whole year, good; Hôt. des Zibans (Pl. f; C, 2), Rue du Card. Lavigerie,
R. 2½–5, B. 1, D. 2½, pens. 8½–10 fr., plain.
Cafés. At the Casino (see below); Glacier, Rue du Card. Lavigerie.
Carriages (stand in Square Dufourg; Pl. C, 3). From station to town
with luggage 1½, per hour 2½, to Chetma or the Dunes of Oumache 10,
to Sidi-Okba or Droh 20, to Oumache or Bordj Saâda 25 fr.—The tariff
is high, but a bargain may often be made for much less, if without the intervention
of hotel-porters or guides.
Horse or Mule, 3–6 fr., according to distance.—Camel, with attatouch
(p. 174) for ladies, 4 fr. per day; attendant ½–1 fr.
Tramway from the Casino (see below) every ½–1 hr. on the Route
de Touggourt (Pl. C, 4, 5) to Old Biskra (in 12 min.; 10 c.; terminus near
the Kasba Hill); also four times daily viâ Beni-Mora to Hammam es-Salahin
(in 50 min.; 50 c.)—Diligence to Sidi-Okba (at 8.30 a.m.; returning at
3 p.m.); also to Touggourt (comp. p. 284).
Physicians.Dr. Couillaud, Rue Malakoff 15 (2–4 o’cl.); Dr. Dicquemare,
at the Gr.-Hôt. Excelsior.—Chemist.G. Isaac, Rue Berthe.—Moorish
Bath (Pl. C, 4), Route de Touggourt.—Photographs at Fréchon’s,
Bougault’s, and Maure’s, all in Rue Berthe.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. B, 2), Rue Saad 3.
English Church Service (Jan.-April) at the former Cercle Civil
(Pl. 1; B, C, 2), Rue Graillet.
Amusements.Casino Dar-Diaf (Pl. B, C, 4; p. 281), Route de Touggourt,
with theatre and concert-room; varieties, dances of the Ouled Naïl,
etc.—Ouled Naïl dancing-girls (originally of the nomadic tribe mentioned
at p. 215), and other native artists perform at the small native cafés in
280the Rue Arcelin and Rue Lapeyrouse (Pl. B, C, 3); visitors pay 1 fr.
(incl. cup of Arabian tea or coffee).
Festivals. The Courses de Biskra, held for three days between 1st
and 20th Feb., comprise camel-races (courses sahariennes de mehara), horse-races
in the hippodrome of Beni-Mora (p. 283), ‘Fantasia Arabe’ (equestrian
performances, p. 99), and processions of the natives.—The ‘grande
prière’ on the Kasba Hill at the end of the fasting-month of Ramadan
attracts many spectators.—To join the Falcon Hunts of an agha (see
below) special permission is required.
Guides (p. xxvi; 4–5 fr. a day; 2 fr. for an evening only), like hawkers
and beggars, are a local pest, but their services are entirely superfluous,
even for drives or rides in the environs, where the drivers or attendants
give information.
Climate. The season is Nov.–April. Lying at the S. base of the
Sahara Atlas and on the margin of the desert, Biskra has all the characteristics
of the Sahara climate (pp. 170, 171). The great fluctuations of
temperature (mean winter maximum 65° Fahr., mean minimum 45°) are
comparatively little felt, even by invalids, owing to the remarkable dryness
of the air. The rainfall is very slight and sunless days are quite the
exception. The dust, however, is sometimes troublesome, even in winter,
and sand-storms, especially during the sirocco (S.E. wind), may occur
at any season. When a cold N. or N.W. wind blows from the Sahara
Atlas, the palm-oasis alone affords some shelter. As yet no special arrangements
for invalids exist at Biskra.
Sights, when time is limited. On arrival, view from the belvedere
of the Royal Hotel (p. 281). 1st Day. Visit to Market (p. 281) early,
then Villa de Bénévent and *Old Biskra (p. 281); in the afternoon, ride or
drive to the Col de Sfa (p. 282). 2nd Day. Excursion to Sidi-Okba (p. 283).
The little town of Biskra (400 ft.; pop. 7400, of whom 6300
are Mohammedans, incl. Old Biskra) lies at the S. base of the low
Chaîne de Sfa (p. 282), on the right bank of the Oued Biskra,
generally a very poor stream below the Barrage (p. 279). Owing
to its convenient situation at the end of the E. Algerian Sahara
railway, and to its fine climate, it has grown into great favour of
late as a winter resort and the ‘Nice’ of Algeria. The present town,
with streets regularly built as in all the modern Algerian towns,
has sprung up only since the French occupation of 1844. The mediæval
Biskra, named after the small Roman settlement of Bescĕra,
lay in the midst of the palm-oasis (p. 281), on the top and on the
slopes of a low hill, where, after the destruction of the town by
Sala Reïs (1553), a Turkish fort (kasba) was built. The natives
then settled anew in the still existing seven villages of the oasis.
Biskra is the capital and administrative centre of the Zab (‘oasis’,
pl. ziban), the extensive girdle of oases on the S. fringes of the Monts du
Zab (p. 170) and the Aurès Mts. In accordance with their sites these oases
are named Zab Dahraoui (N. Zab), on the margin of the Monts du Zab, Zab
Guebli (S. Zab), on the Oued Djedi (p. 284), and Zab Chergui (E. Zab),
between the Aurès Mts. and the Chott Melrir (p. 284). The natives of the
Zab, who are under an ‘agha’ or chief, are mostly Berbers with a large
infusion of Arabian and in some cases Turkish blood. Many of them, under
the name of Biskris, are met with in the coast-towns as small traders.
The only business street is the Rue Berthe (Pl. B, C, 1–3), in
the S. part of which there are a few small European shops. It intersects
the whole town and connects the railway-station with the
strangers’ quarter on the S. side.
281Between the Rue Berthe and Fort St. Germain (Pl. B, C, 1, 2),
the nucleus of the town, built in 1849–51, runs the Grande Allée
past the Jardin Public, which, on its N.E. side, is adjoined by the
Jardins de la Garnison.
The Rue Berthe leads to the Avenue Delacroix (Pl. C, 3), the
favourite haunt of guides and hawkers, where, at its junction with
the Square Dufourg, rises a bronze statue of Card. Lavigerie (Pl. 2,
C, 3; p. 346), the benefactor of Biskra.
The belvedere of the Royal Hotel (p. 279), 92 ft. high, resembling
a minaret (visitors kindly admitted), commands an excellent
*Panorama of the town and its environs, finest in the early
morning, or towards sunset, when the Ahmar-Khaddou (‘rosy cheek’;
p. 284) is bathed in a ruddy glow.
The Casino Dar-Diaf (Pl. B, C, 4; ‘house of the guests’),
built by A. Ballu (p. 289) in the neo-Moorish style in 1892–3, is
the fashionable evening resort.
The Mairie (Pl. B, 2), the small Mosque (Pl. B, 3), and other
public buildings are situated between the Rue Berthe and the quiet
Boul. Carnot (Pl. A, B, 2, 3), which joins the Avenue Delacroix at
the Casino.
The Marché (Pl. B, 3) presents a busy and picturesque scene,
especially in the early morning, which will interest new-comers.
The motley throng of traders, many of them Mozabites (p. 216),
offer the art-industrial products of the Berber tribes of the Aurès
and the Sahara, besides Moroccan wares and ‘Oriental’ articles
made in Europe, at unduly high prices. The fruit and vegetable
market affords evidence of the fertility of the oases. The Marché
aux Bestiaux is held in the Boul. Carnot on Mondays.
Camel caravans from the Sahara may be seen at the Fondouks (Pl. A,
3), the inns of the natives on the Route des Zibans.
The quite modern Village-Nègre (Pl. C, 4; comp. p. 181) is
very dirty and uninteresting.
A few hundred yards to the S. of the town, between the Route de
Touggourt and the Route de Sidi-Okba, is the Villa de Bénévent
or Jardin Landon (Pl. C, 5; adm. 2 fr.), a creation of Count Landon
(p. 305), the beautiful *Grounds of which are stocked with a
marvellous profusion of tropical and subtropical plants, and afford
a delightful shady retreat in hot weather.
The great attraction in the nearer environs is *Old Biskra
(Vieux-Biskra; see inset Map, at p. 279), with its clay-built oasis-villages
(ksar, pl. ksûr) inhabited by Biskris (p. 280), and its oasis
3 M. long by 110–550 yds. wide, with some 150,000 date-palms and
6000 fruit-trees (apricots, figs, oranges), besides corn-fields and
small kitchen-gardens. The palms, being well watered from the Barrage
(p. 279), are well grown and beautifully green; the dates,
however, have less flavour than those of the Oued Rhir (p. 285),
282the Djerid (p. 386), and particularly those of the Souf (p. 285).
The traveller may induce a native (20–30 c.) to show him one of the
palm-gardens, or he may be satisfied with a glimpse at them over
the low mud-walls or through gaps.
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.
283The (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.
The Excursion to Sidi-Okba (13 M.; diligence, see p. 279; carr.
tariff, see p. 279, but 12–15 fr. is usually accepted) is the favourite
among the longer trips from Biskra. The Route de Sidi-Okba
(Pl. C, 4, 5) fords the Biskra (sometimes dangerous after winter
rains) and skirts the small oases of Lalia and Filliache. Between
these is the Nécropole, once a Berber burial-ground.
For the long drive through the dreary steppe at the S. foot of
the Aurès Mts., enlivened only by the begging children of the
nomads, we are repaid by the verdant Palm Oasis of Sidi-Okba,
the most fertile of the Zab Chergui group (p. 280), watered by a
network of conduits from the Oued el-Abiod (p. 278).
The small town of Sidi-Okba (144 ft.; restaurant, at the entrance
to the town; pop. 4900), the religious centre of the Zab, owes
its origin and its fame as a resort of pilgrims to the tomb of Sidi
Okba (p. 322), who ended his victorious career in the adjacent oasis
of Thouda. The now poor town, with its mud-built fortifications
and houses, and its beggars, lepers, and importunate guides, vividly
recalls a mediæval Sahara town.
On alighting we walk straight on, then bear to the left, and
soon reach a small square with the Maison du Kaïd and other
picturesque houses. Turning here to the left we come to a second
place, where on the left, preceded by a colonnade, rises the plain
Mosque of Sidi-Okba, the oldest in Algeria, containing the tomb
of the saint, which is shown on Fridays only. The main entrance
to the court of the mosque consists of a carved *Door in the so-called
Berber style (10th cent.). The minaret should be ascended
for the sake of the excellent survey it affords of the town and the
284oasis (custodian 50 c.). Adjoining the mosque is the Zaouïa, with
a Mohammedan law-school.
Passing through the gateway we now follow the first street on
the right to the Market, with its quaint and busy crowd.
The steppe adjoining Aïn-Naga, 14½ M. to the E. of Sidi-Okba, on
the caravan route to Négrine, which in late-Roman times was an important
military road, is a favourite resort in winter of gazelle-stalkers from
Biskra. Mirages (Fata Morgana) are often witnessed here.
The *Excursion to M’chounech, which is much grander than
the last-named, is very fatiguing, but will be greatly facilitated by
the opening of the new road through the Aurès Mts. (p. 278). We
ride to the E., across the Biskra ford, to (5 M.) Chetma, a small
palm-oasis on the outskirts of the Aurès, where the road at present
ends. After a short rest in the village (ksar), with its mud-built
houses, or beside the adjoining springs, we proceed viâ (10½ M.)
Droh to (14 M.) El-Habel (778 ft.), where we reach the deep-set
valley of the Oued el-Abiod (p. 278). We then ascend on the right
bank of the stream to (19 M.) M’chounech (1083 ft.; quarters
at the sheikh’s), a beautiful palm-oasis with 1300 inhab., at the
foot of the Ahmar-Khaddou (6315 ft.).
The hill on which the ksar stands affords a very curious and
striking view of the neighbouring *Ravines (accessible in dry
weather only) and the upper course of the stream with its oases,
as far as Baniane; but we may obtain a still grander view by riding
to the (24 M.) Poste Optique (3691 ft.), on the S. margin of
the Ahmar-Khaddou, whence the most impressive desert panorama
stretches as far as the Chott Melrir (see below). The summit of
the mountain may be gained in 4–5 hrs. more, but few travellers
will care to face the toilsome ascent.
From Biskra to Branis, Djemmorah, Beni-Ferah, and El-Kantara,
see p. 278; to the Gorges de Tilatou, see p. 277.
Hardy and well-equipped (pp. 173, 174) travellers will be repaid by the
interesting Sahara Route to Touggourt (127 M.; ‘courrier postal’, open
omnibus with awning, on Mon., Wed., and Frid. at 3 a.m., in 28 hrs.,
excl. 10 hrs.’ halt for the night at M’raïer; fare 40 fr.; carr. from the
hirers Viallard or Tourenq, 300–400 fr.; a driver that speaks French should
be asked for). A railway from Biskra to Touggourt is now under construction.—The
Route de Touggourt leads to the S.E. from Old Biskra
(p. 281) through the steppe to (19 M.) Bordj Saâda (85 ft.), in the plain
of the Oued Djedi (comp. p. 215), and thence to the S. to (32½ M.) Bordj
Chegga, to the W. of the Chott Melrir (95 ft. below the sea-level), the
largest salt-lake in Algeria. 45½ M. Bir Sethil, on the Oued Itel, across
the bed of which, generally dry, the road is carried by an embankment
over 100 yds. long, built of blocks of gypsum. 50 M. Kef ed-Door (374 ft.),
a plateau affording fine views, with a Poste Optique communicating with
Ahmar-Khaddou (see above), and said to be the southmost point reached
by Sidi Okba (p. 322) in the course of his campaigns. 63½ M. Ourir, a
small oasis near the Chott Merouan, the S. arm of Chott Melrir, contains
the kubba of Sidi Makfi, a favourite resort of pilgrims.
69 M. M’raïer or Merayer (13 ft. below sea-level; Caravansérail,
R. 2–3, B. ½, D. 3½ fr.; pop. 1700), a thriving but fever-haunted village,
with a luxuriant palm-oasis watered by artesian wells.
285We next come to the region of the Oued Rhir, also malarious,
with the largest girdle of oases in Algeria. These oases, artificially
irrigated under the French régime by the sinking of numerous very costly
artesian wells, have gained immensely in fertility, and their palms (about
950,000) supply the European markets with dates of the clear or pale
variety (deglet en-nûr). Passing the posting-stations of Sidi-Khelil and
El-Berd we come to Ourlana (69 ft.; pop. 4000), on the so-called Sea
of Ourlana, a chain of lakes where the water of the Oued Rhir comes
to the surface. 109½ M. Djemaâ (Caravansérail, R. 3, B. ¾, D. 3 fr.,
quite good), lies near the oasis of Tiguedidin, with its pretty lake in a
palm-grove. Then Tamerna, with 1600 inhab., and Sidi-Rached. The
swarthy complexion of the natives, mostly Rouaras, akin to the Harrâtin
(p. 94), now indicates that we are nearing the Sudan.
127 M. Touggourt or Tougourt (259 ft.; Hôt. de l’Oasis, Grande
Place, near the Bureau Arabe, R. 3, D. 3, pens. 12½ fr.; mule and attendant
5 fr. per day; pop. 7100), a rapidly increasing little town, with a
great Friday market, is important as the junction of the caravan-routes
to the Mzab (p. 216), Ouargla (or Wargla), and the Souf (see below). New
Touggourt (T. el-Djedida) lies at the foot of a hill crowned with the ruins
of Old Touggourt (T. el-Khedima). The distinguishing features of the town
are two tall square towers, a minaret, and the clock-tower of the Kasba.
The new gypsum-built houses, some of them in several stories, produce
a striking effect. The inhabitants—Rouaras, many Mozabites (p. 216),
and Jews and negroes who have embraced Islam—live in separate quarters
(zgag) and in large suburbs. Their home-industries, especially weaving
and carpet-making, are thriving. It is very interesting to ride through
the *Oasis, or to make an excursion to the S. to the little oasis town of
(8 M.) Temacin and the (9½ M.) Zaouïa of Tamelhat, one of the most
influential monasteries in the Sahara, with a superb *Mosque.
In order to avoid the long route back to Biskra, and at the same
time to see more of the Sahara, we may ride from Touggourt viâ El-Oued,
to the N.E., in 4–5 days direct to Nefta (p. 387; trotting-camel to El-Oued
10, and for the ‘Saharien’ a fee of 3 fr. per day; comp. also p. 174). The
caravan-route, marked only by pyramidal signals, crosses the great dunes
of the Souf, where ‘desert-roses’ (p. 270) abound, one of the N. offshoots
of the Erg Oriental, as the great E. desert of the Sahara is called. The
only houses of call are (12½ M.) Bordj Mguitla, (24 M.) Bordj Mouiat
Ferdjana, and (44½ M.) Bordj Mouiat el-Kaïd. The first village in the
Souf is (53 M.) Ourmes.
61½ M. El-Oued (263 ft.; good quarters at the house of the merchant
Sagnier, R. 3, déj. or D. 4¼ fr.; pop. 7400), the interesting capital of
the Souf, with windowless houses covered with barrel-vaulting and small
domes, is best viewed from the minaret or from the dune on the N. side.
El-Oued and particularly the neighbouring oasis of Guémar are famed for
their weaving; their wares are sent by the caravan-route to the S.E. viâ
Bir er-Ressof (Beresof) to Ghadâmes in Tripolitania.
The *Oases of the Souf, containing about 180,000 palm-trees, have
quite a different system of cultivation from all others in Barbary. The
remarkably thick and long-leaved palms stand in funnel-shaped hollows
(entonnoirs, Arabic ritan), and are protected against sand-drift by palisades
of palm-twigs. The irrigation is provided by surface-water collected
in wells, from which the water is raised by means of long draw-beams.
The dates, owing to the peculiar mode of culture and the great heat of
the sun, are noted for their sweetness and fine flavour. They are usually
exported to Europe by way of S. Tunis.
Beyond (74½ M.) Debila, where the high dunes end, we ride to the
Tunisian frontier across the pastures of the nomadic tribes, watered by
artesian wells. A delightful scene is presented by the watering of the
cattle, driven in from every direction, and indefatigably supplied by the
swarthy herdsmen.
286Beyond Choucht el-Ihoudi and Bir el-Asli, the first stages in Tunisia,
we traverse the dreary steppe to the N.W. end of the Chott Djerid (p. 386),
through which we ride for a short way on the Trik Douaria. 137 M.
Nefta (p. 387), where we must announce our arrival at the custom-house.—From
Nefta viâ Tozeur to Metlaoui (and Gafsa), see pp. 387, 386.
Road, to Lambèse 7 M. (diligence four times daily, in 1 hr.), to Timgad
23½ M.—The diligence from Batna to (67 M.) Khenchela (p. 273), starting
at 4 a.m., reaches at 8 a.m., beyond the 35th kilomètre-stone (22 M.), the
point where the Timgad road diverges. One may therefore alight there
and walk in less than ½ hr. to Timgad. Returning from Khenchela the
diligence passes this point about noon. During the season motor-omnibuses
of the Hôt. des Etrangers run from Batna to Lambèse and Timgad (75 fr.
for the whole vehicle; single seat 25 fr.). A motor-omnibus of the Hôt.
Meille at Timgad also conveys travellers from the station at Batna to
Timgad and back (20 fr. each person; best to order beforehand). Carriages
(for one day 20–30, for two days 30–40 fr.) may be had at the hotels or
through the Rail. Restaurant. The fares are rather lower when arranged
with the drivers direct. Bicycles in the Square at Batna, 5 fr. per day.
If pressed for time we may take the evening train from Constantine
to Batna, visit Lambèse and Timgad next day, and go on to Biskra in
the afternoon by train. Those who reach Batna from Biskra or El-Kantara
about noon may take lunch at the station, go on to Lambèse,
staying there for 1½–2 hrs., and thence to Timgad, whence they may return
next morning to Batna in time for the afternoon train to Constantine.
Batna, see p. 275. The road leaves the town by the Quartier
Militaire and ascends slightly, to the S.E., through the dreary
upland plain, where it is sometimes bitterly cold in winter, and
along the N. margin of the Aurès Mts. (p. 278). As we near the
hill-region of Lambèse we sight the ‘Prætorium’ in the distance.
7 M. Lambèse or Lambessa (3875 ft.; quarters at the poor
cafés only), a village with a large Pénitencier, or Maison Centrale
de Correction, was founded in 1848 as a prison for political offenders
and partly built out of the ruins of the Roman Lambaesis.
Lambæsis was the headquarters of the famous Third Legion, the
nucleus of the Roman forces in Numidia, transferred hither about 100
A. D. from Tebessa (p. 315) for the defence of the chief Aurès passes, those
to the Oued Abdi and the Oued el-Abiod (p. 278). Their oldest camp,
recently discovered, lay 1¼ M. to the W. of Lambèse; the newer camp,
mentioned as early as 146 A. D., is now partly built over by the penitentiary
and its garden. On a hill rising steeply from the plain, 1¼ M.
to the S. of the later camp, lay a civilian settlement (canăbae), occupied
at first by traders, artisans, and the soldiers’ families, but erected into
a municipium under Marcus Aurelius (161–180). This became the seat of
the governor of Numidia and for a short time prospered. But the punishment
of the Third Legion by Gordian III. (238), who removed it to the
Rhine for twenty-five years, the earthquake of 268, the extension of the
military frontier under Diocletian (284–305) to the S. border of the Sahara
Atlas, and the transference, under Constantine the Great, of the governor’s
seat to Cirta (p. 298) were disasters from which Lambæsis never recovered,
so that by the 5th cent. it was completely abandoned.
The Roman *Camp, one of the best-preserved in existence, ‘the
287classic ruin of military occupation’ as it has been called, forms a
rectangle of 547 by 460 yds., with the usual rounded corners, and
four gates, between which ran the two main streets, the Cardo and
the Decumanus.
We alight at the ancient Porta Sinistra, the W. gate. Between
this and the ‘Prætorium’ (see below) recent excavations have unearthed
remains of the Decumanus and its three N. side-streets, all
once flanked with colonnades, and the foundations of the barracks
built of concrete (p. 290). The Porta Praetoria, the N. gate, at
the end of the well-paved Cardo, with its two passages and the substructures
of its two towers, is particularly well preserved. Near
it, adjoining the relics of the camp-wall, are the ruins of several
other towers.
At the intersection of the Decumanus and the Cardo, 156 yds.
from the N. gate, rises the so-called **Praetorium, probably rebuilt
in 268, the monumental entrance-gateway of the residence of the
legate (prætorium or principia), the only intact Roman building
of the kind and the grandest Roman ruin in Algeria. This great
rectangular pile of solid masonry in two stories, 33½ by 25 yds.
in area and 49 ft. in height, is adorned outside with Corinthian
columns on high pedestals and with Corinthian pilasters. The four
great round-arched passages, of which the side and end ones are
flanked, respectively, by three and two smaller archways, open into
a central space, which, to judge from the four large bases of pillars,
was once probably furnished with a roof and lighted by the four
round-arched windows in the upper story.
Of the so-called Forum, the chief court of the Prætorium, there still
exist remains of the colonnade and a number of side-chambers, once armouries.
(In the so-called arsenal at the N.W. angle many cannon-balls
and other missiles have been found.) To the S. of the forum is the
Posticum, with its offices and Scholae, the club-rooms of the officers and
sergeants (now ticketed), and the Chapel for the flags and insignia of the
Legion, recognizable by its large niche. The cellars served as the Treasury.
The Thermes du Camp, the ancient baths, to the S.E. of the
Prætorium, show remains of the heating apparatus (comp. p. 294).
From the E. gate, once the Porta Dextra, ran the road to
Verecunda (p. 289) and Timgad and the Via Septimiana to the town-hill,
1¼ M. distant. In the open ground outside of it rises the
ruinous single Arch of Commodus. Near this is the Amphitheatre,
whose stones were used in building the penitentiary (p. 286).
We now drive to the S. from the S.E. angle of the camp, where
carriages usually wait, to the Village. At the Mairie, mainly built
with the stones of the Septizonium, a nymphæum or fountain, we
find the museum attendant (fee ½ fr.), who if desired will show also
the town-hill (fee).
The small Musée Municipal, near the church, comprises, under
a shed, some mediocre statues from the temple of Æsculapius and
288splendid *Mosaics found in 1905 (one with an inscription by a
Greek artist), missiles, etc. The garden contains architectural
fragments, inscriptions, etc.
A road leads from the S. end of the village to the Town Hill,
where excavators have not as yet discovered even the forum.
Near the (¼ hr.) Aïn-Drinn, which now supplies the village
with drinking-water, are the almost unrecognizable remains of the
Temple of Neptune. From this point we walk to the N.E. past
the ruins of the Aqueduct and the foundations of four Dwelling
Houses to (10 min.) the chief temples.
The *Temple of Æsculapius, at the W. end of the temple area,
a curiously planned edifice dating from the time of Marcus Aurelius,
consists of a cella, well-preserved in its foundations, with a large
semicircular niche for the statues of Æsculapius and Salus (or
Hygiea), and of a semicircular terrace (concave inwards), where a
square basement in front bore a Doric portico, which collapsed in
1852. In front of the flight of six steps lie remains of the architrave,
bearing the dedicatory inscription of the temple. Colonnades connected
the temple with two semicircular projections, flanking the
terrace, on which stood the ædiculæ or chapels of Jupiter Valens and
Silvanus. Behind the cella are vestiges of the Thermae connected
with the temple.
A straight ancient road leads to the S.E. from the temple of
Æsculapius to the capitol, the distinctive feature of every Roman
colony. On the left lie the substructures of Chapels dedicated to
eight different gods (about 200 A. D.), all rectangular and each
with its niche, usually rounded.
The *Capitol, the largest temple of Lambæsis, dedicated to the
cult of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, adjoins the W. wall of the ancient
temple-court, a quadrangle of 66 by 60 yds., of whose colonnades
eight columns only survive. A flight of twenty steps, most of
which also have disappeared, ascended to the temple portico, with
eight Corinthian columns in front and four at the back. The cella, still
fairly preserved, 22½ by 12¼ yds., consists, exceptionally, of only
two chambers, separated by a partition, with square niches for the
sacred images. On the temple steps lie fragments of the dedicatory
inscription of the ‘Respublica Lambæsis’.
The capitol is adjoined on the E. by the court of a third Temple,
82 by 38 yds.
We now follow the road on the hill to the E., leaving on the
left the so-called Bains des Chasseurs, and in 3 min. reach the
ruins of a Triumphal Arch with three gateways, on the old road
to Verecunda (p. 289), and 3 min. farther a smaller Archway, to
which point carriages should be ordered. We then drive back to
the plain, to the N.W., by the Bertouli road, skirting the town-hill.
289About halfway between this road and the highroad we pass
the ruins of a building once erroneously called the Palais du Légat,
and those of Latrinae. On the ancient Via Septimiana (p. 287),
about a hundred yards farther, rises the *Arch of Septimius
Severus, with its three passages, bereft of its columns and attica.
The High Road ascends past the remains (on the left) of a
Roman Burial Ground, with the substructures of an Early
Christian Chapel, under the ciborium altar of which are two
martyrs’ tombs. After a long bend to the N. it reaches (9 M. from
Batna) Markouna (about 4260 ft.), a country-house surrounded
by fruit-trees, cypresses, and pines, not far from the site of the
little Roman town of Verecunda.
Beyond Markouna, just before the new road to Medina (and
Biskra; see p. 278) diverges, rises the Arch of Marcus Aurelius
(172 A. D.). A little way to the S.W., on the old Roman road
coming from the town-hill of Lambæsis, stands another Archway,
dedicated to the same emperor in 162.
As the road now descends to the N.E. into the dreary valley
of the Oued Mérien, we obtain on the right, beyond the 16th kilomètre-stone
(10 M.), a fine view of the crest of the Kef Mahmel
(p. 278), which is snow-clad in winter. Beyond the 24th kilomètre-stone
(15 M.) we overlook a great part of the Aurès Mts. with Jebel
Chelia (p. 278). On the left is Jebel Taguertine (4511 ft.).
After the 27th kilomètre-stone (17 M.) we sight, far to the
S.E., at the foot of the spurs of the Aurès, the ruins of Timgad,
where the two tall columns of the capitol gradually grow more
conspicuous. The road to (23½ M. from Batna) Timgad, which
diverges to the right beyond the 35th kilomètre-stone (21½ M.),
crosses the Oued Mérien and ends on the N. side of the ruins.
Timgad.—Hotel.Hôtel Meille, 4 min. to the N. of the ruins,
opposite the Berber market (Thurs.), with a fine view of the Aurès Mts.,
R. 3–4, B. 1–1½, déj. 3½, D. 4 fr., plain but well spoken of.
The Ruins may be visited at any time. The chief sights, named in
the text in heavy type, may be cursorily seen within 2–3 hrs. For closer
study A. Ballu’s Guide Illustré de Timgad (at book-shops 2½, 3½ fr. at
the Agence, p. 291, where photographs and picture post-cards also are
sold) is valuable. Information as to recent excavations may be obtained
from the inspector M. Barry.—Comp, also ‘Carthage, Timgad, Tébessa’,
by R. Cagnat (Paris, 1909).
Timgad (3520 ft.), known by the Berber name of Thamugadi
in the late-Roman period and one of the most thriving towns in
the E. Algerian highlands, dates from 100 A. D., when the legate
P. Munatius Gallus, commander of the Third Legion (p. 286), was
ordered by Trajan to found the Colonia Marciana Trajana
Thamugadi, probably about the same time as Lambæsis, as the
key of the Fount Ksantina (p. 296). The town saw its prime in the
290second half of the 2nd and in the 3rd cent., but in the 4th cent.,
like Bagai (p. 273), it was a centre of the Donatist movement and
suffered severely in the wars of the period. After fruitless attempts
by the Vandals to revive it, Thamugadi was destroyed by the
hostile Berber tribes of the Aurès Mts. in 535. Having been finally
abandoned at the close of the Byzantine domination, the ruins of
the town, with the exception of Trajan’s Arch, were gradually buried
under the deposits of torrents, and for twelve centuries the place
was consigned to complete oblivion.
The excavations begun by the French government in 1880, and
recently conducted by the architect A. Ballu, have brought to light
the most important parts of the town, including the Forum, two
Markets, the Capitol, and no less than eleven Thermæ. While the
private houses are mostly unpretending and very inferior to those
of Pompeii, the public buildings afford most striking evidence of
the ancient prosperity of this remote Roman provincial town.
The oldest town, laid out as a square camp (comp. p. 286) of 384 yds.
each way, in conformity with its original destination as a frontier-fortress,
has four central gates, between which ran the two main streets, the Cardo
Maximus and the Decumanus Maximus, intersecting each other at right
angles. The ‘Cardo Maximus Nord’ opens into the Decumanus at the
Forum, where it stops owing to the unevenness of the soil. Some 90 yds.
farther to the W., however, the ‘Cardo Maximus Sud’ leads out of the
Decumanus. The rapid increase of the population, especially on the E.
and W. sides, on the busy roads to Tebessa (p. 315) and Lambæsis, led
as early as the 2nd cent. to the construction or extensive new streets on
a less regular plan. By the 5th cent. the population, which had greatly
declined, withdrew from the suburbs into the ancient walled precincts,
which by this time had been much built over at places.
The main streets are bordered with Doric colonnades and paved with
bluish limestone slabs; the smaller streets have sandstone pavement.
The waggon-ruts are deep, especially in the Decumanus Maximus, and
are slightly farther apart than at Pompeii (4 ft. 3 in. and 4 ft. 1 in.).
The excellent drainage-system is now utilized anew, as may be seen
from the gutters at the street-corners.
The usual building material was concrete (opus incertum, small
stones mixed with mortar), often faced with brick, or stone-framework
(the interstices being filled with brick or rubble-work). The private houses
usually occupy an Insula, as the square block enclosed by four streets
was called. The shops (tabernae) in the main streets were all entered
from the street, except when the trader lived in the same house. As a
rule the houses, like modern Moorish houses, have their backs turned to
the street, looking into an arcaded court (peristyle) in Oriental fashion,
instead of opening into a roofed atrium in the ancient Roman style.
We begin our walk at the N. end of the town. On the right,
just outside the old town-wall, lie the—
*Grands Thermes du Nord (Pl. D, 1), the largest Roman
baths in N. Africa. They form a rectangle of 88½ by 70½ yds.,
and contain thirty-five different chambers, all symmetrically constructed
like others of the later Roman period. Parts of the walls
are still 23 ft. in height.
A flight of ten steps on the E. side of the building leads to the
Vestibulum, the main entrance to the baths. The adjoining chamber on
291the left opens on to a suite of three spacious halls. The two outer ones
were probably the Palaestra for gymnastics and games. In the corner,
obliquely opposite the entrance-wall, is a kind of shaft or passage leading
to the Apodyterium (undressing and dressing room). The central
hall is the largest Frigidarium, containing three basins (piscinae). The
chamber on the S. side, between the two smaller basins, served as a
passage to the Tepidarium, for hot-air baths and massage. Adjoining
the tepidarium on the S. is the largest Caldarium, with three hot-water
basins (alvei). Two side-rooms were the Laconica or sweating-baths.
Adjacent to them were two smaller Caldaria, to the N. of which, next
to the palæstra, were two other Tepidaria. The two rooms at the S.E.
and S.W. corners of the baths, each with an ante-room (apodyterium?)
and large semicircular niche, are supposed to have been Frigidaria.—As
to Heating Apparatus, comp. p. 294.
A little to the left of the main entrance to these Thermæ is the
quaint Mannikin Fountain (Pl. D, 1), restored from ancient
fragments.
The insignificant building on the E. side of the road is the
Agence-Musée (Pl. D, E, 1), containing the offices of the directors
of the excavations and a collection of objects found at Timgad.
These, however, with the exception of some mosaics, the chief
adornment of the African-Roman dwelling, show a provincial and
mechanical style of art.
Along the outside walls are ranged the larger sculptures, a great stone
vase, fragments of buildings, and Saturn stelæ.
The Entrance Room (I) contains pottery, including numerous lamps.—Room
II. Smaller fragments of sculpture, bronze implements, etc.—Rooms
III & IV. Desk-cases containing the most valuable finds, notably
glass, clay-vases, small implements in bronze and bone. Under the
cases are water-pines, etc.—Against the walls are placed mosaics: in
R. III, Diana and Actæon, with the name of the artist (Selius), and
Neptune in a quadriga; in R. IV, Jupiter and Antiope (inscription,
‘Filadelfis vita’), and Amphitrite on a marine centaur.
We now enter the oldest part of the town by the central Porte
du Nord (Pl. D, 1), 13¼ by 5¾ yds., preserved only in its lower
parts. Between the pillars of the gateway, once enriched with
Corinthian half-columns and pilasters, are the ancient guard-rooms.
On the floor are relics of an inscription of 149 A.D., which names
Antoninus Pius as the restorer (or finisher) of the gateway.
The first building on the left side of the Cardo Maximus
Nord, a street ascending steeply for 185 yds., is that of the Petits
Thermes du Nord (Pl. E, 1). On the left, beyond the fourth side-street,
is the—
*Library (Pl. E, 2), one of the most curious buildings in the
town, resembling the library in the forum of Pompeii, which was
once supposed to be a shrine of the Lares. The building is preceded
by an open colonnade, with two small chambers on each side. Two
side-doors lead into the rectangular book-rooms, while the central
door, as in all antique libraries, opens into a kind of sanctuary,
with a large central niche flanked by four recesses on each side
(for the sacred images), and approached by a basement in three
steps, with ornamental columns.
292The Cardo Maximus Nord leads to the main entrance to the
Forum (see below) in the Decumanus Maximus, the chief thoroughfare
of the town. To the right, at the W. end of the latter, rises
Trajan’s Arch (p. 295). We descend to the left. On the left, near
the old E. gate of the inner town, are the Grands Thermes de
l’Est (Pl. F, 2), whose tepidarium contains remains of mosaic pavement.
We turn back here, and in the third S. street off the Decumanus
Maximus we come to the Petits Thermes de l’Est (Pl. F, 2),
where two of the rooms contain restored marble benches.
Next, on the same side of the Decumanus, comes the *Marché
de l’Est or East Macellum (Pl. E, F, 2), the smaller town-market,
very curiously planned.
A flight of eight steps ascends to a semicircular vestibule occupying
the middle of a platform 30 yds. wide and 2¼ yds. deep, on to the right
and on to the left sides of which open six small shops, three of them
facing the street and three the courtyard. The latter, really a double
court, consists of two segments of a circle with a triangular fountain
at their intersection. Adjacent, along the back-wall, right and left, are
five stalls with the old stone counters. In the centre of each half-court
is an open semicircular colonnade with water-runlets.
Almost immediately to the W. of the market-hall, a later addition,
is the Maison aux Jardinières (Pl. 4; E, 2), a private
house with a fine garden-court, once adorned with flower-beds.
These were enclosed by high segment-shaped stone balustrades.
Near the Fountain at the next street-corner, at the N.E. angle
of the Forum, are the Latrinæ (Pl. 3; E, 2), the finest ancient
building of the kind, with a washing-basin and excellent cleansing
arrangements. The double seats (originally 25) have marble arms
adorned with dolphins.
A propylæum, with a vestibule (16 ft. wide) and twelve steps
forms the main entrance to the *Forum (Pl. E, 2, 3), the focus
of municipal life, to which foot-passengers only were admitted. It
was completed in the reign of Trajan, and conforms pretty closely
in plan to the rules laid down by Vitruvius. It forms a large
rectangle, 110 by 65 yds.; the area or central space, 55 by 47 yds.,
is enclosed by Corinthian colonnades. The vestibule and area were
once adorned by a crowd of equestrian statues of emperors and
figures of distinguished governors of Numidia and eminent citizens.
The so-called Marsyas, the symbol of civic liberty, marked Thamugadi
as one of the most favoured colonies, whose inhabitants enjoyed
the full rights of Roman citizenship. Besides the pedestals of
thirty-two statues, we note also several representations of figures
of a game (comp. p. 318) on the stone slabs of the pavement; among
the inscriptions annexed is the light-hearted ‘venari lavari ludere
ridere occ (hoc) est vivere’ (to hunt, bathe, play, and laugh is to live).
The chambers on the N. side of the Forum were perhaps Club
Rooms. The two-storied Shops on the S. side opened, on the upper
floor, into the Theatre Street (p. 293).
293The only building on the E. side of the Forum is the very
dilapidated Basilica (Pl. E, 3), once the exchange and court of
justice. Unlike most other ancient edifices of the kind, it is a
single hall (31 by 16 yds.), with three niches at the N. end and
five small chambers on the E. side. The large square niche at
the S. end, at the foot of the theatre hill, served as a law-court.
Of the buildings on the W. side of the Forum the two in the
middle are the Curia (Pl. E, 3), where the town-council (ordo
decurionum) met, a rectangle of 17 by 12 yds., with a colonnade
in front and platform behind, and a small Temple (Pl. 8; E, 3),
preceded by a speaker’s platform (rostra), 6¾ ft. high. The purpose
of the other buildings is unknown.
Near the Fountain at the N.W. angle of the Forum we turn to
the S., out of the Decumanus into the Voie de la Curie, and thence
to the left into the Voie du Théâtre (38 ft. wide), on the S. side of
the Forum.
The Theatre (Pl. E, 3), dating from 167, lies on the W. slope
of an isolated hill. It held about 4000 spectators, but little of it
is left, as the materials were used in building the Byzantine fortress
(p. 296). The semicircular orchestra, with its three tiers for the
places of honour (bisellia), allotted to the decuriones and other
persons of distinction, is well preserved. The Cavea, or auditorium,
69½ yds. wide, rising on the hill-side, once had twenty-six tiers
of seats, but of these the seven lowest only remain. The stage
(pulpitum) has been destroyed with the exception of the front-wall,
with its niches and steps, and the hyposcenium, consisting of brick
pillars (29½ in. high), which supported the floor of the stage. The
large colonnaded hall behind the former back-wall of the stage
served as a promenade (‘foyer’).
The hill behind the cavea of the theatre, where the remains of a
Temple Court have been unearthed, affords a splendid *Survey of the
ruins. The view extends to the W. to the distant hills near Batna; to
the S.E., beyond the great débris-strewn slopes of the lower hills, rise
the Aurès Mts.
From the centre of the theatre colonnade we may walk to the
W. to the Petits Thermes du Centre (Pl. E, 3), with admirably
preserved heating apparatus in the caldarium and laconicum (p. 291)
on the W. side.
On the W. side of these baths runs the Cardo Maximus Sud,
the finely paved main street of the S. quarter of the town, leading
past the entirely ruined S. Gate (Pl. E, 4) and the house of the
Sertii (on the right; p. 294), and ending at a Fountain in the Voie
des Thermes.
The *Thermes du Sud (Pl. E, 4), of the 2nd cent., extended
in 198 and restored about the end of the 3rd cent., are the finest
in the town next to the N. Thermæ.
294A peculiarity of this building consists in the three great Exedræ,
semicircular projections on the N.E. and S. sides. The semicircle near the
S. entrance contained the Latrinæ, now almost entirely destroyed. The
great colonnaded hall near the N. entrance served as a promenade. From
the Palæstra, 26 by 10 yds., the largest hall in the baths, bathers could
enter the Apodyterium as well as the Frigidarium, flanked by its two
piscinæ. The small ante-rooms behind the Frigidarium opened into the
heated rooms: on the right the Tepidarium, on the left the large Caldarium
with its three hot-water basins, and, straight in front, a smaller
Caldarium with two basins. The quadrangular space between the caldaria
was the Laconicum.
The cellars on the S. side were partly occupied by the Praefurnium
(furnace room). Huge stoves (furnaces) heated the water in cylindrical
boilers (testudines, no longer existing) and also the air, both for the
Hypocaustum, or hollow floor resting on low brick pillars, and for the
hollow tiles (tubuli) or nipple tiles (tegulae mammatae) with which the
hollow walls of the hot rooms were lined.
To the S.W. of the thermæ is an Artisan Quarter with a pottery
and a bronze-foundry.
We may now visit the Byzantine Fortress (p. 296) or else go
direct to the House of the Sertii (Pl. D, E, 4), one of the richest
families in the town (comp. p. 295). This building, a great rectangle
of 68 by 35½ yds., comprising no fewer than three insulæ
or blocks, was built on the site of the ancient town-wall, and
extends as far as the Voie du Capitole.
The colonnade in the Cardo Maximus Sud opens on a square Vestibulum.
Adjacent, on the right, were a shop of the owner’s, the lodge
of the porter (ostiarius), and the stairs ascending to the bath-rooms
(balineum). Next to the vestibule came the Peristyle, a colonnaded court
in the Doric style, off which opened the owner’s reception-room (tablinum),
the dining-room (triclinium), and several bedrooms (cubicula). On the
left there was a staircase to the upper story. A second peristyle, with
a fountain-basin and a fish-pond (vivarium) was flanked by the offices.
The large room at the back was the banqueting-room (oecus). On the
W. side of the building were several shops for letting.
On the W. side of the inner town, outside the town-wall, which
has here been built over, runs the broad Voie du Capitole, at the
upper end of which rises the—
*Capitol (Pl. C, D, 4; comp. p. 288), originally one of the
grandest temples in the whole country. A flight of four steps
ascends to the propylæum, a portico of twelve columns lately re-erected.
The vast temple-court is an irregular quadrangle of about
98 by 68–73 yds.; the peribolos or enclosing wall was restored,
according to an inscription, under Valentinian I. in 365. Still later
the S. colonnade was converted into a closed corridor with shops.
In the middle of the court is the basement of the ancient altar.
A lofty flight of steps, originally 38, broken halfway up by a
platform, formed the approach to the temple (58 by 25 yds.). The
cella, now destroyed, had three niches, a portico of six columns,
and lateral colonnades, while the back-wall was closed. Two of the
gigantic columns of the portico, 44 ft. high, have been re-erected,
while the huge drums and capitals of others lie around, notably on
the S. side of the temple.
295We now walk down the Voie du Capitole to the Marché de
l’Ouest (Pl. D, 3), or West Macellum, the largest covered market
in the town, probably built by one of the Sertii (p. 294) early in
the 3rd century.
The entrance is in the small Place du Marché, on the S. side of the
Decumanus Maximus. The entrance colonnade (chalcidicum) leads into
the quadrangle, 37 by 27 yds., paved with large slabs of limestone and
surrounded by colonnades. In the centre originally stood a square fountain
(tholos). At the N. end, near the entrance, were two shops on each side
and the stairs to the upper floor. The most curious feature of the building
is the raised *Exedra, once roofed, on the S. side of the court, with
seven deep recesses, closed, like those of the E. Market (p. 292), by the
stone counters of the sellers. Remains of the entablature are exhibited
on the outer wall.
The rectangular ‘Marché aux Vêtements’ (Pl. C, D, 3), on the
W. side of the Place du Marché, was probably a minor market.
Close by, on the N. side of the Decumanus Maximus, rises the
small Temple du Génie de Timgad (Pl. C, D, 3, 4), ‘a miniature
capitol’, dedicated in 151 to the genius of the colony. Three flights
of steps ascend to the temple-court with relics of the altar. The
temple, with its four Corinthian columns in front, is a mere
ruin.
We next visit *Trajan’s Arch (Pl. D, 3), the best-known
triumphal arch in Algeria, an extremely massive structure, 40 ft.
high, much restored in 1900. This was once the W. gate of the
inner town (comp. p. 296). Instead of the usual corner-columns
of the earlier triumphal arches, it has on each side four projecting
Corinthian columns, whose entablature is relieved with rounded
pediments in front of the attica. The two middle columns on the
E. side terminate in eagles holding thunderbolts in their talons,
instead of in volutes as in the usual capital. Of its three passages,
which could be closed by means of portcullises, the central
one was for vehicles, the two side-arches for foot-passengers.
The square niches over the side-gateways, each crowned with an
ædicula, were originally adorned with statues.
We now return to the inner part of the town. Between the first
and the second S. side-street of the Decumanus Maximus is the
Maison de la Piscina (Pl. D, 3), a large dwelling-house occupying
two insulæ, so named from the granite basin in the peristyle,
adorned with nine little columns of red marble. The œcus, or
festal hall, at the S. end, has a tasteful mosaic pavement.
Between the second and third S. side-streets of the Decumanus
Maximus lies the open quadrangle of a Granary (horreum), containing
numerous grindstones (pilons à blé; Pl. 7, D 3). The house
beyond the third side-street contains a Cellar (hypogæum) resting
on pillars and lighted by small windows.
The fourth N. side-street of the Decumanus Maximus, in a line with
the Voie de la Curie, leads to the ruins of a Monastery of the Byzantine
age, containing a balineum or bathroom. The Basilica (Pl. 2, D, 2) is
296a complete ruin. To the N.W. of it is the Baptistery (Pl. 1; D, 2), with
relics of the font and its colonnade.
The House of Januarius (Pl. 5; D, E 2), to the N.E. of the church,
still has its balineum.
Time permitting, we may visit the ruins outside the town.
From the great N. Thermæ (p. 290) we may walk past the
Dépôt des Tapis Indigènes, where the carpets made by the Berbers
of the Aurès are sold (adm. free), to other remains of Thermes
(Pl. C, 1).
To the S. of this point lies the early-Christian Cathedral (Pl.
C, 2), separated by a low hill from the outer Decumanus Maximus.
This was a basilica with nave and two aisles, 42 by 18½ yds., with
clustered columns and traces of the choirscreen and altar-basement.
The sacristies (prothesis and diaconicon), adjoining the raised apse,
seem to have been entered from the aisles only.
We next cross the hill and descend to the S.W. to the outer
Decumanus Maximus. Here, on the left, quite near the bed of a
recently formed torrent, is the Château d’Eau (Pl. B, 3), the remains
of an octagonal nymphæum or fountain.
Crossing the bed of the stream, and passing, on the left, the
Thermes du Nord-Ouest (Pl. B, 2), we reach the outer Porte de
l’Ouest (Pl. B, 2), a single gateway of the age of Marcus Aurelius,
well preserved in its lower parts.
From the Nymphæum we ascend on the right bank of the brook
towards the Capitol (p. 294), past an early-Christian Chapel (Pl.
C, 4), almost destroyed by the stream. Another early-Christian
Basilica lies to the S.W. of the Capitol. In the vicinity a large
Monastery, including a church and a baptistery containing a font
with fine mosaics, has recently been discovered.
Climbing over the hill to the S. of the Capitol, we have another
survey of the extensive ruins, and then walk to the S. to the Byzantine
fortress, 5 min. beyond the S. Thermæ (p. 293).
The *Byzantine Fortress (beyond Pl. E, 4), erected under
Justinian with stones from the theatre, the Capitol, and other Roman
buildings for defence against the Aurès Berbers, forms a vast rectangle,
122 by 80 yds., with walls 8 ft. thick, still rising to a height
of 23 ft. on the W. side. Four central and four corner towers, and
on the S. side a sallying gate, have been preserved.
The so-called Gregory’s Basilica, on a hill 3 min. to the S.W.
of the fortress, the latest building in the town, dates only from the
time of the governor Gregory (7th cent.; p. 371).
About 2 hrs. to the S.W. of Timgad lie the ruins of the ancient Berber
town of Ichoukkàn, on a lofty plateau inaccessible on three sides, above
the rock-gateway of Foum Ksantina (‘Constantine-Gate’), so called from
the resemblance of its situation to that of Constantine. Near it are extensive
burial-grounds with thousands of graves.
297
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.
298Constantine 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
299very 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).
300The 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
301(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,
302by 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.
303
54 M. Railway in 3–4¾ hrs. (9 fr. 75, 7 fr. 30, 5 fr. 35 c.). Railway
Restaurant at Col-des-Oliviers.
Constantine, see p. 297. Running to the N., the line pierces
the Rocher Sidi M’Cid (p. 302) by tunnels, proceeds high above
Hammam Sidi M’Cid (p. 302) and the Rhumel, with a splendid
retrospect of Constantine, and then curves round to (4½ M.) Le
Hamma (1614 ft.), station for the Oasis du Hamma, a luxuriantly
fertile dale with countless fruit-trees, watered by the Hamma
and several springs.
8 M. Bizot (1805 ft.). It then descends to the Oued Smendou,
a tributary of the Rhumel, and ascends its right bank to (17 M.)
Condé-Smendou (1838 ft.).
We cross several feeders of the Oued Safsaf (see below) and
pass through the Hills of El-Kantour in several tunnels, below
the pass of that name, now called also Col-des-Oliviers.
25½ M. Col-des-Oliviers (1365 ft.; Rail. Restaurant), station
for a group of small villages inhabited by immigrant farmers.
Thence a steep, winding descent, in a hill-region denuded of its
forest, to (31 M.) Bougrina, like Robertville, a station for the
large village of El-Arrouch.
35½ M. Robertville (348 ft.; several inns), a village on the
Oued Ahmar, is the starting-point of the fine hill-roads through
the Massif de Philippeville viâ (23 M.) Bordj Tamalous to (40 M.)
Collo (p. 131; diligence twice daily in 8 hrs.), and to Djidjelli
(p. 267; motor-omnibus, see p. 267).
The train now descends into the valley of the Oued Safsaf,
where wild olives, poplars, and cork-trees abound.
42½ M. St. Charles (138 ft.; Hôt. du Lion d’Or), the oldest
farming settlement in the district, founded by Germans and Belgians
in 1840, was at first defended by four small forts.
From St. Charles to Bona, 61½ M., railway in 4–5 hrs. (7 fr. 50,
5 fr. 5, 4 fr. 5 c.). 9 M. Râs el-Ma, with a quicksilver-mine; 15½ M.
Jemmapes (312 ft.; Hôt. d’Orient; pop. 2800), on the Oued Fendek, a
little town founded in 1848, the chief place on the roads from Philippeville
to Bona and to Guelma (p. 308); 19½ M. Oued-Hammimine, a
small bath-hotel (pens. with bath 6 fr.), with three hot sulphur-springs
(95–115° Fahr.; season Sept.–Nov. only); 41 M. Aïn-Mokra (85 ft.), on a
slope near the malarious flats of Lac Fetzara, a swamp of about 35,000
acres, and the now abandoned iron-mines of the Comp. du Mokta el-Hadid;
45½ M. Aïn-Daliah, for the new mine of Marouania belonging to the
same company. 61½ M. Bona, see p. 309.
We descend the narrow Safsaf valley to (47½ M.) Safsaf.
50½ M. Damrémont (33 ft.) is the station also for Valée (122 ft.),
a village on the vine-clad right bank, on the Bona and Guelma road
(see above).—The train leaves the Safsaf, crosses its tributary
Oued Zeramna (p. 305), and passes through a tunnel under the W.
slope of Mont Skikda (p. 304).
30454 M. Philippeville.—The Station (Pl. C, 2; no buffet) is not
far from the quay, a few paces from Place de Marqué.
Arrival by Sea (comp. RR. 20, 22). The steamers of the Gén. Transatlantique
(agent, Fauré, Place de Marqué) moor at the quay; those of the
Transports Maritimes (agent, Caffa) and of the Navigation Mixte (agents,
Daprela & Campiglia, Place du Commerce) anchor in the Grande Darse
(Pl. C, D, 1). Cab-fares, see below. Portefaix (porter) for articles under
20 kilos (44 lbs.) to the station 25, to the town 40 c.; trunk 50 or 75 c.
Hotels (comp. p. 174). Grand-Hôtel (Pl. a; C, 2), Place de Marqué,
with fine views, R. 3–5, déj. 2½, D. 3, pens. 8½ fr., good; Hôt. Foy, same
square (Pl. B, 2), new, R. 3–6 fr., B. 60 c., déj. or D. 2½, pens. from
8 fr.; Hôt. de France & de la Marine (Pl. b; B, 2), same square, No. 3,
R. 2–3, B. ¾, déj. 2½, D. 3 fr.; Hôt. Léger, Rue Nationale, R. 2–5, B. ¾,
déj. 2½, D. 3, pens. 6–7 fr., plain but good; Nouvelle Poste (Pl. d; B, 2),
Place du Commerce, Cinq Nations (Pl. e; C, 3), Rue de Constantine,
corner of Rue Gambetta, both plain.
Cafés-Restaurants.Café de Foy, at the hotel (see above); Boutin,
Plage du Château-Vert (in summer).
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. 5; B, 2), Place du Commerce.
Banks.Banque de l’Algérie, Avenue du Troisième-Zouaves; Comp.
Algérienne and Crédit Lyonnais, Rue Nationale 30 and 51.
Baths in the Grand-Hôtel; also Tenienski, Rue Buffon.—Sea Baths.Bassin du Château-Vert (see below); at Stora (p. 306), etc.
Theatre.Théâtre Municipal (Pl. 7; B, C, 3), Place Corneille (sometimes
Italian pieces).—Band on Sun. in the Place de Marqué.
Cabs (stand, Place Corneille). Drive 1 fr.; first hr. 2½, each addit. hr.
2 fr.; half-day 10, whole day 18 fr.—Diligence to Stora (50 c.), St. Antoine
(25 c.), etc.
British Vice-Consul, W. H. Miller, Rue Téophile Réguis.
Philippeville (Arabic Skikda; pop. 26,000, incl. 16,000 Europeans,
mostly Italians and Maltese, and 4800 Mohammedans), the
youngest Algerian seaport, was founded by Marshal Valeé in 1838
as a harbour for Constantine. It lies on the fine Gulf of Stora
(p. 128), about 1 M. to the W. of the mouth of the Safsaf (p. 303),
in a ravine between Mont Skikda (548 ft.) to the E. and Jebel Bou
Yala to the S.W. Its site is that of the ancient Rusicade, once
a Phœnician town, but founded anew by the Romans in 45 B.C.
Under the empire, as the Colonia Veneria Rusicade, it belonged
to the league of Cirta (p. 298), but, according to local tradition, it
had ceased to exist by 484. The chief harbour in the gulf, being
well sheltered, was formerly the neighbouring Asthoret, now Stora
(p. 306), but it has been superseded by that of Philippeville, constructed
in 1860–80 at a cost of some 20 million francs.
The Harbour, after Bona (p. 309) the chief outlet for the
produce of the province of Constantine, consists of an excellent
inner basin of 50 acres (Grande Darse; Pl. C, D, 1) and an Avant-Port
(Pl. A, B, 1) of 75 acres. The Grande Jetée du Nord (Pl. D, 1),
running out from Cape Skikda, is 1 M., the Jetée du Château-Vert
(Pl. A, 1), on the W. side, ¼ M. in length.
The best points for viewing the harbour and bay are the Place
de Marqué (Pl. B, C, 2; popularly Pl. de la Marine), the pretty
Petit Bois or Jardin de l’Hôpital (Pl. C, 2), adjacent on the E.,
and the lofty Place des Zouaves (Pl. D, 2, 3; drilling-ground).
305Past the Place de Marqué runs the Rue Nationale (Pl. B, C, 2–4),
the main street, connecting the chief gates, the N.W. Porte de
Stora (Pl. B, 2) and the S. Porte de Constantine (Pl. C, 4), whence
issue the Constantine, Bona, and Guelma roads. The narrow gorge
affords room for only a few parallel streets. The side-streets ascend
the hill-sides partly in steps.
The Théâtre Municipal (Pl. 7; B, C, 3), in the narrow Place
du Commerce, on the W. side of the Rue Nationale, stands on the
foundations of a Roman temple. A little farther, on the E. side of
the street, is the pretty Square Carnot (Pl. C, 3).—To the W.
from this square the Rue Gambetta leads to the Collège Communal
(Pl. B, 3). On the N.E. slope of Jebel Bou Yala, behind the school
(apply to the concierge here, 30–50 c.) lies the—
Roman Theatre, the largest in Algeria, erected at the earliest
under Hadrian; but as it was used as a quarry for building the
modern town, little of it is now left. Of the cavea, 90 yds. wide,
which held 5–6000 spectators, only a few steps, two passages, and
relics of vaulting remain. The stage is below the school-building.
From the Rue Gambetta the Rue Valée (Pl. B, C, 3, 4) leads
through the heart of the Mohammedan quarter to the Rue St. Augustin
and the—
Museum (Pl. 3; C, 4). The collections include some valuable
Roman antiquities. Adm. daily, 8–6; Sun. and Thurs. free; on other
days 1 fr.; catalogue (1901) 1 fr. 10 c.; curator, M. L. Bertrand.
The Garden contains numerous Roman columns, statues, etc.
The Pavillon Central has archæological collections on the groundfloor.
In the centre, 173. Roman milestone, from Hadrian’s road from
Rusicade to Cirta (p. 298); 151. Antoninus Pius, in marble. In the first
wall-press are objects from Roman tombs, mostly from Rusicade; 687.
Genius, a statuette in marble. Detached, 749. Punic tomb-stela. In the
second wall-press, Roman vases and lamps; also, *805. Bust of a youth,
after an Attic work of the age of Praxiteles; 806. Bust of Agrippina the
Elder; 778. Punic stela of the goddess Tanit, from Carthage; 779. Mithras
stone; 783. Boy’s head; 904. Clay statuette of a woman bathing; 968. Bust
of Hadrian. By the following end-wall, Roman inscriptions and altars.
At the other end, one early-Christian (293) and two late-Roman sarcophagi
(224, 331), Roman inscriptions, etc.—The 1st Floor contains ethnographical
and natural history collections and pictures.
The Pavillon Nord contains coins and medals, the Pavillon Sud
a small collection of weapons and flags.
Excursions. Bearing a little to the left from the Porte de Constantine
(see above), we cross the large Place des Chameaux (Pl. D, 4),
where an interesting Cattle Market is held on Thursday mornings,
and then follow the S. slope of Mont Skikda (p. 304), past the Cemetery,
to (½ hr.) the Château Landon or Domaine des Lions,
which has a beautiful garden. (Visitors require the permission of
M. Gallard, the superintendent, Rue Galbois.)
The St. Charles (and Constantine) road leads through the Faubourg
de l’Espérance in the fertile dale of the Oued Zeramna,
306past the (2½ M.) Ecole Pratique d’Agriculture, to the prettily
situated village of (3¾ M.) St. Antoine (33 ft.; diligence 25 c.).
From St. Antoine we may visit, viâ the Route de Praxbourg, the Oued
Amida, or upper valley of the Zeramna, a hill-region where cork-tree
plantations abound, and a favourite resort of wild-boar and jackal hunters.
Or we may follow the Chemin de la Carrière Romaine across the Col Chambœuf,
on Jebel Soubouyou (1050 ft.), to Damrémont (p. 303).
To the W. of the Porte de Constantine a picturesque road leads
viâ Montplaisant to the dale of Beni Melek, famed for its wine.
We may return thence viâ the Porte des Citernes (Pl. A, 3) and
Rue d’Orléans, or descend the Chemin du Beni-Melek to the Route
de Stora.
For a visit to Stora we may take the *Route de la Corniche,
the beautiful new shore-road which starts from the Place de Marqué
(Pl. B, C, 2) and at places is tunnelled through the living rock
(ca. 2 M.; diligence). Or we may follow the picturesque Route de
Stora (2½ M.), the old upper road, beginning at the Stora Gate
(p. 305). Stora, a fishing-village with sea-baths, is now inhabited
chiefly by Italians. The fine view hence extends to Jebel Filfila
and the Cap de Fer (p. 131). On the steep shore are fragments of
an Aqueduct, partly underground, and several Cisterns (restored),
relics of the Roman Asthoret (p. 304). A vault now used as a
laundry probably belonged to a Nymphaeum or fountain.
135½ M. Railway, in 7–8¾ hrs. (24 fr. 65, 17 fr. 60, 13 fr. 20 c.).
The morning train has a dining-car between Le Khroub and Duvivier.
Buffets at Le Khroub and Duvivier. The only intermediate station of
interest is Hammam-Meskoutine.
From Constantine to (10 M.) Le Khroub, see pp. 274, 273.
Our line diverges to the E. from those to Algiers and Biskra
(RR. 43, 44) and ascends between low hills in the bleak valley of
the Oued Berda, a tributary of the Oued Bou Merzoug (p. 272).
18 M. Bou-Nouara (2330 ft.) has an ancient Berber Necropolis,
whose dolmens and rock-tombs, 1¼ M. to the N. of the
railway, extend along the spurs of Jebel Mazela (3412 ft.).
25½ M. Aïn-Abid (2822 ft.), the highest point on the line,
lies on the watershed between the Oued Berda and the Oued Zenati,
one of the feeders of the Seybouse (p. 308). 35 M. Aïn-Regada
(2487 ft.), also in a dreary steppe.
42 M. Oued-Zenati (2268 ft.; Hôt. de France), pleasantly
situated on a partially wooded hill-side, the only large village
before Guelma, has a busy market (Sun., Mon., Thurs.).
The Road to Guelma (28 M.; diligence in 4¼ hrs.) leads to the N.E.
through a pretty hill-country direct to Medjez-Amar (p. 308), just before
(14¼ M.) Aïn-Amara, and below Thibilis (p. 307).
307Road and railway make a long bend to the W. round the hill-region
of Bou Hamdan. Beyond (52 M.) Bordj Sabath (1759 ft.),
where, below the influx of the Oued Sabath, the Zenati is called
Oued Bou Hamdan, the scenery changes. The valley, whose
slopes are richly overgrown with olive-trees and underwood, contracts.
In the stony river-bed grow many wild oleanders.
59 M. Taya (1312 ft.), a pleasant oasis with fruit-trees and
eucalypti, lies near the stalactite grottoes, not easy of access, in the
limestone hill of Jebel Taya (3963 ft.). The valley again contracts
in the two Gorges de Taya.
68 M. Hammam-Meskoutine (1312 ft.; *Hôtel des Bains;
R. 5–6, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 14, motor-omn. 1¼–1½ fr.,
open 15th Nov. to June), the Roman Aquae Thibilitanae, is now one
of the most noted baths in Algeria. The ‘indifferent’ springs are
strongly impregnated with chloride of sodium and sulphate of lime;
one, containing iron, has a temperature of 187° Fahr., the others
226°. The latter form the *Grande Cascade, 5 min. from the
station, on the way to the hotel, falling over a terrace of calc-sinter
42 ft. high, a miniature edition of the terraces of Yellowstone Park,
or of Hierapolis (in Asia Minor). Below the terrace rise date-palms
and splendid olive-trees, while the bed of the Oued Chedakra with
its profusion of oleanders further enhances the peculiar charm of
the scene. The curious limestone cones, a few paces to the E., relics
of old eruptions, have given rise to the Arabian legend of the
petrified wedding party, from which the place derives its name
(‘Baths of the Petrified’). Smaller springs rise beyond these cones
and also 3 min. to the E., near the railway.
Enclosed by the houses of the bath-hotel is a charming Garden
Court, with orange and lemon trees. Most curious among the numerous
Roman antiquities (stelæ, funerary inscriptions, etc.) placed
here is the house-altar of the Antistii, from Thibilis (see below),
on the S. terrace, shaded by a venerable terebinth. The ruined
Piscinae are the only relics of Roman buildings.
Excursions. To the S.W. lies the (¾ hr.) Lac Souterrain, a pond
88 ft. deep, in a cavern formed in 1878 by a landslip. In sunshine (best
2–4 p.m.) the water assumes a beautiful blue colour.—To the S., a little
aside from the lake just mentioned, we may ride on mule-back, or walk,
viâ Aïn-St. Charles and Aïn-Amara (see above) to (2 hrs.) Announa, the
Roman Thibilis, lying on a narrow hill (ca. 2300 ft.), high above the
Announa Valley, where excavations have been made since 1905. We note
specially the East Gate, the Entrance Arch of the forum, vestiges of
the Market Basilica, the house of Magister Pagus, and the sadly ruined
South Gate, the only two-arched Roman gateway in Algeria. Outside the
late-Byzantine town-walls, on the S.W. side of the little town, is the
Byzantine Basilica built of fragments of Roman buildings; in the semicircular
choir-recess are five rows of seats for the clergy, with the bishop’s
place in the centre.—A new road (carr. 12 fr.) leads to the N.W. to
(9½ M.) the ancient Berber Necropolis of Roknia, on the W. slope of
Jebel Debar (3442 ft.), with many dolmens (p. 324) and rock-tombs, sadly
damaged of late.
308The train next makes a wide bend to the S., round the wooded
hills of the Beni Addi, past the influx of the Oued Cherf into the
Bou Hamdan, which now takes the name of Seybouse. 72 M.
Medjez-Amar (958 ft.), amid fine hill scenery.
80 M. Guelma (916 ft.; Hôt. d’Orient, Rue Sadi-Carnot, tolerable;
Hôt. de l’Univers; pop. 10,200), a pleasant little town, in a
broad olive-clad basin, was founded on the site of Calama, in 1836,
when the Byzantine Town Walls of the time of Solomon (p. 315)
were partly used to build the French camp. The striking ruins of
the Roman Thermae (2nd cent. A. D.), with walls still about 33 ft.
high, and the Jardin Public, with Roman antiquities, are worth
seeing. There is a small collection of antiquities also at the Mairie.
The restoration of the Roman Theatre was begun in 1907 but
never finished.
Guelma holds the greatest Cattle Market in E. Algeria (Mondays;
chief of all, last Sunday in April). The poor-looking oxen,
mostly light-grey, of the E. districts as far as the Tunisian frontier,
are known as Guelma cattle.
An interesting excursion may be made from Guelma by carriage
(12 fr. whole day) to Thibilis (p. 307).
As the train proceeds, we have a fine view, to the right, of
Jebel Mahouna (4630 ft.), often snow-clad in winter. 82½ M.
Millésimo (755 ft.); 86 M. Petit, amidst pleasant wooded hills.
93 M. Nador (430 ft.), with the poor huts of the natives half-hidden
by cactus-hedges, is the station for the zinc-mines on Jebel
Nador (2418 ft.), owned by the Vieille-Montagne Company.—We
next traverse the Gorges du Nador, clad with underwood.
101 M. Duvivier (312 ft.; Rail. Restaur.; Hôt. Lagarde,
poor; pop. 2000), below the mouth of the Oued Melah (p. 312),
junction for Bona, Souk-Ahras (Tunis, Tebessa; RR. 49–51).
Our line now runs to the N. through the Seybouse valley.
103½ M. Boudaroua, 105½ M. Oued-Frarah, 110 M. St. Joseph,
all on the W. border of the wooded hills of the Beni Salah.
On the right, just before (117 M.) Barral, is the new reservoir
of the Canal d’Irrigation de la Seybouse. The chief branch of
the conduit runs on the left bank through the plain of Bona. A
minor branch, along with the highroad, crosses to the right bank,
below the picturesque village, by the iron Pont de Barral.
We now enter the Plaine de Bône, the broad, largely marshy
flats of the Seybouse, a picture of luxuriant fertility in spring, with
their extensive vineyards, flower-carpeted meadows, tall aloes, and
picturesque clumps of trees.
120½ M. Mondovi (72 ft.; Hôt. Honorati), the agricultural
centre of the district, with many thriving farms.
309124 M. St. Paul, junction of a branch-line to (7 M.) Randon.
To the left appears the Massif du Beleliéta (876 ft.), in front of
Jebel Edough (see below); then, between (127 M.) Duzerville and
(130½ M.) Allélik, is seen the low Massif du Bou Hamra (499 ft.),
with its very ancient iron-mines, now worked by the Mokta el-Hadid
Company (p. 303).
Skirting the fringes of the hills last named the train now runs
close to the Seybouse, and beyond the castle-hill of Hippo Regius
(p. 311), on the left, crosses the Oued Boudjimah.
135½ M. Bona.—Stations. 1. Gare de la Comp. Bône-Guelma
(Pl. A, 4), the chief station, for Constantine and for Souk-Ahras and
Tunis (RR. 49, 51).—2. Gare de la Comp. du Mokta el-Hadid (Pl. A,
B, 4), for the St. Charles line (p. 303).—3. Gare de la Calle (Pl. B, 4),
for the light railway to La Calle (p. 131).
Arrival by Sea (comp. RR. 20, 22). The steamers of the Gén. Transatlantique
(agent, De Pleurre), of the Transports Maritimes (agent, Teddé),
and of the Navigation Mixte (agent, Fadda) are all berthed at the Quai
Nord (Pl. B, C, 3), in the Petite Darse. Cabs, see below.
Hotels (comp. p. 174). Hôtel d’Orient (Pl. a; B, 2), Cours Jérôme*-Bertagna,
with frequented restaurant, well spoken of; Hôt. Cramet (Pl. b;
B, 3), Rue Prosper-Dubourg; Hôt. Continental (Pl. c; B, 2), Passage des
Thermopyles (entrance next the Hôt. d’Orient), with good restaurant, déj. 2,
D. 2½ fr., plain; Hôt. Moderne, Rue des Volontaires, new.
Cafés.Café St. Martin, Cours Jérôme-Bertagna; Brasserie du Petit
Gambrinus, Rue du Quatre Septembre.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. B, 3), Place de la Poste.
Banks.Banque de l’Algérie, Comp. Algérienne, Crédit Lyonnais,
and Crédit Foncier d’Algérie et Tunisie, all in the Cours Jérôme-Bertagna.—Booksellers.Faure (Legendre), cor. of Rue St. Augustin and
Rue du Quatre Septembre; Borel & Langlade, Cours Jérôme-Bertagna.
Baths.Euvremer, Rue Damrémont; Bains Maures (comp. p. 175), Rue
Bélisaire.—Sea Baths.Grenouillère (p. 310), in the Avant-Port; Plage
Chapuis and others at St. Cloud-les-Plages (p. 311).—Theatre (Pl. 4;
B, 2), Cours Jérôme-Bertagna.—Races, 24th April.
Cabs (stand, Cours Jérôme-Bertagna). Drive 1 (and back 1½) fr.; first
hr. 2, each addit. hr. 1½ fr; half-day 8, whole day 15 fr.—Omnibus from
the Cours Jérôme-Bertagna to the Plage Chapuis, etc.
Consuls. British Vice-Consul, H. A. Scratchley, Rue du Rempart 3.—U.S.
Consular Agency, Rue Thiers.
One Day. Forenoon, Harbour, Cours Jérôme-Bertagna, Hippo Regius
(pp. 310, 311); afternoon, Cap de Garde or Bugeaud (p. 311).
Bona, French Bône, Arabic Enneba (pop. 42,900, incl. 28,300
Europeans, mostly French, 11,200 Mohammedans, and 1700 Jews),
on the W. side of the Gulf of Bona (p. 128), a fortified town, is
the chief seaport of Algeria after Oran and Algiers and the most
important outlet for the produce of the département of Constantine,
such as phosphates (p. 315), iron (comp. pp. 310, 314), zinc, cork,
cattle, and cereals. Besides its fine harbour, the town offers no
sights; but it deserves a visit especially in winter, for the sake of
its pretty situation at the foot of Jebel Edough (3307 ft.; p. 169),
not far from the picturesque Cap de Garde.
Bona lies on the small Anse du Cassarin, about 1¼ M. to the N.E.
of Hippo, which was one of the chief Phœnician colonies on the coast
of N. Africa. Under Masinissa (p. 321) Hippo was the capital of Numidia,
and under the Roman empire, when it was called Hippo Regius, it was the
richest port on the N. coast next to Carthage and rivalled Cæsarea (p. 244).
310Here in 393 met a council of over three hundred bishops, who for the first
time recognized the present canon of the New Testament. On that occasion
St. Augustine (born in 354 at Thagaste, p. 313), attended as a presbyter
and co-bishop. Chief among the four ‘Latin fathers’ and a keen
opponent of the Donatists (p. 322), St. Augustine, after his conversion
at Milan by St. Ambrose (387), settled at Hippo, where he was bishop
from 395 to 430, and died there during the siege of the town by the
Vandals. After its destruction by Genseric and the downfall of the
Vandals, whose king Gelimer (p. 322) sought his last asylum on Mt.
Edough, Hippo arose from its ruins once more under the Byzantines, but
it succumbed to the assaults of the Arabs in 697 and was thenceforth
entirely abandoned.
The present town of Bona, founded later by the Arabs on the slope
of the Kasba hill, was seized by the Genoese in the 15th cent. for the
sake of its valuable coral-fishery. After the conquest of Tunis (p. 332),
it was occupied for a short time by the Spaniards in 1535, and afterwards
temporarily by the Compagnie d’Afrique from Marseilles. In 1837,
soon after the entry of the French (1832), the old Kasba, built under
Charles V., was blown up, and since then the native quarter has been
modernized in French fashion.
The *Harbour, which has been so improved of late years as
to rival that of Algiers, consists of three basins. The Petite Darse
(Pl. B, C, 3), 27 acres in area, the old inner harbour, lies near the
railway-stations and the mouth of the Seybouse; the Grande Darse
(Pl. C, D, 3, 2; formerly the outer harbour), 170 acres in area, is
a new basin between the Môle Cigogne (Pl. C, 3) and the small creek
of Grenouillère (sea-baths); the Avant-Port is a new outer basin of
nearly 100 acres adjoining the Pointe du Lion. The outer entrance
to the harbour, 270 yds. wide, between the Jetée du Lion, 1200 yds.
long, and the Jetée Sud (Pl. C, D, 4, 3), 1800 yds. long, is difficult
of access during N. or N.E. gales. The inner entrances, through
the Jetée Babayaud and at the Môle Cigogne (see above), are only
77 yds. wide. The Quai Nord (Pl. B, C, 3) in the Petite Darse is
for the large French passenger-steamers, the Quai Ouest (Pl. B, 3)
for phosphate, and the Quai Sud (Pl. B, C, 4) for the iron-ore from
the mine near Aïn-Daliah (p. 303). Adjoining the last quay and
bordering the new reclaimed lands (82 acres) is the new Quai aux
Phosphates (Pl. C, D, 3, 4), to be used for the phosphate depots and
for the Ouenza iron ores (comp. p. 314).
The broad Cours Jérôme-Bertagna (Pl. B, 2, 3; formerly
Cours National), the main street of the town, with the pretty
grounds of the ‘Square’, skirts the W. side of the native quarter.
To the W., in the European quarter, are the covered Marché
(Pl. B, 2), the interesting Fondouk (Pl. 1, A 2; native market),
and, in the Boul. des Jujubiers, the Marché aux Grains (Pl. A, 3).
Outside the W. gates, Porte des Karézas (Pl. A, 3) and Porte
Randon (Pl. A, 1), are the Marché aux Bestiaux (Pl. A, 2; Thurs.)
and the grounds of the Square Randon (Pl. A, 2).
The Native Quarter, where also the Jews reside, is intersected
by the Rue St. Augustin (Pl. B, C, 2).
311From the Boul. Victor-Hugo (Pl. B, C, 2), on the N. side of this
quarter, we may mount in 10 min. to the Colline de la Kasba,
or Colline des Santons (358 ft.), crowned by the Kasba (Pl. C,
D, 1; no admittance). The pine-clad slope is skirted by the pretty
Boul. des Caroubiers (Pl. C, D, 2, 1).
A beautiful walk may be taken from the Porte des Caroubiers
(Pl. D, 1) on the busy *Chemin de la Corniche, round the E.
side of the Batterie du Lion, always skirting the shore and passing
many villas with luxuriant gardens. It leads to the N.W. to the
suburb of (2½ M.) St Cloud-les-Plages, on the Baie des Caroubiers,
with its sea-baths (p. 309). In clear weather a pleasant drive may
be taken past the little Baie des Corailleurs and the old Fort
Génois to (7 M.) the Cap de Garde. At the Semaphore (519 ft.),
above the lighthouse, we enjoy a delightful view of the bay.
From the Faubourg Ste. Anne (Pl. A, 1) a hill-road with fine views,
but almost shadeless as far as the (5 M.) Col des Chacals (1578 ft.), ascends
in windings to (9 M.) Bugeaud (2809 ft.; Hôt. Fuster, Hôt. Kittler,
Hôt. Cronstadt, etc.), a favourite summer resort, beautifully situated among
woods of cork-oaks. In clear weather the *Panorama from (1½ hr.) Kef
Seba (3307 ft.), the summit of Mt. Edough, embraces the whole coast from
the bay of Stora (p. 128) to the Kroumirie (p. 326).
The dusty Route de Constantine (Pl. A, 4) leads through the S.
town-gate to a (12 min.) Bridge the foundations of which are Roman,
spanning the Oued Boudjimah (p. 309). Between this brook and
the Seybouse, whose mouth once lay farther to the S.E. and was
used as a harbour, extended the site of Hippo Regius (p. 309).
The road straight on, beyond the bridge, leads to the (ca. 5 min.)
Fortin, which together with the castle-hill (see below) formed the
nucleus of the Roman town. Here once lay the Roman villa quarter.
Excavations in the former Jardin Chevillot (adm. 50 c.), now belonging
to the town, have brought to light several Roman columns and
mosaics (Apollo and the Muses, Triumph of Amphitrite, etc.), the
foundations of a small early-Christian basilica, and notably a fragment
of wall, about 22 yds. long, composed of enormous blocks of
granite, 10–13 ft. long, 39 in. thick, and 27 in. high. This last is
probably the oldest and most interesting specimen of Phœnician
building in Barbary. In the adjoining property of Mme. Dufour
part of the foundations of a Roman villa and superb mosaics have
been laid bare. Among the latter are a very lifelike representation
of a hunt, fishing-scenes, houses of a town, etc. (admission kindly
granted). Of the Ancient Theatre a few steps only now exist.
To the right, just beyond the Boudjimah bridge (see above),
diverges the Chemin de Beleliéta, whence after 9 min. a fine road
leads to the right to the old Castle Hill (181 ft.). On its slope lie
the Roman Cisterns of Hippo, resembling in plan those of Bordj
el-Djedid (p. 350), but modernized in 1893 for the waterworks of
Bona (small fee for admittance). As Lalla Bouna, a famous saint,
312is supposed to have been buried here, the spot attracts Mohammedan
pilgrims on Fridays, when they may be seen picturesquely grouped
round the bronze Statue of St. Augustine (1843).
The castle-hill is crowned with the handsome Basilica of St.
Augustine, founded by Card. Lavigerie (p. 346), and built by Abbé
Pougnet in 1885–1900 in a semi-Oriental style, on the model of
the cathedral of Carthage (p. 347).
The Interior is unfinished. Over the high-altar is preserved a highly-revered
relic of St. Augustine, whose bones were carried in 496, during the
Vandal period, by fugitive Catholic bishops to Sardinia, whence they were
removed to Pavia by the Longobard king Liutprand in 722. In front of
the church we have a fine view of the coast, with its dunes, as far as
Cape Rosa (p. 131).
From Bona to St. Charles (Constantine), see p. 303; to Souk-Ahras,
see R. 49; to Tunis, see R. 51.
From Constantine to Souk-Ahras, 134 M., railway in 7–9¼ hrs.
(24 fr. 30, 17 fr. 35 c., 13 fr.). Change at Duvivier. Railway Restaurants
at Le Khroub, Duvivier, and Souk-Ahras.
From Bona to Souk-Ahras, 66½ M., railway in 3¼–5¼ hrs. (11 fr. 95,
8 fr. 55, 6 fr. 40 c.).
Constantine, and thence to (101 M.) Duvivier, see p. 297 and
R. 48.—From Bona to (34½ M.) Duvivier, see pp. 309, 308.
We cross the Seybouse and follow the narrow dale of the Oued
Melah to the S.E., with its fine growth of underwood. 107½ (or
40½) M. Medjez-Sfa (476 ft.); the village (758 ft.) lies to the
right, on the Souk-Ahras road. We then mount to (113 or 46 M.)
Aïn-Tahamimine (about 1100 ft.), with its eucalyptus groves.
The finest part of the line lies between this point and Laverdure.
We cross the ravine of the Oued Cherf by a viaduct. 116 (or 49) M.
Aïn-Affra (1739 ft.). We ascend the hill-side to the N.E., partly
through plantations of young cork-trees and underwood, and then on
the crest of the hill turn sharply back to the S.W. Below lies the
line just traversed. At several points we obtain a splendid view of
the distant hills of the Beni Salah (p. 308). Among the cork-trees
appear the first evergreen oaks.
124 (or 57) M. Laverdure (2369 ft.). The village (2526 ft.;
Hôt. Arena; Hôt. Raschiero), 1 M. to the W., on the Souk-Ahras
road, with its woods and beautiful views, attracts summer visitors.
To the left appears Jebel Mahabouba (4144 ft.), often snow-clad
in winter. Passing through woods of cork and evergreen oak,
fringes of the Forêt de Fedj el-Makta, we come to the Col de Fedj
el-Makta (tunnel), the watershed between the Seybouse and the
Medjerda (p. 325).
127 (or 60) M. Aïn-Sennour (2552 ft.). The forest-zone is
313succeeded by a region of meadows, fields, and vineyards. To the
left we sight the bare mountains to the N. of Souk-Ahras.
134 (or 66½) M. Souk-Ahras.—Railway Restaurant.—Hotels.Hôtel d’Orient, in the market-place, with good restaurant, R., déj., D.,
2½ fr. each, pens. 7½ omn. 1 fr., quite good; Hôt. de l’Univers, similar
charges; Hôt. de France.—Café de Marseille, in the market-place.
Souk-Ahras (2297 ft.; pop. 9000) lies very prettily in a lofty,
undulating plain enclosed by distant hills. It is a rapidly rising
place, with quite a European aspect, and is one of the pleasantest
provincial towns in Algeria. It dates only from 1852, when it was
founded as a convenient centre for roads radiating to Constantine,
Bona, and La Calle, and as a mart for the phosphates of Tebessa
(p. 315). It stands on the site of Thagaste, the birthplace of St. Augustine
(p. 310), who mentions it with affection in his Confessions.
At the foot of the old castle-hill, an excellent point of view, are
placed a few antiquities from Khamissa (see below). Cattle-breeding
and vine-culture are the chief industries in the environs.
The Excursion to Khamissa, about 23 M. from Souk-Ahras, is best
made by motor-car as far as Ksar Tifech and thence on mule-back. We
follow the Sedrata highroad to the S.W., soon crossing the Medjerda
(p. 325). About halfway we enter the Plaine de Tifech, watered by the
Oued Tifech and once fertile and populous. We then reach the Ksar Tifech
(3150 ft.), on the slope of Jebel Tifech (3609 ft.), with the ruins of a
Byzantine fortress, the most considerable relic of the Numidian Tipasa.
Thence we ride to the N.W., in the direction of the ancient Roman road,
to *Khamissa or Khemissa (3084 ft.; no inn), the interesting site of
the Roman Thubursicum Numidarum, one of the oldest and most important
towns in Inner Numidia. It lies on a hill high above the valley
of the Medjerda, which rises a little to the N.W. on the Râs el-Alia
(4321 ft.). Among the ruins may be noted the S.E. Gate, a triumphal
arch with a single passage, on the Tipasa road; near it, the underground
Columbarium (hypogæum); the Thermae; and also, in the Platea Vetus,
the chief square in the E. quarter of the town, an unfinished Roman
Temple besides other buildings. On the crest of the hill we come upon
the foundations of a Byzantine Basilica and a small Byzantine Fortress
(‘Ksar el-Kebîr’). On the N. hill-side is the Roman Theatre, with its
fairly preserved stage-building (comp. p. 293). The Forum, on the W.
margin of the hill, and a Triumphal Arch with three passages were afterwards
incorporated with a second Byzantine Fortress. All around are
extensive Burial Grounds, some of them with rock-tombs.
From Souk-Ahras to Tebessa, see R. 50; to Tunis, see R. 51.
79½ M. Narrow Gauge Railway, in 5½–6½ hrs. (14 fr. 35, 10 fr. 25,
7 fr. 70 c.; 1st cl. return 20 fr. 20 c.). Railway Restaurant at Clairefontaine
only. Morsott is preferable to Tebessa for night-quarters.
Souk-Ahras, see above. We cross the Tunis line (R. 51) by a viaduct,
and descend to the S. into the valley of the Medjerda (p. 325),
latterly through underwood and Aleppo pines. 5 M. Les Tuileries.
We next ascend the narrow and picturesque side-valley of the
Oued Chouk, through pine and cork-oak woods. Beyond (9 M.)
314Oued-Chouk (1975 ft.) we skirt the upper course of the stream,
now called Oued el-Hammam, in a barren hill-country, and at
places through limestone gorges, bordered with Aleppo pines.
17½ M. Dréa (2634 ft.), an alfa (esparto grass) station.
From Dréa we may visit the native village of Mdaourouch (3058 ft.),
3 M. to the S.E., on the N.W. slope of Jebel Bou Sessou (3566 ft.). This
was the ancient Madaura or Madauros, the birthplace (about 125 A. D.)
of the Roman author L. Apuleius. It was once the seat of a famous
school of oratory, at which St. Augustine (p. 310) was educated. On its
site, where there are relics of a Roman Mausoleum and the foundations
of an early-Christian Basilica, rises the conspicuous Byzantine Castle,
dating from the time of Solomon (p. 315), a building curiously irregular
in plan, partly enclosed by later (Berber?) fortifications. Large Thermae
also have been recently excavated.
Beyond Dréa we traverse fields and poor pastures to the S.W.
22½ M. Mdaourouch (2809 ft.; no inn), the highest point on
the line, the watershed between the Medjerda and the Mellègue
(see below). In the vicinity is the village of Montesquieu.
A field-road leads to the E. from the station to (4½ M.) the village
of Mdaourouch (see above).
Khamissa (p. 313) may be visited from Montesquieu (see above) or
Mdaourouch if we are fortunate enough to find mules there. We follow
the Sedrata highroad to the W. to (9 M.) the caravanserai (Bordj; 2756 ft.)
in the Plaine de Tifech (p. 313), whence we turn to the N. to (13 M.)
Ksar Tifech (p. 313) and thence go on to (16 M.) Khamissa.
Beyond Mdaourouch there are long stretches of bleak steppe-like
country. The train descends to (30 M.) Oued-Damous (1982 ft.),
in the valley of that name. It then skirts the Oued Kebarit and
rounds the E. slope of Jebel Kréréga (3251 ft.), a tableland with
scanty woods of pine and arbor vitæ. Far away to the left rises
Jebel Ouenza (4229 ft.), with the largest iron-mines in Algeria,
owned by the ‘Société d’Etudes de l’Ouenza’. (Mineral-line to Bona
or to Nebeur projected; comp. p. 325.)
We now ascend the valley of the Oued Mellègue. To the right
appear the bare Kef Bou Djabeur (2504 ft.) and Kef Raghma
(2700 ft.), similar in type to the hills fringing the Sahara.
38 M. Clairefontaine (2146 ft.; Buffet, D. 3 fr., very fair),
an important alfa station, with artesian wells. Sunday market.
Passing between Jebel Mestoula (3488 ft.) on the right and
Jebel el-Dzeroua (3432 ft.) on the left, we enter, to the S.E., the
valley of the Oued Chabrou. To the S., above the steppe, which is
overgrown with alfa and enlivened by browsing camels, rise the
ranges of Jebel Metloug (4111 ft.) and Jebel Mzouzia (4514 ft.).
60 M. Morsott (2559 ft.; Hôt. de Lyon or Sivignon, good
cuisine), below Jebel Hout es-Srir (3445 ft.), a thriving European
settlement, with its Monday market and alfa trade, is the starting-point
of the mineral-line to (9½ M.) Jebel Bou Kadra (4734 ft.)
and the iron-mines of the Mokta el-Hadid Company (p. 303).
Here, partly seen from the train, are relics of the Roman Vasampus:
a Gateway of solid masonry, perhaps that of a temple-court; Thermae,
315with unusually small chambers; and two Mausolea. There are also remains
of the foundations of an early-Christian Basilica, curiously planned,
40½ by 16¾ yds. (three portals to the nave, apse with four side-recesses,
baptistery behind the choir-recess).
69½ M. Youks les Bains-Boulhaf le Dyr, station for the
baths of Youks-les-Bains (p. 318), 7 M. to the S.W., and junction
of the mineral-line to the phosphate-beds of Jebel Dyr (4977 ft.).
On the right rises the ‘Chapeau de Gendarme’ (4393 ft.; Arabic
Jebel bel-Khifeh), whose characteristic form we do not see until
near Tebessa. A line of rails to the left leads to the phosphate-deposits
of Aïn-Kissa.
In the foreground appear the hills of Tebessa, to the S. Jebel
Tenoukla and Jebel Osmor (p. 318), and S.W. the Jebel Doukkan
range (5528 ft.). Tents of the nomads are often seen on the steppe.
We cross the Oued el-Kébir, as the Oued Chabrou is called here.
79½ M. Tebessa.—The Station lies to the W. of the town,
outside the Porte de Constantine, 8 min. from the Place d’Armes. Omn.
twice daily.
Hôtels.Hôtel d’Orient & de la Métropole, Rue Caracalla, 2 min.
from the Arch of Caracalla, R. 3–3½, B. ¾, déj. 2, D. 3, pens. 8–9½,
omn. 1 fr.; Hôt. du Cours, Place d’Armes, unpretending, but very fair.
A hasty visit to the sights, in the following order, takes 2–3 hrs.—For
the description of Tebessa comp. also Cagnat’s book mentioned at p. 289.
Tebessa (2717 ft.; pop. 5700, mostly Mohammedans), a poor
town, now unimportant except as the centre of the E. Algerian phosphate
trade, was the ancient Theveste, one of the most prosperous
towns in Inner Numidia from the Punic period (about B.C. 250–200)
onwards. It was the first headquarters of the Third Legion (p. 286);
in 123 A. D. it was connected with Carthage by a Roman military
road; and after its destruction by the Berbers it was re-founded in
535 by Solomon, the general of Justinian (p. 541). Its ruins of
the late-Roman and Vandal periods are among the finest in Barbary,
but as they lie off the beaten track they are almost forgotten.
The town is still enclosed by the Byzantine Walls built by
Solomon, forming a rectangle of 350 by 306 yds., with fourteen
towers, two gates, and a sally-port on the S. side. The old upper
gallery and the battlements were removed in 1852 when the walls
were restored.
The modern W. Gate, the Porte de Constantine, leads first to the
pleasant Place d’Armes, the centre of traffic. Two minutes’ walk
to the E. of this is the so-called Porte de Solomon, the most interesting
part of the fortifications, with a round-arched passage and
two square towers 56 ft. high. Outside of it the natives hold market
on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The N. Gate, where the walls project a little on both sides, is
formed by the *Arch of Caracalla, dating from 214 A. D., once
in the middle of the far more populous Roman town, but now at
the end of the main street coming from the Place d’Armes.
316This arch, resembling the Janus Quadrifrons at Rome, is the most
imposing Roman monument of the kind in Algeria, rivalling those of
Tripoli (p. 408) and Leptis Magna (p. 412). It forms a square of about
12 yds. each way, with four round-arched passages, 27 ft. high and 15 ft.
wide. Each pillar is adorned on its two outer sides with two Corinthian
pilasters and two projecting Corinthian columns, all on a common base.
Of the sculptures on the keystones of the archways, under the lavishly
decorated architrave, there are preserved, on the E. side, a medallion in
high relief of Minerva and a Medusa, and on the W. side a Fortuna (goddess
of the town) and an eagle holding a bundle of thunderbolts. On three
sides, in the middle of the attica, which is 4 ft. high, there are Latin
inscriptions referring to Caracalla and his parents, Septimius Severus and
Julia Domna. On the N. side, when the arch was restored, there was added
an inscription in honour of Solomon. On the S. side is still preserved an
ædicula, one of the four destined for statues adjoining the central dome.
On the inner side of two of the pillars are long inscriptions from the
testament of C. Cornelius Egrilianus, the builder of the triumphal arch.
The highroad now descends to the N. to the (7 min.) so-called
**Basilica, the most remarkable early-Christian ruin in Algeria,
still in some respects an enigma to archæologists. Built mainly of
Roman materials, and itself used for centuries as a quarry, it still
forms an immense quadrilateral of about 213 by 88–115 yds.,
systematically excavated for the first time in 1888–92. The oldest
parts of the edifice, perhaps of the late 4th cent., are believed to
be the basilica and the memorial chapel; the main street, the court,
and the ‘stable’ seem to belong to a second building period, perhaps
also prior to the Vandal era. The monastery, with its fortifications,
and the additions to the memorial chapel date probably from the
Vandal period; the small ‘emergency chapel’ is perhaps a later
Byzantine addition. The custodian (fee ½–1 fr.) is to be found at
the little house near the E. gate.
The E. Gate, the old main entrance, once adorned externally,
in the style of a Roman triumphal arch, with Corinthian pilasters
and jutting columns, is in fair preservation. Thence ran the paved
Main Street, 8 yds. wide, without wheel-ruts, past the Basilica
on the right and the court and ‘stable’ on the left, to the W. Gate,
the ancient subsidiary entrance.
From the N. side of the main street, formerly flanked with three
colonnades, a flight of fourteen steps, 9½ ft. high in all, ascends
to the portico of the Basilica, which was once preceded by eight
columns. Three portals here opened into the Atrium, the square
forecourt of the church, with remains of the Cantharus, or fountain
of purification, in the centre. Near the entrance-wall are two side-rooms
whence winding staircases ascended to the upper floor and
the church galleries.
The Church, built of solid masonry, consisted of nave and two
aisles, 50 by 24 yds. in all; but now nothing remains save the
external wall of the left aisle, two arcades of the nave, and the
choir-recess. The formation of the arcades, with low pillars and
Corinthian columns in front, is peculiar. The site of the choirscreen
317and of the base of the altar is still traceable. Of the galleries,
supposed to have been added on the occasion of a restoration
of the church, there still lie fragments of the columns and
imposts all around. The mosaic pavement is covered with earth.
From the front part of the right aisle twelve steps descend into
an almost square outer building (25½ by 22 yds.), contemporaneous
with the church. The middle of this is occupied by the
Trichorum, a trefoil-shaped hall, with three rounded apses, probably
a Memorial Chapel, resembling the early-Christian cemetery-chapels,
and dedicated to some martyr or bishop buried under the
altar. The four corner-rooms served as Tomb Chambers.
Among the later additions of the Vandal period are the Square
Chamber on the S. side of the memorial chapel, which also was used as
a burial-place, with its small ante-room, and the Baptistery, accessible
only from the atrium by three steps, containing remains of the old font.
To the same period belong the other additions to the basilica. Extending
round the church from the memorial chapel on the E. to the W.
side of the atrium are twenty-seven square chambers, partly built of
heathen tombstones, commonly supposed to have been the Monks’ Cells,
though unusually large for that purpose. Between these and the castellated
Monastery Wall, whose towers do not project externally in the
usual Byzantine fashion, probably lay the Monastery Garden, which was
used down to the Moorish period as a burial-ground.
Lastly we note the small ‘Emergency Chapel’ on the N. side of the
memorial chapel, a small church, probably hastily built subsequent to
the irruption of the Berbers (p. 315), with nave and two aisles, portico,
choirscreen, rounded apse, and a square sacristy added on the N. side.
The Quadrangle, 60 by 46 yds., on the S. side of the main
street, formerly called the forum, was once divided into four sections
by two cross-ways bordered by marble balustrades. In spite of the
unevenness of the ground these sections are supposed to have been
basins (watering-places for cattle and horses?), the water being
supplied from the square reservoir still existing at the S.E. corner
of the quadrangle. From the cross-ways steps ascended to narrow
terraces enclosing the quadrangle on three sides, that on the S. side
being a porticus of twenty-two columns.
More enigmatical still is the West Building, 53 by 24 yds., a
hall with three aisles borne by pillars. This was afterwards converted,
by the insertion of two low partitions, into a central chamber
of three aisles with eleven two-storied side-rooms on each
side of the outer aisles. The curious stone boxes or troughs (mangers?)
on the partitions, together with the holes in the walls, of a
kind that recur in many Byzantine buildings (perhaps for the
rings to which horses were attached), have led to the conjecture
that the building was a stable.
The small building behind the Porticus of six columns on the
N. side of the main street, opposite the so-called stables, contains
similar stone boxes.
The Kubba Sidi Djaballah, about 5 min. to the N. of the Basilica,
near the Catholic cemetery, is a Roman mausoleum with a Moorish dome.
318On the way back to the town we call at the Bureau des Ponts
et Chaussées, on the right, a little off the road, 2 min. before the
Arch of Caracalla, to ask M. Coggia, the curator, for the key of
the museum.
The so-called *Temple of Minerva, the best-preserved Roman
temple in Algeria, now used as a museum, dates from the 3rd
cent. A.D. The only relic of the old temple-court is the gateway
wall, adorned with Corinthian pilasters, now forming the façade of a
zaouïa (Mohammedan school) in the main street, close to the Arch
of Caracalla. The temple, a pseudo-peripteros of 19¾ by 10 yds., on
a substructure 13 ft. high, is in a side-street, adjoining the N. town-wall.
A new flight of twelve (once twenty) steps ascends to the portico,
with four Corinthian columns in front. The structure of the
temple shows many of the peculiarities of African provincial art. Instead
of an architrave there is a frieze with bulls’ skulls and eagles
grasping serpents; above it is an attica in similar style, overladen
with reliefs but without a cornice. Instead of a pediment there
was probably a flat terrace on the summit. The present roof and
the whole front-wall of the cella are modern.
The Town Museum contains antiquities from Tebessa, Morsott, etc.
(catalogue for the use of visitors). In the court are relics of antique and
early-Christian buildings, inscriptions, altars, Saturn-stelæ and tomb-stelæ,
some of them with bowls on the pedestal for the repasts of the
deceased. The cella contains bronzes, vessels and sculptures in clay, etc.;
a sarcophagus with the Muses; two mosaics from the baths which were
removed to make way for the cavalry barracks, one with Nereids and
sea monsters, the other with a home-coming ship and numbered figures
of a game (bull, ostrich, gazelle, boar, etc.; comp. p. 292).
The Catholic Church, at the N.W. angle of the town-wall,
is adorned in the interior with a few fragments from the Basilica.
Thus, over the high-altar, are remains of an early-Christian sarcophagus
with three curious figures in relief (Christian Roma?).
Environs. The Roman Aqueduct, 547 yds. long, restored in turn
by the Moors, the Turks, and the French, still conveys water from the
spring of Aïn el-Bled.—About 1¾ M. from the Porte de Constantine
(p. 315) are the extensive late-Roman ruins of Tebessa Khalia (‘Old
Tebessa’), the nature of which is still unexplained.
Diligence daily to (11 M.) Youks-les-Bains (2625 ft.), with ‘indifferent’
hot springs (95° Fahr.), 2 M. to the S.W. of the Meskiana and Aïn-Beïda
road (p. 273).
To avoid the long return-journey from Tebessa to Souk-Ahras, we may
ride or drive to the N.W. viâ (26 M.) Haidra (p. 362) to (40½ M.) Thala
(p. 362) or to (37½ M.) rail. stat. Kalaâ-Djerda (p. 362). A mineral-line
also runs thence to the Algerian frontier and the phosphate-beds on Jebel
Kouif (3871 ft.; leave to travel by it is usually granted by the manager).
A road leads to the S.W., past Jebel Osmor (5052 ft.), noted for its
Punic rock-tombs, then across the Tenoukla Pass, between Jebel Tenoukla
(5118 ft.) on the right and Jebel Bou Roumane (p. 320) on the left, and
past Bou-Chebka (caravanserai), to (47 M.) Feriana (p. 371). Diligence
viâ Feriana to Gafsa (p. 383) in two days (fare 30 fr.).
VII. TUNISIA. — 51. From ( Constantine, Bona ) Souk-Ahras to Tunis. — 52. Tunis. — a. The New Town. — b. The Old Town. — c. Environs. — 53. Carthage. — 54. From Tunis to Bizerta. — 55. From Tunis to Dougga ( Le Kef ). — 56. From Tunis to Le Kef and Kalaâ-Djerda. — 57. From Tunis to Susa. — 58. From Susa to Kairwan. — 59. From Susa to Sfax. — 60. From Sfax to Metlaoui viâ Gafsa. — 61. From Metlaoui to the Djerid. — 62. From ( Sfax ) Graïba to Djerba viâ Gabes and Médenine.
319
Route
Page
Geographical and Historical Sketch. Preliminary Notes
Thuburnica, 325.—Simitthu. From Souk el-Arba, through the Kroumirie, to Tabarca, 326.—From Pont-de-Trajan to Béja. From Béja to Tabarca. Chaouach, 328.
a. The New Town, 333.—b. The Old Town (Djamâa ez-Zitouna, Souks, Dâr el-Bey, Kasba, Mosque of Sidi Mahrez), 334.—c. Environs (Jardin du Belvédère, the Manoubia Hill, the Bardo, etc.), 338.
From Bir-Kassa to La Laverie, 358.—From Smindja to Zaghouan. From Tunis to Zaghouan by road. Jebel Zaghouan, 359.—Maktar, 360.—Kalaât es-Senam. Haidra. From Kalaâ-Djerda to Kasserine viâ Thala, 362.
Jebel Bou-Kornin, 363.—From Fondouk Djedid to Menzel Bou-Zelfa. From Soliman to Korbous. From Bir Bou-Rekba to Nabeul, 364.—Takrouna. Hergla, 365.—From Susa to Mehdia viâ Moknine, 369.—Chebba, 370.
The Monts des Ksour, 390.—Tatahouine, 391.—The Island of Djerba, 393.
Tunisia, the eastmost part of the Maghreb (p. 93), a territory
of about 50,000 sq. M., has a population of ca. 1½–2 millions,
the great majority being Mohammedans (Berbers, Arabs, Moors,
Kuluglis, and negroes). Of the remainder about 60,000 are Jews
320(Arabic Ihûdi, pl. Ihûd), either natives or settlers (from Spain and
the so-called Livornese), 105,680 Italians, 40,850 French, 12,200
Maltese (p. 397), and 4800 other Europeans. The coast, about 620 M.
long, extends from Cape Roux (p. 131) to Râs Adjir (p. 406).
The abrupt coast of the Tell Atlas (p. 169), which stretches
from the Fedja Grandpré (3783 ft.) on the Algerian frontier to
Cape Blanc (p. 129), and comprises the wooded hill-country of
the Kroumirie, the Nefza and Mogod Mts., and several ranges of
lower heights, is broken by the small coast-plain of Tabarca alone.
The dunes to the E. of Bizerta, rising to 1033 ft., the greatest
range of sand-hills on the Mediterranean, separate the Lake of Bizerta
from the Gulf of Tunis (p. xxx), into which fall the Medjerda
and the Oued Miliane, the two chief rivers of the country,
forming a number of lagoons and tongues of land at their mouths.
The Algerian Sahara Atlas (p. 170) extends to the N.E. from
Jebel Bou Roumane (5250 ft.) and Jebel Zebissa (4167 ft.) near
Tebessa (p. 315) to Cape Bon (p. 153), broken by stony plateaux
(Hammada, Kalaâ, Dyr), and finally descends abruptly to the sea.
Its most important peaks in Tunisia are Jebel Chambi (5217 ft.),
Jebel Bireno (4655 ft.), Jebel Rekaba (or Râs Ali Bou-Mouzine,
4987 ft.), Jebel Serd (4511 ft.), and, beyond the deep depression
of Jebel Faroua (2362 ft.), Jebel Zaghouan (4249 ft.), which
last is the most striking landmark for mariners in all Tunisia.
The S. slope of the Sahara Atlas is remarkable for its terraced
formation due to the action of water. The whole country consists
mainly of great basins with floors of clay or sand of recent origin,
separated from each other by elliptically shaped hills of more solid
rock, chiefly of chalk formation. The Oued Hathob (pp. 362, 370)
flows through no fewer than six basins of the kind.
From the Gulf of Hammamet, on the S. margin of the peninsula
of Cape Bon, to the Lesser Syrtis, now the Gulf of Gabes, extends
an alluvial plain of marine formation. This steppe-like tract,
with its large fresh-water lake (Lac de Kelbia, p. 370) and many
salt-marshes (Sebkha, comp. p. 169), is thinly peopled by nomads
only, except on the strip of coast, with its lagoons, flanking the Sahel.
To the W. of the Gulf of Gabes lies the region, 250 M. long, of the
Shotts (Chotts el-Fedjedj, Djerid, and Rharsa), belonging to the
great Bassin du Melrir (p. 170); it forms the N. fringe of the desert,
lying largely below the sea-level, and contains the finest palm-oases
in Barbary. The transition from the shotts to the highlands
of Tripoli is formed by Jebel Tebaga (1608 ft.), and by the Monts
des Ksour (2460 ft.), famed ever since the time of Herodotus for
their troglodytes or cave-dwellers, and bounded on the S.W. by
the Erg Oriental (p. 285).
Tunisia, unlike its neighbour Algeria, which is shut in all round
by high mountains, covered with snow in winter, opens due E. upon
321the Mediterranean and enjoys a mild winter climate, but in summer
and autumn is directly exposed to the sirocco (Arabic samûm),
the burning wind from inland Africa, which is hotter and drier here
than in Algeria. The mean temperature of January is at Tunis 51°
Fahr. (minimum 28½°), at Aïn-Draham 42½° (min. 9½°), at Le Kef
45° (min. 23°), at Kairwan and Tozeur 50° (min. 25°), at Djerba
54½° (min. 35½°). The mean temperature of August at Tunis is
81° (maximum 122°), at Kairwan 85° (max. 120°), at Djerba 81°
(max. 115°), and at Tozeur reaches 91° (max. 120°). The greatest
rainfall in N. Africa is in the region of the Kroumirie (65 inches
per annum at Aïn-Draham); to the S. of the Medjerda it decreases
to 20–24 inches (at Le Kef 21½ in.); it is still lower at Tunis
(17¾ in.), on the E. coast (Susa 16½, Sfax 9¾ in.), and particularly
in the district of the shotts (at Tozeur 5 in.). The rain falls
in short, torrential showers; owing to the destruction of the forests
and the paucity of reservoirs the water rushes down unhindered to
the salt-lakes and the sea, inundating the plains on its way. A few
hours after each shower the thirsty soil is as dry as before, but the
devastation caused by erosion is aggravated.
The fauna and flora are almost identical with those of Algeria
(p. 171). The chief products of Tunisia are the tanner’s bark and
cork of the Kroumirie, early vegetables from the environs of Tunis,
cereals from the Medjerda valley and from the dales of the Sahara
Atlas (here horse and cattle breeding also thrive), alfa or esparto
grass (p. 171), olive-oil from the Sahel and from Sfax, and dates
from the oases of the Sahara. Fish abound on the coast and the
sponge fishery also is productive, while the coral-fishing has sunk
into complete insignificance. The principal ores worked here are
zinc, lead, iron, and copper. At Kalaât es-Senam, Kalaâ-Djerda,
Metlaoui, Redeyef, and Aïn-Moularès there are immense deposits
of phosphate, the yield of which has rapidly increased the traffic
of Tunis and Sfax, and is expected greatly to augment that of
Susa after the completion of its harbour.
Tunisia owes its ancient culture, the earliest in Barbary, to its
numerous Phœnician colonies, such as Utica, Kambe, Hadrumetum
(Susa), Leptis Minor, and Carthage. The Carthaginians wisely
introduced the irrigation system of Mesopotamia into N. Africa
and promoted the corn and vine culture, but the agricultural prosperity
of the country was confined chiefly to the littoral, inhabited
by Libyan-Phœnicians, a mixed Berber and Phœnician race, and to
the valley of the Medjerda. The contiguous region of Numidia was
first opened up to Punic culture by Masinissa (B.C. 201–149), the
most distinguished of the ancient Berber kings.
The Roman republican period was unfavourable for the development
of the new province of Africa. The chief events were the
war with Jugurtha (111–106), the grandson of Masinissa, and the
322battles between Pompey, whose adherents were aided by Juba I.,
and Cæsar, which, after the battle of Thapsus (p. 369), led to the
annexation of Numidia as the province of Africa Nova. The
marvellous progress of the country during the first centuries of the
Roman empire is evidenced by the colonization of the central
Tunisian and S. Algerian steppe, a triumph of Roman enterprise.
A great network of roads was constructed, chiefly from the reign
of Hadrian onwards, to connect Carthage, the new capital, and
other towns with Tebessa, Hippo Regius (p. 309), Tripolitania,
and even the distant Mauretania Tingitana (p. 95), and numerous
towns were founded in the interior of Tunisia and Numidia. But
soon (about 238) a period of decline set in. Its causes were manifold.
The Berbers were constantly rebelling, the Roman soldiers
quarrelled, advancing Christianity and expiring paganism were
struggling fiercely for the mastery, and the Christians, at length
victorious, persecuted with the greatest ferocity. To add to these
troubles, the terrible peasant-war of the so-called Circumcelliones
broke out in the 4th cent., followed in the 4th and 5th cent. by
the religious wars between Catholics and Donatists.
Once more, however, the ancient glory of Tunisia revived, though
for but a brief period (439–77), under Genseric, the Arian king of
the Vandals. After he had completed his victorious expedition from
S. Spain to Carthage (429–39) he proceeded, in alliance with the
Donatist Berbers and with the still Punic speaking inhabitants of the
coast, to attack the effete western empire. With his newly formed
fleet he conquered Sicily (440), Rome (455), Tripolitania, Malta
(456), and Sardinia (458), and in 476, after the overthrow of the W.
Roman empire, was recognized by Zeno, the E. Roman emperor,
as lord of the whole western Mediterranean. But the incompetence
and intolerance of his successors soon shattered this new empire,
and in 533 king Gelimer was defeated by Justinian’s able general
Belisarius. Even in Justinian’s time, however, the new rulers were
incessantly attacked by the Berbers of the mountains, while the Byzantine
governors (534–698) persecuted Donatists and Arians alike,
with the result, according to Procopius’s estimate, that five millions
of the inhabitants of N. Africa perished. The fate of the country
was thus sealed and its conquest by Islam greatly facilitated.
After eight successive campaigns (647–98) the first Arabian
governors (representing the caliphs), Abdallah ibn Saâd, Moauya
ibn Hodeij, Sidi Okba ben-Nâfi (founder of Kairwan, p. 372),
Zoheir ibn Kaïs, and Hassan ibn en-Nôman (destroyer of Carthage,
p. 346), drove the Byzantines out of ‘Ifrikia’ and overcame
the desperate resistance of the Berber mountaineers, thus sweeping
Christianity from African soil and destroying the last vestiges
of Punic and Roman culture. Ere long, however, their ineradicable
love of independence led the Berbers, who after the conquest of
323Andalusia (p. 50) had formed the sect of the Kharijites and later
that of the Shiites, to unite in opposing the orthodox Arabs and
to found (about 740) several small states of their own, such as
that of the Ibadites in Tiaret (p. 208) and that of the Sofrites in
Sijilmassa (Tafilet, p. 96). In Tunisia the Aglabides (800–909),
a Berber dynasty, who were originally governors under Hârûn er-Rashid,
declared themselves independent, and in 827 they proceeded
to conquer Sicily. Under the Fatimites, who also were Berbers,
the seat of government was transferred in 916 from Kairwan to
Mehdia (p. 369), and in 973, after the conquest of Egypt, it was
removed to Cairo (comp. p. 443). The revolt of the Zirites, a new
dynasty of Tunisian governors, named after Bologgîn ez-Ziri, led
in 1045 to the fateful irruption of the Beni Hilal (Hilalides) and
Beni Soleïm, two marauding tribes of nomadic Arabs. At the instigation
of the Fatimites they overran Barbary like a swarm
of locusts, defeated the allied Zirites and Hammadites (p. 270),
destroyed Kairwan and many other towns, demolished most of the
forests and the irrigation-works, and drove the Berbers back to
their mountains. After a time the Zirites partly succeeded in subduing
these hordes, but in 1148 the whole of the Sahel with its
capital Mehdia was wrested from them by the Normans of Sicily
(p. 148). In 1160 the Normans were expelled by Abd el-Mûmen
(p. 95), and Tunisia was incorporated with the great empire of
the Almohades. At length, under the Hafsides (1206–1573), Tunisia
regained independence, with Tunis as the capital. Towards the end
of this period troubles began anew. After interminable wars with
the Merinides (p. 95) Tunis was captured by Kheireddin (p. 221)
in 1534, and was attacked, though without permanent success, by
the crusading Maltese knights (p. 398), by Emp. Charles V. (in
1535), by Juan de Vega (1551), and by Don John of Austria (1573).
From 1574 to 1650 Tunisia was governed by Turkish officials
(pashas, deys, beys), after which the dynasty of the Husseinites
was founded by Hussein Ali ben-Turki. From 1705 onwards
Tunisia, often only a nominal dependency of Turkey, degenerated
into a mere pirate-state, which down to 1830 took an active part in
the marauding expeditions of its barbaresque Algerian neighbours.
Since 1881 the French protectorate has paved the way for a
new period of prosperity and opened up the greatly impoverished
and thinly peopled country to European trade and culture. The
present bey is Sidi Mohammed en-Nasr (born in 1855). The
minister for foreign affairs is the French resident-general, and the
minister of war is the commandant of the French garrison. Finance,
postal arrangements, public works, and education are all superintended
by French officials, with whom are associated a Mohammedan
prime minister and a secretary of state. Europeans and their
dependents are under the jurisdiction of the French law-courts;
324the natives are dealt with by the courts of the Ouzara and the
‘Shaâra’. The bey is allowed a body-guard of 600 men of the
infantry, cavalry, and artillery, uniformed like the Zouaves.
Lovers of art will find Tunisia a most attractive country. As
in Algeria and Morocco, so here also the megalithic monuments
(dolmens, basinas, etc.), built of huge blocks of stone, are the chief
memorials of the Libyan (or ancient Berber) culture. The Punic
art of Tunisia, at first under Assyrian, Egyptian, and Greek influence,
but exclusively Greek after the first campaigns in Sicily,
has become better known of late, especially since the rich yield of
the rock-tombs of Carthage. Apart from the tomb at Dougga
(p. 355), as little of Punic architecture remains as in Algeria. On
the other hand no other country can boast of such a profusion of
Roman ruins (called by the Mohammedans Henshir) as Tunisia.
The early Moorish art of Tunisia, as in the whole of the Maghreb,
betrays the influence of Andalusian masters, but most of the buildings
are no earlier than the Turkish period. Contrary to their
Algerian methods the French have preserved the Oriental character
of the country, so that the seaports of the E. coast, Kairwan, and
the oasis villages still contain fine Moorish buildings.
Travellers may explore any part of the country in safety and without
escort, but they should not enter Mohammedan burial-grounds or shrines
(comp. p. xxv). The only mosques and zaouïas open to Christians (but
not to Jews) are those of Le Kef, Kairwan, Gafsa, and Tozeur.
The means of communication are similar to those in Algeria (comp.
p. 173). The network of Railways, mostly belonging to the company of the
Chemins de Fer de Bône-Guelma (p. 173), extends to central Tunisia only.
Between Susa and Sfax (until the opening of the new railway) and
between Sfax or Graïba and Gabes the motor-omnibus or the diligence
(p. 173) is at present the only conveyance. The shotts are visited by carriage
from Metlaoui, or, if preferred, from Gabes. A visit to S.E. Tunisia
(Monts des Ksour, Gightis, Djerba) is usually paid from Gabes, where
introductions had better be obtained from the authorities of the Territoire
Militaire. Susa, Sfax, Gabes, and Djerba are also steamboat-stations
(comp. R. 64). In Tunisia mid-European time (1 hr. ahead of Greenwich
time), which is observed also on the Italian steamers, has recently been
introduced.
First-class Hotels are to be found in Tunis only. Those in country
places are similar to the Algerian (p. 174), but still plainer and less up
to date, apart from a few creditable exceptions. In the steppe and on
the Sahara one must often have recourse to the fortified caravanserai or
to the hospitality of the local authorities.
The Post Office of the regency of Tunis has its own stamps (letter-postage
within Tunisia or to France 10, to Italy 20 c. etc.; post-cards 5 c.).
A passport visé by the consul must be shown in order to obtain delivery
of registered letters.
The Coinage, since the introduction of the gold standard (1891), has
been French, with Arabic and French inscriptions. The gold coins are
of 10 and 20 francs, the silver of ½, 1, and 2 francs, the copper of 5 and
10 centimes. Italian, Swiss, Belgian, and Greek silver coins (except 5 fr.
pieces) and copper coins are rejected. English or American money should
be exchanged for banknotes of the Banque de France or the Banque de
l’Algérie (p. 174), or for gold of the Latin monetary union.
325Books (comp. also pp. xii, 175). Douglas Sladen, Carthage and Tunis
(2 vols., London, 1906; illus.); Frances E. Nesbitt, Algeria and Tunis
(London, 1906; illus.); G. Petrie, Tunis, Kairouan, and Carthage (New
York, 1909; $4.80); A. M. Broadley’s ‘Tunis, Past and Present’ (London,
1882) gives an interesting account of the French conquest of Tunisia. Of
French books may be mentioned La Tunisie (Législation, Gouvernement,
Administration) by D. Gaudiani et P. Thiaucourt (Paris, 1910; 12½ fr.);
H. Lorin, L’Afrique du Nord (Paris, 1908); J. Toutain, Les Cités Romaines
de la Tunisie (Paris, 1896; 12½ fr.); R. Cagnat et H. Saladin, Voyage en
Tunisie (Paris, 1887); R. Cagnat, L’Armée Romaine d’Afrique (Paris, 1892;
40 fr.); Charles Diehl, L’Afrique Byzantine (Paris, 1896; 20 fr.); H. Saladin,
Tunis et Kairouan (Paris, 1908; 4 fr.). Carthage is the scene of
Gust. Flaubert’s historical novel Salammbô.
Maps of the Service Géographique de l’Armée (comp. p. 175): sheets
on the scale of 1 : 50,000, each 1½ fr.; on the scale of 1 : 100,000, each
1 fr. 20 c.; and on the scale of 1 : 200,000, each 70 c.—A general survey
is afforded by the Carte des Routes et des Chemins de Fer de la Tunisie,
1 : 500,000 (Tunis, 1908). See also Map, p. 319.
Railway from Souk-Ahras to Tunis, 154 M., direct train with dining-car
between Ghardimaou and Tunis (déj. 4, D. 4½ fr.) in 7 hrs. (27 fr. 80,
20 fr. 85, 14 fr. 90 c.; from Constantine to Tunis 14¼ hrs.); also ordinary
train in 11¼ hrs. on Mon., Wed., & Frid.—Custom-house examination
at Ghardimaou, strict as to tobacco and cigars, which are a government
monopoly in Tunisia. All luggage not accompanied by the owner will
be detained at the custom-house.
Motorists from Bona (p. 309) to Tunis must go viâ La Calle (p. 131),
Tabarca (p. 327), and Béja (p. 328).
From Constantine to (134 M.) Souk-Ahras, see RR. 48, 49.—The
line from Souk-Ahras to Tunis, opened in 1879 (before the
establishment of the French protectorate), crosses the Tebessa line
(R. 50) and then descends to the S. into the Medjerda Valley
(pp. 313, 320), called by the Carthaginians Makar, and by the
Romans Bagradas, the most fertile and most important in Tunisia.
Beyond (5½ M.) Tarja (1611 ft.) the valley forms a short ravine.
10½ M. Sidi-Bader, in a meadowy dale, the future junction
of the line from Bona to the mines on Jebel Ouenza (p. 314).
The train traverses a lonely mountain-region to (20½ M.) Oued-Mougras
(1171 ft.), a finely situated village, and then runs through
a narrow valley in the frontier-hills, with dense underwood, to
(30½ M.) Sidi el-Hemessi (853 ft.), the last Algerian village.
37 M. Ghardimaou (673 ft.; Rail. Restaurant; Hôt. du Commerce;
Algerian and Tunisian frontier, see above), a colonists’
village (Tues. market) at the entrance to the Regba, the upper
plain of the Medjerda, which is fertile only in rainy seasons.
About 7 M. to the N. of Ghardimaou, beyond the Oued Raraï, lies
Henchir Sidi Ali Bel-Kassem, on a hill between the Oued el-Hammam
and the Oued Henja. This was the Roman town Thuburnica, among
the ruins of which are the cellæ of two temples and a Byzantine fortress.
32645 M. Oued-Meliz (584 ft.; Mon. corn-market), a village a little
above the Oued Raraï (p. 325) and the mouth of the Oued Meliz.
Oued-Meliz is the station for the village of Chemtou (590 ft.), 2 M.
to the N.E., at the influx of the Oued Melah into the Medjerda, the
Simitthu of the Carthaginian and Roman periods. Its once famous
quarries of yellowish red ‘Numidian’ marble are now abandoned. Among
the ruins are a Roman bridge across the Medjerda, where the old road
to Le Kef diverges (p. 360); also remains of the forum (44 by 27 yds.),
of thermæ, cisterns, and an aqueduct; an interesting Roman wall on the
bank of the Melah; the fairly preserved *Theatre; and, near the ancient
Tabarca road, the burial-ground with its numerous tombstones. On the
slope of the town-hill (830 ft.), which is crowned with a small Byzantine
fortress, lies the so-called Temple des Boucliers, of the Punic and Roman
periods.
50 M. Sidi-Meskine, at the mouth of the Regba, between Jebel
el-Herrech (2277 ft.) on the left and Jebel Bou-Rebbah (2431 ft.)
on the right. The train now enters the Dakla, the central plain of
the Medjerda, about 25 M. long, partly swampy in winter and malarious
and extremely hot in summer, which from ancient times
till now has been the chief granary of Tunisia.
57½ M. Souk el-Arba (470 ft.; Rail. Restaurant; Hôt. du
Commerce; Hôt. de France; pop. 1500), a thriving village of immigrant
farmers, partly built with materials from Bulla Regia, and
named after its Wednesday (‘fourth day’) corn-market, the most
important in N. Tunisia next to those of Béja and Mateur. Road to
Le Kef (p. 360) viâ the small village of Nebeur, the terminus of
the railway from Béja (p. 328), with important iron-ore mines.
From Souk el-Arba a field-road leads to the N., in the direction
of the conduit, somewhat apart from the Tabarca road, to (4½ M.)
Bulla Regia, the prosperous ancient capital of the Dakla in the
Carthaginian period, and in 203 the scene of Scipio’s victory over
Hasdrubal and Syphax. The village lies on a terrace on the S. slope
of Jebel Rebia (2123 ft.) and owes its modern name Hammam-Darradji
to its spring. Among the interesting Roman ruins are
the large *Thermae; a *Nymphaeum, or fountain; a Temple of
Apollo, an open court with three cellæ in the style of Punic sanctuaries
(comp. p. 357); a *Dwelling House, with an almost intact
groundfloor, a mosaic pavement, vaults, and stairs to the upper
floor. The Cisterns now serve the natives as habitations and the
old Byzantine Fortress is now a caravanserai. The ruins of the
Amphitheatre are less important. Three well-preserved subterranean
Palaces and a Punic Fortress have been recently excavated. The
rock-tombs of the Necropolis date partly from the Punic period.
From Souk el-Arba to Tabarca, 42 M., by the highroad. (Diligence
to Aïn-Draham, in summer only, at 1 p.m., in 6 hrs.; from Aïn-Draham
to Tabarca at 10.45 a.m., in 6 hrs., there and back 6 fr.) This excursion,
only suitable for the warmer season, introduces us to the most
beautiful parts of the *Kroumirie, which, thanks to its ample rainfall
(p. 321), is the most richly wooded region in Barbary. Now and then
we meet with an almost virgin forest of cork-trees, evergreen oaks,
327elms, ashes, and other trees, in whose shade grow luxuriant ferns, while
babbling brooks refresh the wayfarer. It was owing to violations of the
frontier and thefts of cattle committed by the Kroumirs that the French
at length occupied Tunisia in 1881, but the natives are now peaceable
herdsmen, wood-cutters, and charcoal-burners. The tombs of this Berber
tribe still recall the ancient megalithic monuments of their ancestors.
The road ascends to the N.W. from the Dakla, through a depression
between Jebel el-Herrech and Jebel Rebia (p. 326), to the saddle on the
N.E. slope of Jebel Halloufa (1512 ft.), and then turns to the N. into the
valley of the Oued Rzella, a feeder of the Oued Bou Heurtma (see below).
It passes (13 M.) Fernana (820 ft.; Restaurants Dauteroche and Richetti)
and ascends, soon more rapidly, to the (19½ M.) forester’s house of
Camp de la Santé and (20½ M.) Les Chênes (2461 ft.; Hôt. des Chênes),
a small summer resort superbly situated amid venerable evergreen oaks.
The road descends in windings for a short time and then ascends again
between Jebel Bir (see below) on the right and Kef Sidi Abdallah (2861 ft.)
on the left, on whose slope is the kubba of Sidi Abdallah Ben-Djemel,
the chief saint of the Kroumirs.—25½ M. Aïn-Draham (about 2625 ft.;
Hôt. de France, Hôt. Serrières, both quite good; Mon. market), an
agricultural village amidst cork-trees and evergreen oaks, lies in the
heart of the Kroumirie, at the N. base of *Jebel Bir (3327 ft.), which
commands a splendid survey of the Kroumirie and the Nefza Mts. (p. 328),
stretching to the N. to the sea, to the N.W. to the lakes near La Calle
(p. 131), and to the S. to the Dakla.
The road now descends across the Col des Ruines (2382 ft.) in windings
to (30½ M.) Babouch (1637 ft.; frontier custom-house), a village of
immigrant farmers, where the road to La Calle diverges to the W. (22½ M.
from Aïn-Draham; diligence 5 fr.). Our road, flanked at first by cork-trees
and then passing through groves of olive and fig-trees, now descends the
picturesque valley of the Oued el-Kébir, the ancient Tusca, the boundary
between the Roman province of Africa (p. 321) and Numidia.
42 M. Tabarca (Hôt. Tiret, plain but quite good; Hôt. de France;
pop. 1300, of whom 1100 are Europeans; Frid. market), a quiet little
seaport in the fertile coast-plain between the Oued el-Kébir and Cape
Tabarca, was the Roman Thabraca, the busiest harbour on the coast-road
between Utica (p. 353) and Hippo Regius (p. 309), the outlet for the
marble of Simitthu (p. 326) and for the timber and the wild beasts of
the Kroumirie. Hardly a trace of that period now exists. The loftily
situated Turkish Bordj Djedid is now used as barracks. Opposite lies
the bare island of Tabarca, rising abruptly on the N. side, with a
picturesque old Genoese castle. Of the two, originally Carthaginian, quays
connecting the island with the mainland the westmost has lately been
restored, but the shallow harbour is scarcely used except by Sicilian
fishermen. The steamers of the Comp. Gén. Transatlantique (p. 130)
anchor in the open roads.—For the future railway to Mateur, see p. 352.
64 M. Ben-Bachir, not far from the influx of the Oued Mellègue,
the ancient Muluth, and of the Oued Tessa (p. 357) into
the Medjerda. We cross the Oued Bou Heurtma, the Armascla
of the Romans. Fine view of Jebel Gorra (p. 355).
71½ M. Souk el-Khemis (427 ft.; ‘fifth-day market’), a thriving
agricultural village, the largest at this end of the Dakla. The
valley now contracts. 79½ M. Sidi-Zehili.
87½ M. Pont-de-Trajan (Rail. Restaurant), misnamed after
a three-arched *Bridge of the time of Tiberius, 99 yds. long and
8 yds. wide, one of the oldest Roman structures in Barbary.
328From Pont-de-Trajan to Béja, 9 M., branch-line in 24 min. (1 fr. 45,
1 fr. 10 c., 80 c.). The line ascends the bare valley of the Oued Béja, to
the N.—9 M. Béja (715–1000 ft.; Hôt. de France, etc.; pop. 12,000, incl.
1600 Europeans), the Vaga of the Roman period, when it had a great market
and was one of the most thriving places in the Medjerda valley, owes its
present prosperity to the grain-trade and the culture of early vegetables.
To the E., bordering the Avenue de la Gare, is the new quarter of the
Italian and French farmers, with the Halle aux Grains. To the W., on
the slope beyond the Oued Bou Zegdem, rises the picturesque old town.
On its N.E. margin the Grande Rue leads to the Marché (cattle-market,
Tues.) and to the Souks (p. 335). The Grande Mosquée, built in the form
of an Egyptian cross (p. 376), one of the oldest in Tunisia, is famed for
its borrowed wealth of ancient Roman capitals. The only Roman ruins
are the Bâb el-Aïn (‘fountain-gate’) and relics of Thermae and of a Basin.
The Town Walls, with their many towers, were originally Byzantine, but
have been repeatedly restored. With the exception of the ‘keep’, the
Byzantine fortress on the top of the hill has been superseded by the
Kasba, built largely of Roman materials. On the Bou Hamdan (1047 ft.),
a hill 1 M. to the N.W. of Béja, lies a large Punic Burial Ground, with
rock-tombs.—Railways run from Béja to the N.E. to Mateur (p. 351) and
to the S.W. to Nebeur (p. 326).
The picturesque route to Tabarca (45 M.; motor-omnibus or diligence)
leads to the N. from Béja, past the zinc-mines of Jebel Charra (1414 ft.),
and through the now treeless valleys of the Oued Béja (Oued Djorfane
in its upper course) and the Oued Sersar. It next passes the richest
calamine or zinc-ore mines in Tunisia (Jebel Damous, Aïn-Roumi, Jebel
Sidi Ahmed) and leads through the grand ravine of Khanguet Kef Tout
into the valley of the Oued Maden. 25 M. Djebel-Abiod (Hôt. des Nefzas,
quite good), a village in the Nefza Mts., famed for their cork-tree woods,
their abundant game, and their great deposits of hæmatite. (Railway
from Mateur to Djebel-Abiod, see p. 352; thence to Tabarca under construction.)
We now drive to the W., between Jebel Kherouf (2035 ft.) on
the left and a chain of *Dunes (650 ft.) on the right, to Râs er-Radjel,
and cross the Oued el-Kébir to (45 M.) Tabarca (p. 327).
From Pont-de-Trajan to Teboursouk (Dougga), see p. 355.
The Medjerda, in its sinuous course, then forces its way through
the bare hill-country below Pont-de-Trajan. For a short distance
the train runs to the N.E. into the side-valley of the Oued Zarga,
stopping at (100½ M.) Oued-Zarga (322 ft.), and then returns to
the E., through hilly country, and below Toukabeur and Chaouach
(see below), into the valley of the Medjerda.
113 M. Medjez el-Bab (197 ft.; Hôt. des Colons; omn. to
the diligence office 30 c.), a considerable village on the right bank
of the Medjerda, 1¼ M. to the S. of the station, was formerly Membressa,
a busy place on the Roman road from Carthage to Tebessa
(p. 315). The eight-arched Medjerda Bridge was built in the
18th cent. with the materials of the Roman bridge; and the Roman
Triumphal Arch, to which the village owes its name (‘ford by the
gateway’), has lately been almost entirely demolished for a similar
purpose. Important corn-market on Mondays.
On the slope of Jebel Chaouach (1778 ft.), some 5½ M. to the N.W.
of Medjez el-Bab, lies Chaouach (1480 ft.), with the ruins of the small
Roman town of Sua (triumphal arch, nymphæum, town-wall, etc.). About
1¼ M. to the W. of Chaouach are the ruins of Toukabeur (1221 ft.), the
Roman Thuccabor, with its ancient cisterns, gateways, temple, etc.
From Medjez el-Bab to Teboursouk and Dougga (Le Kef), see R. 55.
329The train now proceeds, generally somewhat apart from the
tortuous stream, at the foot of bare hills (Jebel Heïdous, Jebel
Lansarine, etc.), to (119 M.) El-Heri and (122½ M.) Bordj Toum.
133 M. Tebourba (133 ft.; Hôt. Cafort, R. 2, B. ½, D. 2½,
pens. 6 fr.; pop. 2000) is pleasantly situated among olive-groves.
On a height (164 ft.) crowned with the kubba of Sidi Ras-Allah,
between the village and the Medjerda, are the scanty ruins of the
Roman town of Thuburbo Minus. About ½ hr. to the S. of Tebourba
lies the dam or *Bridge of El-Bathan, originally Roman, but
restored to form a reservoir for watering the olive-trees. Adjacent
are a small manufactory of chechias (a kind of fez) and barracks.
Near Tebourba are large quarries of gypsum.
139 M. Djedeïda, junction for Bizerta (R. 54), with a barrage
and an agricultural school and farm of the Alliance Israélite.
The train crosses the Medjerda and, at the arches of the *Aqueduct
of Carthage (p. 348), still 7½ M. long, the watershed between
the Medjerda valley and the undulating plain of Tunis.
148 M. La Manouba (p. 342). We then pass Kassar-Saïd
(on the left; p. 342) and the (150½ M.) Bardo (p. 339), and for
a short time skirt the N. side of the Sebkha es-Sedjoumi (p. 332).
Lastly the train rounds the S. edge of the old town (Rebat Bab-Djazira,
p. 337) and passes close to the Manoubia Hill (p. 339)
and the Zaouïa Sidi Bel-Hassen (p. 339).
154 M. Tunis (Gare du Sud, see below).
Arrival by Sea. The Quay where almost all the steamers (p. 331)
are berthed is 10–15 min. from the hotels. The Douane is close by. It
is best to entrust luggage at once to the hotel servants; if a porter
(hamal) is required his charge should be asked (usually 10 c. for small
packages, and 25 c. for each trunk carried to the cab or omnibus). Cab
(into the town 1 fr., each trunk 15 c.) and tramway (No. 1), see p. 330.
Railway Station.Gare du Sud (Pl. E, 5; Restaurant), Place de la
Gare (Rue es-Sadikia).—Railway and sleeping-car office in the town, König
& Co. (p. 331).
Hotels (comp. p. 324; often full in Feb.-April). *Tunisia Palace
Hotel (Pl. c; E, 4, 5), Avenue de Carthage, behind the Casino Municipal
(p. 331), with a small garden, R. 4–10, B. 1½, déj. 5, D. 7, pens. 13–20, omn.
1½–2 fr.; *Hôt. de Paris & Impérial (Pl. a; D, 5), Rue al-Djazira 23bis,
R. 3–6, B. 1½, déj. 3½–4, D. 4–5, pens. 9–16, omn. without luggage 1 fr.—*Grand-Hôtel
(Pl. b; D, 4), Avenue de France, R. 3½–6, B. 1½, déj. 3½,
D. 4½, pens, from 10, omn. 1 fr.; *Hôt. St. Georges, Avenue de Paris
(N. of Pl. E, 2), near the Belvedere Park (p. 338), suitable for some stay,
R. 3–4, B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 4, pens. 9–12½ fr. (with dépendance Hôt. Suisse,
moderate); Hôt. de France (Pl. d; D, 5), Rue Léon-Roches 8, quiet site,
pens. 9–11, omn. 1 fr.—Plainer: Hôt. Eymon (Pl. e, D 4; ‘Gigino’), Rue de
l’Eglise 1, corner of Place de la Bourse, R. 3–4, B. ¾, déj. or D. 2½, pens.
8 fr., good; Tunis Hotel & de Genève (Pl. f; D, 4, 5), Rue d’Italie 12,
R. 2½–6, B. ¾, déj. 2–2½, D. 2½–3, omn. 1–1¼ fr.; Hôt. d’Angleterre,
Ave. Jules-Ferry 37, R. 2½–5, B. ¾, déj. 2, D. 2½, pens. 7½, omn. 1¼ fr.;
330Hôt. Maison Dorée, Rue de Hollande 10 (Pl. E, 5), with restaurant, similar
charges; Hôt. Moderne (Pl. g; D, 4), Rue de Constantine 12, corner of
Rue de Bône, R. from 3½, déj. or D. 3, pens. from 9½ fr.; Hôt. de la
Poste, Rue d’Espagne 5 (Pl. D, 5).—Hôtels Garnis.Hôt. Bellevue
(Pl. h; D, 4), Rue es-Sadikia 1; Hôt. Régence (dépendance of the Hôt.
Eymon), Ave. de France, R. 3–8, B. 1 fr.; Splendid Hotel, Ave. Jules-Ferry
74; Royal Hotel, Rue d’Espagne 19, R. from 3 fr.; Hôt. Central,
Ave. de Paris 8; Family Hotel, Rue d’Allemagne 15 (Pl. D, 5), near the
marché (p. 333), plain.—Furnished Rooms (20–70 fr. per month) abound.
Cafés.Café du Casino, in the palmarium of the Casino Municipal
(p. 331), with a summer terrace in the Ave. Jules-Ferry; Café-Restaurant
de Tunis, Ave. de France 2, in the Hôt. Bellevue, much frequented; Café
de Paris, same street, No. 16. Arabian cafés (p. 174) in the Halfaouine
quarter (Pl. B, 2), at the Bab Djedid (Pl. C, 6), etc.—Confectioners.Engerer, Place de la Bourse 1; Wagner & Co., Rue d’Italie 24, and Ave.
de Paris 8; Montelateci, Ave. de France 7.
Restaurants. *Brasserie du Phénix, Ave. Jules-Ferry 74, in the
Splendid Hotel (see above); Café-Restaurant de Tunis, see above; Salvarelli,
Ave. de France, adjoining the Grand-Hôtel; Maxéville, Ave. Jules-Ferry
63 (déj. or D. 1½ fr.); Maison Dorée, in the hotel (see above);
Restaurant du Rosbif, Ave. Jules-Ferry 56; Restaurant de la Poste, Rue
d’Angleterre 8.
Carriages.
Voiture de Place
Voiture de Remise
With one horse
With two horses
(2–3 pers.)
(4 pers.)
Drive (course) in the town (petite banlieue)
0.80
0.90
1.—
1.60
Outside the town, up to 8 kilomètres (5 M.)
2.50
2.70
3.—
4.50
Hour in the town
1.30
1.50
1.80
2.40
Hour outside the town
1.80
2.—
2.40
3.20
Day (12 hrs.)
12.—
12.—
15.—
20.—
The chief limits of the inner town are the Bardo and the Belvedere
Park. From 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. (or in April-Sept. 11–5) a fare and a half
is charged. During festivals and races, and also for long drives, bargain
advisable. Small packages free; trunk 15 c.—There are also Taximeter
Motor Cabs (comp. tariff).
Motor Cars.Auto-Palace, Rue d’Autriche Prolongée 3; Garage
Peyrard, Rue de Belgique 10; Tunisienne Automobile, Rue de Grèce.
Tramways (fares by zones, from 5 c. upwards; also transfer-tickets),
from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.: 1.Porte de France (Pl. D, 4), Ave. Jules-Ferry
(Pl. E, 4), Ave. du Port, Harbour.—2.Porte de France, Rue al-Djazira
(Pl. D, 5, 6), Ave. Bab-Djedid (Pl. D, C, 6), Place de la Kasba (Pl. B, 5).—3.Porte de France, Rue des Maltais (Pl. D, 4), Place Bab-Souika (Pl. B,
C, 3), Kasba.—4.Rue al-Djazira (Rue d’Algérie; Pl. D, 6), Rue es-Sadikia
(Pl. D, 5; Gare du Sud), Rue de Rome (Pl. D, 4), Ave. de Paris (Pl. E, 4,
3), Place Bab-Souika, Bab Bou-Saâdoun (Pl. A, 2).—5.Place Bab-Souika
(Pl. B, C, 3), Bab Bou-Saâdoun, Bardo (p. 339; every ¼ hr., 15 c.), La
Manouba (p. 342; every ½ hr., 30 c.).—6.Porte de France, Rue des
Maltais (Pl. D, 4), Bab el-Khadra (Pl. C, 2), Cimetière Municipal, Belvedere
Park (p. 338; Ave. Carnot, 15 c.).—7.Rue de Rome (Pl. D, 4), Ave.
de Paris (Pl. E, 4–2), Belvedere Park (Rond-Point; every 10 or 15 min.,
15 c.; on week-days there and back 25 c.), Ariana (p. 338; every ½ hr.,
30 c.).—8.Ave. de France (Pl. D, 4), Ave. de Carthage (Pl. E, 5–7), Bab
Alleoua (Pl. E, 7), Abattoirs (to the S. of Pl. E, 7).—For the electric tramways
to Carthage and La Marsa, see p. 343.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. D, 5), Rue d’Italie 30; branches on
the quay and in the Place Bab-Souika.
331Steamboat Agents. For the Comp. Gén. Transatlantique (RR. 21,
22), Banque de Tunisie, Rue es-Sadikia 3, and on the Quai Ouest; for
the Società Nazionale (RR. 25, 26, 64), Florio, Rue d’Alger 1; for the
Comp. de Navigation Mixte (RR. 21, 26, 64), Ave. Jules-Ferry and Quai
Ouest; for the Hamburg-American Line, the Hungarian Adria, and the
German Levant Line, Siebert & Co., Rue d’Italie 5bis; for the North
German Lloyd, Heckmann, see below.
Tourist Offices.Eisen (travel and sport), Rue Léon-Roches 6;
König & Co., Rue es-Sadikia; Pernull & Myddleton, Ave. Jules-Ferry 39;
R. Heckmann (Universal Tourist Office), Ave. de Carthage, opposite
Tunisia Palace Hotel; Lubin, Ave. de France 5.—Comité d’Hivernage,
Ave. de Carthage 8.
Consuls. British Consul-General, E. J. L. Berkeley, Place de la
Bourse (Pl. D, 4); vice-consuls, Chas. A. Goodwin, R. Schembri.—U. S.
Vice-Consul, A. J. Proux, Ave. de France.
Physicians.Dr. Domela, Ave. Jules-Ferry 72; Dr. Valetta, Rue
d’Espagne; Dr. Zammit, Rue Amilcar (all three speak English); Dr.
Jaeggy, Rue d’Autriche; Mlle. Dr. Gordon, Rue de Rome 18.—Chemist.Heyler, Ave. Jules-Ferry 54 (Théâtre Rossini, Pl. E, 4).
Baths.Dublineau, Rue d’Allemagne 17 (Pl. D, 5; well fitted up;
bath 1½, Turkish 3 fr.); Bains Français, Rue de Suisse 8; Bains Maures
(comp. p. 175), Ave. Bab-Menara.
Banks (comp. p. 174). Banque de l’Algérie, Rue de Rome 18; Comp.
Algérienne, Rue de Rome; Banque de Tunisie, Rue es-Sadikia 3; Comptoir
d’Escompte de Paris, Ave. de France; Cooperativa Italiana, Rue es-Sadikia
7; Krieger, Rue al-Djazira 45.
Goods Agents.Meyer, Porte de France 35; Dana, Rue es-Sadikia 9.
Booksellers.Niérat & Fortin, Ave. de France 15, and Saliba, No. 17.—Photographs
(and photographic materials). Lehnert & Landrock, Ave.
de France 17, and Garrigues, No. 9; Neuer, Rue Léon-Roches 6; Vella, Rue
d’Allemagne 4.—Newspapers.Dépêche Tunisienne, Tunisie Française,
Unione (Ital. and Fr.).—Shop for European goods, Magasin Général,
Ave. de France 22 (fixed prices). Oriental goods at the Musée Ahmed
Djamal, Souk el-Attârîn 11 and Rue d’Autriche 108; Pohoomull Frères,
Ave. de France 17. The Oriental articles in the Souks (pp. 335–337) and
even the fezes (chechia) are mostly of European make and may be bought
cheaper at home. Important purchases should not be made without the aid
of a friend who knows the country and its ways (bargaining necessary).
The services of touts, guides, and hotel servants should be declined, as
they tend to raise prices.
Theatres.Théâtre du Casino Municipal, in the Casino Municipal
(see below), entrance in the Ave. Jules-Ferry, for operas and operettas,
15th Nov. to 15th April; Théâtre Rossini (Pl. E, 4), Ave. Jules-Ferry 48,
for Italian and French dramas.—Casino Municipal (Pl. E, 4), Ave. de Carthage
1, with hall for concerts and varieties (‘Palmarium’), a summer
terrace, card-rooms, and American bar. The Pavillon du Belvédère, in
the park of the Belvedere (p. 338), is the summer casino of the same
company.—Band on Sun. and Thurs. afternoons, Place de la Résidence;
on Wed. in front of the Cercle Militaire.
English Church.St. George’s (‘Egl. anglic.’; Pl. C, 3), Rue Bab-Carthagène
39, service at 10.15 a.m.
Sights.Bardo Museum, same as Musée Alaoui, see below.
Bardo Palace (p. 340), week-days, at any hour; tickets at the Musée
Alaoui (comp, below).
Bibliothèque Française (p. 333), week-days 9–11 and 2–4 (in summer
8–11 only).
Jardin d’Essais (p. 338), daily 8–11 and 1–5 (April-Oct. 7–11 and 3–6).
Musée Alaoui (p. 340), daily except Mon. and great Catholic festivals
9.30–11.30 and 1–4 (16th Feb. to 15th Oct. 2–5), 1 fr. (Sun. free); the
same ticket admits to the Bardo Palace also, if visited on the same day.
332Two Days. 1st. Forenoon, Ave. Jules-Ferry and Ave. de France
(p. 333); walk through the Souks of the Medina (p. 335) and the adjoining
Mohammedan Quarters (p. 334); visit to Place el-Halfaouine (p. 337).
Afternoon, Bardo Museum (p. 340) or Belvedere Park (p. 338), or, by
carriage, both.—2nd. Excursion to Carthage, see R. 53.
Tunis, Ital. Túnisi, capital of the Régence de Tunis, and seat
of the French Resident-General (p. 323) and of the Mohammedan
university, is the largest city in N. Africa after Cairo and Alexandria,
and vies with Sfax as a most important harbour. Population about
200,000, of whom about 115,000 are Mohammedans, 22,500 Jews,
41,000 Italians, 14,000 French, 5400 Maltese, and 250 Greeks.
The town lies in 36°47′ N. lat. and 10°10′ W. long., on the
E. margin of the narrow tongue of land (rising to 190 ft.) between
the Lac de Tunis (or Lake Bahira, p. 129) and the small salt-lake
Sebkha es-Sedjoumi, an old lagoon. The central part of
the sea of houses composing the old town is the Medina, the oldest
Moorish quarter, built largely out of the ruins of Thunes,
Carthage, and Utica, and now the chief focus of trade and industry.
Adjacent, to the N. and S., are two poor quarters, also chiefly
Mohammedan, the Rebat Bab-Souika and Rebat Bab-Djazira,
formerly N. and E. suburbs. The monotonous European new town
in the low ground to the E. of the Medina, exposed in summer
to the exhalations of Lake Bahira, is gradually extending from
the Porte de France (formerly Bab el-Bahar, sea-gate) towards
the harbour. On the brow of the hill to the W. of the old town are
the old Kasba and most of the public buildings, almost all built under
the French protectorate. Some of these lie outside the Turkish
town-wall, once 6000 yds. long, erected in the 17th century.
Tunis, the ancient Thunes, a Berber name given to an earlier Phœnician
colony, appears in history in 508 B.C. as an ally of Carthage. In
395 it was destroyed by rebellious Berber tribes. It was from Thunes
that Agathocles (p. 163) and Regulus (p. 345) advanced against Carthage,
and here, after the first Punic war, the discontented mercenaries from
Sicca Veneria (p. 360) established themselves. Tunis was probably
destroyed by the Romans at the same time as Carthage (146 B.C.) and
rebuilt later. After the downfall of Carthage Utica (p. 353) entered into
the heritage of her proud neighbour, but for a short time only; for from
29 B.C. onwards Carthage resumed her ancient supremacy and continued
to flourish down to her second destruction in 698 A.D. This time Tunis
was her natural successor. But the nomadic Arabs, being ignorant of
navigation, and the Aglabides (p. 323) preferred Kairwan (p. 372), which
had recently been founded in the heart of the Tunisian steppe; and the
succeeding Fatimite and Zirite dynasties favoured the Sahel, with Mehdia
(p. 369) as their new capital, to the detriment of N. Tunisia. At length, under
the Hafsides (1206–1573; p. 323), Tunis became the capital, and rapidly
grew to be the greatest and fairest city in the land, as well as a zealous
promoter of the glorious Moorish art and science of the 13th and 14th
centuries. The most distinguished of the Hafside sovereigns was Abû
Abdallah Mohammed el-Mostanser Billah, who in 1270 defended his capital
successfully against Louis IX., the Saint (p. 346). After the decline of
that dynasty at the close of the 15th cent. and the capture of Tunis by
Kheireddin (p. 221) in 1534, the city was attacked by the Spaniards in
three different campaigns (p. 323), and was conquered four times by the
333Turks and the Algerians (in 1569, 1573, 1689, and 1757); yet in the 17th
and 18th centuries, thanks to its Oriental trade and the booty of its pirates,
it again enjoyed great prosperity.
The only mediæval buildings in the old town which have survived
all these vicissitudes are three mosques, now much modernized. The
distinctive character of the present town is of Mauro-Turkish origin.
Those who cross the threshold of the Orient here for the first time will
be specially struck with the narrow and crooked lanes of the Mohammedan
quarters, only 12–16 ft. wide, with the motley crowd in the Souks
(p. 335), and with the picturesque concourse of all the tribes of N. Africa
and the Sahara. The poor Jewish quarter (p. 337) is less interesting.
The strange costume of the women, with their kufias or sugar-loaf hats,
loose jackets, and tight-fitting trousers, is now rarely seen except on
members of the older generation, while the pretty, old-fashioned costume
of the girls is a thing of the past.
John Howard Payne (b. 1792), author of ‘Home, Sweet Home’, was
United States consul at Tunis from 1842 until his death in 1852.
From the Harbour (Port; see inset map, Pl. E, 1), which together
with the Bahira Canal (p. 129) was constructed in 1888–96,
the short Avenue du Port (tramway No. 1, p. 330) leads through the
Piccola Sicilia, a group of workmen’s huts, into the town, ending
at the bronze statue of Jules Ferry (1832–93), the French statesman
who brought about the occupation of Tunisia.
The Avenue Jules-Ferry (Pl. E, 4), or Avenue de la Marine,
the finest street in the new town, 66 yds. wide and 710 yds. long,
is planted with double avenues of fig-trees. On the left, just beyond
the divergence, to the right and left, of the unfinished Avenue de
Paris (p. 338) and Avenue de Carthage (Pl. E, 5–7), which together
are 2¼ M. long, rises the Casino Municipal (Pl. E, 4; p. 331).
The Ave. Jules-Ferry ends at the Place de la Résidence (Pl.
D, 4; band, see p. 331), the centre of the new town. To the left,
on the S. side, rises the Palais de la Résidence (Pl. D, E, 4),
or Maison de France, built in 1856–60 for the French consulate
(see p. 334), and tastefully remodelled in 1890–2 by Dupertuys
as a dwelling for the resident-general. The beautiful garden is not
accessible. Opposite the Residence is the Cathedral (Pl. D, 4);
erected in 1893–7. The Rue es-Sadikia leads to the S. from the
W. end of the square to the Gare du Sud (p. 329).
The Ave. Jules-Ferry is continued by the much narrower Avenue
de France (Pl. D, 4), intersecting the older European quarter, the
favourite promenade of the town. A little to the S. of it, in the
Rue d’Italie, which leads to the Post and Telegraph Office (Pl.
D, 5), is the Marché (Pl. D, 5; interesting from 7 to 10 a.m.).
In the Rue de Russie, the southmost street in this quarter, is
the Bibliothèque Française (Pl. D, 5; adm., see p. 331), which is
well supplied with literature relating to N. Africa.
334
At the W. end of the Ave. de France (p. 333), the starting-point
of several tramway-lines (see p. 330), is the Porte de France
(p. 332), and beyond it lies the Place de la Bourse (Pl. D, 4),
which presents a busy scene all day. In and near this square are
most of the Consulates (British among others), as during the
Turkish period. The old French Consulate (about 1650 to 1860),
which served also as a warehouse (fondouk), is at No. 15 Rue de
l’Ancienne-Douane.
To the W. from the Place de la Bourse run the two chief thoroughfares
of the Medina. To the right is the Rue de la Kasba (Pl. D,
C, 4, 5; p. 336), leading past the Jewish quarter (p. 337) and the
Souk el-Grana (Pl. C, 4) to the upper boulevards (p. 336), to
which it is the chief approach. To the left is the Rue de l’Eglise
(Pl. D, C, 4, 5), leading direct to the Souks of the Medina, the main
business street of the Christian merchants in the Turkish period.
We follow the Rue de l’Eglise. On the left is the small church
of Ste. Croix (Pl. C, D, 4, 5; 1662), to which the street owes its
name. Then, on the right, is the Administration des Habous, the
headquarters of the Mohammedan pious foundations. Lastly we
pass through a vaulted passage under the Direction des Antiquités.
The Rue de l’Eglise ends at the Rue de Djamâa ez-Zitouna, on
the E. side of the chief mosque, the Djamâa ez-Zitouna (Pl. C,
5), which is said to trace its origin to the tomb of St. Oliva of
Palermo, a Christian saint revered even by many Mohammedans.
The mosque was founded in 732 by Obeïd Allah ibn el-Habbab,
enlarged by the Aglabide Sijadet Allah I. (p. 374), and repeatedly
altered under the Hafsides. When Tunis was plundered by the
troops of Emp. Charles V. the mosque was used as a stable. Since
then the edifice has been much modernized, and is lavishly adorned
with spoils from Carthage. The chief portal, behind the colonnade
in the Rue de Djamâa ez-Zitouna, where on Fridays the clergy
receive the Sheikh ul-Islam, or supreme pontiff, and the side-portal
in the Souk des Etoffes (p. 335) have each an ornamental
ancient pillar as a lintel. The many-aisled interior, with its 161
columns and two domes over the nave, is similar in plan to the
Sidi Okba Mosque at Kairwan (p. 374). The new minaret, 145 ft.
high, erected in the Andalusian style by Si Slîmân Ennigro in
1894, is a free copy of the old tower. The pile of buildings is
best surveyed from the roof of the Dâr el-Bey (p. 336).
The mosque serves also as a lecture-room for the Mohammedan
University. The instruction is under the direction of the Sheikh
ul-Islam; there are about a hundred teachers and 400 students.
Admittance to the twenty-two medersas, or colleges, for students
335from other parts of the country, and to the library famed for
7000 Oriental MSS. is granted to none but Mohammedans.
The Zitouna Mosque lies in the region of the *Souks (Pl. C,
5; Arabic sûk, market), the market quarter of the Medina, dating
from the Hafside period (13th cent.). As usual in the East the
lanes are roofed over. The small narrow shops are shut in by a
counter, over which the trader swings himself into his seat with
the aid of a rope. Most trades have their own streets. It is
interesting to watch the people at work in those souks where the
wares are made on the spot. The larger bazaars in some of the
streets are designed solely to attract foreigners. The busiest time
is the early morning. Friday is the Mohammedan, and Saturday
the Jewish day of rest. As to purchases, see p. 331. In and near
the Souks are many small Arab coffee-houses and barbers’ shops.
From the Rue de Djamâa ez-Zitouna we turn to the right to visit the
Souk el-Attârîn, the spice-market, founded in 1249. Besides the spices
and perfumes sold here (such as essence of jasmine and rose-geranium,
sometimes palmed off on strangers as attar of roses), we observe amber,
dried henna-leaves, henna-powder (p. 108), and the big candles, often
branched, which are used at weddings and for the tombs of saints.—The
side-street to the right, opposite the N. side of the mosque, is the
Souk el-Blagdjia, for leather-wares.
At the W. end of the spice-market, to the left, opposite the Rue Sidi
Ben-Arous (see below), is the Souk des Etoffes, on the W. side of the
mosque, with its display of silk and woollen stuffs, carpets from Kairwan,
and rugs from the Djerid (p. 386) and from Djerba (p. 393).
Adjoining the Souk des Etoffes is the busy Souk des Femmes, the
only one frequented by Mohammedan women, where female apparel,
trinkets, and slippers of Saffian leather (p. 109) are sold.
Between these two souks the Souk el-Leffa (Pl. C, 5), off which, on
the right, is the Souk el-Kebabdjia (lace), leads to the *Souk Sekajine,
the saddle-market, where, among gorgeous caparisons embroidered in gold
and silver, we are specially struck with the ornaments worn by horses
at the fantasias (p. 99).
We return to the Souk el-Leffa. Thence, to the left, we follow the
short Souk ed-Dziria, past the Hôpital Sadiki (Pl. B, C, 5), destined
for natives, to the—
Rue Sidi Ben-Ziad, on the S. side of the Dâr el-Bey (p. 336). The
small Sidi Youssef Mosque (‘Mosquée’; Pl. C, 5), belonging to the Hanefites
(p. 445), with the handsome tomb of the founder and an octagonal
minaret, dates from 1610–37.—At the lower end of the street, where the
Souk el-Bey branches off to the left to the Place de la Kasba, we turn
to the right into the—
Souk el-Berka, the slave-market, which was abolished only in 1842.
Down to 1816 Christians captured by the pirates were sold here by auction.
This is now the seat of the silversmiths, goldsmiths, and dealers in antiquities,
mostly Jews. The best of their gold trinkets are from Paris; the
fine silver filigree is Genoese or Maltese; the ancient coins are often
spurious.
From the Souk el-Berka the Souk el-Trouk, the street of the tailors,
almost all Jews, who make the rich costumes of the Moslems, leads back
to the Souk el-Attârîn.
From the N.W. angle of the Zitouna Mosque the Rue Sidi Ben-Arous
leads into the Rue de la Kasba (p. 334). At the junction of
these streets, adjoining the burial-chapel of Mohammed Murad
336Bey (d. 1705), is the Hanefite Mosque of Sidi ben-Arous (Pl. C, 5),
of 1654, similar in plan to that of Sidi Youssef (p. 335), with an
elegant minaret.
The Rue de la Kasba ends at the Place de la Kasba (Pl. B,
C, 5), with its charming grounds.
On the S. side of this square rises the Dâr el-Bey (Pl. B, C,
5), the largest pile of buildings in the Medina, erected in 1810 on
the foundations of a Roman theatre(?) by Moroccan architects under
Hamuda Bey as his town-palace. It is now the seat of the French
secretary-general and other authorities. The Bey usually comes
hither on Monday mornings from La Marsa (p. 351) for the transaction
of business. Admittance, see p. 331. The entrance is by the
portal where a sentry is posted.
The covered quadrangle (patio) on the first floor forms the centre of
the palace. The fine timber ceiling in the dining-room is the only object
of interest in the state apartments. The council-chamber of the ministers
has a dome with remarkably fine stucco-work. Here, as in the Bardo and
at Kassar-Saïd, the effect is marred by European gewgaws.
Fine *View from the flat roof over the white houses of the town,
the Zitouna and many smaller mosques. Best light at and after noon.
To the W. of the Place de la Kasba, at the junction of the two
upper boulevards Bab-Benat (Pl. B, 4; p. 337) and Bab-Menara
(Pl. B, C, 5, 6), the old town culminates in the Kasba (Pl. B, 5),
an extensive group of barracks on the site of the palace of the Hafsides
and the Turkish citadel. The Kasba Mosque, with its fine
minaret, well restored in 1904, dates from 1231–5.
Near the old Bab-Menara, where the Souk des Sacs diverges to
the reservoir of the waterworks (p. 339), is the small Mosquée el-Ksar
(Pl. C, 5), the oldest in Tunis, said to have been founded by
Hassan ibn en-Nôman (p. 322). The handsome minaret (1545) is
an addition of the Turkish period.
On the N. side of the mosque runs the Rue du Château. No. 3
is the Division d’Occupation (Pl. C, 5), the seat of the French
commandant, formerly the *Dâr-Hussein (18th cent.; well restored
in 1876), one of the finest Mauro-Turkish palaces in Tunis. (Adm.
by special introduction only.)
The Rue des Andalous (Pl. C, 5), which begins here, and its
side-street Rue du Riche are the aristocratic streets of the Medina.
Many of the houses have elegant marble portals and artistically
grated windows. Parallel, on the E., leading to the Avenue de
Bab-Djedid, runs the long Rue Tourbet el-Bey, in which at No. 62,
at the corner of the Rue Sidi-Zamouhl, rises the Tourbet el-Bey
(Pl. C, 6), the domed tomb of the Husseinites (p. 323; ladies sometimes
admitted).
The Rue Sidi Kassem, the next side-street on the left, leads to
the Djamâa Djedid (‘new mosque’), or Mosquée des Teinturiers
(Pl. C, 5, 6), founded by Hussein Ali ben-Turki (p. 323). The modern
minaret is by Si Slîmân Ennigro (p. 334).
337The open space near the dilapidated Bab Djedid (Pl. C, 6),
dating from 1277, is an afternoon haunt of snake-charmers and
story-tellers (5–10 c. to the boy soliciting money).
Between the Bab Djedid and the Place aux Chevaux (Pl. B, 6;
p. 339) is the Market Quarter of Rebat Bab-Djazira (p. 332),
containing the Souk el-Aâssar, the Souk des Armes, and the Marché-au-Blé.
From the Bab Djedid we return to the Place de la Kasba
(p. 336; tramway No. 2, see p. 330).
In the Boulevard Bab-Benat, in an old Moslem cemetery on
the right, is the Tekia (Pl. B, 4, 5), a home for the aged (1905).
On the left, founded in 1876, is the Collège Sadiki (Pl. B, 4), a
high school for Moslems. Farther on rises the handsome Palais
de Justice (Pl. B, 4; 1901). These two buildings are in the neo-Moorish
style.
We may now proceed direct to the Place Bab-Souika (see below;
tramway No. 3, p. 330); but it is better to take the less direct route
through the N.W. part of the Medina, by the Rue du Lutteur (diverging
to the right from Boul. Bab-Benat, a little before the Palais
de Justice), Rue du Pacha (Pl. B, 4), Rue de la Hafsia (Pl. B, C, 4),
Rue Achour (Pl. C, B, 4, 3; with the Hanefite Mosque of Sidi Mohammed
Bey on the left), Rue el-Monastiri, and Rue Sidi-Mahrez.
On the left, in the last-named street, rises the *Mosque of
Sidi Mahrez (Pl. B, 3), with several domes in the Turkish style,
built in the latter half of the 17th cent., resembling in the interior
the Ahmed Mosque of Constantinople (p. 550). The square minaret
was added early in the 19th century.—On the right is the school
or Zaouïa Sidi Mahrez.
The picturesque Place Bab-Souika (Pl. B, C, 3) lies between
the Medina and the poor Rebat Bab-Souika (p. 332). Executions
took place here in the Turkish period. The Rue el-Halfaouine
(‘alfa street’), partly vaulted over, and lined with butchers’ shops,
leads hence to the lively and industrious—
Place el-Halfaouine (Pl. B, 2), with its numerous Arab cafés,
where on Mohammedan festivals, such as Ramadan (p. 447) and
Bairam, the evenings and nights are spent in mirth and frolic. On
the W. side is the Djamâa Sahab et-Taba (Pl. B, 2), one of the
largest mosques in Tunis, founded on blocks of stone from Carthage.
The Souk el-Djedid on the N. side is for silk wares.
Time permitting, we may glance at the Rue des Potiers (Pl. C, 3),
seat of the once noted pottery of Tunis, or at the Jewish Quarter
(Hara; Pl. C, 3, 4), in the N.E. part of the Medina. The chief Synagogues
(visitors admitted) are in the Impasse es-Snadli, at the corner
of Rue Sidi-Mardoun, in Rue Zarkoun (Pl. C, D, 4), etc.
The interesting Old Jewish Cemetery (Pl. D, E, 3), just outside
the old town, is entered from the Rue du Cimetière-Israélite.
338
1. About 1¼ M. to the N. of Tunis lies the *Jardin du Belvédère,
laid out in 1892, the most popular promenade in the environs,
well shaded with palm-trees, but still unfinished. The
grounds cover 250 acres on the slope of Belvedere Hill (269 ft.),
which was fortified in the Turkish period. The chief entrance is
at the Rond Point at the end of the Ave. de Paris (p. 333; tramway
No. 7, p. 330), and there is a side-entrance (tramway No. 6) in the
Ave. Carnot, near the Pépinière Municipale (nursery-ground) and
the Cimetière Municipal (opened in 1883).
Halfway up, above the main entrance, rises the Pavillon du
Belvédère (café; fine view from the terrace). On the S. slope of
the hill, ¼ M. from the Avenue Carnot and concealed amid the
thick vegetation, is the Mida, the ruin of a mosque-court brought
from the souks of the Medina. Farther up is the *Pavillon de la
Manouba, a freely restored Moorish garden-pavilion from the Palais
de la Manouba (pp. 342, 343), with fine ornamentation in stucco
and a charming view. The top of the hill affords a splendid *Panorama,
especially towards evening. To the S. is the old town with
the Kasba, the Manoubia Hill, and Fort Sidi Bel-Hassen; more to
the right, beyond the Sebkha es-Sedjoumi, rise the distant hills
of Zaghouan; to the E. lies Lake Bahira with the island of Chikly,
the Ship Canal, and the little towns of Goletta and Rades, backed
by the Gulf of Tunis and Cape Bon; then, more to the N.E., rise
the hills of Carthage, with the cathedral and Sidi Bou-Saïd; a little
to the left, in the plain, lie La Marsa and the Sebkha er-Riana; to
the W. are seen the Bardo and the two aqueducts.
Adjoining the Institut Pasteur (1904), on the N. side of the Rond-Point,
is the entrance to the Jardin d’Essais (adm., see p. 331), opened in 1892,
with many tropical and subtropical plants. Connected with it is the Ecole
Coloniale d’Agriculture, founded in 1898.
The tramway (No. 7) runs on through olive-groves to (3 M.) the village
of El-Ariana, once famed for its Hafside palace of Abu Fehr, and now
noteworthy for its beautiful roses. It is a favourite resort of the Jews
of Tunis, especially on Saturday afternoons, when Jewish musicians and
dancers perform at the cafés.
2. A less extensive but more picturesque *View than that from
the Belvedere is obtained from the hill, to the W. of the old town,
on which lie the decayed Turkish forts of Bordj Flifel and Bordj
Rabta (193 ft.). The shortest way to the hill is by the Rue Bab
el-Allouch (Pl. B, 3; see tramway No. 3, p. 330) and through the
gate of that name. We then follow the Bardo road (comp. p. 339),
straight on, between the garden of the Hôpital Civil (Pl. A, 3, 4),
on the right, and the Ecole Professionnelle Loubet (Pl. A, 4), a
technical school, on the left. About 6 min. from the gate we diverge
to the right by a field-road, and we reach the top in 6 min. more.
Near the forts are numerous dilapidated Silos (rabta), once the
bey’s granaries.
339The Bardo is about 1 M. farther on, but we now return to the
crossroads (see above) and follow another road to the S., leaving the
village of Mélassine on the right, to the Bab Sidi Abdallah
(Pl. A, 5). Close to this gate is the Château d’Eau or Reservoir
(Pl. A, B, 5; visitors admitted) of the waterworks of Tunis, which was
substituted in 1859–62 for the Roman aqueduct of Carthage (p. 348).
It is supplied by the main conduit from Zaghouan (p. 359), 58½ M.
long, by an auxiliary branch from the Aïn Djouggar (1276 ft.), 23 M.
distant, and (since 1905) by a new branch, 50 M. long, from Djebel
Bargou, which flows partly through a tunnel 4 M. in length.
3. The Manoubia Hill (240 ft.) may be reached in ¼ hr. by
a road to the S. from the Bab Sidi Kassem (Pl. A, 6), a town-gate
3 min. to the S. of the reservoir. Or we may start from the Place aux
Chevaux (Pl. B, 6; p. 337), whence, near the Collège Alaoui (seminary
for teachers), we have a good view of the city and of Lake
Bahira, and then follow the Rue Bab el-Gorjani (Pl. B, C, 7). The
hill offers a fine view, especially in the morning, of the city, Lake
Bahira, the hills of Carthage and Cape Bon; at our feet lies the
Sebkha es-Sedjoumi; to the S. rise the hills of La Mohamédia and
Oudna, backed by the jagged mountains of Zaghouan.
4. From the Bab Alleoua (Pl. E, 7; station of tramway No. 8,
p. 330) diverge the roads to Rades (p. 363), Hammam-Lif (p. 363),
and the Mornag (p. 358). We ascend across the Cimetière Sidi Bel-Hassen
(Pl. E, 7), the largest Mohammedan cemetery of Tunis, now
desecrated and therefore open to ‘unbelievers’, to the (12 min.)
Zaouïa Sidi Bel-Hassen, where we enjoy a charming view of the
city and Lake Bahira. The mosque, where many of the former beys’
wives are buried, stands on the site of a cavern which was for many
years inhabited by the Moroccan saint Sidi Bel-Hassen ech-Chadly,
the founder of the Chadlya brotherhood. The beautiful view from
the top of the hill (240 ft.), a little apart from the small Fort Sidi
Bel-Hassen, resembles that from the Manoubia Hill.
5. The Bardo, the former winter-residence of the beys, lies
in the fertile plain to the W. of Tunis, 1¼ M. from Bab Bou-Saâdoun
(Pl. A, 2), and 2 M. from Bab el-Allouch (Pl. A, B, 3, 4; see
p. 338) or from Bab Sidi Abdallah (Pl. A, 5). Starting from the Porte
de France, we may go by tramway No. 3 (p. 330; 5 c.) to Place Bab-Souika,
and thence by tramway No. 5 (15 c.) to the Bardo. About halfway
we cross the Aqueduc du Bardo, originally Roman, a branch
of the Carthage aqueduct (p. 348), restored by Andalusian Moors in
the 16th century.—Those who prefer to go by carriage should drive
out past the Reservoir (see above), and return round the N. side of
the old town, past the Feskia or Ancien Réservoir (Pl. A, 1, 2; for
rain-water) and the Mohammedan Cimetière el-Bsili (Pl. B, C, 1, 2),
to Bab el-Khadra (Pl. C, 2).
During the Turkish period the Bardo, like the Moroccan palaces
340of the present day, formed a little town by itself. It included
several palaces of the beys and of the widows of deceased princes,
a treasury, dwellings of the court officials, a mosque, baths, barracks,
and a prison (zendala), and the whole group was enclosed
by a massive rectangular wall. Most of the sadly ruined buildings
have been utilized since 1900 as material for the new harbour-works.
At the S. end the outer wall has disappeared. From the
tramway station we enter the pretty grounds (1903) to the right.
Immediately to the left is the way to the remains of the chief palace
of the beys, and beyond it, on the left, to the Museum. Straight
ahead rises the ruin of a domed building; beyond it are the mosque
and the prison (now a reformatory for natives).
The Palace of the Beys, erected after 1782 by Hamuda Bey
(p. 336), contains several objects of interest, apart from its tasteless
European furniture and poor pictures. Adm., see p. 331.
We enter by a flight of steps, adorned with marble lions of mediocre
Italian workmanship, and through a vestibule with delicate decoration
in stucco. The anterior colonnaded court is adjoined on the right by the
hall of justice, where the beys used to pronounce sentences of death which
were immediately carried out close by; opposite to it is the reception-room.
A passage to the left brings us to a second colonnaded court. A tasteful
marble portal (Italian) leads thence into the Salle des Glaces, which has
a fine ceiling and a valuable Kairwan carpet. We then mount the staircase
to the First Floor, where the large festal hall is on the right.
The old Palace of the Harem, a creation of the extravagant
bey Sidi Mohammed (1855–9), rivalling the Alcázar of Seville
(p. 61) in its wealth of decoration, was carefully restored in 1885–1888
and converted into a national museum.
The *Musée du Bardo, or Musée Alaoui, named after Bey
Ali Pasha (1882–1902), containing the rich yield of excavations in
every part of Tunisia, is now the finest collection in Barbary. The
Moorish and Turkish antiquities were arranged in 1900 in a pretty
little adjoining palace under the name of Musée Arabe. Adm., see
p. 331; catalogue (1897) 10 fr., supplement (1906–10) 27 fr.; director,
M. Merlin.
Ground Floor. The Entrance Room contains Roman mosaics from
Henchir Sidi Djedidi, etc.; family tombstone of the imperial slave Optatus,
from the burial-ground of the Officiales (p. 348). Also, on the right, votive
stones from the temples of Saturn at Aïn-Tounga and on Jebel Bou-Kornin
(p. 363), Roman milestones from the Tebessa road, etc.; on the
left, Roman tomb-cippi and inscriptions. Then two altars bearing regulations
in favour of farmers on the imperial estates: D441. from Henchir-Mettich
near Testour (time of Trajan), and D 442. from Aïn-Ouassel (time
of Septimius Severus); C 1030. Statue of Concordia from Djorf Bou-Grara
(p. 392). At the end of the room, a much damaged Roman sarcophagus
with the Muses.—On the right is—
Room I (Pre-Roman Room). Along the walls are Punic and neo-Punic
votive stones dedicated to Baal, Tanit (p. 356), and other deities; then
tomb-stelæ, catapult-balls from an arsenal at Carthage, etc.—At the back-wall
of the side-room is a stela from Maktar, nearly 7 ft. high, with a
Libyan and neo-Punic inscription.—On the left of the Entrance Room is—
341Room III (Early-Christian Room). In the centre, B 53. Font from El-Kantara
(p. 394). Along the walls are mosaics from Tabarca and other places,
and sarcophagi. In the show-case, lamps and vessels in clay from Oudna
(5–6th cent.).—In the passage to R. IV, terracotta slabs with reliefs,
once the mural decoration of churches.
Room IV (Bulla Regia Room), containing finds from Hammam-Darradji
(p. 326): Roman sculptures of the time of Antoninus Pius (138–161), incl.
C 1017. A Minerva Polias in the style of a Parthenos with the cornucopia
of Bonus Eventus and a mural crown; *C 1018. Torso of Athena; C 1014.
Æsculapius, after a Greek original of the 4th cent.; C 1013. Colossal statue
of Apollo, after the school of Scopas; C 1015. Ceres; Roman inscriptions.—In
the adjoining Room V, terracotta figures from the temples of Baal
and Tanit at Bir Bou-Rekba.
On the Staircase, C 1033. Head of Hercules, Roman mosaics, etc.; on
the upper landing, C 939. Statue of Apollo from the theatre at Carthage.
First Floor.Room VI, the old inner court (patio) of the palace.
In the centre are two large Roman mosaics from Oudna (2nd cent. A. D.):
A 103. Bacchus presenting the vine to the Attic king Icarius (A 104. Hare
and fox hunt, in front); A 105. Representation of a country estate, with
hunting scenes. Between the columns of the portico are Roman statues
in marble from Carthage (C 944. Ganymede; C 979. Bacchus; C 924. Juno;
C 982. Isis; and others). Along the walls are marble busts and heads,
most of them from Carthage.—Adjoining this room on the N. is—
Room VII, formerly the banqueting-room, with superb *Dome carved
in wood. In the centre, A 1 Mosaic pavement, about 150 sq. yds., from
a Roman villa near Susa (‘Cortège de Neptune’). By the end-walls, A 25–27.
Three semicircular mosaics from Tabarca (beginning of the 4th cent. A.D.)
representing a country seat with park, stable, granary, sheds, and cellar.
By the left side-wall are two Roman mosaics (A 7. Fishing; A 12. Head
of Oceanus); A 19. Early-Christian relief with circus-scenes; old Christian
*Sarcophagus Mosaics from Tabarca, mostly representing the deceased in
the attitude of prayer, between two candles. The wall-presses contain
Punic, Rhodian, Roman, and early-Christian lamps. By the back-wall are
Roman pottery, and implements in bronze, ivory, and bone. Also a fine
bust of Athena from Carthage.—Next comes—
Room VIII. In the centre, bronze armour of Campanian origin (end
of 3rd cent. B.C.), found in a Punic tomb at Ksour-Essaf (p. 370): *E 3.
A silver-gilt patera (sacrificial bowl) from Bizerta, weighing nearly 24 lbs.,
with reliefs (contest of Apollo and Marsyas, sacrifice to Dionysus, Bacchic
scene).—In the side-cases are gold trinkets and cut gems, mostly from
Carthage. In the window-cases are Mauretanian, Roman, and Byzantine
coins. Along the walls are Roman mosaics from Dougga and from *Chebba
(A 292. Neptune and the Four Seasons; A 293. Orpheus among the animals);
C 1115. The Graces and the Four Seasons (front of a fine marble sarcophagus).
Room IX. In the centre, A 287. The Procession of Bacchus, a large
mosaic from El-Djem. Along the walls are Roman mosaics from El-Djem
(A 288. Hare-hunt; A 289. Nine Muses; etc.), from Thina (Thænæ), from
Susa (A 6. Boat with quaint representation of the water), and from Djorf
Bou-Grara (A 301, A 301 bis. Wrestlers). In the corners, C 1026. Torso
of a draped woman, perhaps a Victoria, in black marble; C 72. Head of
Augustus; C 1027. Head of Hercules (all from El-Djem). In the press on
the left, three leaden urns and six admirably preserved glass cinerary
urns from the burial-ground of the Officiales at Carthage (p. 348). In the
press on the right, bronze utensils. In the wall-cases, leaden and bronze
objects from Carthage and Hammam Darradji; also so-called ‘tabellæ defixionum’,
rolls of lead with curses directed against enemies in the circus
(found in tombs at Susa). Detached, C 16. Torso of a Bacchante from El-Djem.—We
return to R. VI and thence, to the left, enter—
Room XI, formerly the concert-room, containing Roman mosaics. In
the centre, A 166. Mosaic pavement from Medeïna, showing the different
kinds of Roman trading vessels; also the heads of a river-god and of
342Oceanus. By the entrance-wall, A 171. Temple (containing statues of
Apollo and Diana, and hunting scenes) from Carthage. By the wall opposite,
A 162. A seriously damaged representation of a banquet (4th cent.
A.D.) from Carthage.—The opposite—
Room XII was formerly the dining-room. The presses contain relics
from Punic tombs (some of them imported, Egyptian, Greek, and Etruscan).
In the two central cases, terracotta-masks (to avert evil spirits),
which also were among the objects buried with the dead.—A door on the
same (W.) side of R. VI as that to R. XII gives access to three rooms
(XIV-XVI) containing objects discovered at the bottom of the sea near
Mehdia (see p. 370) in 1907–10.
Room XIV. A bronze *Hermes of Dionysus, in an archaic style, by
Boëthus of Chalcedon (according to the inscription; 2nd cent. B.C.). On
a shelf are remains of a large bronze capital with two female heads. In
the glass-cases are two bronze lamps with the figure of a runner; numerous
bronze statuettes, among others an Eros playing a lyre, two female dancers,
a buffoon, Satyr, and actors; bronze utensils.
Room XV. In the centre, a bronze *Statue of a winged Eros (4½ ft.
high). Along the walls, a leaden anchor; terracotta amphoræ, bars of lead
with stamps in Latin, flour-mills; in the glass-case, a terracotta lamp with
its wick still preserved.
Room XVI (marble objects). Large mixing bowls (‘crateræ’), adorned
with Bacchic subjects; candelabra in the neo-Attic style; capitals; Greek
inscriptions; busts and heads, among which should be noted, in the middle,
a well-preserved Aphrodite; torsos and statuettes.
We return to R. VI and descend five steps into—
Room XIII, an octagonal *Domed Chamber (formerly the bey’s bedroom),
with four side-rooms richly adorned with stucco and tiles (once occupied
by his four favourite wives). In the centre, A 10. Roman mosaic
from Bir-Chana, with the gods of the seven days of the week and the
signs of the zodiac. In the right wing, *A 266. Roman mosaic from
Susa, Virgil writing the Æneid. In the wing opposite the entrance, C 4.
Torso of a Satyr pouring out wine (after Praxiteles). In the left wing,
*C 969. Ceres, from Carthage, with traces of painting; also C 970, C 971.
Two draped female statues.—In the corner-room on the right, without
number, Large alabaster vase from Carthage with haut-relief (head of
Bacchus with vine-wreath).—In the corner-room on the left are terracotta
figurines from Susa.
In the Gallery of R. VI (p. 341) are a relief-map of Carthage, models
of buildings in Carthage, Dougga, Le Kef, Oudna, Sbeïtla, and Djorf Bou-Grara;
also photographs of Tunisian monuments.
From the staircase (p. 341) we enter the Musée Arabe. In Room I,
tastefully decorated in stucco, are mural tiles from Tunis, Nabeul (p. 365),
and Morocco, and knotted carpets from Kairwan. The side-rooms contain
metal-work, enamelled vessels, wood-carving, weapons, etc.
In the Court (patio) are mural tiles; in the small side-rooms on the
left, costumed figures, national garbs, and models in stucco.
In Room II, furniture (incl. a sumptuous bed) and embroidery (incl.
haïtis, velvet hangings with gold and silver embroidery). In the side-rooms
are Tunisian (from Djerba and Moknine) and Algerian trinkets;
also beautiful Kairwan carpets.
Behind the Bardo is Kassar-Saïd, a château of the bey (no
admittance). Here, in 1881, was concluded the Bardo Treaty, which
ended the independence of Tunisia.
The highroad goes on, past the Hippodrome of Kassar-Saïd
(races in spring), to (2½ M.) La Manouba (rail. station, see
p. 329; tramway No. 5, see p. 330), a group of decayed Moorish
country-houses with fine orange-gardens. The Palais de la
Manouba (now cavalry-barracks) was once the country-seat of
Hamuda Bey (p. 336). The kubba of Lalla Manouba attracts
many pilgrims.
343From Tunis to Dougga, see R. 55; to Zaghouan, Le Kef, and Kalaâ-Djerda,
see R. 56; to Rades, Hammam Lif, and Susa, see R. 57; to
Bizerta, see R. 54; to Malta, see R. 63; to Tripoli (Syracuse), see R. 64.
An Electric Tramway starts from Tunis Terminus, Ave. Jules-Ferry
(Pl. E, 4), near the Casino, for Carthage and (¾ hr.) Marsa-Plage. The
chief stations on this line are La Goulette, for the little town of Goletta;
Carthage, for the castle-hill (St. Louis de Carthage), for the plateau of
the Odéon, and for the cisterns at the Bordj el-Djedid; Ste. Monique,
for Damous el-Karita; and Sidi Bou-Saïd, for the lighthouse. The terminus,
Marsa-Plage, close to the shore, is connected by a branch-line
(½ M.) with Marsa-Ville, which is the terminus of another electric tramway
running from the Ave. de Paris (Pl. E, 3) at Tunis viâ El-Aouina.—Uniform
fares from Tunis to Goletta, Carthage, Marsa-Plage, or Marsa-Ville
single 1 fr. 20 or 65 c., return 1 fr. 75 c. or 1 fr.
A Drive (carr. 15 fr.) from Tunis to Sidi-Daoud, La Malga (amphitheatre
and cisterns), La Marsa, Sidi Bou-Saïd, Carthage (cisterns at
Bordj el-Djedid, theatre, and museum), Goletta, Maxula-Rades (p. 363),
and back to Tunis is recommended. Luncheon (brought from Tunis) may
be taken beside the lighthouse at Sidi Bou-Saïd or at Carthage. Good
carriages are to be had also at Goletta and the stations of Carthage and
Marsa-Ville (2 fr. per hr.; but the fare should be fixed beforehand).—In
cool weather, especially in the forenoon, the Walk from La Marsa viâ
Sidi Bou-Saïd to Carthage is very enjoyable.
Hotels at Carthage: Hôt. St. Louis de Carthage, on the castle-hill,
tolerable, déj. or D. 3–3½ fr., wine dear; Pavillon Beau-Séjour, R. 3,
B. 1¼, déj. 2½, D. 3 fr.; Hôt. des Citernes Romaines, near the cisterns
of Bordj el-Djedid (p. 350), plain but good.
For a short visit to the ruins the following description will suffice.
For further study the traveller is referred to the Carte archéologique et
topographique des Ruines de Carthage (Paris, 1907; three sheets, scale
1 : 5000) and to ‘Carthage autrefois, Carthage aujourd’hui’ (2½ fr.; to be
had at the Musée Lavigerie), a full description, but partly out of date.
Comp. also the chapters on Carthage in Cagnat’s book mentioned at
p. 289.—The guides and beggars are very importunate. Native vendors
offer spurious antiquities (cameos, coins, etc.), ‘just dug up’. It should
be noted that the ruins abound in awkward cavities and fissures, and
that, in summer especially, scorpions lurk under the loose stones.
The Electric Tramway (see above) to Carthage and Marsa-Plage
runs to the Harbour (p. 333), crosses its N. entrance by an
embankment, and follows the N. bank of the ship-canal across Lake
Bahira (comp. p. 129), skirting the passing-place of the steamers.
On the left is the islet of Chikly (p. 129).
6¼ M. Arrêt du Bac, station for the Goletta steam-ferry
mentioned at p. 363.—7 M. La Goulette, on the W. side of the
little town of—
Goletta, or La Goulette (Hôt. de la Gare, unpretending; pop.
5000, chiefly Sicilian and Maltese fisher-folk), the former little
harbour of Tunis, deserted since the opening of the ship-canal.
344It was strongly fortified by Kheireddin (p. 221) in 1534 and transformed
into a great naval station, but was soon captured by the
Spaniards and formed the base whence they kept Tunis in check
(1535–74).
On the island between the ship-canal and the two narrow inlets
to the harbour are the Dâr el-Bey, an old palace of the beys, and
the disused Marine Arsenal founded by Ahmed Bey (1837–55).
On the shore, beyond the old harbour-mouth, which is only 6½ ft.
deep, rises the Kasba, now barracks.
Between old Goletta and the ancient harbour of Carthage
stretches a tongue of land, the ancient Taenia or Ligula, between
Lake Bahira and the open sea, where bathing-places abound: 7¼ M.
La Goulette Neuve, with a long row of humble lodging-houses,
chiefly patronized by the poorer Jewish families from Tunis; 8 M.
Khéreddine, where the old palace of Khéreddine, once the all-powerful
minister of Bey Mohammed es-Saddok (1859–82), is now
a casino; 9 M. Le Kram, another favourite Jewish resort, on the
small Baie du Kram.
The next station is (9¾ M.) Salambo, a new colony of villas
named after Flaubert’s novel; near it is the ‘Lazaret‘, an old palace
of the beys’ harem, on the shore, between the two ancient harbours
of Carthage (p. 345), used as a cholera hospital in 1884 (now barracks).
10 M. Douar ech-Chott, on the E. side of this picturesque
native village (comp. p. 345).
10¼ M. Dermèche, station for El-Kheraïb (‘the ruins’), supposed
to have been once the market-place of Carthage (p. 345), on
the S. side of the Kothon, and also for the Palais de Dermèche,
once the palace of the minister Mustapha ben-Ismaïl, and now the
property of the bey.
10½ M. Carthage (hotels, see p. 343), station for the road
to the castle-hill and abbey-hill of Carthage (pp. 346, 349). 11¼ M.
Ste. Monique, between the convent of that name on the right and
Damous el-Karita (p. 349) on the left.
Passing Briqueterie, we ascend to (13 M.) Sidi Bou-Saïd
(p. 351).
13¾ M. Arrêt de l’Archevêché, for the archiepiscopal palace;
Arrêt de la Corniche, the last halt. We then descend to the N.W.
to (14½ M.) La Marsa-Plage (p. 351).
Carthage, once the proud queen of the seas, lay 10 M. to the
E. of Tunis on a low range of hills culminating in Cape Carthage
(p. 351). The cape was originally an island, but was probably
united with the mainland by the deposits of the Medjerda before
345the foundation of the city (comp. p. 129). The neck of land between
Lake Bahira on the S. and the Sebkha er-Riana on the N.,
where the army of Regulus was annihilated in 255 and where
Scipio encamped in 146, was, according to Polybius, only 3000
paces (ca. 1½ M.) wide, but is now 3 M. at the narrowest part. In
the middle ages Douar ech-Chott (p. 344; ‘village on the salt-lake’)
lay on Lake Bahira. Carthage possessed two harbours. The outer
or commercial harbour lay between the Baie du Kram (p. 344) and
Bordj el-Djedid (p. 350), where considerable remains of its quays
are preserved for a distance of nearly a mile. The inner or naval
harbour (Kothon) was an artificial inland basin, probably on the
same site as the two modern lagoons, with a rectangular entrance-basin
and a circular main harbour. On an islet in the latter lay
the naval arsenal.
Between the two harbours ran the triple town-wall, which on one
side extended from the Bordj el-Djedid to the plateau between the
Odeon and Damous el-Karita (p. 349), and on the other side enclosed
the castle-hill (see below) on the S. and W. sides. The market-place
(p. 344), on the N. side of the naval harbour, was connected
with the castle-hill by three narrow streets, the chief scene of
contest during the storming by Scipio. To the N.W. of the city-wall,
as early as the Punic period, lay the villa-suburb of Megara
or Magalia (now La Malga).
History. Carthage was founded about 880 B. C. by Phœnicians from
Tyre, under the leadership, according to tradition, of Dido, adjacent to
Kambe, a colony from Sidon. Under the name of Kart-hadasht (‘new
town’) it extended gradually from the dale on the N.E. side of the Bordj
el-Djedid up to the castle-hill. Thanks to its most advantageous site
near the Sicilian straits and on the sea-route between Egypt and Spain,
and to its proximity to the valleys of the Medjerda and the Oued Miliane
(p. 363), the richest in the land, it soon surpassed Utica (p. 353) and the
smaller Phœnician seaports in wealth and power. From the 6th cent.
onwards Carthaginian fleets contended with the Greeks and with the
Etruscans, from whom they wrested Corsica and Sardinia, for the mastery
of the W. Mediterranean, and in 480 their army of mercenaries, in
alliance with Xerxes, even attacked the Greeks of Sicily. After a great
struggle of more than two centuries for the possession of Sicily, during
which Agathocles (p. 163) carried the war into his enemies’ country
(310–307), the intervention of Rome led to the three Punic wars (264–241,
218–201, and 149–146), to the occupation of Spain by the Carthaginians, and
to the capture and destruction of Carthage, after a heroic resistance, by
Scipio in 146 B. C. On its ruins, in 122, C. Gracchus attempted to found
a Roman colony, but it was not till the year 44 that the far-seeing policy
of Cæsar led to the firm establishment of the Colonia Julia Carthago.
The despatch by Augustus of a colony of veterans and the erection
of the city into the capital of the province in place of Utica (29 B. C.)
paved the way for the renewed glory of Carthage, which soon became the
greatest Mediterranean seaport next to Alexandria and the third-greatest
city in the Roman empire. Far and wide its schools of rhetoric and
philosophy were famous. Passionate champions of Christianity, like Tertullian
(160 to about 245), founder of the sect called after him, and Cyprian
(d. 258), who protested against the claim of Rome to precedence in
the church, were residents in Carthage, the chief bishopric in N. Africa.
346In numerous councils (from 393 onwards) the dogmas of the Catholic
church were here discussed and settled, and at the synod of the Gargilian
Thermæ in 411 St. Augustine with fiery eloquence combated the
doctrines of the Donatists (p. 322) and the Tertullianists.
Genseric (p. 322) converted the old palace of the proconsuls into
his royal residence and made Carthage the capital of the Vandal empire,
and a little later the city became the residence of the Byzantine governors.
After Hassan ibn en-Nôman (p. 322) had destroyed the city in 698,
almost as completely as Scipio had done, and after he had even caused
the harbours to be filled up, the ruins were used for centuries as a
quarry for the building of Kairwan (p. 372), Tunis, Goletta, and the small
towns around, while many of the Roman and Byzantine columns were
carried off by the Moors to Cordova and by the Italians to Palermo,
Amalfi, Pisa, and Genoa. The attempts of the Hafsides (p. 323) to resuscitate
Carthage met with little success. To that dynasty belonged El-Mostanser-Billah,
against whom Louis IX., the Saint, directed his last
crusade. It was on the castle-hill of Carthage that Louis died of the
plague in 1270, and it was from Carthage that Emp. Charles V. led his
expedition against Tunis in 1535. Modern builders have again been busy,
at the cost of the ancient ruins, since the time of Card. Lavigerie (1825–92),
who made the Missions d’Afrique (see below) the centre of the catholic
missions in N. Africa and succeeded in 1884 in obtaining the restoration
of the old archbishopric.
After all this endless havoc, and owing to constant alterations in the
earth’s surface, it is now very difficult to trace the plan either of the Punic
or of the Roman Carthage, which seems to have been laid out in chessboard
fashion. Yet the beauty of the scenery and the wealth of historical
memories amply compensates for the deplorable state of the ruins. The
valuable yield of recent excavations is now preserved in the Musée Lavigerie
(see below), in the Bardo Museum (p. 340), and in the Louvre.
The Byrsa (194 ft.), the ancient castle-hill of Carthage, 660
yds. from the sea, was the site in the Punic period of a temple of
Eshmun, and in the Roman period of a temple of Æsculapius and
of the palace of the proconsul. It is now called the Colline de
St. Louis de Carthage and is occupied by the chapel of St. Louis,
the seminary, and the archiepiscopal cathedral. The terrace on the
side next the sea, adjoining the Hôtel St. Louis de Carthage (p. 343),
commands a delightful *View of the gulf of Tunis and the site of
ancient Carthage.
The Grand Séminaire de Carthage, founded in 1875 by Card.
Lavigerie as a mission-house and seminary for the Pères Missionnaires
d’Afrique (commonly called Pères Blancs from their white
semi-Arab garb), contains the *Musée Lavigerie, dating from
1875, where the yield of the excavations made by Père Delattre,
the learned principal of the seminary, is preserved. Adm. on
Mon., Thurs., Frid., and Sat., 2 to 5.30; on Sun. and holidays 2–3
and 4 to 5.30; probably also before 11, and on other afternoons,
on application (closed in Holy Week after Wed.). Visitors make a
donation to the offertory-box. No catalogue.
In the Seminary Garden, below the small Chapelle de St. Louis,
built in 1845 to the memory of King Louis the Saint (see above), are
preserved eight barrel-vaults, with semicircular niches, relics of some
ancient edifice of unknown character. On the terrace in front of the chapel
is a large Roman sarcophagus in marble. Around it are placed numerous
347Punic cinerary urns. In the grounds lie fragments of ancient buildings.
Along the garden-walls are ranged Roman mosaics, inscriptions, and fragments
of sculpture.
The Colonnade of the seminary is adorned with three colossal figures
of Victory in high-relief, of the time of the proconsul Q. Aurelius Symmachus
(373–5), one of the last champions of expiring paganism.—The
Vestibule contains two sadly mutilated early-Christian reliefs, the Annunciation
to the Shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi, from Damous
el-Karita (p. 349).—To the left, in the Salle de la Croisade, are Punic,
Roman, and early-Christian inscriptions.—On the right is the—
Punic Room, containing the most valuable collection, almost exclusively
from Punic rock-tombs (8th–2nd cent. B.C.), unrivalled except
in the museum of Iviza. In the 1st Case in the middle of the room are
Egyptian scarabs and amulets, trinkets (some Egyptian), and weights.
2nd Case: lamps and vases in clay, gold trinkets, beautiful Greek ivory
carving (swan bearing a goddess), an Etruscan inscription (the only one
yet found in Africa), Egyptian signet-rings, etc. 3rd Case: necklaces
composed of amulets, glass amulets with faces of iridescent glass, gold
signet-rings with engraved figures, fragments of painted ostrich-eggs,
toilet articles in lead, Cupid in terracotta resembling the Tanagra figurines,
a Greek work. 4th Case: bronze mirrors and ‘little axes’ or razors, probably
amulets.—In the wall-presses, on the left of the entrance, Punic
vases and terracotta masks, iron and bronze weapons. By the left side-wall
are statuettes in clay in the Egyptian and Cyprian style, Corinthian
and Attic vases, an Etruscan vase (toilet scene), two bronze jugs with
fine figures as handles. By the back-wall are terracottas.—At the end
of the right side-wall, in the window-niche, cinerary urn of the priest
Baalchelek, also that of another priest with a beautiful relief of the
deceased. By the last window but one, on the right side, are five cinerary
urns; in front of them stands a sarcophagus with two skeletons. Then,
at the end of the room, are four anthropoid *Sarcophagi in the Greek style
(end of 4th cent. B.C.); two bearded priests in the attitude of prayer (one
of them a cast); a priestess, with remarkably well-preserved painting,
holding a dove and a situla.
Lastly we enter the Roman-Christian Room from the garden. By
the end-wall on the left are early-Christian mosaics and lamps. By the
back-wall, Roman mosaics (incl. Autumn and Winter); marble sculptures
(Ceres, bust of Apollo, etc.). By the right end-wall are Roman terracottas,
*Lamps with figure-compositions, and three reliefs in stucco from
the tomb of a lady of rank. By the entrance-wall, Roman and Byzantine
weights.—The 1st Case in the middle of the room contains early-Christian
relics from the abbey-hill (p. 349), mostly of the Vandal period. 2nd Case:
a bronze lamp and the clay statuette of an organ-player (upper part broken
off). 3rd Case: Roman bronzes and glasses; rolls of lead inscribed with
curses, from the burial-ground of the Officiales (p. 348); Byzantine and
mediæval coins. 4th Case: coins of the Phœnician down to the Byzantine
periods.
The Cathedral (Primatiale de St. Cyprien et de St. Louis), a
basilica with nave and two aisles, built in 1884–90 by Abbé Pougnet,
in the Byzantine-Moorish style, contains (in the choir) the archiepiscopal
throne and the tomb of Card. Lavigerie (p. 346). Over
the high-altar is the valuable reliquary of St. Louis, executed by
Armand Caillat, a goldsmith of Lyons. Adm. from 5 to 11.15 and
12.30 to 5.30 (in summer 6.45).
The limestone blocks on the S.W. side of the cathedral, near the
small eucalyptus grove, are remains of the stylobate of a Roman
Temple. From the brow of the hill we obtain a good survey of
348the site of the ancient naval harbour (p. 345) and of the Roman
circus (see below). The view of Lake Bahira is charming at sunset.
Between the brow of the hill and the road descending to Douar
ech-Chott (p. 344) Père Delattre’s excavations have brought to light
a number of buildings a thousand years apart in date. Above, on
the margin of the hill, is an interesting Punic Necropolis with
rock-tombs; lower down are remains of the Town Walls, hastily
restored under Theodosius II. (p. 541) in 424, and traces of the
Roman Road leading to the harbour; then Punic tombs again, and
below them the foundations of a Byzantine Dwelling House (a room
here contains early-Moorish tombs).
Below the S. angle of the castle-hill we come upon ancient fortifications.
Farther down is a wall or buttress composed of thousands of early-Roman
earthenware amphoræ; also a rock-hewn Chapel (key at the Seminary)
with remains of wall-paintings (saint bestowing a blessing) in the style
of the catacomb frescoes.
Time permitting, we follow the Sidi-Daoud road to the N.W.
from the castle-hill, cross the Goletta and La Marsa highroad, and
reach (¼ hr.) the Roman Amphitheatre, which has been broken
up only since the 16th cent., and which Edrisi, the geographer
(1154), has described as one of almost matchless splendour. All
that is left of it consists of a few remains of substructures deeply
imbedded in rubbish, several underground passages, and in the
centre of the arena (where a chapel with a cross recalls the martyrs
Perpetua and Felicitas, p. 350) three underground chambers, probably
for the machinery used in theatrical performances.
To the S., not far from Douar ech-Chott (p. 344), are a few vestiges
of the Roman Circus. It measured 770 by 110 yds.; the Spina, or partition
round which the racing chariots passed, was 380 yds. long.
Scarcely a hundred paces to the N.W. of the amphitheatre, near a
farm-building, is a Burial Ground of the Officiales (1st–2nd cent.),
the imperial freedmen and slaves employed in the proconsul’s office
(tabularium).—Beyond the amphitheatre the road passes a second
Burial Ground of the same kind on the right and the foundations
of the Villa of Scorpianus (identified by the inscription ‘Scorpianus
in adamatu’) on the left.
To the W. of the highroad, 12 min. from the castle-hill, lies
the dirty village of La Malga (82 ft.), which swarms with begging
children. On the N.E. side of the village are scanty ruins of Roman
Thermae. The Cisterns in the middle of the village, 15 (originally
24) barrel-vaults now in a very ruinous condition and partly
used by the natives as dwellings or stables, once formed the chief
reservoir fed by the Roman Aqueduct (pp. 329, 353, 358), begun
under Hadrian in 117, but not completed till 163. The whole city
was supplied thence by means of leaden pipes.
A Roman Road leads almost in a straight line from La Malga, to the
N.E., close past Damous el-Karita (p. 349) and past the Basilica Maiorum
(p. 350), to the Arrêt de la Briqueterie (p. 344).
349From La Malga we follow the road to the S.E., past the Croix de
St. Cyprien, a memorial of the famous bishop (pp. 345, 346), along
the course of the old ‘Conduit Souterrain’, to the Abbey Hill
(171 ft.), often groundlessly called Colline de Junon, rising to the
N.E. of the castle-hill. Here are situated the Monastère du Carmel,
a Carmelite nunnery, and the Petit Séminaire, the original mission-house
of the White Fathers, now an orphanage presided over by
the Sœurs Missionnaires d’Afrique, a sisterhood also instituted
by Card. Lavigerie. On the roadside, between these buildings,
remains of Roman Houses and Cisterns have been excavated.
On the slope of the Odeon Plateau (181 ft.), the N.E. continuation
of the abbey-hill, near the bridge of the electric tramway,
and 3 min. to the left of the upper Carthage and Sidi Bou-Saïd road
(p. 350), are relics of the Roman Theatre, including several rows
of the seats of the cavea (p. 293) and parts of the stage-building.
After the partial restoration of the theatre a grand performance
took place here in 1908 and similar representations will be occasionally
repeated.—A few paces to the S.W. of the stage we
come to the foundations of a small Roman Temple Circulaire. To
the N.E. of the theatre, on the S.E. slope of the plateau, are the
more considerable remains of Roman Houses, but these have recently
been threatened with demolition.
On the plateau itself, about a hundred paces above the theatre,
in the midst of a Punic Necropolis (3rd cent. B.C.), are relics of
pavement and several underground passages marking the site of
the Odeon, a roofed theatre (theatrum tectum) for concerts, built
under the proconsul Vigellius Saturninus (about 212 A.D.). Both
the theatre and the odeon are said to have been destroyed by the
Vandals in 439.
Outside the old town-wall (p. 345), about 135 yds. to the N. of
the Odeon, and 3 min. to the W. of station Ste. Monique (p. 344),
lies an extensive early-Christian cemetery, in the centre of which
lie the ruins of Damous el-Karita (domus caritatis?), a great
basilica. This church, 71 by 49 yds., was built at different periods.
The oldest basilica with its ten aisles (4th cent.) was orientated to
the S.E., and the second, with eight aisles, probably of the Vandal
period, was turned towards the S.W. A third building, again with
ten aisles, evidenced by its reduced size the decline of Carthage in
the Byzantine period, as it consisted only of the old transept converted
into a nave and of the four N.W. aisles of the second basilica.
Within the oldest nave, in the axis of the first choir-recess, a new
apse was erected. The ⟙-shaped building thus resulting, with its
very short and many-aisled body, seems to have been the model on
which Hassan ibn en-Nôman built the Kairwan mosque, as well as
the source of much of its material (comp. pp. 374, 376).
350Adjoining the basilica on the N.E. is a vast semicircular Atrium
(see p. 316), belonging to one of the two earlier churches, with
remains of the fountain of purification and of a trefoil-shaped
memorial-chapel (comp. p. 317) built into the colonnade. On the
S.W. side of the basilica lie the foundations of a Baptistery with
an octagonal font.
On the outskirts of a small olive-grove, reached either across the
fields from Damous el-Karita (in 8 min.) or to the W. from the Arrêt
de la Briqueterie (2 min.; p. 344), is the Basilica Maiorum, excavated
in 1907. In the Vandal period this was the church of the Arian bishop.
In the Confessio (10½ by 10¼ ft.), according to an inscription, the martyrs
Perpetua and Felicitas (d. 203; see also below and p. 348) were
buried. In the contiguous early-Christian cemetery bishops’ tombs and a
cistern have been discovered.
We conclude our visit with a glance at the ruins in the Plain
by the sea.
On the slope of the Odeon plateau, between the two roads to
Sidi Bou-Saïd, extends a large Punic Necropolis (Nécropole de
Douïmès), containing many rock-tombs of the 7–5th centuries.
Near it are remains of Punic Pottery Kilns and the foundations
of the Basilica of Dermèche, a Byzantine church with double
aisles and traces of a baptistery with its octagonal font. A few
paces to the N. we come to a Roman Cistern, 85 ft. deep, and
vestiges of an Early Christian Monastery (St. Stephen’s?).
Close by are the *Cisterns of Bordj el-Djedid, on a side-branch
of the lower road, the largest in the ancient city after those
of La Malga, whence they were supplied. They were restored in
1887 and utilized for the new waterworks of Tunis (p. 339). The
building, once dreaded by the natives as the ‘devil’s cavern’ (Douames
ech-Chiatinn), forms a rectangle of 147 by 44 yds., with
seventeen parallel barrel-vaults of 33 by 8 yds., two filtering basins,
and broad side-passages (keeper ½ fr.).
Close to the sea, a little to the S.E., perhaps on the site of the
harbour of Kambe (p. 345), lie the shapeless ruins of the Thermes
d’Antonin, or Baths of Dermèche, re-erected under Antoninus
Pius about 145, once perhaps the largest at Carthage.
Between the baths and the ruinous Turkish fort Bordj el-Djedid
(49 ft.) lie the foundations of the superb Roman Stairs (Escalier
Monumental) which once ascended from the quay to the Platea
Nova, one of the largest squares in Roman Carthage. Their marble
blocks were used in the building of the cathedral in 1884.
An underground Roman building, with a flight of twenty-five steps,
to the N.E. of the Bordj el-Djedid, formerly called Fanum Cereris, but
now termed Carcer Castrensis, is said to have been the prison of the
martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas (see above).—Near it is a Roman Tower
resembling a bastion, half in the sea.
On the new road from Bordj el-Djedid to station Ste. Monique (p. 344)
is the ‘Kubba Bent el-Re‘, a number of underground chambers of unknown
object, formerly called ‘Baths of Dido’.
351A picturesque rock-path skirting the abrupt coast, besides the
two roads named on p. 350, leads from Carthage to Sidi Bou-Saïd,
about 2¼ M. from the Byrsa. This wealthy and highly picturesque
village, almost entirely Mohammedan, with the bey’s summer residence,
a fine beach for bathing, and the shrine of the local saint
(much frequented on Fridays), lies at the E. end of Cape Carthage
or Cartagena (423 ft.; Arabic Râs Sluguia), which has kept its
Punic name throughout the ages. From the entrance to the village
(station and cab-stand) we ascend straight to a small square with
several Arab cafés, then by a path in steps to the left, again to the
left, and lastly to the right, to the round lighthouse (Phare;
½–1 fr.). From the top we enjoy an exquisite *View, which is
finest by morning light, of the site of Carthage, the whole of the
bay stretching to Cape Farina (p. 129), and Lake Bahira with its
mountain background.
From the lighthouse a beautiful path leads past the Poste
Optique and behind the vineyards of the Archiepiscopal Palace,
to the Arrêt de la Corniche (p. 344) and (½ hr.) La Marsa (Hôt.
de la Régence), a village in the fertile plain between Cape Carthage
and Jebel Khaoui (see below), with many country-houses and a
bathing beach (dangerous currents). About halfway between the two
stations (p. 343) is the Palais du Bey, where the present prince
(p. 323) usually resides. (Adm. to the stables only, containing the
state-carriages; fee 1 fr.)
To the N.W. of La Marsa extends Jebel Khaoui or Kraoui (345 ft.;
ascent from La Marsa and back viâ Kamart ca. 2½ hrs.). On the top and
the N. slope are many rock-tombs, remains of the Jewish Necropolis of
Roman Carthage. Fine view, to the S. to Tunis, and to the N.W. over
the Sebkha er-Riana to the Medjerda delta as far as Utica (p. 353). On
the N. side of the hill, on the reddish Cape Kamart, lies the picturesque,
palm-girt village of Kamart, with the ruined Bordj Ben-Aïed.
61 M. Railway. Express on Wed. only (back on Sat.), corresponding
with the steamers of the Comp. Gén. Transatlantique (R. 21), in 2½,
ordinary trains in 2½–3¾ hrs. (11 fr., 8 fr. 35, 5 fr. 90 c.).—The High Road
(37½ M.) is recommended in the cool season only, as the Medjerda flats
are malarious.
From Tunis to (15 M.) Djedeïda, see p. 329. The train diverges
here to the N. from the main line to Algeria.
19 M. Chaouat; 24 M. Sidi-Athman, near the Garaa Mabtouha,
backed by the offshoots of Jebel Kechbata (p. 354). We then
run through hilly country, to the W., to (31 M.) Aïn-Rhelal.
40½ M. Mateur (Rail. Restaurant; Hôt. de France, etc.;
pop. 5000, incl. 1600 Italians), a small town nearly 1 M. from the
station, lies pleasantly on a hill beyond the influx of the Oued
Tine into the Oued Jemine or Joumine, and is still enclosed by
352its old walls, built partly out of the ruins of the Roman Oppidum
Matarense. It is the corn and cattle market for the fertile Plaines
de Mateur, which were densely peopled in ancient times, and for
the Berber tribes of the Bejaoua and Mogod Mts.
A railway runs from Mateur viâ (17 M.) Jefna, in the Nefza Mts., to
Djebel-Abiod (p. 328), whence it is being extended to Tabarca (p. 327).—Another
line connects Mateur with Béja (p. 328).
The train crosses the plain, to the N., towards the Garaet
Ichkeul or Achkel, the Sisara Lacus of the ancients, a freshwater-lake
abounding in fish, but very shallow and rapidly filling up.
On the S. side is a marshy tract where within the last few decades
a large herd of half-wild Italian buffaloes has sprung up. Above
it towers Jebel Ichkeul (1667 ft.), noted for its marble, the chief
landmark of the bay of Bizerta.
50 M. Oued-Tindja (Hôt. de la Gare) lies on the strip of land,
barely 2 M. broad, between Lake Ichkeul and the Lac de Bizerte
(Arabic Garaet Tindja). The latter, the ancient Lacus Hipponensis,
ca. 30,000 acres in area and 40 ft. deep at places, is now the chief
French naval harbour on the Mediterranean next to Toulon.
A strategic railway and a road (omn. 20 c.) lead to the E. from Oued-Tindja
to (2 M.) Ferryville (Hôt. de l’Amirauté; Hôt. de l’Arsenal; pop.
3000, largely Italian dock-labourers), the youngest town in Tunisia, named
after Jules Ferry (p. 333), and to (2¾ M.) the small bay of Sidi-Abdallah,
on which, 9½ M. from the open sea, a Naval Arsenal, with five large
dry-docks, was built in 1899–1908.
The train crosses the Oued Tindja, the sinuous effluent of
Lake Ichkeul, and rounds the marshy W. bank of Lake Bizerta.
55½ M. Sidi-Ahmed, opposite Djezira el-Kebira, the largest
island in the lake.
59 M. La Pêcherie, on the Goulet, a narrow arm of the sea to
the N., which, with the new harbour-canal (p. 353), connects the
dockyard with the open sea. On the small Baie Ponty, now used
as a torpedo-boat station, rise the Arsenal de la Défense-Mobile
and the handsome Amirauté.
A road leads to the S. from the station through olive-woods to (½ M.)
the Barrage des Pêcheries, two fish-dams about 1000 yds. long, adjoining
the S.W. end of the Goulet (here 55 yds. across), where the fish
descending from the lakes to spawn in the sea are caught in great numbers.
The yield, a few years ago ca. 580 tons, but now much reduced, is sent
to Tunis and Marseilles.
We pass the Baie de Sebra, the inner harbour of Bizerta, as
yet little used, and the Artillery Arsenal, intersect the new S.
wall of the town and the garden-suburb of Bijouville, and reach
the station of (61 M.) Bizerta, on the harbour-canal.
Bizerta.—Railway Restaurant.—Hotels (comp. p. 324). *Grand-Hotel,
Place d’Europe, in an open site near the station, R. 3–6, B. 1, déj.
3, D. 3½, pens. 10–12, omn. ½ fr.; Hôt. de la Paix, Hôt. de France, etc.—Cab.
Drive 30, for 3 pers. 40, with pair 50 c.; hour 1–1¼ or 1½–2 fr.; ½
day (6 hrs.) 4, 5, or 7 fr.; whole day (12 hrs.) 6, 7, 12, or 14 fr.
British Vice-Consul, Hon. T. Bourke, Rue de Provence.
353Bizerta, Fr. Bizerte, Arabic Bent-Zert (pop. 17,300, of whom
9500 are Moslems, 5100 Italians and Maltese), a town strongly
garrisoned with 7000 men, the ancient Hippo Diarrhytus (Zarytus),
was one of the earliest Phœnician settlements on the Tunisian
coast. It lies on the W. shore of the Bay of Bizerta, between a
range of hills on the N.W., culminating in Jebel Kebir (900 ft.),
and a strip of land (once bounding the Bizerta Lake, and also fortified),
to the S.E., beyond the harbour-canal.
The old town, to which many Moors flocked after the fall of
Granada (p. 75), and which was occupied for a short time by
Charles V. on his way back from Tunis in 1535 (p. 323) and was
to a great extent destroyed by a Venetian fleet in 1785, rises on
the hill-side between the ruined Kasba and the Fort d’Espagne,
both originally built by the Spaniards. The Old Harbour, unimportant
in ancient times, became in the 16th cent. a favourite haunt
of pirates, but is now used by fishing-boats only. Of the Old
Harbour Canal, completely choked up with the mud of centuries,
the mouth alone now exists. The new town, with its busy market
(Tues. and Thurs.), is still in embryo.
The Avant-Port, 215 acres in area, constructed by the Compagnie
du Port de Bizerte in 1890–5, is sheltered by two piers, the
Jetée du Nord (1337 yds. long) and the Jetée du Sud (1041 yds.),
and by a new mole or breakwater (670 yds.). The commercial
harbour consists of the New Harbour Canal, 1 M. long, 263 yds.
broad, and 33 ft. deep, the entrance to the Goulet (p. 352), and also
of the Baie de Sebra (p. 352). Two steam-ferries (bacs à vapeur;
passage free) cross to the N.E. bank of the canal, where there are
large coal-stores near the village of Zarzouna.
The High Road from Tunis to (37½ M.) Bizerta diverges to the N.,
between the Bardo (p. 339) and Kassar-Saïd (p. 342), from the road connecting
Tebourba with Medjez el-Bab (p. 328), intersects the Roman *Aqueduct
of Carthage (p. 348), which was here restored in the 16th cent., and ascends
through olive-woods to the saddle (269 ft.) between the hills of Ariana
(p. 338), on the right, and Jebel Ahmar (1060 ft.), on the left.
10 M. La Sebala lies on the S. edge of the marshy Medjerda delta
(p. 129), now called Sebala. 16 M. Fondouk el-Kantara, a caravanserai
on the right bank of the Medjerda, near the old seven-arched bridge.
Just beyond (19½ M.) Oued Cherchara a road branches off, to the N.E.,
past the spurs of Jebel Menzel Roul (541 ft.), once a cape, to (2 M.) the
ruins of Utica, the earliest Phœnician settlement in this region. Before
the rise of Carthage it was the richest trading town in Barbary, and from
146 to 29 B.C. it was the capital of the province of Africa and seat of
the Roman proconsul. It was here that the younger Cato committed suicide
(46 B.C.) on the overthrow of Pompey’s party in the civil war against
Cæsar. The harbour, entirely silted up since the middle of the 3rd cent.,
lay between the cape and a small island off the coast. The sea is now
5½ M., and the mouth of the Medjerda, near the Porto-Farina lagoon
(p. 354), is nearly 10 M. distant. The Roman town was destroyed by
Hassan ibn en-Nôman (p. 322) in 698, at the same time as Carthage. The
ruins, now called Henchir Bou-Chateur, consist chiefly of the aqueduct
and cisterns, a theatre, a vast amphitheatre, and large thermæ.
354Beyond Jebel Menzel Roul the Bizerta road traverses a desolate plain,
strewn with Roman ruins. On the S.E. side of Jebel Kechbata (1370 ft.),
and also in the marshy plain beyond it, roads diverge to the right (one
12½, the other 15 M.) to Porto-Farina (pop. 1400, incl. 320 Europeans,
mostly Maltese), the Ruscinona of antiquity, a notorious pirates’ harbour
in the Turkish period. In 1665 it was destroyed by an English fleet,
but it was restored and fortified by Ahmed Bey (1837–55). Potatoes are
largely cultivated in the neighbourhood. The Lac de Porto-Farina, on
the S. side of Jebel Nadour (883 ft.), once abounding in fish, has been
filled up by the deposits of the Medjerda since the middle of last century.
Beyond the dunes of Aïn Bou-Ras, where the new water-conduit of
Bizerta, 8½ M. long, has its source, our road runs close to the lake of
Bizerta, passes (34½ M.) Menzel Djemil, and ends on the old neck of land
on the harbour-canal of (37½ M.) Bizerta (see p. 353).
Excursionists to Dougga usually start from the station of Medjez el-Bab
(Hôt. des Colons; p. 328), 41 M. by train from the S. Station at Tunis
(in 1¼–2½ hrs.; fares 7 fr. 40, 5 fr. 60, 3 fr. 95, return 10 fr. 35, 7 fr. 85,
5 fr. 55 c.). Thence by motor-omnibus (starting every morning; 5 fr.) to
Dougga direct. Or we may take a carriage (30 fr.; ordered in advance
at the Hôt. des Colons) or the diligence (6 hrs.; 2½ fr.) from Medjez el-Bab
to (28 M.) Teboursouk, whence we go on to (3¾ M.) Dougga by carr.
(5–6 fr.) or on mule-back (3–4 fr.).—The journey may be made also from
the station of Pont-de-Trajan (p. 327; 66½ M. by railway in 2¾–4 hrs.;
fares 12 fr., 9 fr. 10, 6 fr. 40 c.); ride thence (mule being ordered beforehand
at Béja, p. 328) viâ Henchir Maâtria to (17½ M.) Teboursouk; or from
the station of Gaffour (p. 360; 75 M. in 4½–5½ hrs.; fares 13 fr. 55,
10 fr. 30, 7 fr. 25 c.); ride thence across Jebel Sidi Abdallah Ben-Cheid
to (19 M.) Teboursouk.
The excursion from Tunis to Dougga and back, in one day, is far
more easily made by motor-car (p. 330). Motoring parties are occasionally
formed at the tourist offices (p. 331).
From Tunis to (41 M.) Medjez el-Bab by railway, see pp. 329,
328.—The two roads from Tunis to Medjez el-Bab, one direct
(35½ M.) viâ Bordj el-Amri, the other, passing the station and
running viâ Djedeïda and Tebourba (p. 329), unite on the left
bank of the Medjerda, near the bridge (p. 328).
Our road leads from Medjez el-Bab in the same direction as
the Roman road from Carthage to Tebessa (see p. 328), to the S.W.,
generally a little apart from the Medjerda, past a good many Roman
ruins. 9 M. Slouguia (299 ft.; the ancient Chidibbia), a village
with a slender minaret, lies on a hill on the right bank.
The road then leads through olive-woods and vineyards to
(12 M.) Testour, on the site of the Roman Tichilla, now a little
town of 3500 inhab., mostly descendants of Andalusian Moors, with
thriving potteries and a large Friday market.
We cross the Oued Siliana, not far from its influx into the
Medjerda, and then ascend in long windings above the valley of
the Oued Khalled, a tributary of the Medjerda.
18 M. Aïn-Tounga (821 ft.; no inn), on the N. slope of Jebel
Tounga (1575 ft.), the site of the small Roman town of Thignica, has
355the ruins of two triumphal arches, a temple of Mercury (170 A.D.),
and a Byzantine fortress.
We descend, in sight of Teboursouk and the distant capitol of
Dougga, into the valley of the Oued Khalled. We pass through
many side-valleys, cross the river, and then ascend a branch of
the road to the right, soon joining the Gaffour road (p. 360).
28 M. Teboursouk (1378 ft.; Hôt. International, R. 3½)
B. ½, déj. 3, D. 3½, pens. 10 fr., quite good, but charges should
be agreed upon beforehand; Hôt. de la Poste, humble; pop. 3000,
(incl. 300 Europeans) has a fine open site on the olive-clad slope
of Kef Teboursouk, high above the valley of the Oued Zebbès.
Into the walls of the narrow and picturesque streets are built many
fragments from the ruins of the once considerable town of Thubursicum
Bure. We note also the Byzantine Fortress (with remains
of a Roman triumphal arch in its N. wall) and the Neo-Punic
Burial Ground, to the S.W. of the town. A superb distant view
is obtained at the ruined tower at the upper end of the town.
The rough, hilly road from Pont-de-Trajan (p. 327) to Teboursouk
leads through the rugged hill-region to the S. of the Medjerda, and passes
(12½ M.) Henchir Maâtria, the ruins of the small Roman town of Numluli
or Numiulis (foundations of the capitol of 170 A.D., early-Christian
chapel in quatrefoil form with four apses, and Byzantine fort). It ends
at the N. gate of (17½ M.) Teboursouk.
The Road to Dougga, 3¾ M. from Teboursouk, leaves the Le
Kef road (p. 357) after ½ M. and ascends to the S.W. over a
plateau thinly overgrown with scrub.
Dougga (about 1970 ft.), a poor Berber village on the S. margin
of Kef Dougga, is the ancient Thugga, one of the oldest
and most important places in the heart of Tunisia. The site of the
ruins, which vie with those of Gightis (p. 392), is the most beautiful
in the whole country. The name is of Berber origin (thukka,
pasture). It appears to have been the seat of a Berber dynasty
allied with Carthage. It then belonged successively to the Carthaginian
dominions and to those of Masinissa (p. 321), and attained
its prime about the end of the 2nd cent. A.D. The grand late-Roman
ruins, partly excavated since 1891, the venerable olive-woods
on Kef Dougga, and the view of the Oued Khalled valley
and of the N. Tunisian hills, stretching far away to Jebel Zaghouan
and Jebel Bou-Kornin (p. 363), combine to form a fascinating picture.
On the N.W. horizon is Jebel Gorra (3160 ft.), famed ever
since ancient times for its lead and zinc mines.
Comp. ‘Thugga’, by Dr. Carton (Tunis; 2½ fr.).
The old Porte de l’Est, where a branch of the Tebessa road
ended, and the Thermae near it are entirely ruined.
From that gate we walk along the S. slope of the hill to the
*Mausoleum of a Berber prince (5th or 4th cent. B.C.), probably
the oldest existing Punic-Libyan monument of the kind.
356Built in the style of the Egyptian and Syrian tombs of kings, the
mausoleum, originally about 55 ft. high, consisted of a pile of huge limestone
blocks. The substructure, resting on a foundation of six steps, is
adorned with narrow corner-pillars and three blind windows. The middle
part, which is square, rises above three steps and has two portals flanked
with Ionic mural columns and an Egyptian concave moulding instead of
a cornice. Three more steps, once embellished at the angles with figures
on horseback, bore a small pyramid crowned with the figure of a lion.
The upper part was unfortunately destroyed in 1842 by natives employed
by Sir T. Reade, with the bey’s permission, to remove the inscription
in the Phœnician and the Libyan language, which is now in the British
Museum. The monument, however, has been recently completely restored
The tomb-chamber is probably underneath the monument.
Passing through the village, to the W., we come to the ruins
of other Thermae and the so-called Dâr el-Acheb, a Roman building
of some kind, of which the steps and façade alone remain.
We ascend thence to the N.E., past the foundations of Roman
Houses, to the hill of the Capitol.
The *Capitol (comp. p. 288), the conspicuous landmark of
Dougga, is one of the finest ruined temples in Tunisia, vying with
the three temples of Sbeïtla (p. 371). It is a Corinthian pseudo-peripteros,
with a lofty flight of eleven steps and a portico of six
columns, 43 ft. high and 24 ft. deep, the whole consisting of great
limestone blocks. The square cella, 15 by 14 yds., has been destroyed,
with the exception of the portal and the stone-panelled
back-wall, with its semicircular niche in the centre and two square
side-niches for images. The inscription on the frieze of the portico,
of the time of Marcus Aurelius (166–9 A.D.), names two citizens
of Thugga as the founders. In the Byzantine period the temple
formed the nucleus of the citadel.
The **Roman Theatre, on the hill-side a little to the E. of the
Capitol, is not only the best-preserved in N. Africa but is unique
in the richness and beauty of its embellishment. The twenty-five
tiers of seats in the Cavea, or auditorium, are almost intact, except
that the upper colonnade has fallen into the orchestra. The stage
(pulpitum) still has the old pavement, the front-wall, articulated
like similar structures in Algeria, and the superb rear wall, with
its three niches and remains of rich columnar decoration. The
founder of the building, as recorded by the inscription now lying
on the ground, was the flamen perpetuus L. Marcius Quadratus.
Of the Forum and of the street connecting it with the Capitol
fragments of the pavement only have been unearthed.
The *Temple of Cælestis, in the olive-wood to the N.W. of the
Capitol, is the strangest ruin at Dougga. The crescent-shaped court
represents the half-moon, the symbol of the Punic goddess Tanit,
or Astarte, whose name was Latinized in the Roman period.
The ruin stands on the hill-side, supported by huge substructures.
The court terminated in a rectangular antechamber, 46 by 20 yds. The two
entrances, with dedicatory inscriptions, lay at the sides, preceded by
square chambers (or towers). The semicircular wall of the court (57 yds.
357in diameter), in concrete, is partly preserved. A large hall here, with two
corner-pillars and twenty-three Corinthian columns, formed along with the
antechamber the meeting-place of the congregation. The temple itself,
in the centre of the court, which was probably planted with trees, was
a rectangle of 18½ by 10½ yds., but its foundations alone survive. The
flight of steps and the two semicircular apses at the back of the cella date
from a restoration in the Byzantine period. The inscription names a
wealthy citizen of the time of Alex. Severus as the founder (222–35).
We next walk through olive-wood to the E. to the Roman Cisterns,
once fed by the partly preserved aqueduct of Aïn el-Hammam
(S.W. of Dougga), and then, past the ancient N. gate of the town, the
Arch of Alexander Severus, called by the Arabs Bâb er-Rûmia
(‘gate of the Christian woman’), to the ruins of the Numidic Citadel
and the Roman Hippodrome. Near this is the ancient Berber
Burial Ground, containing several dolmens.
On the steep slope of a bare hill to the N.N.E. of the Theatre,
and once no less conspicuous than the Capitol, was enthroned the
Temple of Saturn, founded by a rich citizen in 195 A.D. The
ruin probably stands on the site of a Punic temple of Baal Hâman.
The peculiar ground-plan is reminiscent of the Phœnician temples,
whose open colonnaded courts contained altars for burnt offerings.
The pronaos or vestibule, resembling a corridor, to which there
was an approach at the S. end only, had a portico of four Corinthian
columns facing the E., high above the Oued Khalled; but of all this
there are but scanty traces. From the pronaos a small gate admitted
into a quadrangle, paved with limestone slabs, and enclosed on
three sides by Corinthian colonnades. On the W. side these were
divided by partitions into three sections, forming ante-rooms to the
three cellæ. The raised central cella, once railed in, was the chief
shrine, richly adorned with wall-paintings and reliefs in stucco.
The High Road (from Medjez el-Bab) to Le Kef, which is joined
by the road from Teboursouk 3 M. to the S. of the latter, runs high above
the Oued Khalled, and soon passes (32 M. from Medjez el-Bab) Aïn-Hedja
(about 1300 ft.), below the ruins of Agbia (Byzantine fortress, etc.).
Farther on, leaving the zinc-mines of Jebel Fedj el-Adoum on one side,
we traverse the hill-country to the N.W. of the Plaine du Krib (p. 360).
38 M. Aïn-Rharsalla (about 1600 ft.), below the Byzantine castle of
Aunobaris. 39 M. Kubba Sidi Abd er-Rehou, not far from Henchir Mest,
the ruins of Mustis (including two arches on the Tebessa road, one being
a triumphal arch of Gordian III.).
46 M. Bordj Messaoudi, a large caravanserai, with Friday market for
the peasants of the Krib, adjoins the ruins of the small town of Thacia,
near which the Roman road to Le Kef diverged from the road to Tebessa.
We descend into the valley of the Oued Tessa, a tributary of the Oued
Mellègue (p. 327), and then, on the N. slope of Jebel Kebouch (2723 ft.),
pass a Roman Bridge and the ruins of Ucubis.
The road now skirts the Dyr el-Kef (3570 ft.; ‘rock-plateau’), with its
Poste Optique, and in the plain of Bled Zafran (p. 360) joins the road from
Maktar (p. 360) and, a little farther on, that from Souk el-Arba (p. 326).
From Tunis to Le Kef, 125½ M., railway, two trains daily in 8¼–9 hrs.
(fares 22 fr. 60, 17 fr. 15, 12 fr. 10 c.); also local trains from Tunis to Pont-du-Fahs
and Gaffour.—From Tunis to Kalaâ-Djerda, 146 M., two trains
daily in 10–11 hrs. (fares 26 fr. 30 c., 20 fr., 14 fr. 10 c.); also a local train
between Gaffour and Kalaâ-Djerda.—Railway Restaurants at Gaffour and
Les Salines only.
Tunis, see p. 329. Our line diverges, to the S.E., near Bab
Alleoua (p. 339), from the Algeria and Bizerta line (RR. 51, 54) and
skirts Lake Bahira below the Zaouïa Sidi Bel-Hassen (p. 339).
2½ M. Djebel-Djelloud, close to the Jebel Djelloud (138 ft.)
is the junction for Susa (R. 57) and has railway-works, large quarries,
and lime-kilns.
The train now runs to the N.E. to (5 M.) Bir-Kassa.
Branch Line to La Laverie (17½ M. from Tunis, in ca. 1¾ hr.; 2 fr. 80,
2 fr. 10, 1 fr. 40 c.; many stops). Beyond (6 M. from Tunis) Bordj-Gourbel
the Oued Miliane (p. 363) is crossed. On the right bank is the fertile, olive-clad
Plaine du Mornag. 13 M. Haut-Mornag-Crétéville, at the S. base
of Jebel Bou-Kornin (p. 363). Crétéville lies on the road from Tunis to
Grombalia (p. 364), near the grand Khanguet el-Hadjadj (‘pilgrim-pass’),
a deep ravine between Jebel Bou-Kornin and Jebel Ressas (see below),
through which formerly passed the traffic between the interior and the
harbours on the E. seaboard. In this defile, now clothed with vineyards,
lay the little town of Neferis, which was destroyed by the Romans at
the same time as Carthage. 17½ M. (from Tunis) La Laverie (377 ft.)
is a village of Italian miners, at the W. foot of Jebel Ressas (2608 ft.;
‘lead-mountain’), where lead-mines were already worked in Roman times.
Beyond (8 M.) Nassen we cross the Miliane. 12½ M. Khledia.
15 M. Oudna. In the hill-country, ½ hr. to the S.E., is
the large Ferme Ducroquet, situated among the ruins of Uthina,
one of the wealthiest towns of N. Tunisia in the Roman age. Of
the public buildings nothing remains but the Cisterns and scanty
traces of the Theatre and Amphitheatre. Among the ruins of private
houses is the Palace of the Laberii (end of 3rd cent. A.D.),
a fine specimen of a sumptuous African-Roman dwelling, with a
large peristyle as its centre (comp. p. 290) and numerous mosaics
(now mostly in the Bardo Museum). The adjoining Balineum
(baths) was long used, from the 5th cent. onwards, as a potter’s
workshop. Fine view from the highest hill (407 ft.); on a lower
hill is a Byzantine Fortress.
Beyond Oudna the line intersects the Roman *Aqueduct of
Carthage (p. 359), in a landscape bright with flowers in spring.
17½ M. Bou er-Rébia, on the Tunis and Zaghouan road (p. 359).
22½ M. Djebel-Oust lies at the N. base of Jebel Oust (1800 ft.),
on which are noteworthy remains of two large piscinæ, Roman irrigation-works,
and marble quarries, worked since ancient times.
30½ M. Smindja or Depienne (450 ft.), a village of ‘colonists’
in the Plaine de Smindja, a dale, containing numerous ruins, at
the foot of the Zaghouan hills.
359Branch Line to Zaghouan (8 M., in ½ hr.; fares 1 fr. 45, 1 fr. 10 c.,
75 c.; return-ticket from Tunis 9 fr. 75, 7 fr. 35, 5 fr. 20 c.). At Moghrane
(525 ft.), the only intermediate station, the two Roman aqueducts and the
modern conduits (p. 339) from Jebel Zaghouan and Jebel Djouggar unite.
The Road from Tunis to Zaghouan (34½ M.) leads past the Abattoirs
(beyond Pl. E, 7) and the Sebkha es-Sedjoumi (p. 332) to (8 M.) La Mohamédia,
a poor village, with the decayed residence of Ahmed Bey
(p. 344). It crosses the Oued Miliane near the arches of the Roman aqueduct,
here 66 ft. high, and beyond Bou er-Rébia (p. 358) leads along the E.
slope of Jebel Oust to (34½ M.) Zaghouan. A branch of the road from
La Mohamédia, passing Oudna (p. 358), also leads to Zaghouan.
Zaghouan (821 ft.; Hôt. de France, déj. 3 fr., plain but quite good,
orders should be given in advance; pop. 1200, incl. 530 Europeans, mostly
Ital.), Arab. Zaghwân, a charming place, specially in spring, lies amidst
olives, oranges, and cypresses on a terrace at the foot of Jebel Zaghouan
(see below), ¼ hr. above the station. The Roman Triumphal Arch, at the
entrance to the village, is the sole relic of the small town of Onellana (?);
the columns of the nymphæum now adorn the Chief Mosque.
We may thence walk in ½ hr. to the Prise d’Eau (902 ft.), the reservoir
of the new conduit which supplies both Zaghouan and Tunis with
water from the Aïn Ayed. The direct route leads from the station past the
barracks of the tirailleurs; or we may follow a rough but romantic path
from the little town, through a secluded valley, where numerous nightingales
nest among the oleander-bushes by the bed of the stream. From
the Prise d’Eau a rocky path leads to the S.W. to the (12 min.) *Nymphæum
(Temple des Eaux; Arabic Henchir Aïn-Kasba, ‘ruined castle of the
fountain’), the well-house of the Carthage aqueduct (p. 348), shaded by
groups of splendid old trees. Near the basin are two flights of steps leading
to the semicircle of the fountain-shrine, with its colonnade, twenty-four
empty niches for statues, and a domed central chamber, the ante-room
of the cella.
*Jebel Zaghouan (4245 ft.), the ancient Mons Ziquensis, the finest
mountain in Tunisia, offers from the summit, called Râs el-Kasa, a superb
panorama of the greater part of N. Tunisia and of the E. coast as far
as Susa. It is ascended from the Nymphæum path in 4 hrs., past the
kubba of Sidi Sala Bou-Ghobrin (2264 ft.) and the zinc-mines (with their
humble canteen), and lastly by rough and toilsome paths. Less extensive,
but also very grand, is the view near the Poste Optique (3199 ft.), 2 hrs.
above the Prise d’Eau (bridle-path; mule 2–3 fr.).
Our train, running to the S.W. with a fine view of Jebel
Zaghouan on the left, now intersects the Smindja plain and reaches
the Fahs er-Riah, the fertile upper basin of the valley of the
Oued Miliane, which is here formed by the Oued Jarabia and the
Oued el-Kébir. Its inhabitants are of the Riah tribe, descendants
of the Beni Hilal (p. 323).
40 M. Pont-du-Fahs (574 ft.). The village (Hôt. Calega, poor),
occupied by immigrants, lies ½ hr. to the N.E., on the left bank of
the Miliane. Behind it, on the spurs of Jebel Djaffar (1185 ft.),
are the extensive ruins of Henchir-Kasbat (702 ft.), the ancient
Thuburbo Majus; in the forum are two ruined temples, one of
them, dedicated to Mercury, dating from 211 A.D.; there are also
triumphal arches, thermæ, and a Byzantine fortress.
On the right rises the curiously shaped Jebel Klab (1204 ft.).
We cross the Oued el-Kébir and run to the W. through the Jarabia
valley to (48½ M.) Tarf ech-Chena, 3 M. to the N.W. of Apisa
360Majus. Farther on almost the only habitations visible are the
tents and gourbis (twig-huts) of nomadic tribes.
Beyond (55½ M.) Bou-Arada we cross the watershed between
the Oued Miliane and the Oued Siliana (p. 354).
65 M. El-Aroussa, station for Ksar Hellal, which has an
early-Christian chapel of trefoil form. 70 M. Sidi-Ayed, on the
Oued Siliana. We then ascend the winding valley to the S.W.
75 M. Gaffour (about 1080 ft.; Rail. Restaurant, with rooms),
with its railway-works, is the station for the large estate of the
Société Foncière de Tunisie, 72,500 acres in area, where extensive
corn-fields are seen in spring. From Gaffour a road, tolerably fit
for driving in dry weather, leads over Jebel Sidi Abdalla Ben-Cheid
(2070 ft.) to Teboursouk (Dougga; comp. p. 354).
82 M. El-Akhouat, in the valley of the Oued Soufi, near the
zinc-mines on Jebel el-Akhouat (2061 ft.); 86½ M. Le Krib, on
the S. edge of the fertile Plaine du Krib.
93 M. Sidi Bou-Rouis, on the Oued Tessa (p. 357), which
here forms a wide bend to the E. round Jebel Maïza (2920 ft.).
To the left rises the chain of Jebel Massouge (3019 ft.). 103 M.
Le Sers, on the N. margin of the broad dale of that name (Arabic
Bled es-Sers), one of the most fertile inland districts in Tunisia.
106 M. Les Salines (Rail. Restaurant), junction for Kalaâ-Djerda
(see p. 361), lies on the highroad from Le Kef to Souk et-Tléta
and on a rough road to (19 M.) Maktar.
Maktar (3117 ft.; inn), the Maktarium of the Libyans and the Ælia
Aurelia Augusta Mactaris of the Romans, to the W. of the richly wooded
Hammada Kessera, is now a small village of ‘colonists’ with a fortified
bordj (Contrôle Civil; containing an epigraphical collection), and is the
administrative centre for the district of the Ouled Aoun and Ouled Ayar.
Extensive orchards and Sunday market. Among the antiquities are numerous
dolmens, Roman ruins (arch of Trajan of 116 A.D., mausolea, an
aqueduct, etc.), and an early-Christian basilica.
The train next ascends to the N.W., between Jebel Maïza, on
the right, and Jebel Lorbeus (2641 ft.), on the left, and crosses
the Oued Lorbeus, up whose valley once lay the Roman Lares,
later Lorbeus, a small town destroyed in 1048 by the Hilalides
(p. 323).—118 M. Zafran, on the spurs of Jebel Zafran. Traversing
the bleak mountain plain of Bled Zafran we soon have a
fine view of Le Kef and the barren Dyr el-Kef (p. 357).
125½ M. Le Kef (2477 ft.; Hôt. Dalban, Milano, etc., very
plain; pop. 7000, incl. 1400 Europeans, 900 of them Italians),
superbly situated near an abrupt rocky slope, the S.W. spur of
Dyr el-Kef, was down to modern times the chief town in W. Tunisia.
In its earliest period it was famed for its temple of Astarte. After
the first Punic war the discontented mercenaries (p. 332) were banished
hither. Under Augustus the town became a Roman colony
named Sicca, with the cognomen of Veneria derived from its temple
of Venus. Under the later Roman empire it was of great strategic
361importance, lying at the junction of the roads to Thacia (p. 357),
Theveste (Tebessa), Thagaste (p. 313), and Simitthu (p. 326); by
the Arabs it was even regarded as the key of Algeria. During the
Turkish period fierce battles were fought under its walls (in 1694,
1705, and 1807) between the beys of Tunisia and Algeria, and
during the French advance in 1881 Le Kef was hardly a less important
objective than Tunis itself. Since then the mosques have
been open to visitors (tickets at the Contrôle Civil).
From the station (omnibus) we ascend through the new European
quarter, with its red-tiled roofs, to (20 min.) the Boulevard de Tunis,
once the rampart on the N.W. side of the town, where we have an
extensive view. The only Roman ruins are the basin of Aïn el-Kef
and the Thermae at the W. angle of the old town.
The old town, still enclosed on three sides by the mouldering
Turkish wall, consists of narrow and irregular streets built partly
out of Roman and Byzantine ruins. The old Dâr el-Bey is now
the Hôtel de Ville. The Chief Mosque (Djamâa el-Kebîra) is built
into the ruins of an early-Christian basilica (?).
The early-Christian *Church of St. Peter (Arabic Dâr el-Kuss)
was a small columnar basilica of the early 5th cent, with
nave and aisles (23 by 10½ yds.); but the narthex (vestibule, now
used as a church) and the fine choir-recess have alone been left
standing. Many Roman sculptures, mostly from a temple, have been
built into the walls of the aisles, which were originally vaulted.
The nave, which once had a timber roof, retains relics of its old
mosaic pavement.
The zaouïa of Sidi Kaddour el-Mizouni, one of the three
largest Tunisian establishments of the widely diffused Mohammedan
brotherhood of the Kadria (p. 183), enjoys a high reputation.
The zaouïa of Sidi Salah ben-Aïssa, belonging to the Rahmania,
contains a fine modern cenotaph of the saint.
Steep lanes and passages in steps connect the old town with the
Turkish Kasba (now barracks).
Outside the town is a third early-Christian church, the so-called
Kasr el-Ghûla (‘castle of ghosts’). The Roman Cisterns to the
N. of the Kasba are still used.
From Le Kef to Souk el-Arba, see p. 326; to Tunis, see R. 55.
The Railway to Kalaâ-Djerda runs to the S.W. from Les
Salines (p. 360) through the pass of Khanguet Fras to (112 M.
from Tunis) Les Zouarines, in the plain of the Bled Zouarine.
119 M. Ebba-Ksour is the station for the ruins of Ebba, the
Obba of the Carthaginians and Romans, destroyed by the Hilalides
(p. 323) in 1048, and for the village of Ksour (2164 ft.), on the
N. edge of the rocky upland plain of Ouartane, the site of a Libyan-Phœnician
town.
362We cross the Oued Medeïna below the ruins of Medeïna, the
Roman Althiburus (with theatre, capitol, triumphal arch, etc.).
125 M. Aïn-Mesria; 128½ M. Fedj el-Tameur, junction for
(19½ M.) the mines of Slata.
The train next passes over the saddle between the lofty plateau
of Khremensa, rich in phosphates, on the right, and Jebel Ayata
(3480 ft.), on the left, and then descends past Jebel Zrissa, on the
right, with its iron-mines, into the valley of the Oued Sarrath, the
chief feeder of the Oued Mellègue (p. 327).
138½ M. Oued-Sarrath (ca. 1900 ft.), on the right bank.
Branch Line from Oued-Sarrath (18½ M., in 1¼–1¾ hr.) down the left
bank of the Sarrath viâ Majouba to Kalaât es-Senam (Hôt. de Jugurtha),
the station for the great phosphate deposits of the Comp. des Phosphates
du Dyr on the Jebel Kalaât es-Senam (4111 ft.). The top of the
huge mountain, conspicuous far and wide, consists of a tableland, occupied
by a deserted Berber village and an old Byzantine fort, accessible only by
steep paths with steps.
The train skirts the Sarrath and then ascends the side-valley
of Oued Haidra. On the left, Jebel Bou el-Hanèche (4040 ft.).
146 M. Kalaâ-Djerda (about 2130 ft.; hotel), near the rich
phosphate mines of an Italian company on the hills of that name
(2886 ft.).
A most interesting excursion may be taken to (11 M.) Haidra (about
2790 ft.), the Tunisian frontier custom-house, on the site of Ammaedara
(Colonia Augusta Emerita Ammaedara), founded perhaps by Vespasian
as a Roman colony of veterans, and in the later Roman age no less important
than Tebessa. Originally a frontier-fortress it was, like Timgad
(p. 289), a model Roman camp. The Carthage and Tebessa road formed
the Decumanus Maximus and the Kasserine and Gafsa road the Cardo
Maximus. On the left bank the ruins have partly fallen into the bed
of the Oued Haidra. The much smaller suburb lay on the right bank.
The castellated *Byzantine Fortress of the time of Justinian (p. 541), the
largest in N. Africa, was built to guard the passage of the stream.
Within the vast enclosure, 219 by 120 yds., are remains of a Byzantine
basilica, cisterns, etc.—The imposing *Triumphal Arch of the time of
Septimius Severus (p. 407) was used by the Byzantines as a fort also.
Near it are an early-Christian Basilica, with aisles and extensive Byzantine
additions (curious, unexplained holes in the masonry; comp. p. 317),
and a second Basilica with double aisles and numerous tombstones. A
column, 33 ft. high, is the sole relic of a Roman Temple, the only one of
which there is a trace. High above the stream, almost intact, rises a Roman
*Mausoleum, with an open loggia on the upper story.—From Haidra over
(10½ M.) Jebel Kouïf to (26 M.) Tebessa, see p. 318.
A Road leads from Kalaâ-Djerda to Kasserine (43 M.; diligence to
Thala daily, thence to Kasserine on Tues. and Frid. only) over the central
Sahara Atlas (p. 320) and through the valley of the Oued Hathob (p. 320),
by which of old the Arabs invaded Algeria. (From Kasserine to Feriana,
see p. 371.) The only village on the route, as in the time of Marius (p. 384)
it was the only settlement between Lares (p. 360) and Gafsa, is (8¾ M.)
Thala (3337 ft.; Hôt. Recli, Hôt. Gros, both rustic; pop. 800, incl. 80 Europeans),
which holds market (Sat.–Mon.) for the Arab-like Berber tribes of
the Fraichich (the Frexes of Ptolemy) and Madjeur. It lies on the N.E.
slope of Jebel Char (4321 ft.), 40½ M. to the N.E. of Tebessa (p. 315).
The Roman antiquities of the town, which was most prosperous under
Diocletian, are uninteresting. Near the Esplanade, in the centre of the
Roman town, are traces of a temple of Cælestis (p. 356).
363
93 M. Railway, two trains daily in 4½–5 hrs. (fares 16 fr. 80, 12 fr. 75 c.,
9 fr.); also local trains between Tunis and Hammam-Lif (return-fares 3, 2,
1 fr., or, in summer, 2 fr. 40, 1 fr. 60 c., 80 c.); also a train to Bir Bou-Rekba
(Nabeul). Views on the left.—Railway Restaurants at Bir Bou-Rekba,
Enfidaville, and Kalaâ-Srira.—Steamers to Susa, see R. 64.
From Tunis to (2½ M.) Djebel-Djelloud, see p. 358. Our train
turns to the E. to (3¾ M.) Mégrine, a station amidst vineyards.
Pretty views of Tunis, behind us, to the left.
6¼ M. Maxula-Rades, in a marshy site, at the S. end of the
tongue of land between Lake Bahira (p. 129) and the open sea.
On a height, ¼ hr. to the S. of the station, lies the picturesque
little town of Rades, which, like Sidi Bou-Saïd (p. 351), is a
favourite summer residence of the wealthy Moslems of Tunis. Near
the Fort (184 ft.) behind the town we have a splendid view of
Lake Bahira, the hills of Carthage, the bay of Tunis, and the fertile
Mornag (p. 358).
To the N. of the station lies Maxula, a colony of the villas of
European families in Tunis, on the site of the Roman town of that
name. A road leads thence to (1¼ M.; tramway in summer) the
bathing-beach on the bay of Tunis.
A Road, enlivened by many vehicles, especially on Sundays and
holidays, leads from Maxula to (3½ M.) Goletta (p. 343). It runs to the
N. through the isthmus, past swamps and fig-gardens, and, on the left,
past large salt-ponds, where in summer salt is obtained by evaporation,
and finally it skirts the sea. About an hour’s walk brings us to the steam-ferry
(bac à vapeur; free) across the new Bahira Canal (p. 129), opposite
the station of the electric tramway to Carthage (p. 343).
We cross the Oued Miliane (p. 358), below a five-arched bridge
(1749; not visible from the train) and close to the shore, which is
here marshy at places.
10½ M. Hammam-Lif (Hôt. de Paris, near the sea, plain;
Terminus Hôt., near the station, humble; pop. 1000, incl. 650 Italians),
formerly oftener called Hammam el-Enf, the ancient Naro,
is prettily situated at the N. base of Jebel Bou-Kornin (see below).
On the wooded slope, to the right of the railway, where the hot
salt-springs rise (117–120° Fahr.), is the old Dâr el-Bey, a palace
now converted into barracks, on the foundations of the Roman baths
Aquae Persianae, so called from the founder, C. Julius Perseus.
Near it is the ‘Fondouk‘, the modern unpretending bath-house. Of
the late-Roman Synagogue (3rd cent.), discovered here in 1883,
scarcely a trace is left.
To the N.E. of the station is (¼ M.) the Bathing Beach, with
a summer casino. Fine view of Goletta, the Carthage hills, and
the peninsula of Cape Bon.
The *Jebel Bou-Kornin, or Bou-Kournine, so named from its two
‘horns’, the W. (1890 ft.) and the E. (1626 ft.), separated by a deep hollow,
commands a splendid panorama of N. Tunisia. The W. peak, once crowned
364with a temple of Saturnus Balcaranenis (Saturn-Baal of Mt. Karnaïm),
the most famous shrine of Baal in the land, is ascended by a new bridle-path
on the E. slope or by a steep old path on the W. margin of the N.
spur (925 ft.).
A little farther on we pass between the eucalyptus groves and
vineyards of the estate of Potinville, where many negroes are employed,
to (15 M.) Bordj Cédria. To the left we sight Jebel Korbous
(see below).
The train next runs to the N.E. across the Plain of Soliman
(see below), a depression between the main chain of the Sahara
Atlas (p. 320) and the hills of the peninsula of Cape Bon, passing
at first through a steppe where browsing camels are often seen.
18 M. Fondouk Djedid, a village of immigrant settlers on the
wooded spurs of Jebel Zaïana.
From Fondouk Djedid to Menzel Bou-Zelfa, 8½ M., branch-line in
¾ hr. (through-carr. from Tunis to Soliman by the morning train; return-fares
5 fr. 80, 4 fr. 15, 2 fr. 55 c.). Also from Tunis (Auto-Palace, p. 330)
motor-omnibus Sun. and Thurs. at 8.30 a.m., in 1½ hr. (fare 8, return
10 fr.). The only intermediate station is Soliman (145 ft.; Hôt. Zammit,
humble; pop. 2200, incl. 150 Europeans; Frid. market), a picturesque little
town founded by Andalusian Moors in 1616, with a lofty minaret. Thence
through venerable olive-woods to Menzel Bou-Zelfa (or Zalfa; 197 ft.),
famed for its luxuriant orchards, with a zaouïa of the Kadria brotherhood
and an important cattle-market (Thurs.).
A Road from Soliman, where a hotel-omnibus from Korbous meets
the morning train (fare to Korbous 2, there and back 3, luggage 1 fr.;
other vehicles also), leads at first to the N.E. through pleasant olive-groves,
and then, beyond the Oued Bezirk, runs behind the low coast-dunes
to Mraïssa, the ruins of the little Roman town of Carpis. At
(7½ M.) the kubba of Sidi Raïs, near which are seen fragments of walls
of the harbour of Carpis, begins the new coast-road to Korbous. This skirts
the rocky slopes of Jebel Korbous (1375 ft.), being strongly buttressed
at places, and affords a delightful view, especially in the morning, of
Tunis, the Carthage hills, and the W. shore of the bay as far as Cape
Farina (p. 129). 11 M. Korbous (Hôt. des Thermes, R. 2–6, B. 1, déj. 3½,
D. 4, pens, from 10 fr.), a small watering-place, and of late a winter
resort also, has hot springs (alkaline and saline, 111–151° Fahr.), an old
palace of the beys situated on the shore and now used as a bath-house,
and scanty ruins of the Roman baths (Aquae Carpitanae).
22 M. Khanguet, for Khanguet el-Hadjadj (p. 358); 23½ M.
Grombalia (154 ft.), a village of colonists; 30 M. Bou-Arkoub
(236 ft.). We then cross the watershed between the bay of Tunis
and the Gulf of Hammamet.
37½ M. Bir Bou-Rekba (Rail. Restaurant), at the foot of
bare hills, 10 min. to the W. of Kasr ez-Zit, the ruins of Siagu
(early-Christian basilica, Byzantine fort, etc.).
From Bir Bou-Rekba to Nabeul, 11 M., branch-line in about ¾ hr.
(1 fr. 90, 1 fr. 45 c., 1 fr.). The only intermediate station is (2½ M.) Hammamet
(82 ft.; Hôt. de la Plage, on the shore, R. 2 fr., B. 60 c., déj. or
D. 2, pens. 5–6 fr., quite good; pop. 6000, incl. 200 Europeans; Wed. market),
most picturesquely situated on a small headland, ¼ hr. to the S. of
the station. The ramparts of the ruinous Kasba (now partly a Poste
Optique) afford a charming view of the bay as far as Hergla (p. 365).
Pretty bathing-beach. The coast between Hammamet and Nabeul has
unfortunately been entirely denuded of wood, but the climate in winter
365is the mildest and healthiest in Tunisia next to that of Djerba (p. 393).
The lemons, mandarins, oranges, and other fruits are considered the
best in the land. The finest *Fruit Gardens, some of them shaded by
groups of old cypresses, lie to the W., in the direction of the ruins of
Pupput, now called Souk el-Abiod, and also on the Nabeul road.—Beyond
Hammamet the train crosses numerous torrents.
11 M. Nabeul (43 ft.; Hôt. de France, R., déj., D. 2½ fr. each, omn.
½ fr., good; Hôt. des Voyageurs; carr. to Hammamet 5–6 fr.; pop. 11,900,
incl. 2000 Jews and 400 Europeans; Frid. market), with its small Souks
(p. 335) and pretty gardens, is the chief town on this part of the coast.
Its famed old pottery is again thriving. Fayence with geometrical patterns,
after Punic and late-Roman models, and porous, unglazed water-jugs (gargoulettes)
are the chief products. The small Poterie Artistique (Tissier’s),
behind the church, is worth seeing. Pleasant walks are to the N.E.
to (20 min.) Dar-Chabane, a purely Moslem village; to the S. to the
small anchorage near the kubba Sidi Slîmân, or to the ruins of Neapolis,
now largely submerged; a little seaport destroyed at the same time
as Carthage (146 B.C.), to which Nabeul owes its name and much of its
building-material; to the E. to (3¾ M.) El-Mamoura, near the caverns
in the Râs Mamoura, the N.E. boundary of the bay of Hammamet; to
the N. to the (½ hr.) Râs Tefal, where the potters dig their clay.
The Susa Train turns to the S.E., quitting the highroad, on
which, beyond Pupput (see above), is the so-called Kasr Menara,
a large Roman circular building resembling the tomb of Cæcilia
Metella, the only monument of the kind in Barbary. We approach
the spurs of the Sahara Atlas. All around is scanty underwood,
with occasional tents of nomads and many pasturing cattle. To
the left we have a glimpse of the N. coast of the bay as far as
Nabeul (see above). To the W. towers Jebel Zaghouan (p. 359).
Beyond the Oued er-Rebia, at (49 M.) Bou-Ficha, begins the
Enfida, an estate of 300,000 acres owned by the Société Franco-Africaine,
the ancient granary of central Tunisia, but a wilderness
for centuries after the irruption of the Beni Hilal (p. 323). Among
the farm-labourers are many Sicilians. There are still, however,
great desolate tracts, dotted with Roman ruins and old irrigation-works,
inhabited only by the nomadic Oulad Saïd, descendants
of the Hilalides.
54½ M. Aïn-Hallouf, near the ruins of Aphrodisium, now
Sidi Khalifa and Henchir Fradiz, close to the salt-marshes of
the Sebkha Djiriba, which are 19 M. long.
62 M. Enfidaville (131 ft.; Rail. Restaurant; Hôt. d’Enfidaville,
déj. 2½ fr., well spoken of; pop. 6700, incl. 500 Europeans),
a rising town of colonists, the largest in the Enfida, is a pretty
oasis of trees and vegetable-gardens. Alfa (p. 171) is largely exported.
Near the station is a village of nomad-tents.
Above the Zaghouan road (p. 359), about 4 M. to the W. of Enfidaville,
on Jebel Takroun (657 ft.), is perched the interesting Berber
village of Takrouna (pop. about 500), not easily accessible.—In the
valley of the Oued Boul, 7½ M. to the W. of Enfidaville, on Jebel Garci,
rises the chalybeate spring of Aïn-Garci, on the site of the Roman
Aggersel.—Some 9½ M. to the S.E. of Enfidaville lies Hergla (reached
also by a branch of the road from Sidi Bou-Ali; see p. 366), the ancient
Horrea Caelia, the corn-mart and export-harbour of the Enfida.
366The steppe-like character of the landscape again asserts itself.
Wild asparagus abounds. To the right in the distance are the bare
hills of central Tunisia behind Kairwan (p. 372). 71 M. Menzel
Dar el-Bouar, not far from the Sebkha Halk el-Menzel. On the
road, to the N.E. of the station, is an ancient Berber cemetery,
with numerous dolmens (p. 324), mostly ruined of late.
76½ M. Sidi Bou-Ali, a smiling oasis, with olive and fruit-trees
and a few date-palms. We again traverse a stony hill-region,
dotted with stunted olive-trees, and then descend into the thickly
peopled Sahel (see below), with its many thriving little towns.
85 M. Kalaâ-Kebira (161 ft.; pop. 6500). To the left, farther
on, we see the little town of Akouda, on a low hill; then the
distant Hammam-Sousse in the valley of the Oued Laya.
88 M. Kalaâ-Srira (181 ft.; Rail. Restaurant), on the right
bank of the Oued Laya, where visitors for Kairwan (R. 58) change
carriages. Our train descends the Oued Kharoub Valley to the E.
to the coast, with a view of the sea on the left.
93 M. Susa.—The Station (Pl. B, C, 1) for Tunis, Kairwan (R.
58), Mehdia (p. 369), and for the future line to Sfax (R. 59), is in Boul.
René Millet, 3–5 min. from the hotels, or 6 min. from the quay.
Arrival by Sea (comp. R. 64). The steamers of the Comp. Gén.
Transatlantique (office, Banque de Tunisie, see below), the Società Nazionale
(agent, Rue Villedon), and the Comp. de Navigation Mixte (Rue
Jules-Ferry 4) all moor at the N. quay (Pl. D, 2). Harbour-tax 4 or 3 fr.—Cabs,
see below.
Hotels (comp. p. 324). Grand-Hôtel (Pl. a; D, 2), Cours de la Marine,
R. 4–7, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 11–15 fr.; Hôtel de France (Pl. b;
C, 1), Avenue Krantz, R. 3–6, B. 1, déj. 3, D. 3–3½, pens. 10–12 fr., well
spoken of; Hôtel du Sahel (Pl. c; D, 1), Rue Jules-Ferry, unpretending.
Cafés.Brasserie, at the Grand-Hôtel; Glacier, Place Pichon; Bellevue,
Place de la Marine.—Casino Municipal (Pl. 8; C, 1), with a hall
for balls and theatrical performances, etc.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. C, 2), Place Pichon.—Banks (comp.
p. 174). Comp. Algérienne, Rond-Point de la Douane; Banque de Tunisie,
Rue du Marché; Crédit Foncier et Agricole d’Algérie, Place Colonel
Vincent.—Booksellers.Petit, Place Pichon; Berra (Imprimerie Rapide),
Rue Jules-Ferry.
British Vice-Consul, W. Galea, Rue Général-Logerot (cor. of Rue
de l’Eglise).—Lloyd’s Agent, D. Cattan.
Cabs (stand, Place Pichon). Drive ¾ (outside town 1) fr.; hour 1¾
(or 2), day 15–20 fr.; after 7 (in summer 9) p.m. one-half more.—Motor
Cars at Auvin’s, Ave. Krantz.
Half-Day. Visit to the Museum (p. 367), the Souks (p. 368), and
the Kasba (p. 369).
Susa, French Sousse, Arabic Sûssa, (pop. 25,000, incl. 2800
Italians, 1500 French, and 900 Maltese), which has been since ancient
times the chief seaport in the Gulf of Hammamet (p. 364),
is now the most important in Tunisia after Tunis and Sfax. It is
also the capital of the Sahel (p. 320). This coast-region, 20–25 M.
in breadth, famed in the Roman age for its olive-oil, yields corn
also, like the inland plain of Kairwan, although its rainfall is slight.
According to the latest statistics the Sahel has 6 million olive-trees,
212,000 acres of barley, and about 4000 date-palms, which here,
however, mostly yield date-wine (‘lagmi’) only. As yet the manufacturing
industries are practically limited to the oil-mills and soap-works
in the suburbs close to the sea; there are also several salt-works
on the coast between Susa and Mehdia.
367Susa, the Roman Hadrumetum, is one of the oldest Phœnician colonies
on the coast of Tunisia. It appears for the first time in history at
the end of the second Punic war, when it was Hannibal’s base of operations,
and, after the battle of Zama (B. C. 202), his place of refuge. It
escaped the fate of Carthage in 146 B. C., and it was again spared a century
later, although it had sided with Pompey in the civil war. Under the
later Roman empire Hadrumetum was remarkably prosperous, being the
great outlet for the produce of the numerous and thickly peopled inland
colonies as far as Tebessa. The fertility of its environs is indicated by
the name given to it when re-colonized under Trajan (Colonia Concordia
Ulpia Trajana Frugifera Hadrumentina). At that period the whole coast
from Hadrumetum to El-Alia and Chebba (p. 370) was bordered with
sumptuous country-houses. After its conquest by the Arabs (in 665, and
again in 689) Susa, whose present name is said to date from the 8th cent.,
was outstripped by Kairwan and Mehdia. It afterwards suffered severely
from the irruption of the Hilalides (p. 323) and its conquest by the Normans
(1135), and in more modern times from its bombardment by the
Spaniards (1537 and 1550), the French (1769), and the Venetians (1783).
The Harbour, 35 acres in area, constructed in 1886–9, is
tolerably sheltered by two moles and by the Grande Jetée (737 yds.),
the end of which is a splendid point of view. The Digue Sud (Pl.
D, 4, 5), where new harbour-works are in progress, is occupied by
storehouses for the phosphates from Aïn-Moularès (p. 372).
Between the N. mole and the dunes of Bou-Jaffar, near the
Punic-Roman harbour (Kothon), of which scarcely a trace is left,
lies the new town, dating from 1881. The busy parts of it are the
Rond-Point de la Douane (Pl. D, 2), near the steamboat-quay, and
the Place Pichon (Pl. C, D, 2), from which the Boul. René Millet
leads to the station.
Between the two small public gardens here is the *Museum
(Pl. C, 2), a valuable collection of Punic, Roman, and early-Christian
antiquities, mostly excavated of late in the Sahel. Adm. daily, except
Mon., 8–11 and 2–4 (from 1st July to 15th Oct. 7–11 only).
No catalogue. Curator, M. E. Gouvet, the town architect.
The chief treasures of the museum are the numerous mosaics from
Roman villas. In the centre of the hall is a large pavement from El-Alia,
already freely restored in ancient times, representing an inundation
of the Nile, with two-storied houses, a hippopotamus, a crocodile, etc.;
by the entrance-wall, Neptune in a chariot with sea-horses, ducks, and
fish; by the back-wall, procession of Bacchus, fishing scenes, a gazelle
among edible animals and fruits (from a dining-room), the rape of Ganymede,
a Nile scene, a basket with fish and lobsters; by the end-wall to
the left, a peacock. By the right end-wall, an early-Christian mosaic,
with the signature of the artist (Theodulos).
By the back-wall are relics of wall-paintings and the marble statuette
of a negro boy. By the entrance-wall, fragments of Roman reliefs
in stucco: head of a bearded man, from El-Djem (2nd cent. A. D.); bust
368of Athena and female head in profile, from Susa (2nd cent.). By the
left end-wall, a large relief, from Susa, of the triumphal procession of
a Roman emperor, with a fettered warrior behind the chariot.
The central presses contain (on the left) *Terracotta Figures from
Susa (mother and child, Venus, female harpist, rider on a camel, etc.)
and fine vessels in clay; (on the right) ancient coins; a fine bust in
bronze and leaden rolls inscribed with curses (comp. p. 341), from Susa;
bronze utensils, trinkets, implements in bone; Punic, Roman, and early-Christian
lamps; mosaic of Virgil writing the Æneid.
The old town, an irregular quadrilateral almost unspoiled by
modern improvements, contains no buildings of outstanding importance,
but its Oriental streets are strikingly picturesque. The
many-towered *Town Wall, with its gallery of defence and its
crowning battlements, was erected by the Aglabides (p. 323) in 827.
From the Place Pichon we first visit the Place Bab el-Bahar
(Pl. C, 2), named after the old ‘sea-gate’, almost always enlivened
by a dense and busy throng. The main streets of this quarter
are the Rue de France and Rue Général-Logerot, between which
rises the Chief Mosque (Pl. C, 2), built in the Aglabide period on
a ⟙-shaped plan (p. 376), with forecourts like the Gâmia Ibn Tulûn
at Cairo (p. 451).
In the secluded streets to the N.W. of the chief mosque, which
are best reached from the Hôtel de Ville (Pl. 3, B, C, 2; new building
in course of construction in the Ave. Mougeot, in front of the
harbour) by the Rue Général-Riu and Rue du Kasr, rises the so-called
Kasr er-Ribât (Pl. 5, C, 2; ‘castle-convent’), originally
a Byzantine fortress, but used since the Aglabide period as a fortified
monastery (Kasr al-Morabitîn, castle of the marabouts) for
defenders of the faith against the infidels. It is now a humble
medersa (p. 228). The building, modernized in the Turkish period,
was originally square, with four round corner-towers and four at
the sides. The domed vestibule contains fragments of the Byzantine
edifice. In the interior (no admittance) there is a small mosque.
The Rue Général-Sabatier on the W. side of the chief mosque,
and the Rue de Paris, its continuation to the S., lead to the Rue
el-Mar (Pl. B, 3, 4). Here, at the corner of the Rue de la Kasba
(p. 369), rises a fine Minaret. At the end of the street is an
interesting old Dwelling House, thoroughly restored in 1906, with
horseshoe and multifoil arches.
In the Rue de la Soffra (Pl. B, 3), above the Rue el-Mar, are
the Roman Cisterns, which have been repeatedly restored since
the middle ages (keys at the town architect’s; see p. 367).
To the W. of the Rue de Paris are the picturesque Souks
(p. 335). Immediately to the right, adjoining the Souk el-Rbâ
(Pl. B, 3), the vaulted lane in the middle, and at the entrance to
the Rue Bin el-Kaoui, is the Kahwât el-Kubba (Pl. 4, B, 3; ‘domed
café’), a small early-Moorish building with an interesting dome,
four wall-niches, and windows partly built up.
369The Souk el-Caïd, continuing the Souk el-Rbâ, ascends to the
Bâb el-Gharbi (Pl. A, 3), the old Moorish W. gate.—In the Rue
Dâr el-Bey, between the Souk el-Caïd and Rue de la Kasba, is the
Dâr el-Bey (Pl. 1; B, 3), an old palace of the beys of Tunis, now
the Contrôle Civil and office of the caïd (driba).
The Rue de la Kasba, or from Bâb el-Gharbi the boulevard
outside the town, leads to the Kasba (Pl. A, B, 4; 131 ft. above
the sea), the Moorish-Turkish citadel, built partly on the foundations
of a Roman temple, now the barracks of the tirailleurs (adm. on
presenting visiting-card; a sergeant acts as guide). The ‘Salle
d’Honneur’ contains neo-Punic and Roman antiquities from the Camp
Militaire (see below), including valuable mosaics (victorious racehorses,
etc.) and early-Christian objects from the catacombs
(see below). From the N. terrace of the Kasba, or from the tower
(now lighthouse; not always open), there is a splendid *View of
the town and harbour, of the Sahel, the whole bay of Hammamet,
and of the inland Tunisian hill-country as far as Jebel Zaghouan.
From the Bâb el-Gharbi a road leads to the W. to Kalaâ-Srira (p. 366)
through the Camp Militaire (Pl. A, 3, 4), whose huts stand partly on the
ancient Punic burial-grounds. About ¾ M. from the gate are remains of a
Roman Burial Ground; also, on a road diverging to the left a little before,
extensive early-Christian Catacombs (adm. 1 fr.), 3 min. to the S. of the
highroad.
From Susa to Mehdia, 39½ M., railway in 3¼ hrs. (7 fr. 5, 5 fr. 35,
3 fr. 80 c.). The line runs, a little apart from the Sfax road (R. 59), at first
to the S.W., through the beautiful hill-country of the Sahel, to (6 M.)
M’Saken (p. 378). 11 M. Ouardenine, where the new line to Sfax (see p. 378)
diverges to the S. Our line sweeps round to the E. to (16 M.) Djemmal.—22 M.
Moknine (181 ft.; Café-Restaurant de la Gare; pop. 9000, incl.
700 Jews and 70 Europeans) is noted for its Jewish goldsmiths’ work in
an antique style like that of Djerba (p. 394). On the road to Monastir
(p. 405), 3¾ M. to the N.W. of Moknine, are the ruins of the very ancient
Phœnician-Roman seaport Leptis Minor, now Lamta or Lempta (remains
of the old quays, cisterns, etc.), near which is the Punic necropolis
Henchir Meskhal.
The train skirts the Sebkha de Moknine. 27½ M. Teboulba (146 ft.;
pop. 2900), a small town amidst pretty orange and mandarin gardens,
on the S. shore of the Bay of Monastir (p. 405). Farther to the S.E. we
come to (30 M.) Bekalta (pop. 3400), a little town with the ruins of the
seaport of Thapsus, famed for Cæsar’s victory (p. 322; large Roman cisterns,
amphitheatre, quay of the Punic-Roman Kothon, Punic rock-tombs).
39½ M. Mehdia or Mahdia (66 ft.; Hôt. de France, Grand-Hôtel,
both very humble; Brit. cons. agent, G. Violante; pop. 10,000, incl.
600 Europeans), the ancient capital of Ifrikia (p. 322), founded in 916 as
Mahedia by the Fatimite Obeïd Allah el-Mahdi, on the site of the Phœnician-Roman
Zella (Africa?), is now a poor little seaport-town with hardly
a trace of its former renown. Being centrally situated on the E. coast
of Tunisia, on the narrow and once strongly fortified headland Râs Mehdia,
the Cape Africa of earlier writers, Mehdia, after the destruction of Kairwan
(p. 372), developed into the most prosperous town and important harbour of
Tunisia, but suffered severely from the transference of the seat of government
to Tunis (p. 332). In war also it was often sorely tried. It was conquered
by a Pisan fleet in 1087, occupied by the Normans in 1148–60, and
captured by the knights of Malta in 1530, by Kheireddin’s (p. 221) former
370general Dragut in 1540, and in 1550 by the Spaniards, who on their retreat
after the naval battle of Djerba (p. 394) blew up its fortifications.
The chief sights are the picturesque ruins of the Town Walls and
the Grande Mosquée of the 10th cent., formerly connected with a college,
with its many arcades and a fine gateway-tower, resembling the Bâb Lella
Rejana at Kairwan (p. 375). To the S.E. of the headland are remains
of the Kothon, the Punic-Roman harbour, which in the middle ages was
defended by two towers. The new harbour, the centre of the Sicilian
allache (kind of sardine) fishery, lies to the S.W. of the headland. Near
the town are large Salt Marshes. The Necropolis, 2 M. to the W., with
several well-preserved Punic and neo-Punic rock-tombs, deserves a visit.
About 1 M. from the town are extensive early-Christian Catacombs
(adm. 1 fr.).—Off Mehdia, in an ancient sunken ship, beautiful works of
art, now at the Bardo Museum (see p. 344), have been recently discovered.
A road (carr. 15 fr.) leads to the S.W. from Mehdia viâ (8 M.) Ksour-Essaf
to (26 M.) El-Djem (p. 379).
In the olive-clad hill-country to the S. of Mehdia, on the road to Sfax
(p. 380), lie the ruins of the ancient seaport of Sullectum (now Salakta),
of Acholla (p. 398; now Biar el-Alia), both with Punic burial-grounds,
and of Uzalis (now El-Alia). Farther on, beyond the Râs Kapoudia (or
Râs Khadidja), the ancient Caput Vada, where Belisarius (p. 322) landed
in 533, lies the small seaport of Chebba, noted like El-Alia for its Roman
mosaics. Near it are the ruins of Ruspae (now Henchir Sbia).
From Susa to Kairwan, see R. 58; to the ruins of central Tunisia
and to Metlaoui, see R. 58; to El-Djem and Sfax, see R. 59.
From Susa to (5 M.) Kalaâ-Srira, see p. 366. The line runs,
nearly in the same direction as the Susa and Tebessa (p. 315)
Roman road, to the S.W., on the right bank of the Oued Laya
(p. 366), to the (8 M.) Réservoir of the Susa waterworks.
At (10 M.) Oued-Laya, a small oasis of fruit-trees and vegetables,
the olive-zone of the Sahel ends. 17½ M. Kroussiah-Sahali.
23 M. Sidi el-Hani, not far from the ruins of Vicus Augusti (?).
To the left, farther on, we obtain a glimpse at the Sebkha Sidi
el-Hani, 25 by 12½ M., the largest salt-lake of central Tunisia.
To the right, a little farther on, beyond a chain of flat hills, is revealed
a striking view of the vast Plain of Kairwan, enclosed by
distant mountains, with the town of Kairwan in the background.
The low ground, through which the Oued Hathob (p. 320), Oued
Merguellil, and many smaller streams descend from the Sahara
Atlas and its plateaux to the Lac de Kelbia (p. 320; not visible
from the train), is often flooded after the winter rains. It is inhabited
almost exclusively by the Arab-like nomadic tribes of the
Djlass or Zlass. The train runs through plantations of Indian figs.
30½ M. Aïn-Ghrasesia.
From Aïn-Ghrasesia to Metlaoui, 182 M., railway in 13 hrs. (fares
32 fr. 85, 24 fr. 95, 17 fr. 55 c.; from Susa 38 fr. 35, 29 fr. 10, 20 fr.
37150 c.). This new railway, diverging here to the S.W., affords the easiest
access to the ruins of Sbeïtla, Kasserine, Thelepte, and Feriana in central
Tunisia. It runs over a low saddle between the Sebkha Sidi el-Hani (see
p. 370) and the marshy plain of the Oued Hathob, and across the bleak
plain of Kairwan, to the S.W. borders of the Sahara Atlas, which it
reaches at the foot of Jebel Touila, with its zinc and lead mines.
47½ M. Hadjeb el-Aïoun, the ancient Masclianae, on the Oued
Zourzour, is the chief market (Tues.) for the Oulad Sendassen, a branch
of the Djlass tribe (p. 370), and, like the following stations, possesses
an alfa-depot. Branch-line to Sbiba, the ancient Sufes, projected.
Farther on we pass the foot of Jebel Hadjeb el-Aïoun to (58½ M.)
Djilma (1152 ft.), the Roman Cilma, on a tributary of the Hathob, here
called Oued Djilma, We now enter, to the W., the valley of the Oued
Menasseur, at the foot of Jebel Mrilah (4508 ft.) and Jebel Sbeïtla, inhabited
by the Madjeur tribe (p. 362).
76 M. Sbeïtla (1762 ft.; hotel), near the extensive ruins of Sufetula,
on a plateau on the right bank of the Oued Sbeïtla, as the Oued Menasseur
is named here. It was a poor castellum in the time of Augustus,
but after the 2nd cent, became one of the most important junctions of
different routes, and in the 5–7th cent. attained its prime under the
Vandals and the Byzantines. In 645 it became the residence of Gregory,
the governor, who had rebelled against Byzantium; it was soon after
attacked by the Arabs under Abdallah ibn Saâd (p. 322), and in 648 it
was entirely destroyed. The chief boast of Sbeïtla is the *Capitol (comp.
p. 288), rising in the midst of the ruins. The temple-court, once used
by the Byzantines as a fortress and now destroyed save a few fragments
of the limestone pavement, was entered by a three-arched propylæum,
bearing an inscription in honour of Antoninus Pius (138–61). The chief
temple was pseudo-peripteral, with composite columns; there are still
traces of the steps up to it and of the portico. The three cellæ are well
preserved, especially at the back, and have a transverse wall, instead
of a semicircular apse, adjoining the Corinthian smaller temples. We
may note also a fine Triumphal Arch of the time of Constantine, the
remains of a Byzantine Church incorporated with a temple, to the N.
of the capitol, a Chapel built into a smaller temple, to the E., and the
Aqueduct across the Oued Sbeïtla. Higher up is the spring of the new
water-conduit, 103 M. long, which supplies the town of Sfax.
Passing many other ruins we come to the Plaine du Foussana (about
2650 ft.), one of the upper districts of the Oued Hathob, here called Foussana,
at the S. foot of Jebel Semmama (4307 ft.; with the zinc-mines of
Aïn-Khamouda on its N. side). Then a descent to (95 M.) Kasserine
(2382 ft.), the ancient Cillium, a flourishing town from the 2nd cent. A.D.
under the name of Colonia Cillitana, now a poor village with a caravanserai
on the Thala and Feriana road (see p. 362 and below), not far
from the chalky limestone masses of Jebel Chambi (5217 ft.; p. 320). We
may here visit the ruins of the Roman Arch and of the Tomb of the
Petronii, and above all the interesting Mausoleum of T. Flavius Secundus,
of the time of Trajan. This is a kind of tower in three stories, in the
Phœnician fashion, terminating in a pyramid; the 110 bombastic lines
of the inscription correspond with the number of years attained by the
deceased. A little to the S., on the Oued Derb, are remains of a Roman
Barrage,—The landscape farther on, where Roman ruins still abound,
assumes more and more the Sahara character.
116 M. Thelepte (hotel) is the station for the ruins of the ancient
town of that name, now called Medinet el-Khedima (‘the old town’),
which in the 2nd–4th cent. A.D. was the chief place on the road between
Tebessa (p. 315) and Gafsa (p. 383). Large thermæ, ruins of early-Christian
basilicas, and a Byzantine fortress with many towers are to be seen here.
The extensive Roman Quarries are interesting.
118½ M. Feriana (2628 ft.; Hôt. Hostelier; Restaurant Bernard; pop.
1200), an oasis of corn, fruit, and vegetables on the Oued Feriana, in
372the midst of a sandy plain, has a new and pretty mosque.—Thence we
cross the Plateau de Msila (2930 ft.), overgrown with alfa, and descend
to (134 M.) Maâjen Bel-Abbès, with the ruins of a Roman town, 28 M.
to the N.W. of Gafsa. 141 M. Sidi Bou-Beker.
153½ M. Henchir Souatir (about 1640 ft.). A short branch-line
diverges hence to Aïn-Moularès (1806 ft.), a caravanserai near the great
beds of phosphate on the Algerian frontier.
166 M. Tabeditt is connected by railway with (9½ M.) Redeyef, which
has rich phosphate deposits.—Beyond Tabeditt the train runs through
the valley of the Oued Seldja (p. 386), here inhabited by the Oulad Sidi-Abid
nomads, to (183 M.) Metlaoui (p. 386).
The Kairwan Line runs to the W. over the bleak steppe, often
passing the tents and the browsing camels and cattle of the Djlass
(p. 370). We cross the Oued Hathob, here called Zeroud.
To the right, especially in the afternoon, we have a delightful
*View of the white houses of Kairwan, with its countless domes
and towering minarets. Nearing the station we see extensive fields
of cactus and large alfa-stacks.
36 M. Kairwan.—Hotels (comp. p. 324). Splendid Hotel
(Pl. a; C, 5), R. 3, B. 1, déj. or D. 3, omn. ½ fr.; Hôt. de France (Pl. b;
C, 5), R. 2½–4, B. ¾, déj. or D. 3, pens. 7½ fr.; both in the Place Carnot,
tolerable.—Café de France, Rue Massicault.—Post & Telegraph Office
(Pl. C, D, 4), Rue de la Poste.—Physician.Dr. Santschi (a Swiss), Grande
Rue, near the Bâb Djelladin.
In Half-a-Day, if pressed for time, we may visit the Grande Rue,
the Souks, the Sidi Okba Mosque, and the Mosquée du Barbier. Tickets
for the mosques are obtained at the office of the Contrôle Civil (p. 373)
or at the hotels. The overseers of the mosques mostly speak Arabic only.
The guides, who are quite unnecessary, are very importunate.
Travellers in haste should endeavour to secure a cab (as yet only
one), drive to the Contrôle Civil, the Barber’s Mosque, and back to the
Porte de Tunis (p. 377), and there begin their inspection of the town.
Kairwan or Kairouan (243 ft.; pop. 22,000, incl. about
800 Europeans), the oldest capital of Ifrikia, is a town of purely
Arabian type, the most curious in Tunisia. The old town is
an irregular rectangle, enclosed by a wall 33 ft. high and 2 M. in
length; the large W. suburb, also purely Oriental, is the Faubourg
des Djlass, called after the nomadic tribe of that name (p. 370);
to the S. is a new suburb near the station. The numerous mosques
and zaouïas date mostly from the Turkish period. The town holds
market for the extensive plain of Kairwan, and the souks are still
important, though manufactures have declined. The climate (p. 321)
is extremely hot in summer.
Kairwan was founded by Sidi Okba ben-Nâfi (p. 322) in 671, and
was appointed by the caliphs to be the seat of the governors of Ifrikia.
As the capital of the great Aglabide empire (p. 323) and the seat of the
oldest high school in N. Africa, it was hardly less important than Cordova
(p. 68), and the sumptuous mosque of Sidi Okba rapidly became
the favourite goal of pilgrims from E. Barbary. After the Hilalides
(p. 323) had destroyed the greater part of the town in 1048 it was for
centuries almost deserted, notwithstanding the favour shown to it by
Abd el-Mûmen (p. 95), the Hafsides, and the Merinides (p. 95). In the
early 16th cent. several quarters still lay in ruins. It was not till the
Turkish period that the sacred town, ‘one of the four gates of Paradise’,
which neither Christian nor Jew durst enter, again became the religious
centre of the land. To spend one’s last days within its walls, and to be
buried in hallowed earth outside its gates, seemed to believers the height
of bliss. Its sacred character, which however did not prevent the beys
of Tunis from bombarding and partly destroying the rebellious town, was
finally lost when the mosques were desecrated by the entry of the French
troops in 1881.
373In the centre of the S. suburb, almost exclusively inhabited by
Europeans, is the Place Carnot (Pl. C, 5), with its small Jardin
Public. On its W. side the Rue du Contrôle, with the building of
the Contrôle Civil (Pl. C, 5; see p. 372), leads to the N. to the Place
Mérabet (Pl. C, 4) and the S. gate of the town-walls, which were
largely rebuilt after the bombardment of 1740.
On emerging from the Rue du Contrôle we see immediately to
the left the Zaouïa Sidi ben-Aïssa (Pl. C, 5), where the hideous
castigations of the Aïssaoua sect, originally Moroccan, are held on
Friday afternoons. A little to the N.E., in the Rue de la Poste,
is the M’sala Darb et-Tamar (Pl. D, 4; no admittance), a large
open place of prayer for great Mohammedan festivals, with an
underground cistern for rain-water.
The main street of the old town, between the Bâb Djelladin
(Pl. C, 4; ‘Porte des Peaussiers’), or S. gate, now partly demolished,
and the N. gate, the Porte de Tunis (p. 377), is the Grande Rue
(Pl. C, B, 4, 3), officially called Rue du Général-Saussier, enlivened
by a picturesque crowd and numerous small shops.
In the Rue Sidi el-Guerian, the second side-street on the right, is the
zaouïa of Sidi Abid el-Guerian (Pl. C, 4), an elegant building of the
Turkish period (16th cent.?). The handsome portal, with the black and
white striped decoration so often recurring in the other buildings, leads
into a vestibule with tiled walls and stucco decoration, beyond which are
a fine colonnaded court in two stories (with the sumptuous tomb of the
saint on the left) and a small mosque. Adjacent on the left is the court
of the Medersa (p. 228), where the capitals of the columns are remarkable
for their richness and variety.
Farther on in the Grande Rue are several mosques of little
architectural interest. The gateway on the right, halfway between
the two town-gates, leads to the Souks (Pl. C, 3, 4). The vaulted
main street here, the Souk des Selliers and Souk des Cordonniers,
is intersected by two vaulted side-streets, the Souk des Parfums
and Souk des Tapis. The latter, for the sale of carpets, woollen rugs
(margums), etc., has declined since the vegetable dyes have been
superseded by the aniline. The farther part of the main street is the
Souk des Gandourahs, ending at the quiet Place Finot (Pl. C, 3).
To the S.E. from the Place Finot the short Rue Moulei-Taïeb
leads to the—
Djamâa Tleta Biban (Pl. C, D, 3; Mosquée des Trois-Portes),
in the Rue Hassin Lalenni. It dates from the time of Obeïd Allah
el-Mahdi (p. 369), being the only early-Moorish building in Kairwan
besides the Sidi Okba mosque, but was much altered in 1440
and 1509. The peculiar façade in three sections, with blind arcades
374(possessing Byzantine capitals) on the lower story, is composed
above of older slabs with geometrical ornamentation. The interior
is uninteresting.
We follow the Rue de la Mosquée des Trois-Portes to the N.E.,
then the Rue Zoughar to the right, and at the end of it a street
to the left to the town-wall. To the left, in 2 min. more, we reach
the Place de Sousse, with the Bâb el-Khoukha (Pl. D, 2, 3), the
E. town-gate, an interesting double gateway, with two fine Byzantine
capitals on the inner archway. From the N. end of the Place
de Sousse the broad Rue de la Grande-Mosquée leads to the—
*Sidi Okba Mosque (Grande Mosquée; Pl. D, 1, 2), one of
the oldest in the world, and, next to the Kairwin mosque at Fez,
the most important in Barbary. After the mosques of Mecca and
Medina and the Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem (p. 477), this has
ever been deemed the greatest sanctuary of Islam. The poverty
of the oldest building, founded by Sidi Okba ben-Nâfi in 671, is
evidenced by the mud-built walls of the old mihrâb (p. 377). A
new building was first erected in 703 by Hassan ibn en-Nôman
(p. 322), the conqueror of Carthage. The plan seems to have been
suggested by that of the oldest Egyptian mosques (such as the
mosque of Amru, p. 460), combined with that of the Damous el-Karita
(p. 349), while the ruins of Carthage, Susa, and Sbeïtla
(p. 371) supplied the building-materials. Of a second new building
by the governor Bichr ibn Safuan, in 724, the fortress-like lower
story of the minaret still exists. A further extension was made in
821 by the Aglabide Sijadet Allah I. The central story of the minaret,
the arcades of the quadrangle, the Bâb el-Behou (p. 376),
and the last enlargement of the sanctuary itself are due to the
Aglabide Ibrahim ibn-Ahmed (d. 875), who erected also the fine
dome of the mihrâb, caused the mihrâb-wall to be decorated
by Bagdad artists, and presented the superb Friday pulpit. The
present maksûra (seat of the caliph) dates from the time of the
Zirite Abû Teminn el-Muizz (p. 443). The decay of the mosque
after the irruption of the Hilalides seems to have been first arrested
by Abd el-Mûmen and the Hafside El-Mostanser Billah (p. 332).
The latter, in 1284, caused most of the outer gateways to be rebuilt.
At a later period we hear of restorations by Mohammed Murad Bey
(p. 335) and Hussein Ali ben-Turki (p. 323). In 1828–42 the insecure
state of the mosque necessitated the rebuilding of the external
walls on the N.W. and N.E. sides and the restoration of the minaret,
the Bâb el-Behou, and the arcades of the court. In 1872 the nave
and its two adjoining aisles also were restored, but with little taste,
and since 1895 the French government has bestowed its attention
on the transept and the side-portals.
The immense edifice, an irregular quadrilateral of 136 by about
78–82 yds., covers an area of over 2¼ acres. The fortress-like
375Outer Wall, with its huge buttresses, has four doors on both its
longer sides. These have lost their bronze mountings and some
of them their cupolas. Above the S.E. wall rises the dome of the
mihrâb chapel and above the N.W. wall the minaret.
We first walk round the whole enclosure. From the Rue de la
Grande-Mosquée a short street leads to the right, past the new
Court of Ablution (comp. p. 63), to a large open space adjoining the
S.E. end of the mosque, where there are numerous underground silos
or granaries. From the walls here project the buildings of the
mihrâb chapel and the maksûra, with the Bâb el-Imâm (p. 377).
A few paces farther, at the beginning of the ‘Boulevard Ali
Bey’, a poor street on the N.E. side of the precincts, is the massive
square gateway tower of *Bâb Lella Rejana, adjoined by the insignificant
domed tomb of that saint. The front half of the gateway,
restored in 1828, is painted like the minaret with ‘giant-spiders’
to ward off snakes and scorpions, and is adorned below
the battlements with blind horseshoe arcades. The perforated stucco
decoration of the arch-recesses of the side-portals is one of the
earliest examples of such work. The long inscription over the door
extols caliph El-Mostanser-Billah (p. 374), the builder.
Passing the next three gates we come to the N. angle of the
precincts, where their fortress-like character is most apparent.
Beside the embrasures of the minaret (p. 376) are seen cannon-ball
marks made during the bombardments of the 18th century.
The S.W. wall of the mosque, in the Rue de la Grande-Mosquée,
which we now regain, is most in conformity with the original plan.
Most noteworthy here are the first gateway-tower, near the N.W.
angle, and the Bâb es-Sultân, the last gate, through which led
the shortest way from the caliph’s palace to the maksûra (comp.
p. 377). The domes, now adorned with the Turkish crescent, still
possess their girdle of battlements and have their old cornice of
bricks placed crosswise.
The present Entrance Gateway (visitors knock) is one of the
small middle gates beside the Bâb es-Sultân. We descend a few
steps to the court (now below the level of the street), where the
irregular plan of the building is most distinctly seen.
The *Court is bordered on the N.W. side by a single colonnade
and on the other sides by double arcades, which on the S.E. side
form the porch of the sanctuary. In contrast to the orange-court
at Cordova (p. 70), it is much larger than the sanctuary itself.
The marble pavement is modern. The perforated stone in the
centre of the court conducts the rain-water from the gutters on
the flat roofs into a filtering-apparatus and into three Cisterns
below. The old Court of Ablution (Ancienne Mida; comp. above),
near the W. angle, and the rooms adjoining the minaret are now
used as lumber-rooms.
376The Minaret, 128 ft. high, an extremely massive tower in three
stories, rises in the centre of the N.W. wall, and not in the central
axis of the building as is usual. The substructures have been built
of Roman stones and the doorway framed with antique decorative
slabs. The square lowest story and narrower middle story are
crowned with peculiar battlements with small embrasures. Above
the three metal balls (p. 195) of the present dome is perched the
Turkish crescent.
The *Ascent of the Minaret (127 easy steps) should not be omitted.
On the lower platform we note the muezzin’s hut (p. 180). The upper
platform commands a superb survey of the many-domed town, of the
Barber’s Mosque (p. 378), of the large cemeteries to the W., and of the
great plain of Kairwan, bounded by Jebel Trozza and other distant hills.
In the centre of the porch of the sanctuary is the square Bâb
el-Behou (‘pavilion-gate’) with a great horseshoe archway and pinnacled
summit. The drum and dome, formerly resembling the dome
of the mihrâb, were rebuilt in 1828. The timber ceiling of the
adjoining arcades is now partly replaced by brick-vaulting.
The *Main Door of the sanctuary, in cedar-wood, also was
renewed in 1828 by wood-carvers from Sfax (p. 380). The wings
are beautifully enriched with network, rosettes, and arabesques
(p. 445). Over the door are a frieze with an inscription and another
adorned with mashrebîyeh or lattice-work, and above these is a
pediment decorated with charming scroll-work. The side-doors,
also in cedar-wood, and partly modern, have a simpler geometric
ornamentation, resembling that of the maksûra screen (p. 377).
The *Interior of the sanctuary, in the form of a so-called Egyptian
cross (⟙), with a broad transept at the back, has a nave and
sixteen aisles, with eight rows of arcades. In the axis of the Bâb el-Behou,
above the intersection of the nave and transept, rises the
dome of the mihrâb-chapel, in front of the mihrâb-recess. The timber
ceilings of the aisles, dating from different centuries, still retain
interesting traces of their old painting. The effect of the nave is
marred by the new braces and the clumsy modern stucco-decoration
of the upper walls. The candelabra are ancient, but of little artistic
value. The old pavement has disappeared and so too have the
tapestries once used for festivals. The somewhat colourless aspect
of the interior is compensated by the beauty of the columns, which
here, as well as in the court, merit careful study. The shafts, as at
Cordova, are of surprisingly various materials: white and coloured
marble, onyx, granite, porphyry, and variegated breccia. Besides
the few Moorish capitals in the more modern parts of the mosque,
we note Roman, early-Christian, Byzantine, and even Punic-Ionic
forms. Owing to their unequal lengths some of the columns have
been raised while others are partly buried in the earth.
The *Mihrâb Chapel, unfortunately thickly whitewashed, is
specially noteworthy for its sumptuous decoration and the peculiar
377construction of its dome. The chief enrichment of the wall consists
of *Fayence with gold lustre, the oldest mediæval relic of this art-industry,
the origin of which seems to be indicated by the name of
‘tchini’ (China tiles) given to it by native writers. The two beautiful
Byzantine columns which bear the archivolts of the mihrâb are said
to have come from Carthage. Through the marble screen of the
niche, now disfigured by painting, we obtain a glimpse at the ancient
mihrâb of the time of Sidi Okba (p. 374).
The **Mimbar, or Friday pulpit, unfortunately very tastelessly
restored in 1907, adjoining the mihrâb-recess on the right,
is one of the earliest and most beautiful creations of early-Moorish
art. On the model of the Byzantine ivory carving, its rectangular
sections are most charmingly enriched with a great variety of scroll-work
and arabesques. The material is sycamore-wood.
The present *Maksûra (see p. 71), to the right of the pulpit,
seems to be now enclosed with fragments of an older screen of the
caliph’s maksûra and parts of the wooden screen of a former maksûra
for the ladies of the court (to the left of the pulpit). The
central sections, destroyed in part, with their plain geometric decoration,
are framed with graceful arabesques. The long Cufic inscription
under the pinnacles of the summit records the name of
the founder (p. 374) amidst verses from the Koran.
At the back of the Maksûra is a *Door, framed with late-Roman
marble ornamentation and tastefully embellished with iron nails and two
knockers, leading into a corridor. The side-room on the left, with
another fine old door, contains a few relics of the once famous Kairwan
Library. The small door in the external wall is the Bâb el-Imâm (‘gate
of the preacher’).
We now return by the Rue el-Kadraouine (Pl. D, C, 2, 3) to
Place Finot (p. 373) and the Souks; or we follow the town-wall,
through the Rue Sidi Abd el-Kader (Pl. D, C, 2) and past the zaouïa
Sidi Abd el-Kâder el-Djilâni (p. 183) and the Kasba (Pl. B, C, 2;
barracks), and so regain the Grande Rue.
At the N. end of the Grande Rue is the new Porte de Tunis
(Pl. B, 3; adjoining the fine old gateway, adorned with antique
columns), leading into the Place de Tunis, the outer market-place,
a haunt of reciters and jugglers, with a large Fondouk (see
p. 281).
From the Place de Tunis we may now walk to the N., past the
pretty park of the Pépinière (Pl. B, 1), to the (10 min.) Bassins
des Aglabides, two round reservoirs, the smaller of which was once
used for filtering purposes. Both have been utilized since 1885 for
the conduit of Cherichera, 18¾ M. long.
A road, much used by caravans, leads from the Place de Tunis,
past the dilapidated Feskia du Saïd (Pl. A, 2; a rain-water basin),
of the time of Sijadet Allah I., and between cactus-hedges, to the
N.W. to (¼ hr.) the so-called—
378*Mosquée du Barbier (beyond Pl. A, 2), the finest building
of the Turkish period. This mosque, which has long been regarded
as the second great sanctuary of Kairwan, lies most picturesquely
among low hills and is surrounded with white tombs of saints and
Moslem cemeteries. It is dedicated to Abû Zemaâ el-Beloui, the
traditional friend (sahâb) and barber of the prophet.
The extensive group of buildings, with several medersas annexed,
dates chiefly from the 17–19th centuries. The outer gate leads into a low
forecourt. In the corner, between the two main entrances, rises the
handsome minaret (*View), in four stories, with blind arcades in the two
lower, and crowned with pinnacles and the muezzin’s turret. The large
W. portal, adorned like the minaret with Byzantine columns, opens into
the first inner court, on whose W. side rises the plain mosque itself with
its nave and two aisles. A remarkably beautiful domed chamber leads
into the second *Inner Court, a perfect gem, with its slender little marble
columns, old wall-tiles, rich stucco-decoration, and modern soffited ceilings.
A superb marble portal of Italian workmanship (18th cent.) leads to the
alleged tomb of Sidi Sahâb, which is railed in and surrounded with
valuable old Kairwan carpets besides much European frippery. From
the domed chamber a *Colonnade to the left and another ante-room, also
embellished with fine mural tiles, lead us back to the outer court.
The large Moslem Cemeteries, which extend round the Faubourg
des Djlass (p. 372) from the Barber’s Mosque all the way to
the S. suburb, still contain some very old tombstones. They afford
a beautiful view of Kairwan, especially by evening light.
The Djamâa Amor Abeda (Pl. A, 3, 4; popularly called Mosquée
des Sabres), whose five huge domes of mediæval type dominate the poor
streets of the Faubourg des Djlass, was built by the saint of that name
(d. 1871), formerly a smith, with alms collected for the purpose.
Till the opening of the new railway (81½ M.) in 1911, which diverges
from the line to Mehdia at Ouardenine (p. 369), this excursion must be
made by Road (79½ M.). Motor-omnibus or the Bône-Guélma Co., starting
from the station, in 6½ hrs. (in the reverse direction 7 hrs.), fare 7 fr. 50 c.;
at El-Djem, halfway (fare 3 fr. 75 c.), the ½ hr. allowed for visiting the
amphitheatre barely suffices. Seats should be secured beforehand; outside
(impériale) preferable in fine weather. Diligence at night, in 14 hrs., fare
12 fr. 90 c. (to El-Djem in 6½ hrs., 6 fr.), uncomfortable.—Steamers to
Sfax, comp. R. 64.
Susa, see p. 366. The road leads round the town on the side
next the sea. It then ascends through the new industrial and villa
quarters, and past the Jewish and the Christian Cemeteries (on the
left), to the hill-country of the Sahel (p. 366).
A little to the left lie the thriving villages of Zaouïet-Sousse and
Ksiba, and to the right Messadine. The soil is extremely fertile;
the road is bordered with huge olive-trees and tall cactus-hedges.
To the right, also off the road, lies (7½ M.) M’Saken (154 ft.;
Hôt. de France; pop. 10,000), a station on the Mehdia line (p. 369),
whence a road leads to Kairwan (p. 372).
379The country beyond M’Saken, one of the most fertile parts of
central Tunisia in ancient times, has become a mere desert since
the Arab irruptions. In the midst of the dreary steppe, scantily
overgrown with alfa, appear a few corn-fields and olive-plantations,
the first signs of renewed colonization. Here and there are
seen Arabs with their camels, belonging to the Souassi tribe, now
partly settled on the land, descendants of the Hilalides (p. 323).
In the distance to the right, beyond Bourdjine, the only village
before El-Djem, appears the Sebkha Sidi el-Hani (p. 370). 23 M.
Col de Koudiat el-Goulal (525 ft.), the highest point on the road.
We are now in sight of the amphitheatre of El-Djem, whose
enormous pile dominates the landscape for miles around.
40 M. El-Djem (361 ft.; Hôt. de l’Amphithéâtre, R. 2–3, B. ¾,
déj. 3, D. 3¼ fr., humble, charges should be ascertained), a poor
Arab village with a few olive and cactus plantations, is the site
of Thysdrus, which in the late-Roman age was one of the most
thriving towns near the E. coast and the junction of seven roads.
About ¼ M. from the inn and the post-office (halting-place of
the motor-omnibus) is the **Amphitheatre, the grandest Roman
structure in Barbary (first half of the 3rd cent.), noted in history
also as a fortress. Here in 689, after the defeat of the united
Byzantines and Berbers by Zoheir ibn Kaïs (p. 322), the prophetess
(kahina) Damia, the legendary leader of the Berbers, is said to have
still defied her enemies. In 1685 the building, still almost intact,
where many a rebel had sought refuge, was blown up on the W.
side by order of Mohammed Murad Bey (p. 335). Since then it has
served the villagers of El-Djem as a quarry. The topmost story,
consisting of an attica with Corinthian pilasters, the tiers of seats,
and the stone steps have gradually disappeared. The ascent (not
without the Arab keeper; ½ fr.) is very toilsome.
The remaining three stories are 108 ft. high; the groundfloor
is now buried 10 ft. below the surface. The arches (once 60) of the
lower and upper stories are adorned with Corinthian mural columns;
the central story has composite capitals. The axes are 164 and
136 yds. respectively; the arena where the gladiators and wild beasts
fought, unearthed in 1909, with its huge substructures (comp. p. 348),
measures 71 by 57 yds. (This is the fifth in size of Roman amphitheatres:
Colosseum 205 by 170, the Capuan 186 by 153, that of
Italica near Seville 170 by 147, and that of Verona 167 by 134 yds.).
Recent excavations outside the village, whose dirty streets flank the
amphitheatre on two sides, have revealed vestiges of Thermae (about
10 min. to the N.W.), of Cisterns, a Circus, and a small older Amphitheatre.
In the forecourt of a kubba, 6 min. to the S.W., are placed several
large Roman capitals.
We again traverse a very monotonous region, without a single
village. On the left is the Sebkha m’taa el-Djem, a salt-lake.
380Beyond it lies the hill-country of the Arab Metellit tribe, belonging
to the Terres Sialines (see below).
Beyond (61½ M.) Ste. Juliette we enter the olive-zone of Sfax.
71½ M. Kubba Sidi-Salah, on the Oued Sidi Salah, which flows
largely underground and now partly supplies Sfax with water. Lastly
the road leads between garden-walls built of mud and fringed with
Indian figs and through the suburb of Moulinville to—
79½ M. Sfax.—The Railway Station (Pl. C, D, 2), for Metlaoui
(R. 60) and for the new line to Susa (see p. 378), is close to the sea, ¼ M.
from the hotels or from the quay. Here at present the motor-omnibus
from Susa stops.
Arrival by Sea (comp. R. 64). The steamers of the Comp. Gén. Transatlantique
(office, Boul. de France 13), the Società Nazionale (office near
Douane), and the Navigation Mixte (office, Rue Emile Loubet) moor at the
quay. Harbour-dues 4 or 3 fr.; cabs, see below.
Hotels (comp. p. 324). Hôt. de France (Pl. a; B, 3), Rue Victor-Hugo
4, R. 3–6, B. 1, déj. or D. 3, pens. 9–10 fr., plain; Hôt. Moderne
(Pl. b; B, 3), same street, No. 6, R. 3–5, B. 1, D. 8, pens. 7½–10 fr.—Cafés.Cristal and Glacier, Boul. de France.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. 6; C, 3), Avenue de Paris.
Banks (comp. p. 174). Banque de l’Algérie, Rue Michaud; Comp.
Algérienne (No. 32) and Comptoir d’Escompte de Paris (No. 15), Ave.
de Paris.—Booksellers.Chabert, Rue de la République 51; Revol, same
street, No. 17.
British Vice-Consul, S. Leonardi.—Lloyd’s Agent, E. Carleton.—English
Physician, Dr. P. Buckwell.
Cabs (stands near the Marché aux Céréales, p. 381, and in the Rue
de Thina, Pl. B, C, 3). Drive within a radius of 2 kilomètres (1¼ M.) from
Bâb Diwân, ½ fr.; with two horses, ¾ or 1 fr.; per hr. (one horse) 1 fr. 30,
(two horses) 1 fr. 50 or 1 fr. 70 c.; half-day (6 hrs.) 5½, 7, or 9 fr.; day
(12 hrs.) 9, 12, or 15 fr.
Diligence Office (p. 173) in the theatre (Pl. C, 3).—Motor Cars,
for excursions, at Garage Pasquier, Rue Lamoricière (100–150 fr. per day);
Central Garage, Rue Charles-Quint.
The Sights may be visited in 2–3 hrs.
Sfax, Arabic Sfakês (pop. 70,000, incl. 6400 Europeans, of
whom 3100 are Italians and 1300 Maltese), the second-largest town
in Tunisia, is also its chief seaport next to Tunis. It lies on the
shallow N. shore of the Gulf of Gabes, adjacent to the Kerkenna
Banks and opposite the Kerkenna Islands (p. 405). Many of the
natives live in small houses outside the town, amidst the beautiful
orchards which girdle Sfax for nearly 10 M. around. Beyond the
gardens lies the olive-zone, like them artificially irrigated, covering
some 500 acres, and numbering three million trees. It lies chiefly
in the Terres Sialines, a region named after the Siala family, but
now owned by the state. After the Arab incursions it became a
mere desert, but modern cultivation has restored its ancient prosperity.
Sfax owes its rapid rise to the export of olive-oil, almonds,
figs, and vegetables from the interior, dates from the Djerid (p. 386),
alfa from the steppes, of which cables are made in the Kerkenna
Islands, and above all to its trade in the phosphates of Metlaoui
(p. 386) and Redeyef (p. 372). It is important also as a fish-market
and as a mart for the sponges of the bay, especially from the Kerkenna
banks. In the sponge-fishery Greeks, Maltese, and Sicilians
vie with the Kerkenna islanders.
381Sfax, the ancient Taparura, which was one of the smallest seaports
on the bay of Gabes, is of little historical note. In the first half of the
12th cent. it fell, along with Mehdia (p. 369), into the hands of the Normans
(p. 323), and in 1539 it was occupied for a time by the Spaniards,
who possessed also the Kerkenna Islands. Its harbour was much benefited
by the French occupation of Algeria, as the caravans from the
Sudan thereafter went to Sfax, Gabes, and Tripoli (p. 406). It was not
till 1832 that Christian merchants were allowed to settle outside the Bâb
Diwân, the sea-gate. When the French arrived in 1881 Sfax, like Kairwan,
was a camp of the warlike nomads of central and S. Tunisia, owing to
whose resistance the town had to suffer a bombardment and to pay a war-indemnity
of 15 million francs. For that disaster and for the decline of
its trade with inland Africa the colonization of the environs and the
improvement of the harbour (1895–7) have since made amends.
From the open roads at the end of the Kerkenna inlet, where
larger vessels formerly had to anchor, a Harbour Canal, 2952 yds.
in length and 44 in breadth, now leads into the Bassin (Pl. D, E,
4) of 25 acres, adjoining which is the Bassin des Torpilleurs
(Pl. C, D, 4). On the quay bordering the town, 492 yds. long, are
the Douane and two large warehouses. On the N.E. quay are the
stores of the phosphate railway, whence ships are loaded by means
of a long shoot. The Chenal pour petits Bateaux connects the
main harbour with the small Darse (Pl. B, 4), the harbour for
fishing-boats.
The mud-banks between the new harbour and the old quay (now
Boul. de France) have been artificially raised and converted into
an area of 50 acres for building. The projected new quarter, with
its straight and shadeless streets, has made little progress as yet.
Between it and the older suburb, built since 1832, are the Avenue
de Paris and the palm-avenue of the Boulevard de France (Pl. B,
C, 3), where most of the public buildings are situated.
In the Ave. de Paris are the Contrôle Civil (Pl. 1; C, 3), the
Post Office (Pl. 6; C, 3), and the Hôtel de Ville (Pl. C, 3). The last
has a small museum (open daily except Sun.) containing Roman
antiquities, mostly from Thænæ (p. 383). Among the mosaics are
fishing scenes, Arion on the dolphin, and Pugilists.
Beyond the E. end of the Boul. de France and the Place Carnot
(Pl. C, 2) lies the Jewish Quarter. The Boul. de France leads to
the W., past the Rue de la République, the chief business street of
the new quarters, to the Marché aux Céréales (Pl. B, 3), which
may be reached also by the Rue Victor-Hugo. Near this, adjoining
the harbour of the fishing-boats, is the Marché (Pl. B, 3, 4) for
pottery, where the large ‘jarres d’huile’, made chiefly by the
Metellits (p. 380), resemble the ancient amphoræ.
The picturesque but not over-clean old town is still enclosed
by its battlemented *Town Walls, with their numerous towers
382and bastions. The fortifications next the sea, the Kasba (Pl. A, 3;
barracks, no admittance) and the Bordj en-Nar (Pl. C, 2), were
the chief objects of attack by the French ships and troops in 1881.
The old town is entered by the Bâb Djedid (Pl. A, 3), the Bâb
Diwân (Pl. B, 2), at the end of the Rue de la République, and the
new Porte Delcassé (Pl. B, 2; 1903). Its main streets are the Rue
de la Grande-Mosquée, the shortest way to the Souks (see below),
and the Rue du Bey (Pl. B, 2, 1).
In the Rue des Aïssaouas (No. 12), a few paces to the right of
the Rue du Bey, is the Zaouïa Sidi ben-Aïssa (p. 373), with its
fine portal. The castigations practised by the sect may be seen
here on Fridays, from 2.30 to 5 p.m.
In the Rue de la Driba, the third street to the right off the Rue
du Bey, No. 4, on the left, is the Driba (Pl. 2; B, 2), a fine type
of an aristocratic mansion, with a picturesque colonnaded court on
the first floor (fee ½ fr.). Opposite, at No. 5 Rue Régulus, one of
the Portals has the geometric ornamentation so common in every
part of the town.
At the end of the Rue de la Grande-Mosquée rises the venerable
Chief Mosque (Pl. B, 2), with its square whitewashed minaret,
whose upper half is of the 13th century. The main façade recalls
Syrian types (Kalat Simân), and the ten arcades of the interior are
like those of the Sidi Okba mosque (p. 374).
Just beyond the mosque are the Souks, or markets. Their
centre is the vaulted Souk des Etoffes (Pl. B, 2), with a large
assortment of ‘gadrouns’, the chief garment of the people of Sfax,
blankets from Gafsa, etc. Its continuation, the Rue des Teinturiers,
leads to the Bâb Djebli (Pl. A, 1), the picturesque N.W. gate.
To the right the town-wall is skirted by the Rue des Forgerons
(Pl. B, 1), with its balconies. To the left, Rue Abd el-Kader 62, is
the law-court of the Ouzara (Pl. A, 1; sits Wednesday and Saturday
forenoons), with a pretty court.
Outside Bâb Djebli is the bustling cattle-market, enclosed by
fondouks or caravanserais, where we have a pretty view of several
saints’ tombs and palm-shaded gardens.
A pleasant glimpse of the country and its inhabitants is afforded by
a drive to the Toual el-Chridi (tariff, see p. 380; but bargain advisable).
Beyond the Bâb Djebli we pass the large Feskias, or rain-water reservoirs,
and then numerous Nasrias or small cisterns. The *Orchard Zone
extends about 5 M. inland. Passing through olive-groves and flanked
with straight rows of trees the road ascends to the (13½ M.) Toual el-Chridi
(433 ft.), a hill with a geometric signal, a kind of pyramid in
steps, where we have an extensive view stretching to the sea.
On the road to Gabes (p. 389), beyond the S.W. suburb of Picville
and the Rond-Point, is the Jardin Public, watered by large basins, with
the Jardin d’Essai, or botanic garden.
In the sea, nearly 1 M. outside the harbour, is a Biological Station
for the promotion of the sponge-culture (comp. p. 381).
From Sfax to Gafsa and Metlaoui, see R. 60; to Djerba, see R. 62;
to Tunis by sea, see R. 64; to Tripoli and Malta, see R. 64.
383
151 M. Narrow Gauge Railway (Comp. des Phosphates et du Chemin
de Fer de Gafsa), in 9¾–10¼ hrs. (27 fr. 20, 20 fr. 65, 14 fr. 60 c.); to Gafsa,
127 M., in 8–9 hrs. (22 fr. 95, 17 fr. 45, 12 fr. 30 c.; return-ticket, valid for
5 days, 32 fr. 15, 24 fr. 40, 17 fr. 20 c.). Railway Restaurant at Graïba
only; it is advisable to take provisions.
Sfax, see p. 380. The train skirts the inland side of the town
and then runs to the S.W., near the coast. To the left rises the
lighthouse of Râs Tina (p. 405), near the ruins of Thaenae, once
the chief harbour for the export of olive-oil from the interior.
18 M. Oued-Chaffar. 22½ M. Maharès (pop. 1000), a fishing
village and market for the Mehadla Tribe, is the last fruit-tree
oasis to the S.W. of Sfax. Above it rises an old fortified Bordj.
On the left, close to the shore, near the Gabes road (R. 62), is seen
the castle of Ounga, with its eight towers, which is said to have
been built by the knights of Malta (p. 398).
Leaving the coast the train runs to the W., through an almost
uninhabited sandy waste, to (39½ M.) Graïba (Rail. Restaurant),
from which a diligence plies to Gabes (p. 389).
In the distance appears the bare S. Tunisian hill-country, with
Jebel Bou-Hedma (2559 ft.). On the left lie the flats of the large
Sebkha en-Nouaïl.
61 M. Mezzouna, at the N. base of Jebel Mezzouna (1329 ft.),
where alfa abounds. 76½ M. Maknassi (hotel), a village of colonists,
with olive-groves, and an important alfa station, lies in
the Bled Maknassi, a monotonous plain on the N. spurs of Jebel
Maknassi (1332 ft.). To the N.W. appears Jebel Majora (2871 ft.).
98 M. Sened (1575 ft.), the highest point on the line, with large
alfa-stacks, is the station for Sened (1706 ft.), a village 5 M. to
the S.E., on the olive-clad slope of Jebel Biadha (3248 ft.).
We now descend through cactus plantations, and in spring
through corn-fields, to the Bled el-Hamra, a lofty plain to the N.
of Jebel Oum el-Alleg (3839 ft.), in the territory of the great nomadic
tribe of the Hamama. 110½ M. Aïn-Zannouch, the only
station with good drinking-water. On the right are extensive dunes,
formed by disintegration.
The train rounds Jebel Orbata (p. 385) and then enters the
valley of the Oued Baïech.
127 M. Gafsa.—The Station (about 1000 ft.) lies on the left bank
of the stream, 2¼ M. to the S.E. of the old town (diligence twice daily
in ½ hr.).
Hotels.Hôtel de France, Place de la Kasba, R. 3–5, B. ¾, déj.
or D. 3, pens. 8–10, omn. 1 fr., plain; Buffet-Hôtel, at the station.
Post & Telegraph Office, Place de la Poste.
Carriages (limited in number), 20–25 fr. per day; to Tebessa (p. 315)
or to Kairwan (p. 372) 120 fr.—Diligence to Tebessa, see p. 318.—Horse
or Mule (3–5 fr. per day), best obtained through the Contrôle Civil, where
tickets for the mosques also are obtained.
384Gafsa (1067 ft.; pop. 4500, incl. about 1000 Jews and 360 Europeans),
the ancient Capsa, is a peaceful little oasis-town, with two
hot springs (88–91½° Fahr.) and several cold, rising in or near the
river-bed. The old town lies on the edge of the plateau, on the right
bank of the Oued Baïech, which almost everywhere else is dry. It has
formed a valley about 3 M. broad, between Jebel Orbata (3839 ft.;
p. 385), on the E., and the spurs of Jebel Bou-Ramli (3609 ft.)
on the N.W., this being the only considerable pass between the
S. Tunisian steppe and the shotts (p. 320). The town is sheltered
by Jebel Ben-Younès (3002 ft.) and Jebel Assalah from the cold
N.W. and N. winds, and like El-Kantara (p. 276) is a portal of the
desert. Its mild climate and beautiful oasis render it a fine winter
residence for persons of moderate requirements.
Capsa is said to be one of the oldest towns in the interior of Tunisia.
Owing to its remote situation in the extreme southern part of his dominions
Jugurtha (p. 321) made it one of his headquarters and his treasury; but
one morning at dawn, after a nine days’ march from Lares (p. 360), so
graphically described by Sallust, it was surprised by Marius and razed to
the ground in 106. Under Augustus the town was still in ruins, yet in the
2nd cent. it vied with Thelepte (Feriana, p. 371) as one of the wealthiest
towns in S. Tunisia. Through Capsa ran the important caravan-routes
between Tebessa and Gabes, those to Feriana, Sbeïtla, and Susa, and
viâ Tozeur to the Limes Tripolitanus (p. 412). With the exception of the
Piscinæ (see below) all the Roman structures have been demolished for
modern building purposes. The town-walls were rebuilt by Solomon
(p. 315) in Justinian’s reign, and in the Moorish period were succeeded
by a triple mud-built wall, of which scarcely a trace is left. The Byzantine
citadel, built of Roman materials, was succeeded by the Moorish
Kasba, which the French have now converted into barracks. Since the
entry of the French troops in 1881 the mosques have been regarded as
desecrated.
From the new Gafsa-Gare quarter a street leads to the Oued
Baïech, crosses it, where native washerwomen and thirsty camels
often present an entertaining scene, and ascends on the border of
the oasis (p. 385) to the old town, dominated by groups of palm-trees
and two minarets.
The large Champ de Foire and the Fondouk (p. 281), on the
E. side of the town, are full of life when caravans arrive with their
dates from the Djerid (p. 386). The corn-market in the Halle aux
Grains also is of some importance.
From the Place du Marché (market on Wednesday), at the S.
end of the Champ de Foire, the Rue du Gén.-Philebert leads through
the town to the Place de la Kasba. Here, on the W. side, rises the
Kasba, with its towers and white pinnacled walls, once the chief
sight at Gafsa, but now the barracks of military convicts. View
from the Poste Optique (adm. on application). The Jewish Quarter
with its narrow streets, lies to the N.E. of the Place de la Kasba,
on the N. side of the town.
The dilapidated Roman Piscinæ (Arabic Termid, from ‘thermæ’)
are still used as baths. The Jewish Bath is fed by the Kasba
385spring. The largest basins, supplied by the hot spring outside the
Kasba and chiefly used by the Moslems, are in the Dâr el-Bey, to
the S.E. of the Place de la Kasba. The men’s bath (Termid er-Rayel),
where the children love to dive for sou-pieces, is worth seeing. In
the beautifully clear water tiny fish (Chromis, occurring also in the
underground waters of the Sahara), little black snakes, and small
tortoises disport themselves among the bathers.
A little to the S. of the Piscinæ are the Souks. Foremost among
their wares are bright-coloured blankets (frechias), burnouses, and
carpets (guétifs), mostly made by the Hamamas (p. 383).
The Sidi Yakûb Mosque (Grande Mosquée), to the S.W. of the
Dâr el-Bey, one of the oldest in Tunisia, is noteworthy for its
interior with nave and eighteen aisles, in the style of the Sidi Okba
mosque at Kairwan (p. 374). The minaret, especially towards
evening, affords a charming *View of the town and the oasis, and
of the finely shaped hills and the yellow desert to the S.
The **Oasis, nearly 4 sq. M. in area, the richest and greenest
palm-oasis in all Barbary, offers many delightful walks. Most of
the paths conveniently overlook the little gardens lying below them,
watered by numerous runlets from the Piscinæ.
In the shade of the palms grow apricots, peaches, figs, pomegranates,
quinces, almonds, pears, and olives, and here and there oranges and lemons.
The vine, with its vigorous and picturesque tendrils, climbs up the palm
trees or the nettle-trees (Celtis australis) planted for its support, yielding
ripe grapes as early as June. Below all these trees the soil is carpeted,
in the cooler season, with vegetables, melons, wheat, and barley. The W.
margin of the oasis, however, where water is scarce, yields olives only.
Fine points of view are the hill of Sidi Bou-Yahia, crowned
with a kubba, on the N.W. margin of the oasis, the Ksour Nala,
a spur of Jebel Ben-Younès, and, separated from the latter by the
depression of the Foum el-Maza, Jebel Assalah, whence we survey
also the steppe stretching to the N. to Jebel Sidi Aïch.
From Gafsa to Maâjen Bel-Abbès (Feriana), see p. 372; viâ Feriana
to Tebessa, see p. 318.
A Road leads to the S.E. viâ the olive-oasis of El-Ksar to (3¾ M.)
Leïla, a charming little palm-oasis; then, aside from the Sebkha d’el-Guettar,
to (12½ M.) El-Guettar (952 ft.; two caravanserais; pop. 1800),
a palm and olive oasis at the S. base of Jebel Orbata (3839 ft.; fine view
from the Poste Optique; ascent by bridle-path 2½–3 hrs.). The route from
El-Guettar to (83 M.) Gabes (p. 389), leading almost all the way through
an arid wilderness, is fit only for those who are used to fatigue and
privations. (Poor quarters at Bir Saâd and El-Haffey only.)
Beyond Gafsa the train crosses the Oued Baïech and beyond
the oasis it enters the sandy and stony waste between the salt-marsh
Garaet el-Oglal (on the right) and the chain of Jebel Rosfa (1411 ft.)
and Jebel Jellabia (1346 ft.; to the S.). Beyond the dry bed of
the Oued Melah the long range of Jebel Tarfaoui (p. 388) appears
far to the left.
386We skirt the S. base of Jebel Stah (2953 ft.), Jebel Tarfai
(2166 ft.), and Jebel Metlaoui (1805 ft.), all rich in phosphates.
These hills, overgrown with alfa-grass only, are, like those near
Gafsa, a favourite haunt of the gazelle; the maned sheep (p. 277)
also occurs.
151 M. Metlaoui (643 ft.; Hôt. Rey, R., déj., D., 3 fr. each,
quite good), Arabic Metlâwi, on the S. slope of Jebel Seldja,
not far from the Oued Seldja (p. 372), lies in the heart of the S.
Tunisian phosphate-region, which extends to Redeyef (p. 372), to
Aïn-Moularès (p. 372), and to Jebel Mrata on the Algerian frontier.
The phosphate is detached from the hill-sides by blasting (foudroyage)
and then spread out to dry on the ground, where it is
turned over several times by ploughs. The works employ about
5000 hands, mostly Italians and natives, and yield about 800,000
tons per annum. Adm. to the ‘Grande Recette’ of the works by
leave of M. Bursaux, the manager.
Interesting walk or drive to the (3 M.) *Gorges du Seldja, a wild
rocky defile (about 4½ M. long) between Jebel Seldja and Jebel Alima
(2559 ft.).
For the new railways to Henchir Souatir, Redeyef, and Aïn-Moularès,
see p. 372.
Road viâ (35½ M.) Tozeur to (51 M.) Nefta (railway to the former
under construction). A carriage may be hired at one of the inns at
Metlaoui, but as the road is bad a mule is preferable. It is best to ride
direct to Tozeur (carrying provisions, wine, etc.). Nefta may be visited
from Tozeur, El-Oudiane best on the way back from Tozeur to Metlaoui
(early start required).
The *Djerid (Arabic Belad el-Jerid), the narrow isthmus between
the Chott Djérid (65–80 ft. above the sea), the largest salt-marsh in Barbary,
and the Chott Rharsa (65 ft. below sea-level), with its four picturesque
oases of Tozeur, Nefta, El-Oudiane, and El-Hamma (du Djérid),
is the largest date-palm region in N. Africa. The number of palm-trees
is estimated at about a million, but nearly half belong to the ‘hakhana’,
an unfruitful species. The yield of dates is 12½–15,000 tons annually,
of which 500 tons only are of the transparent variety. They are exported
chiefly viâ Gafsa and Sfax. The mildness of the climate (p. 321) adapts
Tozeur in particular for winter residence, but malaria is prevalent in
summer. The population (about 30,000), which is said to have included
scattered remnants of Christian communities down to the 18th cent., is
chiefly of Berber origin, but with the Arab nature fully developed.
Metlaoui, see above. The road leads to the S.W., through an
almost bare waste, at first near the left bank of the Seldja and then
down its dry bed.
15½ M. Bordj Gouïfla (269 ft.; no drinking-water), a deserted
caravanserai, lies at the junction of the Gafsa road, beyond the influx
of the Oued Seldja into the Oued Melah (p. 387). We then
skirt the spurs of Jebel Tarfaoui (p. 388). The road to El-Oudiane
(p. 388) branches to the left.
387Not far from the delta of the Oued Melah we near the Chott
Rharsa, which in the hot season is reduced to a few streamlets
and pools, and next reach the E. border of (30 M.) the oasis of El-Hamma
du Djérid (164 ft.; Bordj, quarters 1 fr.). This oasis,
the smallest in the Djerid, with 900 inhab., about 54,000 palms,
and a few olive-trees, has of late had mud-walls (tabias) built to
shelter it from sand-drift. The Hammâm, a piscina in a kind of
palm-hut, whose water (109° Fahr.) is in high favour with the
natives, is of Roman origin.
The road crosses the (32½ M.) downs of Drah Tozeur or Drâht
en-Nadour (269 ft.), and reveals a striking *View of the green
oasis of Tozeur and the glittering surface of the Chott Djérid.
35½ M. Tozeur (197 ft.; Hôt. Bellevue, R. 3, B. ½, déj. or
D. 3 fr., unpretending, with attentive landlady; pop. 10,000, incl.
65 Europeans), the ancient Tusuros, Arabic Tûzer, is the seat of
the authorities of the Djerid. The houses, mostly one-storied, built
of crude (tobs) and burned bricks, have a peculiar geometric ornamentation
in brick network, which differentiates them from most
of those in the other oases. The Souks are less important than
those of Nefta (see below). Interesting *Views are obtained from
the minarets of the Zaouïa Sidi Abid and the new Sidi Mouldi
Mosque (tickets at the Contrôle Civil).
The *Oasis, which is hardly inferior to that of Gafsa in richness and
variety of vegetation (p. 385), contains about 420,000 palms. Several hours
may be pleasantly spent in riding to the chief points of interest. Leaving
the town we ride to the W., viâ Chabia village, with its curious huts
of palm-logs, to the Râs el-Aïoun, where 194 springs unite to form the
Oued el-Mechta. We then skirt the S.W. border of the oasis and descend
viâ the villages of Zaouïet-Sahraoui, Djehim or Djem, and Abbas or
Abbès to the kubba of Sidi Ali Bou-Lifa, near the shott, with a huge
and venerable lotus-tree. Thence we should return to Djehim and ride
to Bled el-Adhar, a village in the W. half of the oasis. The interesting
mosque here, the oldest in the Djerid, stands on the site of a
Roman temple, which is said to have been converted into a Christian
basilica. The *Mihrâb, or prayer-niche, unfortunately whitewashed, dating
from 1194, is most elegantly decorated in stucco. We return thence to
Tozeur, where the half-dead lotus-tree and the little mosques present a
picturesque bit of scenery.
A Road, with fine points of view, leads from Tozeur to the W.,
viâ Chabia (see above) and along the S. margin of the dunes of
Koudiat Oum el-Arouah (558 ft.), to (51 M.) Nefta (200–300 ft.;
Djerid Hotel, R. 3–4, B. 1, déj. or D. 3–4, pens. 8–10 fr., quite good;
carr. at the Khalifa’s only; pop. 14,000, incl. many Jews but only
a few Europeans), the Roman Aggarsel Nepte. The houses resemble
those of Tozeur in style, but blocks of gypsum from the
vicinity also have been used as building-material. We are struck
with the great number of small mosques and zaouïas, among which
is the zaouïa of the Kadria (p. 361), the most important in S. Tunisia
and a religious house of the Rahmania order. The souks,
which are much patronized by the Sahara caravans, offer all the
388products of the Djerid, such as white frechias (p. 385), burnouses
(‘djeridi’), silk haiks, etc.
Before riding through the *Oasis (2–3 hrs.; mule with guide 3–4 fr.),
the finest in the Djerid, with its 187,000 palms, we proceed from the
souks to the so-called *Corbeille (Arabic Kasr el-Aïn, ‘castle of the
springs’), a grand gorge in the middle of the town, where the copious
springs (152, it is said) unite to form a brook. We then ride to the N.W.,
past the Zaouïa of the Kadria (p. 387) and along the mud-walls (p. 387),
to the Parcelle Forestière (fine view), or to the Poste Douanier, another
good point of view. We then return, past the mosque of Sidi Merzoug
and the palm-garden of Ghitane ech-Chorfa, to the Barrage, a Roman
dam below the Corbeille (at the weir, a little lower, good bathing-place),
and visit the elegant kubba of Sidi Bou-Ali, in the heart of the oasis.
El-Oudiane, the eastmost oasis of the Djerid, with 6000 inhab.
distributed among six villages, lies 6¼ M. to the N.E. of Tozeur
and 3 M. to the E. of El-Hamma (p. 387), on the slope of Jebel Bou-Hellal
(624 ft.), the W. offshoot of Jebel Tarfaoui (1821 ft.). This
oasis, 4½ M. long, watered by a number of small springs, possesses
about 185,000 palms and 25,000 olive-trees, while numerous orange
and lemon trees add a special charm. The chief village is Deggach
(180 ft.; pop. 3000), built partly of stone. Thence we ride past
Zaouïet el-Arab, with its minaret (fine view), and Kriz, on the
slope of Jebel Nadour (519 ft.), to the walled village of Cedadda
(230 ft.). At Guebba, a village adjoining Kriz, close to the shott,
are some Roman ruins.
The Trik el-Oudiania, a caravan route once used by the Romans
but sometimes impassable after heavy winter rains, leads from Kriz across
the Chott Djérid, to the S.E., to the Caïdat du Nefzaoua, a part of the
S. Territories (p. 390) between the shott and the Erg Oriental (p. 285).
The first oasis beyond the salt-marshes is (30½ M.) Debabcha, on the
peninsula of that name. 43 M. Telmine, the ancient Turris Tamaleni,
was the westmost frontier-fortress on the Limes Tripolitanus (p. 412).
47 M. Kebilli (quarters in the Bordj), the ancient Vepillium (?), is now
the chief town in the Nefzaoua, with 5000 inhab., a market well attended
by the Sahara caravans, and the finest palm-oasis in this region.
Roads lead from Kebilli: (1) To the N.E., through the waterless sandy
waste between the Chott el-Fedjedj (p. 389) and Jebel Tebaga (1608 ft.) and
past (9½ M.) Limagues and (34½ M.) Oglet Nakhla, to (53 M.) El-Hamma
(quarters at the Bordj), the ancient Aquae Tacapitanae, with hot springs
(118° Fahr.) and a charming palm-oasis; then past the S. base of Jebel Dissa
(492 ft.; Poste Optique) to (74 M.) Gabes (p. 389).—(2) To the S.E., through
the desert on the S. side of Jebel Tebaga (see above), past Henchir Bou-Garfa
and Tamezred, to (about 68 M.) Matmata-Kebira (p. 391).
High Road from Graïba viâ (52 M.) Gabes to (101 M.) Médenine.
Diligence to Gabes, in 9 hrs. (starting at 11.30 p.m., returning at 5.15 p.m.);
thence to Médenine, in 8 hrs. Roads from Médenine to the two starting-points
for the island of Djerba: one viâ (37½ M.) Zarzis to (52 M.) Marsa
el-Kantara; the other viâ (17½ M.) Djorf Bou-Grara to (30 M.) Marsa
el-Adjim.—Roads from El-Kantara (15½ M.) and El-Adjim (14 M.) to
Houmt-Souk.
389A motor-car should be hired from Sfax (p. 380) to Médenine, or all
the way to Marsa el-Kantara. Or we may drive thither from Graïba,
by carr. previously ordered from Gabes. At Médenine it is advisable to
telegraph to Houmt-Souk for a carr. to meet the traveller at El-Kantara
(or El-Adjim, as the case may be).—Houmt-Souk is a steamboat-station
between Tunis and Tripoli (comp. R. 64).
From Sfax to Graïba (39½ M.; railway in ca. 2 hrs.; fares
7 fr. 5, 5 fr. 35, 3 fr. 80 c.), see p. 383.
The Road leads to the S. from Graïba to (5½ M.) Archichina,
a caravanserai on the W. side of the Sour Kenis Bay, where we
join the main road from Sfax. It then traverses a desolate sandy
waste on the W. side of the Gulf of Gabes (p. 405), inland from
the little seaport Skira (for the alfa trade).
On the (28 M.) Oued Akarit we enter the province of Arad.
Between Jebel Roumana (564 ft.) and Jebel Dissa (p. 388), offshoots
of the hills around the shott region, extends the flat Isthmus
of Gabes, 12½ M. broad, bridging the space between the bay and
the Chott el-Fedjedj (76 ft. above sea-level), the E. continuation
of the Chott Djérid (p. 386). In 1873 Ferd. de Lesseps (p. 437)
suggested that, by cutting a canal through the isthmus, the whole
of the shotts, as far as the Chott Melrir (p. 284), might be converted
into a great inland sea; but several of them lie much above
the sea-level.
34 M. Domaine de Oued-Melah, an olive and palm oasis
(10,000 palms), on a brook generally dry, is partly watered by the
oldest artesian wells in Tunisia (1885).
To the right, a little off the road to Gafsa (p. 383), lie the palm-oases
of Oudref and El-Methouia, and to the left Ghennouch.
Near the (49½ M.) poor oasis of Bou-Chemma we join the road
from Kebilli (p. 388).
Our road leads through the palm-oasis of Gabes (p. 390) and
past Djara (p. 390) to (52 M.) Gabès-Port.
Gabes.—Arrival by Sea (comp. R. 64). The steamers anchor in
the open roads (at low-tide over ½ M. from the fishing-boat harbour).
Landing or embarking, especially in summer, in N.E. or E. wind, is
often impossible.
Hotels (comp. p. 324; sometimes crowded with motorists in spring).
Grand-Hôtel, Hôt. des Voyageurs, both at Gabès-Port, ½ M. from the
pier.
Cab from the pier to Gabès-Port 40 c. (for several pers. 20 c. each);
one hour 1½ fr., each addit. ¼ hr. 25 c.; day of 10 hrs. 10–12 fr.; carr.
and four horses, for long excursions, 20 fr. a day.
British Consular Agent, C. Calleja.
Gabes or Gabès (Europ. pop. 900, mostly Italians and Maltese;
total, incl. oasis, 10,200), the ancient Tacape, the chief harbour on
the stretch of coast called Emporia by the Greeks and a rival of
Leptis Magna and Tripoli (comp. p. 407), is now the capital of the
390Arad and headquarters for the S. Territories, which are still under
military rule. It is the only harbour of importance on the S. coast
of the Gulf of Gabes (p. 405). The chief exports are the sponges
of the bay, alfa or esparto grass, dates, and woollen goods. In
the war annals of 1881 the bombardment of Gabes from Menzel
(see below) and the protracted resistance of the inland tribes are
memorable. It was here that Gen. Logerot intercepted the tribes
of the E. coast who tried to pass through the Arad to Tripolitania.
The small Harbour, for fishing-boats only, at the mouth of the
Oued Gabes, protected by two stone piers, is exposed to every
wind and choked with sand.
To the N.W. of the estuary, on the border of the oasis, which
is here protected from sand-drift by palisades, rise low dunes; to
the S.E., near the lighthouse, is an admirable bathing-beach.
The modern Gabès-Port, adjoining the Camp Militaire, contains
no attraction except the garden of the Cercle Militaire. It
is garrisoned with 160 native horsemen (Spahis or Cavaliers du
Maghzen), who guard the Tripolitanian frontier of the S. Territories.
The tradespeople are mostly Jews.
Beyond Gabès-Port, also on the barren right bank of the river,
lie the large Berber villages, partly built of Roman materials, of
Djara (Grand-Djara; pop. 3500) and Menzel (pop. 4500, incl.
about 1000 Jews). The market-place of Djara, a square enclosed
by primitive arcades with shops, is frequented chiefly by the
S. Algerian caravans.
Almost the only sight of Gabes is the beautiful, but in summer
malarious *Oasis, once somewhat over-praised by Pliny, which
extends 3¾ M. up the left bank of the river and is 1–1¼ M. in
breadth. Among the remarkably tall and well-grown date-palms
(about 200,000) are many bananas and other fruit-trees. The river
and the small channels, often enlivened by women washing or carrying
water, are crossed by numerous bridges of palm-logs. A walk
or ride to the most interesting spots takes 3–4 hrs. (mule 2–3 fr.).
From Menzel we go upstream to the Barrage du Sidi el-Bey
(1894), and past the remains of a Roman Dam, built of huge
blocks, to the Râs el-Oued (213 ft.), a hill at the W. end of the
oasis often covered with clouds of dust, where the principal feeders
of the river, 30 in all, form a number of waterfalls. Turning here,
we follow the largest irrigation-conduit to the village of Chenini
(pop. 1000) and cross the Sfax road (p. 382) to the N.W. half of
the oasis, where many of the palms are overgrown with vines.
The *Monts des Ksour (p. 320), bordering the Sahara on the S.
side of the Arad, are well worth visiting from Gabes or from Médenine
(p. 391; carr. tariff, see p. 389; an ample supply of food and rugs advisable;
comp. also p. 278). These barren hills culminate in Kef Toudjane
(p. 391), which is almost everywhere conspicuous from the coast, and Jebel
Smerten (each about 2100 ft.), and in Kef Demeur or Jebel Demmer (2460 ft.).
391The inhabitants, the Troglodytes of antiquity (see p. 320), are, in the
N.W. part, the Matmatas, on the plateau of that name, and, in the S.,
members of the Ouerghamma League, Berber tribes which for centuries
withstood the attacks of the Arabs and the predatory Sahara nomads.
They still often live in caverns, with a court resembling a shaft as the
centre of their dwelling, and cavities used as side-rooms or offices. The
gardens, laboriously irrigated by dams and cisterns, yield olives, dates,
and figs; in the valleys grain, chiefly barley, and vegetables are cultivated.
The Matmatas often go to Tunis as porters or artisans but always return
home in their old age.
A glimpse of this region is obtained by driving from Gabes to (28 M.)
Matmata-Kebira or Kalaâ-Matmata (1838 ft.; p. 388; quarters at the
Kaïd’s), on the Matmata plateau, whence an excursion (on mule-back)
should, if possible, be taken to the picturesque rock-village of Hadege.
A new but very hilly road leads from Matmata-Kebira through the mountains
viâ (12½ M.) Toudjane (919 ft.), a village grandly situated on the
slopes of Kef Toudjane (2090 ft.), direct to (37½ M.) Métameur (see
below).
The Médenine Road (diligence, see p. 388) now leads to the
S.E. through a steppe-like hill-country, fringing the Monts des
Ksour (p. 390) and intersected by many valleys, passing the small
oases of Menara (200 ft.) and (55 M.) Teboulbou (artesian wells;
much olive-culture). Next come the valleys of the Oued Merzig and
Oued Ferd, with the small oasis of (56 M.) Ketena.
74 M. Mareth (Bordj), a large palm-oasis on the Oued Mareth.
We then cross the Oued Zigraou to (77 M.) Aram. Beyond the
spurs of Jebel Touati and Jebel Souinia rises the main range of
the Monts des Ksour (p. 390).
Beyond the valleys of the Oued Zeus and Oued Hallouf the
road rounds Jebel Tadjera (968 ft.; Poste Optique). 97½ M.
Métameur, formerly a ‘camp militaire’, on the brook of that name,
below the small oasis and (½ hr.) Berber village of Ksar Métameur
(391 ft.), whose storehouses (rhorfas), with keel-arched vaulting,
recall very ancient buildings in Asia Minor.
101 M. Médenine (361 ft.; Médenine Hôtel, R. 2½, B. ½,
déj. 2½ fr., good; pop. 1000, incl. 100 Europeans), capital of the
Ouerghamma (see above), the league of the Berber tribes Khezour,
Touazine, Ouderna, and Accara. The high-lying Camp Militaire,
with its garrison of Spahis (p. 390) and Infanterie Légère d’Afrique
(‘Joyeux’), is the largest on the Tripolitanian frontier.
The deserted and ruinous *Ksar, in a small palm-oasis, consists
of a great number of the old storehouses of the League, some
of them in four or five stories, now replaced by retbas or rabtas
(p. 338). They are dug deeply in the hill-side, and are accessible
only by stairs of mud or stepping-stones.
Travellers used to privations and content with such poor quarters
as the natives can offer may, after consulting the military authorities
at Médenine, visit the S. part of the Monts des Ksour (p. 390). The best
centre there is (34 M.) Tatahouine, the seat of the military and civil
392authorities, with an important market, well attended by caravans on
their way from the Sahara and the Sudan by way of Ghadâmes in Tripolitania
(p. 285). The chief villages of the cave-dwellers (Ksûr) near
this are Tlalet, formerly Talalati, a frontier-fortress on the Limes Tripolitanus
(p. 412), Beni-Barca, *Chenini, and *Douirat (2090 ft.).
The Zarzis Road (37½ M.) descends to the E. from Médenine
through the sandy coast-plain to (15½ M.) Aïn-Mader, near the
saline marshes of that name on the S. bank of the Mer de Bou-Grara
(see below), and then traverses the hill-region of the Accara tribe
(p. 391), between the sea and the large Sebkha el-Melah.
To the left, a little off the road, 4 M. from Zarzis, are the ruins
of the little Roman town of Zita, now Zian, where the small
forum is still enclosed with the remains of its colonnade.
37½ M. (or from Graïba 138½ M.) Zarzis (accommodation at
the Bordj), on the site of the Roman seaport Gergis, amidst extensive
olive-groves famed for their oil, has two artesian wells and a small
harbour for fishing-boats. Important sponge-fishery.
A road (the chief route to the island of Djerba) leads to the
N.W. from Zarzis across the Péninsule de Zarzis or des Accara
to (14½ M., or, from Graïba, 153 M.) Marsa el-Kantara, a village
near the Râs Marmor, on the S. side of the E. entrance
(1¼ M. wide) to the Mer de Bou-Grara (see below). The dilapidated
Roman dam which crosses the strait here to El-Kantara is still
used by camel-caravans at low tide (6½ ft. below high-water), but
it is better to cross by fishing-boat. From El-Kantara to Houmt-Souk,
see p. 394.
The Djorf Bou-Grara Route to Djerba is shorter (30 M.) and
will repay antiquarians. The rough road (mule preferable to carr.)
leads from Médenine to the N.E. viâ Bir Saâdou, and then past
some small salt-marshes, to the Mer de Bou-Grara, a large landlocked
bay between the mainland and the island of Djerba, accessible
for large vessels by the Canal d’Adjim only (not quite 1 M.
across; see p. 393). This bay, in which fish abound, and Lake
Bizerta (p. 352) are the best natural harbours in Tunisia.
17½ M. (or from Graïba 118½ M.) Djorf Bou-Grara (no
inn) is near the site of *Gightis, a small Punic-Roman seaport,
which attained great prosperity in the 2nd cent. A.D. The harbour,
which was always shallow at low tide, is now entirely silted up.
Excavations begun in 1896 have revealed the ruins of curiously
cramped and irregular streets, with various public buildings, villas
remarkable for their coloured incrustation and rich mosaics, and
Byzantine houses built of Roman materials.
A broad street ascends from the harbour to the Macellum, with fountain
and exedra similar to those at Timgad (p. 295). The small Forum,
60 by 44 yds., has on the E. side an archway, the Curia, and the Market
Basilica, with the tribunal, while the Severus Arch on the N. side formed
a lateral entrance. On the S. side rises the Capitol (see p. 288), in the
style of the capitol or ‘Jupiter temple’ at Pompeii.
393The Temple of Mercury, to the S. of the forum, has columns in its
peribolos, or outer wall, with curious capitals adorned with cables, in
allusion to the occupation of the founder. The building is curiously
planned, having several small rooms or ‘sacristies’ behind the cella; it
is adjoined by a chapel of Mercury and one of Minerva.
A Temple of Isis (?), a Temple of Hygiea, the Thermae, and a late-Punic
Cemetery also have been unearthed.
If a fishing-boat is available at Djorf Bou-Grara we may sail
direct to Adjim (p. 394; 13½ M. in ca. 1½ hr.). If not, we must
go 12½ M. farther to (30 M., or from Graïba, 131 M.) Marsa el-Adjim
at the Râs el-Djorf, the N. point of the peninsula, opposite
Adjim (1⅓ M. distant; boat in ¼ hr.).
The Island of Djerba (highest point 118 ft.), 17½ by 14 M.,
is the largest on the N. African coast. From the lotus-tree (Zizyphus
Lotus; Arabic nebga, Fr. jujubier), which thrives here,
Homer called it the island of the Lotophagi. It was later named
Meninx and was the birthplace of the Roman emperors Vibius
Gallus and Volusianus (251–3). It is now one of the most fertile
and prosperous regions in Tunisia. Secure in their insularity
against the attacks of the nomadic Arabs, the inhabitants (about
40,000), mostly Berbers of the Kharijite sect (p. 323), have retained
their old language and customs. They vie in industry with their
kinsmen the Mozabites (p. 216) and go forth as traders to all the
seaports of the Orient. Agriculture also thrives. There are 1,300,000
date-palms, 500,000 olive-trees, and as many orange, lemon, and
peach trees; early vegetables too are now largely grown. The
sponge, polypus, and other fisheries and the oyster-beds in the
Canal d’Adjim (p. 392) are very productive.
Djerba has four harbours, Houmt-Souk, Adjim, El-Kantara,
and Aghir. The only towns are Houmt-Souk, Hara-Kebîra, and
Hara-Serîra; the villages are merely local markets for their
districts. The countless little mosques have white domes like most
of the houses, but are distinguished by conspicuous slender minarets
of the Turkish type, resembling lighthouses. The farm-houses
(menzel) scattered throughout the island often have a castellated
appearance. In the entire absence of brooks the soil is irrigated
from cisterns and wells, among which are two very copious artesian
wells. The winter climate (p. 321) is the mildest in Tunisia, but
gales are frequent. For excursions there are few carriages available
(20 fr. per day); the usual conveyance is an araba or country-cart;
for a mule the charge is 4–5, for a donkey 3 fr. per day. The
tourist should beware of the countless scorpions, especially in the
warmer season.
Houmt-Souk (Hôt. de l’Oasis or Crolet; Hôt. de France; Brit.
cons. agent; pop. 5900, incl. 560 Maltese, French, Italians, and
Greeks), the capital of the island, lies on the sandy N. coast, ½ M.
394from the sea and 5 M. from the anchorage of the steamers (comp.
p. 405). The dilapidated Bordj el-Kebîr on the shore recalls the
time of the Spanish domination. Near it is the Christian Cemetery,
where repose the bones, collected in 1848, of the 18,000 Spaniards
who were massacred here in 1560 after the naval victory of Dragut
(p. 370) and Ochiali Pasha, and yielded trophies for the ghastly
Bordj er-Rious (tower of skulls).
In the interesting Souks (Mon. and Thurs.) are seen all the
products of the island. Among the numerous religious buildings
may be named the Mosquée el-Gheriba and the Mosquée des Turcs.
A road leads to the S. from Houmt-Souk to the Jewish villages of
(¾ M.) Hara-Kebîra (pop. 3500) and (4½ M.) Hara-Serîra or Hara-Sghîra
(pop. 1500), where numerous goldsmiths make silver-gilt trinkets
of antique and Byzantine patterns, with enamel and jewels (mostly imitation).
The Gheriba, the synagogue of Hara-Serîra, where, according to
an old tradition, one of the tables of the law of Moses was once found,
is a great resort of Jewish pilgrims from S. Tunisia and Tripolitania,
and is much revered by Moslems and Catholics also.—From Hara-Serîra
the road leads to the S. to (14½ M.) Guallala, the centre of the pottery-manufacture
carried on in Djerba ever since ancient times (oil-jars, porous
water-jugs, vases, etc.). Near it is the hill of Dahrat-Guallala, which
yields the clay.
A road leads to the S.E. from Houmt-Souk viâ Hara-Kebîra (see above)
and (10⅓ M.) Cedouikeche (potteries) to (15½ M.) El-Kantara, the seaport
for Zarzis (p. 392), not far from the extensive but unimportant ruins
of Meninx, the ancient capital of the island.—Another road leads to the
S.W. to (14 M.) Adjim, a rising little seaport and market (Wed.), with
an artesian well 760 ft. deep. To Djorf Bou-Grara (and Gightis), see
p. 392.
Near the E. coast of the island, on the roads to the Râs Taguermess
(p. 406) and the small summer harbour of Aghir, lie the villages of
Midoune (Frid. market) and Mahboubine, with many villas of the
merchants of Houmt-Souk, situated amid palm and olive groves and charming
*Fruit Gardens, where the oranges and lemons blossom in March. On
the road to Midoune is the Mausolée de Borgho, the only intact Roman
monument in the island.
VIII. SEA ROUTES IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. — 63. From Tunis to Malta ( Syracuse ). — 64. From Tunis to Syracuse viâ Sfax, Tripoli, and Malta.
History, 443.—History of Art, 444.—a. Northern Quarters (The Ezbekîyeh Garden, the Muski, Gâmia el-Azhar, Muristân Kalâûn, Gâmia el-Muaiyad), 445.—b. The S.E. Quarters (The Arab Museum, Gâmia Ibn Tulûn, Gâmia Sultân Hasan, Citadel, Gâmia en-Nâsir, Gâmia Mohammed Ali), 450.—c. The New Town (The Ismaîlîyeh and Tewfîkîyeh Quarters, Egyptian Museum, Gezîreh), 454.—d. Environs (The Mameluke Tombs, Heliopolis Oasis, Heliopolis-On, Old Cairo, Pyramids of Gîzeh, Memphis, and Sakkâra), 458.
72.
From Alexandria or Port Said to Beirut (Smyrna, Constantinople) viâ Jaffa
History, 505.—a. Walk from the Palace round the S. side of the Acropolis (The Olympieion, Stadion, Monument of Lysikrates, Theatre of Dionysos, Odeion, Areopagus), 508.—b. The Acropolis (The Temple of Nike, Propylæa, Parthenon. Erechtheion, Acropolis Museum), 512.—c. Walk from the Palace to the Theseion. Dipylon. Hill of the Nymphs. Pnyx. Monument of Philopappos, 520.—d. The Modern Quarters (Academy of Science, University, Library, Polytechnic Institute), 525.—e. The National Archæological Museum, 526.—f. Walks (Lykabettos, Kolonos, New Phaleron), 528.
History, 541.—a. Galata and Pera (Galata Tower, Petits Champs, Dolma Bagcheh Palace, Top Haneh), 542.—b. Stambul (Yeni Valideh Jami, Seraglio, New Museum, Chinili Kiosque, Aya Sophia, Mosque of Ahmed I., Great Bazaar, Mosques of Bayazid, Suleiman the Great, and Mohammed II., Land-Wall), 545.—c. The Golden Horn (Eyub, Sweet Waters), 555.—d. Scutari, 556.—e. The Bosporus, 557.
258 M. Steamers (agents at Tunis, see p. 331; at Malta, see p. 400).
1.Comp. Gén. Transatlantique (Marseilles, Tunis, and Malta line, R. 21)
on Wed. (returning Thurs.) afternoon, in 18 hrs. (55 or 40 fr.).—2.Hungarian
Adria (R. 22) once a month (cabin, without food, 25 fr.).—Other
steamers calling at Malta (P. & O., German Levant cargo-boats, etc.) are
mostly bound for distant ports. Embarking and landing, comp. p. 399.—English
money is the currency at Malta, but French and Italian gold
are in general use.
The steamers follow the Palermo and Naples course (comp.
R. 26) as far as Cape Bon, and then steer to the E.S.E. into the
Straits of Pantelleria or Sicilian Straits (p. xxx).
The island of Pantelleria (p. 154), which is sighted in clear
weather off Cape Bon, is passed by the French steamers at night.
The lighthouse of Spadillo (68 ft.), on the N. E. point of the island,
long remains in sight. The distant Linosa (610 ft.; ancient
Æthusa), with a lighthouse, is visible only in very clear weather.
In the early morning the abrupt coasts of Gozo (p. 403) and
Malta (p. 399) appear in the distance. The vessel rounds the island
of Gozo, whose lighthouse on the Giurdan Hill (499 ft.) on the
N. side, is visible for 27 M.
Beyond Râs el-Kala, the E. point of Gozo, we sight the narrow
Straits of Flieghi or Comino Channels, lying between Gozo and
Malta, and named alter the island of Comino (p. 397).
397On the N. E. coast of Malta, above which soon appears the huge
dome of Musta (p. 403), we pass the Baia di Melleha or Mellieha
Bay, with the pilgrims’ resort of that name in the background,
the St. Paul’s Bay (p. 403), and Salina Bay, with its salt-works.
Next appear the village of St. Julian (San Giuliano), on the
bay of that name, and the town of Sliema (p. 400). We then pass
Fort Tigné (p. 401; lighthouse) and the entrance to the Marsamuscetto
Harbour (p. 399). The entrance of the Grand Harbour,
the chief harbour of Valletta, between Fort St. Elmo (p. 400;
lighthouse) and Fort Ricasoli (p. 401; lighthouse), is protected
against N.E. gales by the new St. Elmo and Ricasoli Breakwaters.—Arrival,
comp. p. 399.
The Maltese Islands (Isŏle Maltesi), composed of tertiary
rock formation, were considered by earlier geographers to belong
to Africa, but are now assigned to Europe. They lie halfway between
the Straits of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, on the chief route
from the Atlantic to the Levant and to India. The principal island
is Malta, with the capital Valletta and many small towns and
villages (casal). It is 20 M. long, 9¾ M. broad, and, at its culminating
point, 847 ft. in height. The island is much over-peopled.
So is the island of Gozo (600 ft.), which measures 10¼ by 5¼ M.;
but Comino (248 ft.), 1¼ by 1 M., is uninhabited. The mean
temperature of the year is 66½° Fahr., of January 53½° (almost
the same as that of Djerba and Tripoli), of August 79½°. Gales,
particularly the dreaded N.E. wind (Gregale), often make a winter
residence in Malta uncomfortable, while the Sirocco (p. 321), here
very moist, is specially trying in autumn.
At first sight the islands seem destitute of vegetation, the fields
and gardens being enclosed by lofty walls, while the growth of
trees is prevented by the violent winds. By means of laborious
tilling and artificial irrigation about a third of the area of the
islands has been converted into luxuriantly fertile arable land.
After the corn and hay harvest in May and June the land is sown
a second time, mostly with cotton, afterwards manufactured in the
interior. Among other valuable products are early vegetables and
potatoes, which yield two crops in the year. The oranges are excellent
but other fruits are scarce. Cattle, poultry, and eggs are
largely imported from Turkey, Tunisia, Tripolitania, and Barca
(p. 412).
The population of Malta (96½ sq. M.), is ca. 184,000, apart
from the garrison (nearly 9000 soldiers); that of Gozo (27 sq. M.)
is 21,200. The British and foreign residents number about 10,000.
The natives, especially in the seaports, Phœnician in origin, are
398partly descended from the various races that have here held sway.
The lingua Maltese is akin to Arabic, but has borrowed much from
the Sicilian dialect of Italian, and of late from English also. The
educated classes speak Italian which is used also in the law-courts.
The language of commerce is English. The faldetta, the peculiar
black head-dress of the women, is the sole relic of the old national
costumes.
The Maltese are much attached to the church of Rome, and
nowhere in so small a community are the churches so numerous
and gorgeous. About one-third of the soil is said to belong to the
clergy. The Maltese are well-known throughout the Mediterranean
as enterprising mariners, merchants, and fishermen. Their island
being the most densely peopled region in the Mediterranean next
to Monaco, an immense number of the inhabitants have emigrated
during the last century. From 1807 onwards they settled largely
in the Tunisian seaports, from Tabarca to Zarzis, where they formed
the bulk of the Christian population, but of late they have had to
contend against the growing competition of the Sicilians and other
Italians. In Algeria they have formidable rivals in the Italians and
Spaniards. Within the last few decades the stream of emigration
has flowed chiefly to Tripolitania, Barca, Egypt, and even to
Zanzibar and Delagoa Bay.
Malta is supposed to be identical with the island of Ogygia described
by Homer, where Odysseus is fabled to have been enslaved by the nymph
Calypso, whose alleged cavern is still pointed out on the N. coast of Malta,
and also in the island of Gozo. Between 3000 and 2000 B.C. a prehistoric
race (Hamitic?), probably from Libya, settled in Malta. Of their stage
of civilization, which lasted a thousand years, traces are still found in the
massive stone structures in the cyclopean style, which reveal, especially
in their circular ground-plan, an affinity with the sesi of Pantelleria,
the nuraghi of Sardinia (see p. 145), and the megalithic monuments
of Barbary, S.E. Spain, and the Balearic Islands, and fall within the sphere
of influence of pre-Mycenæan (‘insular’) and Mycenæan culture. Later
the Phœnicians of Sidon founded a colony here, which soon became important
enough to send forth settlers to Acholla (p. 370) on the Tunisian
coast. Next, in 736 B. C., came Greek immigrants, and two centuries later
the Carthaginians, who took possession of the island. They now called
it Melita and had a capital of that name (now Notabile), but they in
their turn were ousted by the Romans in 218 B. C. It was on the N. coast
of Melita that St. Paul was wrecked in 62 A. D. (Acts, xxvii. xxviii).
He was received and courteously lodged by Publius, the governor, and
founded a Christian community in the island before resuming his voyage.
Four centuries later came the Vandals (p. 322), and after another century
the Byzantines, who in 870 were driven out by Moors from Tunis. Under
the Moors the island was infested with pirates. At length when the Normans
under Roger conquered Sicily in 1090, Malta also fell under their
sway, and thenceforward it shared the fortunes of Sicily until 1522. In that
year arrived the Knights of St. John, banished from Rhodes by the Turks,
and to that Order in 1530 Malta, Gozo, and Tripoli were granted by
Emp. Charles V. The knights then took the name of Knights of Malta
and gallantly defended their island, which became one of the great bulwarks
of Christianity, against the repeated attacks of the Turks. The
most fearful siege they sustained was that of Borgo (Vittoriosa, p. 400)
in 1565, when they were attacked by the whole forces of Suleiman the
Great under Dragut (p. 370), Mustapha, and Piali. In consequence of that
event the Grand Master Jean de la Valette founded and fortified the
new town of La Valette (Valletta), which became the capital and was
deemed impregnable. In 1798 Bonaparte, when on his way to Egypt,
gained possession of the town by treachery and stratagem; but on 8th Sept.
1800, after a siege of two years by the Maltese, assisted by British and
Neapolitan troops, the French garrison was compelled to capitulate and
leave the island. Since the treaty of Paris (1814) Malta has belonged
to Britain.—The present governor of the island is Lt.-Gen. Sir H. M.
Rundle, K. C. B.
399The island of Malta presents an undulating and richly varied
N.E. coast, but on the rocky S.W. side it rises abruptly from the
sea. The Grand Harbour and the Marsamuscetto Harbour, the
two grand natural harbours of Valletta, originally valleys hollowed
out during the tertiary period, form one of the most important of
British war-harbours and the headquarters of the Mediterranean
fleet. Owing to its central position Malta is also a great coaling-station,
vying with Gibraltar, Algiers, and Genoa. In 1908–9 the
harbour was entered and cleared by 3212 vessels of 4,036,752 tons
of burden.
Valletta.—Arrival. The great British liners lie to in Sliema Creek
(p. 400); the French, Italian, and German steamers anchor in the Grand
Harbour, near the Custom House, or, during N.E. gales, in the sheltered
Marsa Creek. Boat to or from steamer 6d., with baggage 9d. (at night
1s.). Passports may sometimes be useful at custom-house, post-office, etc.
Hotels (all more or less in the English style). 1.At Valletta: Hôt.
d’Angleterre, Strada Stretta 34, with a fine fresco-painted dining-room
(17th cent.), pens. 9s., good; St. James’s Hotel, Strada San Paolo 226,
pens. 9s., well conducted; Hôt. Royal, Strada Mercanti 30, pens. 10s.;
Westminster, Strada Reale 11; Imperial, Via Santa Lucia 134; Queen’s,
Strada Mercanti; Hôt. d’Australie, Strada Stretta 53, pens. 8½ fr.;
Hôt. Central, Strada Stretta 44, pens. 8½ fr., good cuisine, commercial
house. Also the family hotels, Oxford (No. 29), Great Britain (No. 67),
and Osborne (No. 50), all in Strada Mezzodì, quiet and pleasant.—2.At
Sliema (p. 400), for some stay: *New Imperial, Strada Ridolfo; Savoy,
Strada Imrabat 6, with garden, pens. (with bath) 6–8s., good; these two
in an open site.
Restaurant.National Restaurant, Strada Reale 253.—Cafés.Risazza,
near the Exchange Buildings; Regina, Piazza Tesoreria; Anglo-Maltese
(Engl. beer), Commerce, both in Strada Reale; Express.
Post Office, Strada Mercanti 4.—Telegraph Office, Strada Reale 38.
Banks.Anglo-Egyptian, Strada Reale 233; Banco di Roma; Anglo-Maltese
and Banco di Malta, Exchange Buildings, Strada Reale.—Money
Changers.Coppini, Strada Mercanti 58; Thos. Cook & Son, Strada Reale
308.—Bookseller.J. Critien, Strada Reale, and others.—Newspapers.Daily Malta Chronicle, Malta Herald, Gazzetta di Malta, etc.
Shops.Lace at the Malta Lace School, Strada Mezzodì 28; Borg, Strada
Reale 269; Mifsud, Strada Santa Lucia.—Filigree Work at Amabile’s.
Theatres.Royal Opera, Strada Reale, at the corner of Strada Mezzodì
(Nov.–April, Ital. opera); Teatro Manoel, Strada Teatro, built by Grand
Master Manoel de Vilhena (p. 401) in 1731, for operas and varieties.—Varieties
at the Alhambra.
Cabs. Within Valletta and Floriana, incl. the Marina 4d. (luggage
according to bargain); to Sliema 1s. 2d., to Burmola, Senglea, or Vittoriosa
1s. 8d., to Musta 2s., to Notabile or Krendi 2s. 6d., to Boschetto 3s., to
400Mnaidra or St. Paul’s Bay 4s.—By time: ¼ hr. 6d., ½ hr. 1s., 1 hr. 1s. 6d.,
each addit. ¼ hr. 4d.
Lift from the harbour to the Upper Barracca (p. 402), 1d.
Tramways from Porta Reale (1) viâ Marsa and Casal Paula (2d.) to
Burmola, (2) viâ Curmi to Zebbug, (3) viâ Hamrun to Birchircara.
Steam Ferry across the Grand Harbour to Senglea (½d.); across
Marsamuscetto Harbour to Sliema (½d.); to Pietà and Misida (1d.); in
summer to St. Julian’s also (2d.).—Steamer to Gozo every week-day at
7, on Sun. at 8 a.m.; on Sun., Tues., Thurs., Sat. at 1 p.m. also; returning
at 10.30 or 4.30; return-fare 1s.; dep. from Grand Harbour; to or
from steamer 4d.
Malta Railway (station between Royal Opera and Porta Reale), 24
trains daily (more on Sun.) to Attard 3d. or 1½d., to Notabile (Città Vecchia)
7d. or 3½d.
Steamboat Offices.Peninsular & Oriental, Worcester, Strada Mercanti
41; Cunard, Lowe, Strada Stretta 81; Comp. Gén. Transatlantique
(p. 396), Vadala, Strada Reale 292; Società Nazionale (R. 64), Civitelli,
Strada San Paolo 225; German Levant, P. Cutajar & Co.; Hungarian
Adria Co. (RR. 22, 23), Kohen, Piazza Regina 6.
United States Consul, J. O. Laing; vice-consul, James A. Turnbull.—Lloyd’s
Agents, Gollcher & Sons, Strada Zaccaria 21.
Sights.Cathedral before 8 and from 10 to 10.30 a.m.; also after 2 p.m.—Library
on week-days, 9 to 3.30.—Governor’s Palace daily, 9–12 and
1–5, 6d. (guide unnecessary).—Valletta Museum on week-days 9–1 (in June-Sept.
3–6 also), 6d., Sat. 3d. ; Sun. 9–12 free.
One Day. Visit to Cathedral, Palace, and Museum (p. 401), and view
from Barracca Superiore (p. 402) in the forenoon; in the afternoon, trip
to Notabile (p. 403; cathedral, bastions, museum), or to Gozo (p. 403).
Valletta or Valetta (197 ft.; pop. 25,000, or incl. Floriana
32,000), the capital of Malta, is the seat of the Governor (see
p. 399), of the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Forces
(Gen. Sir Ian Hamilton), and of a University founded in 1769. It
lies in 35°34′ N. lat. and 14°31′ E. long., at the extremity of the
peninsula, formerly called Monte Sceberras, 1½ M. long and ½ M.
broad, between the Grand Harbour (to the S.E.) and the Marsamuscetto
Harbour (to the N.W.). Enthroned above its harbours,
with its grand fortifications partly hewn in the rock, the model of a
16th. cent, fortress, it presents a very striking appearance when
approached from the sea.
Opposite Valletta, on the three central creeks of the Grand Harbour,
lie the ‘Three Cities’ of Borgo (Malt. Birgu; pop. 6200), the
oldest seat of the Maltese Order, also called Vittoriosa since the
great Turkish siege, Sénglea (pop. 8100), and Búrmola or Cospicua
(pop. 14,100), with the naval arsenal. In the Marsamuscetto Harbour
lies the island of Jezira, with the Lazzaretto, beyond which,
on the Sliema Creek, rises the town of Sliema (pop. 12,000).
The Fortifications were an object of ceaseless attention under the
rule of the Order. The oldest part of them is Fort St. Angelo, originally
built by the Moors in 870 and renewed in 1530, which in the siege of
1565 proved the chief bulwark of Borgo. Fort St. Elmo, originally built
in 1488 but now entirely altered, fell into the hands of the Turks in
1565. The town-wall of Borgo was built in 1530 and that of Sénglea in
1554. The *Town Walls of Valletta, with their thirty bastions, deep
moats, drawbridges, and casemates, date chiefly from the time of the
foundation of the town (1566–71). The outworks of Floriana are of 1635.
401The older ramparts of Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Burmola, called the
Firenzuola Lines, were strengthened by the addition of new outworks
in 1668 called the Cottonera Lines. The later harbour-forts are Fort
Ricasoli, of 1670, Fort Manoel in Jezira, of 1732, and Fort Tigné, of
1792. All these works are supplemented by the British Harbour Batteries.
The streets ascend steeply from the two harbours, many of
them by means of long flights of steps. The main business streets
are the Strada Reale, leading on the top of the peninsula from
Fort St. Elmo to Porta Reale (over ½ M.), and the Strada Mercanti.
From the latter the Strada Cristoforo descends past the
University, established in an old Jesuit college (Strada San Paolo
109), to the Lower Barracca Gardens, a bastion affording a
good survey of the mouth of the harbour and the ‘Three Cities’.
The plain Palace, once the seat of the Grand Master and now
that of the governor of Malta (see p. 399), was erected in 1573–7
by Girolamo Cassar in the Strada Reale and Piazza Tesoreria, in
the centre of the town. The garden court on the left is adorned with
a bronze statue of Neptune by Giovanni da Bologna; in the court
on the right rises a huge Araucaria excelsa. Adm., see p. 400; entrance
by the green gate in the upper court.
The chief attraction is the Palace Armoury on the first floor, containing
armour, weapons, flags, and trophies of the Order (catalogue 5s.).
The principal hall, 88 yds. long, contains also state-coaches in the pseudo-classical
style and charters of Pope Paschalis II. (1113) and Charles V.
(1530; investiture of the Order). On the walls of the adjacent corridor
are painted views of old Malta. The Council Room on the left is hung
with superb Gobelins, designed by Franç. Desportes (1703). The wall-paintings
represent naval battles fought by the Order.
An inscription on the Doric portico of the Main Guard, opposite
the N.W. façade of the Palace, records the cession of Malta
to Great Britain. A band often plays in the square in the evening.
In the Piazza Tesoreria, opposite the S.W. façade of the Palace, is
the Public Library of 56,000 vols. (adm., see p. 400; entrance under
the arcades).
The Cathedral of San Giovanni (St. John’s), to the left in the
second side-street in the direction of the Porta Reale, built in
1573–7 by Girol. Cassar, and lavishly decorated in the interior,
was the Order’s temple of fame. Adm., see p. 400.
Interior. The oil-paintings on the barrel-vaulting are by Mattia
Preti (‘il Cavaliere Calabrese’; 1613–99). On the floor are about 400 slabs
of coloured marble, tombstones of the knights. The chapels dedicated to
the nine nations of the Order are lined with a number of tombstones of
Grand Masters, mostly in the baroque or rococo style. In the Portuguese
chapel (2nd on the right) are those of Ant. Manoel de Vilhena (1722–36)
and Manoel Pinto de Fonseca (1741–73), the founder of the university.—In
the Crypt, below the high-altar (of 1686), repose, among others, L’Isle
Adam (1530–4), the first Maltese Grand Master, and Jean de la Valette
(1557–68), the gallant defender of Borgo (see p. 398).
Sumptuous Brussels tapestry (1697–1701), after designs by Rubens
and Mattia Preti, is hung up in the church on festivals.
The *Valletta Museum, Strada San Giovanni 38, opposite the
façade of the Cathedral, affords an admirable survey of the history
402of Maltese art and culture from the prehistoric age down to the
close of the Knights’ period. Adm., see p. 400; no catalogue; curator,
Dr. Themistocles Zammit.
Entrance Room. On the left the ‘sacred stone’ from the Torre dei
Giganti (p. 404); Roman inscriptions from Gozo (about 140 A. D.); a fine
Norman capital, Norman and Cufic (early Arabic) inscriptions, etc.; also
models of stone balconies and of a Norman window at Victoria (p. 404).
First Floor. Prehistoric objects from Egypt (the Faiyûm); the Lord
Grenfell collection of Egyptian antiquities; Greek vases from Benghazi
and Cyrene; Arabian glass, etc.
Second Floor. In the Ante Room are Roman sculptures.—The Chief
Hall contains prehistoric, Phœnician, Punic, and Roman objects from tombs
in Malta and Gozo. By the entrance-wall is a large collection of vases
arranged in types. In the last case are potsherds from various neolithic
stations. By the back-wall are prehistoric finds from Hal-Saflieni (see
below) and Hagiar Kim (p. 403), vases, amulets, projectiles, flint implements,
seven seated stone figures, etc.; adjacent, on the left, is the unique
Phœnician-Greek dedicatory inscription in which Phœnician characters
were for the first time deciphered (on the right, cast of a similar inscription
in the Louvre). By the window-wall are copies and models of the so-called
chief temple of Hagiar Kim and of Phœnician tombs; also an Arabian
tombstone (1173), with a long Cufic inscription. In the first case in the
centre is Phœnician glass; in the fourth, a Phœnician terracotta sarcophagus,
with the recumbent figure of the deceased. The Second Room
contains memorials of the period of the Order.—In the Passage are drawings
of the Roman house at Notabile (p. 403) and its mosaics.—The Third
Room contains old plans, maps, and views of Malta of old; model of a
state-galley of the Grand Masters; a collection of coins from the Phœnician
age to the present day.
Each of the nine nations of the Order had its own ‘auberge’ or
house of assembly. Most of these were built by Girol. Cassar. The
Auberge d’Aragon is in the Piazza Celsi. At the upper end of the
town are the Aub. de Provence, at the corner of the Strada Reale
and Strada Britannica, the Aub. d’Italie (1574), in the Strada Mercanti,
opposite the post-office, and the handsome Aub. de Castille
(1574; altered in 1744), in the Piazza Regina.—A few paces from
the Piazza Regina are the Upper Barracca Gardens (laid out on
the large bastion of Barracca Superiore; lift, see p. 400), embellished
with numerous statues, and affording a fine view of the Grand
Harbour, especially by evening light.
Through the Porta Reale (P. R. on the map) we reach the plateau
between Valletta and the suburb of Floriana. Near the gate is the
tramway-station (p. 400). On the right, farther on, is the Parade
Ground. In the middle of the plateau, beyond the bronze statue
of Ant. Manoel de Vilhena (p. 401), runs the long narrow Maglio
Garden, enclosed by high walls. Farther on we come to the bastions
of Floriana, on which are situated the Argotti or Botanic
Garden, belonging to the university, and the Sarrìa, a handsome
church of the Maltese Order (1678).
At Casal Paula or Paula, 2 M. to the S. of Floriana, beyond the
Creek of Marsa, lies the prehistoric Hypogaeum of Hal Saflieni, containing
circular caves, some of them richly decorated, of the period of the neolithic
civilization. Entrance (6d.) in Catacomb Street, 5 min. from the tramway-terminus
(p. 400).
403Railway (p. 400) from Valletta to Notabile (carr., see p. 399).
After the long tunnel under Floriana come the stations of Hamrun,
Misida, Birchircara, and (4½ M.) Attard (Alb. Melita). About
10 min. to the N. of Attard is the Palace of Sant’Antonio (1625),
once the summer seat of the Grand Master (visitors admitted to the
fine garden). The road in front of the palace goes on to (2 M.) Musta,
with a remarkable church, whose huge dome, 118 ft. in diameter,
was constructed in 1853–64 without the aid of scaffolding.
7 M. Notábile or Città Vecchia (Hôt. du Point-de-Vue,
with fine view, pens. 7–8s.; pop. 7500), still popularly called
Medina (Arabic for ‘town’), the seat of the bishop, was the old
fortified capital of the island as far back as the Roman age.
From the Notabile station a road leads to the Piazza Sakkaya, on
the hill between the old town and the S. suburb of Rábato. Thence
we pass through the Porta dei Greci to St. Paul’s Cathedral (San
Paolo), before whose portal are planted cannons as in the time of the
Order. The sumptuous interior contains many marble tombstones
of Maltese bishops. Fine choir-stalls of 1480. The Strada dei
Bastioni behind the church commands an extensive view.
In Museum Road, not far from the Piazza Sakkaya, is a Roman
house, excavated in 1881, now converted into a Museum, containing
mosaic pavements, statues, bronzes, and glass (fee 3d.).—The
adjacent Esplanade affords a fine view of Musta, the town-walls
of Notabile, and the pleasant green valley at the foot of the Imtarfa
Hill, with the barracks and the Museum Station (terminus
of the railway, which goes through a tunnel under Notabile).
The parish church of San Paolo, in the Piazza Parrocchiale of
the suburb of Rabato, stands over a cavern, in which, according to
the legend, St. Paul dwelt during his three months’ stay in the island
in the year 62. From the church the Strada San Cataldo and Strada
Sant’ Agata soon lead to the Catacombs of St. Paul and the
Cemetery of St. Agatha, both pre-Christian in origin but used in
Christian times (fee 3d.).
To the N.W. of Notabile rise the Bingemma Hills (784 ft.), with
Phœnician rock-tombs and a fort on the coast.—About 2 M. to the S.W. of
Notabile, near Casal Dingli, is the Naval Signal Station (847 ft.), the
highest point in the island, whence we overlook the whole group of islands
and the surrounding sea.—Some 2 M. to the S. of Notabile lies the
Boschetto, a large public garden (carr., see p. 399), adjoining the Verdala
Palace (1586), once a summer seat of the Grand Masters (now that of the
governors).—To the S.E. is (4½ M.) Casal Krendi (carr., see p. 399),
near the luxuriantly wooded gorge of Makluba, 132 ft. deep, probably
formed by an earthquake. We may visit (20 min. to the W.) the prehistoric
ruins of Hagiar Kim, buildings of huge blocks of stone without
mortar. About 7 min. farther to the W. are the similar ruins of Mnaidra.
St. Paul’s Bay (Baia di San Paolo; carr., see p. 399) on the N. side of
the island, 5½ M. to the N. of Notabile, with the islet of Selmun (colossal
statue of the apostle), is the supposed scene of St. Paul’s shipwreck.
The sister island of Gozo (p. 397), to the N.W. of Malta, the
404ancient Gaulos, Maltese Ghaudex, which also was once fortified
by the Maltese Order, is more fertile and varied than the main island.
The coast is precipitous all round. The small local boat
(p. 400) crosses in 1½ hr., affording a fine view of the N.E. coast
of Malta, and, on the way back, of the caves on the W. shore of
Comino. We land in Migiarro or Miggiar Bay (Malt. Mjiar), on
the S. coast of Gozo, below Fort Chambré (1750), where carriages
are in waiting (to Victoria and back 3s., whole day 5s.).
Victoria (299 ft.; Duke of Edinburgh Hotel, and others; pop.
5000), called Rábat down to 1887, the capital and episcopal residence
of Gozo, lies in the centre of the island, 4 M. to the N.W. of
the landing-place. The streets show a good many relics of mediæval
architecture (comp. p. 402). The neglected Citadel dates from 1600.
The women of Gozo are much occupied with lace-making.
A branch of the road from the harbour to Victoria leads to the village
of Sciarra (486 ft.; Maltese Casal Xaghra). Below Sciarra, on a height
covered with fruit-trees, rises the Torre dei Giganti (Malt. Ggantija),
similar to the ruins of Hagiar Kim (p. 403; adm. by leave of the proprietor,
Marquis Cassar Desain).
Between Tunis and Tripoli, 544 M.: 1.Società Nationale, Line XIX
(Linea Circolare della Tunisia e Tripolitania, see p. 142) from Tunis Wed.
aft., from Susa Thurs. foren., from Sfax Frid. night, arr. at Tripoli Sun.
morn. (in the reverse direction leave Tripoli Thurs. aft., arr. at Tunis
Mon. morn.). Fare 103 or 75 fr.—2.Comp. de Navig. Mixte (p. 128)
leave Tunis Frid. even., Susa Sat. noon, Sfax Sun. midnight, Gabes
Mon. noon, Djerba Mon. even., arr. at Tripoli Tues. morn. (in reverse
direction leave Tripoli Tues. aft., arr. in Tunis Sat. evening). Fare 100
or 75 fr.—From Tunis to Susa viâ Sfax and back, also steamers of the
Comp. Gén. Transatlantique (p. 128; leave Tunis Sun. aft., Sfax Mon.
aft., Susa Tues, aft., regaining Tunis Wed. morn.).—Between Algiers
and Tripoli direct, or viâ Malta, there are also the cargo-steamers of the
German Levant Line.—At Gabes, Djerba, and Tripoli gales sometimes
make landing impossible; passengers are then landed at the next port
and sent back free, paying for their extra food only.—Agents at Tunis,
see p. 331; at Susa, see p. 366; at Sfax, see p. 380; at Tripoli, see
p. 406.
Between Tripoli and Syracuse, 325 M.: Società Nazionale, Line XX
(Linea Circolare, see above), also Line VIII (Catania, Syracuse, Benghazi,
Constantinople; R. 66). The vessels of the principal line leave Tripoli
Sun. aft., Malta Mon. night, arr. at Syracuse Tues. morn. (returning
from Syracuse Mon. night, from Malta Wed. foren., arr. at Tripoli Thurs.
morn.); steamers of the other line usually leave Tripoli every second
Wed. aft., Malta Thurs. night, arr. at Syracuse Frid. morn. (returning
from Syracuse every second Frid. night, from Malta Sun. foren., arr. at
Tripoli Mon. morn.). Fare 74 fr. 50 c. or 51 fr.—From Malta to Tripoli
there is a fortnightly steamer of the Banco di Roma and occasionally a
cargo-boat of the German Levant Line.—Between Malta and Syracuse the
Hungarian Adria (p. 132) plies daily except Mon. (from Malta after midnight,
from Syracuse in the afternoon; in 8 hrs.; fare without food 25 or 15,
return 37½ or 22½ fr.).—Agents at Malta and Syracuse, see p. 400, 162.
405From Tunis to Cape Bon, see p. 153. Our steamer, generally
at night, next skirts the steep E. coast of Cape Bon, passes Râs el-Mirh,
and off Râs el-Mustapha steers to the S.S.W. for Susa.
On the latter headland lies the little town of Kelibia, the ancient
Aspis or Clupea, whose castle-hill is crowned with a lighthouse.
The flat coast of the Gulf of Hammamet (p. 364) recedes from
view; beyond it, in the background, are the distant Jebel Zaghouan
(p. 359), Jebel Zeriba (2412 ft.), and Jebel Fadloun (1306 ft.).
Nearing Susa (p. 366), we have a pleasant view of the olive-clad
hills of the Sahel, while the town itself presents a most striking
picture with its great expanse of white houses.
Leaving the coast, where the low dunes conceal the salt-marshes
of the Sebkha de Sahline, we steer to the E.S.E. towards the Pointe
de Monastir, the S. limit of the bay of Hammamet.
The little town of Monastir (82 ft.; Hôt. de Paris, Hôt. de
France, both primitive; Brit. vice-cons., A. B. Geary; pop. 9000,
incl. 600 Europeans) lies superbly on the olive-clad headland. It
owes its name to a monastery, which in early Moorish times still
existed as the sole relic of the Roman seaport of Ruspina.
From the steamer we first sight the white pinnacled town-wall
and the numerous shrines outside of it. Then, as we pass between
the headland and the three islets off the coast (Djezira Sidi el-Rhedamsi
or Ile Egdemsi, etc.), appears the dilapidated Moorish
Kasba with the tower of En-Nadour. To the E. in very clear
weather we descry the lighthouse on the distant Kuriat Islands.
After a short stay in the Bay of Monastir, on the S. side of
the town, we steer to the S.E., past the Dahar Cliffs (on the left),
and across the bay; then, beyond the Râs Dimas, along the coast
to Mehdia (p. 369), where the steamer seldom stops long enough
to admit of our visiting the town.
Next (generally at night) we pass Râs Kapoudia (p. 370), the
N. limit of the Gulf of Gabes (the ancient Syrtis Minor), where
the discrepancy between flow and ebb (6½ ft.) is greater than in
any other part of the Mediterranean. Avoiding the silted Kerkenna
Passage, the vessel steers round the Kerkenna Islands (Ile Chergui
and Ile Gharbi, the ancient Cercina and Cercinitis).
The steamer usually arrives at Sfax (by way of the harbour-canal,
p. 381) early in the morning. Beyond Sfax the vessel skirts
the uninteresting coast as far as Râs Tina (p. 383), and then steers
to the S.S.W. across the bay to Gabes (p. 389), where it generally
allows time for a short visit to the oasis.
Leaving Gabes we may in clear weather descry the Monts des
Ksour (p. 390) bounding the horizon. We then steer to the E. to
the sandy N. coast of Djerba (p. 393), and anchor in the open sea
off Houmt-Souk (p. 393). The process of going ashore and returning
takes so long that it is hardly ever possible to visit the place.
406After losing sight of the lighthouse of Râs Taguermess (or
Turgoeness), the E. cape of Djerba, we steer for a long time to the
E.S.E., at some distance from the sandy coast with its salt-marshes,
where the Râs Adjir marks the frontier of Tripolitania.
The monotonous sandy coast, with its numerous oases, with the
little port of Sansur, and the watch-tower of Gergârish (p. 411),
is scarcely visible till we are nearing Tripoli. The Lighthouse,
rising above the abraded terrace on the N.W. side of the town, and
the ruinous Spanish Fort (1510) at the end of the headland are
the chief landmarks. Numerous reefs make it difficult, and in a
N.W. gale sometimes impossible, for vessels to enter the harbour.
Tripoli.—Arrival. The steamers anchor in the inner roads, more
than ½ M. from the pier, and are at once boarded by the hotel-agents
(charges should be asked). Landing or embarking 50 c., but with baggage
1–1½ fr. according to distance and bargain. Dogana at the pier (Pl. B, 1;
comp. p. 537). For a prolonged stay a passport visé by a Turkish consul
is necessary, but otherwise a ‘permis de voyage’ (1 fr.) from the Contrôle
Civil at Tunis, or even a visiting-card, may suffice. The services of
the importunate Jewish guides should be declined.
Hotel.Hôt. Minerva (Pl. a, B 2; Maltese landlord; bargain advisable),
déj. 2½, pens. 6–8 fr., tolerable.—Café-Restaurant: Circolo Militare
(p. 409; Maltese host), near the Bâb el-Khandek. Many small Arab cafés
on the quay (Marina), near the clock-tower (Orologio), etc.; small cup of
coffee (gâhua) 5 c., very sweet ‘hlu’, slightly sweetened ‘gídgid’; cup of
tea (shâi) 10 c.; no gratuities.
Moorish Baths (comp. p. 175), tolerable; the best is the Hammôm
(bagno árabo) in Strada del Bagno (Pl. B, 2); Europeans pay 3 fr. or more
according to their rank.
Post Offices.Italian, at the Ital. consulate (Pl. 7; B, 2), Strada del
Consolato Italiano; French, at the French consulate (Pl. 4; B, 1), Strada
del Consolato Francese; Turkish, on the quay (Marina). Poste Restante
letters should bear the name of the office where they are to be found.—Telegraph
Office.Eastern Telegraph Co. (Pl. 10; B, 2), on the quay;
payment must be made in gold or in Turkish money.
Consulates.British (Pl. 5; B, 1): consul-general, J. C. W. Alvarez;
vice-consul, A. Dickson.—United States (Pl. 9; B, 4): consul, J. L. Wood;
vice-consul, A. E. Saunders.
Steamboat Offices (comp. p. 404, and RR. 65, 66): Società Nazionale,
Labi, Strada del Bagno; Comp. de Navigation Mixte, Fratelli Farrugia,
Strada del Consolato Italiano; German Levant Line, Sûk el-Harrâra
(Pl. B, 2; near Sûk et-Turk).
Banks.Banco di Roma (Pl. 2; B, 2), in the Piazza (p. 409); Ottoman
Bank (Pl. 1; B, 2), on the quay; Labi, see above. Government
offices accept Turkish money only, but Tunisian silver and copper, and
in the town even Italian copper, besides 10 and 20 fr. gold pieces, are in
general circulation.
Carriages (stand on the S.E. side of the Serâi, p. 409) 1½–2½ fr. per
hour according to the quality of the vehicle; drive round the oasis 3–5 fr.;
as few of the drivers speak Italian it is best to get a resident to make
the bargain and specify the route.—Donkeys (at the Sûk el-Khobsa,
p. 410), ½ day 1–2, day 2–3 fr.—Rowing and Sailing Boats at the pier;
about 2 fr. per hour.
The Language of the natives is an Arabic dialect, interlarded with
Berber and Italian words; many of the officials, however, speak Turkish
only. In the European colony Italian predominates. This is largely due to
the fact that the Italian state supports several schools, which are attended
by Jewish and Maltese children as well as Italian. There are three French
schools also.
407One Day should be devoted to a walk of 2–3 hrs. through the town
and to an excursion to the oasis (p. 410). One must be very careful not
to enter mosques, saints’ tombs, or Moslem cemeteries (comp. p. xxv).
It should be observed also that the military authorities, dreading spies,
are jealous of visitors near the fortifications (comp. p. 175). Otherwise
the public safety is well provided for in the town and environs. For excursions
in the interior the leave of the Sublime Porte must be obtained.
Tripoli in Barbary (Ital. Tripoli di Barbería, Fr. Tripoli
de Barbarie or d’Afrique, Arabic Tarabulus el-Gharb, i.e. ‘Tripoli
of the West’, to distinguish it from the Syrian Tripoli), the
ancient Oëa, is the capital of the Turkish vilayet of Tripolitania,
presided over by the Vali or governor-general. The town lies in
32° 54′ N. lat. and 13° 10′ E. long., on a triangular peninsula, which
consists of quaternary dune-sandstone resting on tertiary limestone
rock. A series of rocky islets and reefs, 1¼ M. long, running out
from the peninsula, form a roomy but much silted harbour. The
mixture of nationalities converging at Tripoli, as one of the chief
portals to inland Africa, is unparallelled except in Egypt. Of the
46,000 inhab. two-thirds are Berbers (p. 94), Arabs, Moors (p. 171),
and Turks; there are 10,000 Jews, 2000 Maltese, 800 Italians, 150
Greeks (besides many Greek sponge-fishers in summer), 200 other
Europeans, and lastly some 2000 negroes, descendants of slaves
from the Sudan. Negroes are to be found also among the very
numerous officers of the garrison of 6000 men.
The town with its white houses, its slender minarets of the
Turkish type, its green gardens and groups of palms, the reddish-yellow
dunes of drift-sand from the Sahara, and the deep-blue sea,
all bathed in dazzling sunshine, present a most fascinating picture.
History. The three Phœnician seaports between the Syrtis Minor
and Major, Leptis Magna (p. 412), Oëa, and Sabratha, together called
Tripolis by the Sicilian Greeks, were even in the Punic age connected
by caravan routes with inland Africa and by a coast-road, 512 M. long,
with Carthage. After their annexation to the Roman province of Africa
on the fall of Jugurtha (p. 321) the ‘three cities’ flourished anew. To
them, as also to Tacape (Gabes), the Garamantes, or Libyan (Berber)
inhabitants of Phazania (now Fezzan), brought from the Sudan ostrich-feathers,
gold-dust, ivory, ebony, elephants, and black slaves, to be exported
thence to Carthage, Rome, and the chief seaports of S. Europe.
This region yielded also large supplies of corn, while the productive
olive-trees were deemed the most abundant on the Mediterranean. To
the Roman emperors Septimius Severus (193–211) and Alexander Severus
(222–35), natives of this district, the three towns owed much improvement
and embellishment. The Punic language and the Greek, which was that
of the educated classes, were then still so prevalent that Alexander
Severus, for example, was unacquainted with Latin till his arrival in Rome.
Sept. Severus made Oëa the capital of his Provincia Tripolitana, and
when the artificial harbours of the two sister towns fell into decay Oëa
succeeded to their trade and their joint name.
After the Vandal period (p. 322) and after the domination of the
Byzantines, who succeeded only in 567 in Christianizing the Garamantes,
the repeated irruptions of the Arabs (p. 322) brought ruin and misery to
408the whole country. From 670 onwards, apart from the short periods of
occupation by the Normans (1140–59), the Spaniards (1510–30), and the
Maltese Knights (1530–51), Tripolitania remained for centuries under Arab
or Berber sway, sharing the fortunes of Tunisia (comp. p. 322), while
from 1216 onwards the Genoese had a monopoly of the coast-trade of
Tripolitania and Barca. In 1551 the corsair Dragut (p. 370), driven out
of Mehdia, founded a new Turkish tributary state at Tripoli. From that
time down to 1816 the inhabitants took an active part in the depredations
of the ‘Algerian pirates’, bringing down upon them the sanguinary reprisals
of an English fleet in 1663 and of French fleets in 1685 and 1728,
which caused the almost entire destruction of the town. In 1804 Tripoli
and in 1805 Derna (p. 414) were stormed by the Americans. The native
dynasty of the Karamanli, founded in 1714, was overthrown by the Turks
in 1835, after which Tripoli became a usual place of exile for Turkish
civil and military offenders and again lapsed into decay. At length, in
1899, the partition of the inland regions between Great Britain and France
stimulated the Turks to renewed activity and defensive measures. In
spite, however, of these, and of the very favourable situation of the town,
the caravan trade with the interior is on the decline and the local industries
are inconsiderable.
The Old Town, a pentagon, is still enclosed on four sides by
the mouldering Spanish Town Wall, 40 ft. high at places, built of
sandstone from Gergârish (p. 411), and consists of three different
quarters. Near the harbour, and behind the Marina (Pl. B, 1, 2)
skirting it from the Dogana or Custom House (Pl. B, 1) onwards,
lies the quarter of that name, inhabited chiefly by the Christians,
and therefore the least Oriental in appearance. To the W. is the
Hárra (Kebîr, the great, and Serîr, the little), the Jewish quarter,
with its crooked and dirty streets. The purely Mohammedan S.E.
Quarter contains the main business streets, which lead to the
outer markets and the new town (p. 409). The principal streets
are paved and are lighted at night with petroleum lamps, but many
others, especially in the Jewish quarter, being unpaved in Oriental
fashion, are almost impassable after rain and pitch-dark at night.
In the narrow Strada della Marina (Arabic Bâb Bahr, sea-gate),
leading from the Dogana and the fish-market to the S.W. to the
Jews’ quarter, rises on the right the Roman Triumphal Arch
(Pl. B, 1), built by the consul C. Orfitus in the reign of Antoninus
Pius (138–161) but in 163 rededicated to that emperor’s successors,
Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.
The arch, 41 ft. broad and 33 ft. deep, has four fronts (‘quadrifrons’;
comp. pp. 315, 316), showing that it stood over cross-streets. Among the
sadly mutilated sculptures are still seen statues of Victory, figures of
animals, and trophies. The back, with the inscription, is half covered,
and the fourth side is almost entirely built over. The lower half is buried
in the ground. The interior is used as a shop. The vaulting of the passages
is lacunar. The central space is covered with a flat dome, rising
from an octagonal cornice.
We next come to the Gurji Mosque (Pl. B, 1), with an octagonal
minaret, and to the main street of the Hárra Kebîr (see
above), with its numerous workshops, where curious gold and silver
trinkets are sold by weight.
409From the British Consulate (Pl. 5; B, 1) we follow the Church
Street to the S.E. to the Italian Gothic church of Santa Maria
degli Angeli (Pl. B, 2), completed in 1846, belonging to an Italian
Franciscan monastery. By leave of the superior we may ascend the
tower, whose gallery (141 ft.) is a fine point of view.
From the Piazza (Pl. B, 2; Arabic Mussâiya) near the church
the Strada del Consolato Italiano leads to the S. to the Sûk el-Harrâra
(Pl. B, A, 2, 3), the chief thoroughfare between the Marina
(p. 408) and the W. gate, Bâb el-Jedîd (Pl. A, 3; ‘new gate’), opened
in 1860. This sûk contains the shops of the cloth and silk weavers
and several curious antiquated Bakeries, with millstones turned
by camels.
A road from the W. gate leads to the W., past several wells (p. 410),
to the (8 min.) extensive Jewish Cemetery; another, to the N., to the
ancient Necropolis (Pl. A, 2), on the abrupt coast (82 ft.), not far from
the town-wall, containing many rock-tombs and cisterns.—The Greek and
the Catholic Cemeteries (Pl. A, B, 1) lie between the Lazaretto and the
lighthouse.
The busiest streets in the S.E. quarter are the Zanga Sûk et-Turk
(Pl. B, 2, 3) and, diverging from it at the Piazza dell’Orologio,
the Sûk el-Khadra or Sûk Urba (Pl. B, C, 3). The tasteless three-storied
Torre dell’ Orologio, Arabic Sâa (Pl. B, 3), which tells
Turkish time, was built in 1870. In front of the Arab cafés here
auctions are held on Friday forenoons.
The Sûks (p. 335) consist here in part only of vaulted passages;
many have wooden roofs with vine-trellises. The wares are mostly
Tunisian or European, and therefore seldom worth buying here.
A side-entrance adjoins the Jâma el-Bâsha (Pl. C, 3), the chief
mosque.
The massive pile of buildings by the sea, a few paces to the E. of
the clock-tower, is the Serai (Pl. C, 2, 3; Arabic Kasba), originally
the Spanish citadel. It now contains barracks, many courts, several
prisons (habbês), partly underground, and the government offices.
The terrace next the sea affords a fine view of the harbour and
towards the oasis.
Outside the S. gates, Bâb el-Khandek and Bâb el-Menshia or el-Mnshîa
(Pl. C, 3; oasis gate), rises the Fontana Maggiore, an elegant
well-house in the Turkish rococo style. Near it is the Circolo
Militare (Pl. C, 3; p. 406), a fashionable resort, especially when the
military band plays (Sun. and Frid., 5 or 8 p.m.). The pretty little
garden, whence we survey the Moslem cemetery (p. 411), contains
four fine antique statues in marble, all of them torsos from Leptis
Magna (p. 412).
Outside the S. gates lies the featureless New Town (Città
Nuova), in which among other buildings are situated the Town Hall
(Beledîa; Pl. C, 3), the Azizia (Pl. C, D, 3, 4), erected under Abdul
Aziz as a residence for the commandant, the new Vali’s Residence410(Pl. C, 4), and the Technical School (Pl. D, 4). The Sûk el-Khobsa
or bread-market (Pl. C, 3), with its fondouks (inns), is worth seeing
in the early morning.
The sandy beach, nearly ¾ M. long, is the scene, early on
Tuesday mornings, of a great *Weekly Market (Sûk et-Tlett;
Pl. D, E, 3, 4), attended also by camel caravans from the interior.
Among the many products of the country offered for sale here are
fruit and cereals from the oases (see below), olive-oil (Arabic zeit),
henna (see below), alfa or esparto, reed-mats, pottery, leather goods
(such as the girbas, water-skins in goat-leather for journeys in the
desert, made at Ghadâmes). It is a market also for pack-camels
(Arabic jemél), donkeys (hmâr), sheep, and goats.
Beyond the market are a barracks quarter (Kishla) and the
suburb of Dahra, inhabited by Turks, Arabs, and Maltese, with a
strange-looking mosque and a Catholic nunnery-orphanage. A little
to the S., on the road to Másri (p. 411), is a Negro Village with
conical reed-huts.—To the E. of the market, close to the sea, lies
the Giardino Pubblico (Pl. E, 3, 4; bands on Frid. and Sun.).
The Menshia or Mnshîa (pop. about 14,000, mostly Berbers),
the coast-oasis of Tripoli, once far more extensive, stretches
7½ M., with a breadth of 1–2½ M., as far as the dunes bordering
the Jefâra Steppe. In spring it is one sea of blossom. To the
S. of the steppe rise the limestone hills fringing the Sahara (Shára,
desert), commonly called the Jebél (mountain; 1300–1650 ft. high).
The deep ravines, filled with considerable streams during the winter
rains (14 in. per annum at Tripoli, but considerably more in the
Jebél), continue to send down a supply of water underground even
during the dry season. This water is obtained from countless draw-wells
(sânia), bordered with white walls, and generally shaded by
tamarisks (Arabic âtel). Day and night oxen or donkeys toil at the
drawing of the water, which is then collected in reservoirs and
conducted thence to the fields.
In spite of this imperfect mode of irrigation and the primitive wooden
agricultural implements used by the natives the excellent soil is wonderfully
productive. Beneath the fruit-trees of every variety, olive-trees,
mulberry-trees, and alcanna-shrubs (henna, Lawsonia inermis; p. 108),
which thrive under the tall overshadowing date-palms, the soil still
gives sustenance to barley (Arabic shaîr), wheat (gammah), maize, lupins,
tobacco (dokhàn), madder, rose-geraniums, red pepper (filfil ahmar),
onions, tomatoes, spinach, beans, melons, etc. The excellent early potatoes
are sent to Europe under the name of ‘Malta potatoes’. The fields
and gardens are enclosed by mud-walls 3–7 ft. high, overgrown with Indian
figs (prickly pears; Opuntia Ficus indica; Arabic ‘hind’), which prevents
them from collapsing in wet weather. It is harvest all the year round.
From April to June almonds, apricots, and corn are gathered in, then in
July and August peaches (khûkh), from July to September figs and luscious
grapes, from October to December dates and olives, from November to
April excellent oranges, and at almost any season lemons. In autumn
the nomadic Arabs of the steppe pitch their dark goats’-hair tents (beit
shâar, house of hair) in the vacant fields in order to gather the fresh
411yellow dates. The dates of the coast are, however, inferior in flavour to
those of the Sahara oases and unsuitable for exportation.
The following Excursion takes about 2 hrs. (best to drive or
ride; see p. 406). From the Sûk el-Khobsa (p. 410) the road leads
to the S.W., cutting through a Moslem cemetery destroyed by an
inundation in 1904, to (1¼ M.) Bumeliâna, where a pumping-station
supplies several public fountains in the town. It then runs
to the E. to (1 M.) Másri, with its large artillery and cavalry barracks,
where the dunes command a fine view of the steppe, visible in
clear weather as far as the distant Jebél. Turning to the S.E., and
passing the mud-built fort, Gasr el-Hâni, we come to (2½ M.) the
road leading to the N. to the (¾ M.) official house of the Sheikh of
the Menshia (Hôsh esh-Skiûkh; fine view towards the sea from the
balcony). About 1¼ M. to the N.E. are the Sûk el-Jêma (Friday
market) and the extremely dirty village of Amrûs, inhabited by
about 600 Jews, mostly smiths. Thence back to Tripoli 3 M.
On the Sherrashhet, the road leading from Dahra (p. 410) near the
coast, are several country-houses and (about 2 M.) the largest Mohammedan
Cemetery, containing two dilapidated domed tombs (of the Karamanli
dynasty, p. 408), visible from Tripoli. Near it, close to the sea, is the
Protestant Cemetery, where we have a charming view of Tripoli. About
7½ M. farther, on the caravan-route to Lebida (p. 412), are the village of
Mélaha and the oasis of Tajûra, with its colonnaded mosque.
The W. end of the Menshia is 1½ M. from the town. We may thence
cross the undulating steppe, past several mud-built forts, to the small
oasis of (4½ M.) Gergârish, with its old sandstone quarries and ruined
watch-tower (Gasr Jehalî, tower of the ignorant), originally Roman.
From Tripoli the steamer proceeds to the N.N.E. to Malta
(p. 399). Off the abrupt S. coast of the island, with its numerous
caves, lies the uninhabited rocky islet of Filfola, which forms a
target for the artillery practice of the British Mediterranean fleet
(p. 399). Farther on we obtain a striking view of the barren E. coast,
with the bay of Marsa Scirocco, bounded by Benhisa Point and
Delimara Point. On a height rises the old Fort St. Lucian.
Beyond St. Thomas’s Bay, with the old castle of St. Thomas
and the bay of Marsa Scala, the steamer rounds the Ponta tal
Zonkor, the N.E. point of the island, and soon reaches the entrance
to the Grand Harbour of Valletta (comp. p. 399).
The Voyage to Syracuse is performed at night. We steer to
the N.N.E. towards Cape Passero (the ancient Promontorium
Pachynum), the fissured headland at the S.E. point of Sicily,
with its lighthouse and two small harbours (Porto d’Ulisse and
Porto Palo).
Next, on the E. coast of Sicily, stands forth the Penisola della
Maddalena (177 ft.), once a coast-island but now joined to the
main island by the deposits of the Ciani and Anapo. It ends in
the Capo Murro di Porco, with a lighthouse on the top.
65. From Tripoli to Alexandria viâ Benghazi and Derna. — 66. From Tripoli to Constantinople viâ Derna and Crete. — 67. From ( Marseilles , Genoa ) Naples to Alexandria and Port Said. — 68. From Venice or Trieste to Alexandria and Port Said viâ Brindisi. — 69. Alexandra. [6] — 70. Port Said. — 71. From Alexandria or Port Said to Cairo. — Cairo. [7] — a. Northern Quarters. — b. The South-Eastern Quarters. — c. The New Town. — d. Environs. — 72. From Alexandria or Port Said to Beirut ( Smyrna , Constantinople ) viâ Jaffa . — 73. From Jaffa to Jerusalem. — 74. Beirut. Excursion to Damascus. — 75. From Beirut to Smyrna ( and Constantinople ). — 76. From Alexandria to Athens and Smyrna ( and Constantinople ). — 77. From ( Marseilles , Genoa ) Naples to Athens ( and Constantinople ). — 78. From Venice or Trieste to Athens ( and Constantinople ) viâ Brindisi and Patras. — 79. Athens. [8] — a. Walk from the Palace round the S. Side of the Acropolis. — b. The Acropolis. — c. Walk from the Palace to the Theseion. Dipylon. Hill of the Nymphs. Pnyx. Monument of Philopappos. — d. The Modern Quarters. — e. The National Archæological Museum. — f. Walks. — 80. From Athens viâ Smyrna to Constantinople. — 81. Constantinople. [9] — a. Galata and Pera. — b. Stambul. — c. The Golden Horn. — d. Scutari. — e. The Bosporus.
412
Steamboats (agents at Tripoli, see p. 406; at Alexandria, see p. 432).
1.German Levant Line (cargo-boats), three times monthly (80 marks).—2.
Steamers of the Banco di Roma (p. 406) fortnightly viâ Malta, Benghazi,
Derna, and Solum.—Between Tripoli, Lebida (occasionally), Mesurata,
Benghazi, and Derna there plies a fortnightly steamer of the Società
Nazionale (comp. R. 66).
Tripoli, see p. 406. Skirting the flat, sandy coast, with its
numerous oases, including that of Tajûra (p. 411), we pass the
small Râs Sotara, Râs el-Hamra (‘red cape’), and Râs Ligata.
In the fertile undulating plain to the E. of the small port of
Ligata (lighthouse; sailing-boat from Tripoli in about 7 hrs. if
the wind is favourable) lies Lebida, Lebda, or Khoms (pop. 3500;
Brit. vice-cons.), in its oasis, a poor little seaport (for alfa) with
open roads, relics of old fortifications, and an Italian school.
About 2 M. to the S.E. of Lebida lies the site of Leptis Magna,
which fell into decay after the first irruption of the Arabs. In ancient
times it was one of the richest trading towns in N. Africa. It was the
starting-point of the coast-road to Carthage (see p. 407) and also of the
Limes Tripolitanus, the Roman frontier-wall, which down to the conquest
of the Garamantes (p. 407) and the Gætuli in the 2nd and 3rd cent. A.D.
protected the province of Africa against the Sahara tribes. The ancient
harbour, with its massive quays, at the mouth of the Kinyps, which
was a copious stream in the Roman age (now a scanty brook, the Oued
Lebda), is completely choked with sand. The once famous oasis and the
grand ruins of the time of Septimius Severus (p. 407) also, except the
triumphal arch (comp. pp. 315, 316), are almost entirely buried in sand.
On the rocky coast, which here endangers navigation, we next
pass the Râs et-Tabia, adjoined by the little port of Marsa
Ugra, and then, situated in the oasis near the Râs es-Sahal,
Slîten or Zelythen (pop. 7000), a seaport for alfa. Beyond the
Râs el-Ihûdi we sight Cape Mesurata, the ancient Promontorium
Trikeron (‘triple horn’) or Cephalus, a striking landmark.
The small port of Mesurata or Misrâta (pop. 3000), in its
little oasis of palms, fruit, and olives, is noted for its carpets and
woven stuffs.
Leaving the coast we now steer to the E. across the Syrtis
Major, or Gulf of Sidra, the largest on the N. African seaboard.
The town of Benghazi or Bengâsi (Albergo Maffei, near the
harbour, Italian; Brit. consul, J. F. Jones; pop. 20,000, incl. 1200
Europeans, mostly Maltese and Greeks, and 2500 Jews; garrison
3000) is the capital of the Turkish province (mutessariflik) of
Benghazi or Barca, which was separated from Tripolitania in
1869. Its dazzling white houses extend beyond the isthmus of the
Sebkha or salt-lake (with its large evaporating grounds) and over
the broad corn-growing coast-plain bordering the plateau of Merj
(p. 414). The large Gasar or castle, now the seat of the governor
413(mutessarif), with barracks, together with the lighthouse and a
windmill, form the chief landmarks as we make for the harbour.
The harbour, much silted up and very imperfectly protected
by an unfinished breakwater, is sometimes rendered inaccessible
for months in winter by the prevailing W. gales. The steamers
have to lie to, under steam, some 3 M. off the coast, and passengers
are landed in lighters or in rowing-boats.
The chief sight is the Market Quarter, where caravans from
the interior are sometimes met with. The minarets, as at Tripoli,
are in the Turkish style. The European colony is mainly Maltese,
Greek, and Italian. The Italian School is attended chiefly by
Jewish children. A branch of the Banco di Roma (p. 406) and
an Italian Post Office have been recently established.—To the E.
of the town is a beautiful Palm Grove.
To the N.E. of Benghazi lie the ruins of Euhesperidae, or Berenice, as
the town was called after the wife of Ptolemy III. Euhesperidæ, famed
in Greek myth for the gardens of the Hesperides, was the westmost seaport-town
of Barca, the ancient Cyrenaica, a fissured hill-region rising in terraces
from the sea, which was colonized in the 7th cent. B.C. by Greeks,
mostly Dorians from Thera (p. 417) and Crete (p. 415). From its loftily
situated capital Cyrene (p. 411), one of the richest and most brilliant
cities in the Greek world, Greek culture spread rapidly over the whole
coast-region, where the numerous seaports acquired also great wealth
through the caravan-traffic with the interior. For a time (about 400–330 B.C.)
the Cyrenians succeeded in repelling the attacks of the Carthaginians
with their mighty fleet, but in 322 they succumbed to Ptolemy I. (p. 433),
who united the different parts of the district under the name of Pentapolis
(‘five cities’). In 96 B.C. this region along with the Marmarica
(p. 415) fell into the hands of the Romans, and it was united by Augustus
with Crete as a Roman province. In the great revolt of the numerous
Jews who had settled in Egypt and Barca in the Ptolemaic age, 200,000
Greeks and Romans are said to have perished in Trajan’s reign. This
terrible disaster was followed by the irruption of Berber tribes and of
Arab marauders, and later (after 1551) by the misgovernment of the
Turks. The ruin of the country was completed by a gradual subsidence
of the coast which seriously prejudiced navigation. Though well supplied
with rain, extremely fertile, and not too hot in summer, this region is
now but thinly peopled (about 500,000), and the only towns of any size are
Benghazi, Merj (p. 414), and Derna (p. 414). The highlands are occupied
by hordes of nomadic Arabs, who often defy the Turkish authorities,
and who are largely under the influence of the fanatical brotherhood
of the Senussîyeh. The convents of the sect serve also as caravanserais.
European goods are conveyed by the caravan-route to Kufra, the headquarters
of the sect, and thence to equatorial Africa. Fire-arms are
frequently smuggled into the country, especially from Greece. The chief
exports are cattle (to Malta, Syracuse, etc.), goatskins, barley (to England),
wool (to Marseilles and Genoa), and butter (to Constantinople).
Large flocks of sheep are driven overland into Egypt.
Beyond Benghazi the steamer rounds Râs Adrian; whose name
recalls the town of Adrianopolis founded by Hadrian. On a height,
farther on, appears Tokra, a poor village near the ruins of the
Greek twin-towns of Tauchira (Teuchira) and Arsinoë.
The next place on the coast, at the foot of a chain of high hills
overgrown with brushwood, is Tolmeita (Ital. Tolemáide), the ancient
414Ptolemais or Tolometta, now the site of imposing *Ruins
(Greek, Roman, and early-Christian). The Greek Kothon was the
harbour of Barca, a thriving Greek colony on the margin of the
plateau, about 15 M. inland, founded about 540 B.C. and temporarily
destroyed by the Persians in 510. The town was still a place of some
importance in the middle ages as a military station and a resting-place
for Mecca pilgrims, but now, under the name of Merj or
Medinet el-Merj, which has been given to the whole province,
it has become a poor little Turkish garrison-town, inhabited by
Arabs and Jews. No trace of its ruins is left.
Passing the rocky islet of Sarat and Râs el-Hamâma, the
ancient cape Phycus, we reach the bold Râs Sem, the northmost
point of Barca, about 10 M. to the N.W. of Cyrene (see below).
In a small plain on the coast, between the Râs Sem and Râs
el-Hilil (the ancient Naustathmus), lies the poor seaport of Marsa
Susa, recently colonized by Moslems from Crete. Near it are the
ruins of Apollonia (later Sozopolis), once the harbour of Cyrene,
but destroyed by the silting up of the coast.
From Marsa Susa a mule-track ascends to the S.W., through
valleys with luxuriant vegetation and venerable olive-groves, past
several ancient rock-hewn Granaries, and past a *Necropolis with
countless rock-tombs, to (3–4 hrs.) the ruins of Cyrene (2002 ft.;
now Krennah or Gurena), lying on the edge of a lofty plateau,
with fine views all around. This was the capital of the Cyrenaica,
founded near the fountain of Cyra about 620 B.C., but already
spoken of in the 4th cent. A.D. as ‘urbs deserta’. The ruins have
not yet been scientifically explored, but there are traces of streets,
and, beneath a mantle of dense vegetation, scanty remains of the
acropolis, the temples, and a Roman circus. Near them is a convent
of the Senussîyeh, to which unbelievers are not admitted.
About 10 M. to the S.E. of Marsa Susa, on the caravan-route to
Guba (or Mara), once lay the town of Ghermes, whose *Ruins are the
best preserved in the Cyrenaica (town-wall, forum, stadium, etc.).
Beyond the bay of Marsa el-Hilil the coast is again rocky.
Near a beautiful, richly wooded ravine are the ruins of Erythrum.
We next steer past Râs Turba and then round the little Tsor
Kersa Islands and the Râs Boasa (lighthouse).
Derna (pop. 4000), the Darnis or Darnae of antiquity, a
small seaport to the E. of the headland, but entirely destitute of a
harbour, is now the chief trading town in E. Cyrenaica. Vessels
anchor in the open sea, over a mile from the landing-place. Near
the Turkish fort and the custom-house are remains of American
fortifications (comp. p. 408) and a wireless telegraph-station.
The town itself lies on a plateau in the finest *Coast Oasis of
Barca (yielding dates, figs, almonds, tobacco, etc.). In the principal
square, near which the camel-caravans from the interior encamp,
415is the unpretending residence of the Turkish kaimakam. The shops
in the busy market-street are mostly owned by Arabs and Greeks.
Beyond the Râs et-Tîn (Gr. Chersonesos), the coast recedes
far to the S. The Gulf of Bomba, with its rocky islands, here
forms a large natural harbour, open towards the E. only. Beyond
Menelaus Island (now Susra Mesrâta) once lay the Portus Menelai.
The Platea Island near it received from Thera, about 640 B.C.,
the first Greek colony in the Cyrenaica.
We next skirt the Marmarica; the coast-region between the
gulfs of Bomba and Solum. In the deep-set bay of Tobruk (the
ancient Antipyrgos) it possesses the best natural harbour between
Bizerta and Alexandria, frequented chiefly by sponge-fishers.
The featureless and inconspicuous coast of Egypt is bounded
by the low white dunes near the borders of the Libyan desert.
Lastly we steer across the broad so-called Arabian Gulf, between
the Râs ed-Dabba and the Nile Delta (p. 418), and enter the harbour
of Alexandria (comp. p. 418).
Between Tripoli and Constantinople there is a fortnightly service by
the Società Nazionale (Line VIII: Catania, Syracuse, Benghazi, Constantinople;
comp. R. 64). Dep. from Tripoli every second Mon. aft., from
Mesurata Tues. morn., from Benghazi Thurs., from Derna Frid. noon,
from Canea Sat. night, from Candia Sun., from Smyrna Mon. midnight,
arr. at Constantinople Wed. morn. (returning from Constantinople Mon.
night, arr. at Tripoli the second Wed.); fare 117 fr. 60 or 78 fr. 40 c.—From
Canea to the Piræus (for Athens) there are corresponding steamers
of the Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co., of the Thessalian line
of the Austrian Lloyd, and of Line X (p. 493) of the Società Nazionale.
For the voyage from Tripoli to Derna, see R. 65. The steamer
next touches at Crete (Gr. Krētē, Turk. Kirid, Ital. Candia), the
fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean (5402 sq. M.; 303,550
inhab.), formerly Turkish, but nominally independent since 1908.
Nearing the island we first sight the Aspra Vuná (Madaraes
Mts., 7907 ft.), generally snow-clad, the ancient Leuka Orē (White
Mts.). The vessel steers round Cape Krio, the S.W. point of Crete,
and Cape Busa, the N.W. point, and passes the island of Grabusa.
We next proceed to the E.N.E., past Kisamo Bay and Cape
Spada (Psakon), the N. point of the island. Beyond the cape
opens the broad Bay of Canea (Gr. Chanía).
In favourable weather the steamer anchors in the open roads
of Canea (Hôt. de France, pens. 8–10 fr.; Hôt.-Restaur. Bristol,
pens. 5–8 fr.; at both it is advisable to ask charges; Brit. cons.-gen.,
R. Peel; pop. 21,000), the capital of Crete, on the site of Kydonia.
The remains of the Venetian fortifications are interesting. Fine
416view from the lofty reservoir of the waterworks. Most of the consuls
reside at Chalepa, the E. suburb.
In stormy weather the steamers round the broad headland of
Akrotiri (once Kyamon) and anchor in Suda Bay, the only good
harbour in the island. (Road to Canea.)
After leaving Canea and passing Cape Drépano we have a
pleasant view of Harmyro Bay and Rethymno, Ital. Rétimo
(pop. 9300), the ancient Rhithymna, now the third-largest town
in Crete. In the heart of the island tower the Psiloriti Mts., the
ancient Ida, often snow-clad, culminating in the Stavros (8065 ft.).
Farther on we pass Cape Stavros, an important landmark. We
then steer to the S.E., between Cape Panaghia and the barren
island of Dia, Ital. Standia (870 ft.), where vessels seek refuge
from northerly storms, into Candia Bay and anchor in the roads
a little off the quay (lighthouse).
Candia (Hotels, both near the landing-place: Cnossos, pens.
9–15 fr., with restaurant; Angleterre, rooms only, unpretending;
advisable to ask charges at both; Brit. vice-cons., A. Calocherino;
pop. 22,480), Gr. Herákleion, formerly Megalókastron, the seat
of the Metropolitan of Crete, is said to have been founded by the
Moors on the site of Herakleion, the port of Knossos. Here also
the fortifications were built by the Venetians, and were bravely
defended by their admiral Franc. Morosini against the Turks for
three years until he had to capitulate in 1669.
We walk from the landing-place through the main street and
past a handsome Venetian palace to the chief square, with the
Morosini Fountain. Straight on we come, at the E. end of the
town, to an open space, at the N.E. angle of which is the—
*Museum, containing the splendid antiquities excavated at
Knossos and elsewhere, illustrating the peculiar development of
art in Crete at its prime. The oldest objects belong to the so-called
island culture (3rd millenary B.C.) of the bronze period, or
early and middle Minoan periods, as they are now called after
Minos the legendary king of Crete. To the bronze age belong also
the pre-Hellenic antiquities, those namely of the so-called Mycenæan
or late Minoan period (middle of 2nd millenary B.C.), which are
hardly surpassed by the creations of Greece at its zenith. Particular
notice should be taken of the wall-paintings, fragments of a
procession, stone vases with reliefs, ivory statuettes of bull-baiters,
and the two fayence figures of a goddess grasping a snake.
From the old S. gate of Candia a road (horse 3–4 fr.) leads in
less than an hour to the site of Knossos, the ancient capital of the
island. The *King’s Palace, excavated here since 1898 by Mr.
Arthur Evans, dates from the second or middle Minoan period, but
was already half burned down in the Mycenæan period.
The steamer next crosses the Cretan Sea, to the N.N.E., to two
417islands of the Cyclades (p. 492): Anaphe (1349 ft.) and Santorin
or Thira (1857 ft.), the ancient Thera. Close to Cape Oia (lighthouse)
on the beautiful island of Santorin, which is the relic of an
old crater (p. 492), are seen the ruins of Thera, the ancient capital.
Next, on the left, we sight the island of Iós or Niós (2408 ft.).
We then pass through the strait between Amorgós (1233 ft.; lighthouse),
the eastmost island of the kingdom of Greece, and the small
island group of Eremonisia, flanking Naxos on the S.E. side.
The high mountains of Naxos (3289 ft.), the largest of the
Cyclades, remain in sight long after we have passed the islet of
Donusa (1600 ft.). The islands of Delos, once the religious and
economic centre of the Cyclades, and Mykonos (1194 ft.) are only
visible in the far distance in very clear weather.
The ship presently nears the W. coast of Nikaria (p. 492), an
island belonging to the S. Sporades (p. 490), and then (as do also
the steamers from the Levant) passes through the Strait of Chios
(p. 492) and across the Gulf of Smyrna (comp. p. 530).
Smyrna, and thence to Constantinople, see pp. 530, 533–536.
1174 or 1278 M. Steamers (agents at Marseilles, see p. 120; at Genoa,
p. 114; at Naples, p. 137; at Alexandria, p. 432; at Port Said, p. 437).
1.North German Lloyd: (a) from (Marseilles) Naples to Alexandria, in
Jan.-April, on Frid. at noon (from Marseilles on Wed. aft.) in 4 days;
returning from Alexandria Wed. aft. (from Naples Sat.); fares from
Naples 240–480 or 140–180 marks (from Marseilles 280–520 or 160–200 marks);
(b) E. Asiatic Line. (R. 24), from (Algiers, Genoa) Naples to Port Said
every second Frid. night (returning Frid.), in 4 days; fare 242 or 176 marks;
(c) Australian Line (R. 21), from (Genoa) Naples to Port Said every fourth
Wed. night (returning Frid.), in 3–4 days; fare 242 or 176 marks.—2.German E. African Line: E. circular tour (RR. 17, 23) from (Marseilles)
Naples to Port Said every third Mon. in 4 days; W. circular tour (RR. 4,
17, 23) from Port Said to Naples every third Sat.; fare 242 or 176 marks.—3.Rotterdam Lloyd, Batavia Line, from Marseilles every second Thurs.
direct to Port Said (returning Tues.) in 5 days.—4.Nederland Royal Mail,
Batavia Line, from Genoa direct to Port Said in 5 days.—5.Messageries
Maritimes, S. Mediterranean Line, from Marseilles direct to Alexandria
(Port Said, Jaffa, Beirut, R. 72), every Thurs. noon (returning Frid. aft.),
in 4 days; fare 315 or 240 fr.; return-ticket (‘interchangeable’), available
also for the quick boats of the Austrian Lloyd (R. 68), 603½ or 433¼ fr.—6.Società Nazionale, Line V (Genoa to Alexandria), from (Genoa,
Leghorn) Naples on Thurs. aft. to Alexandria (returning Thurs. aft.), in
4 days; fare 252 or 172½ fr.
The great liners of the P. & 0., Orient Royal, Royal Mail, White Star,
Bibby, and other British companies are almost exclusively for through-passengers
from Gibraltar or Marseilles to Port Said, India, Australia, etc.
From Marseilles and Genoa to Naples, see RR. 23, 24; from
Naples to the Straits of Messina, see R. 27.
On the left, beyond Messina, are seen the ruins of Reggio (p. 159),
at the foot of the Aspromonte, the S. point of Calabria.
418Leaving the Straits of Messina, we steer across the Ionian Sea,
to the E.S.E., in a direct line for Egypt. Mt. Ætna (p. 159) remains
long in sight. For two days we lose sight of land. The mountains
of Crete (p. 415) are visible on the voyage to Alexandria only in
perfectly clear weather; but on the voyage to Port Said we pass
within a few miles of Crete and near the island of Gavdos, Ital.
Gozo (1063 ft.; lighthouse), which flanks Crete on the S.W.
On the Alexandria Voyage, nearing land, we overlook the
long isthmus of Lake Mareotis (p. 432), from the sand-hill near
Abusîr, on the E. shore of the Arabian Gulf (p. 415), to Ramleh
(p. 436) and Fort Abukîr on the W. shore of that gulf. The chief
landmarks are the lighthouse of Râs et-Tîn (p. 434) and Fort
Cafarelli or Napoléon (p. 434).
We pass through the strait of Boghaz, amidst the chain of cliffs
between Râs et-Tîn and the fortified Marabout Island, and sight
the two lighthouses of El-Meks in succession. Lastly we steer
through the outer harbour, with its breakwater, and past the New
or Gabbari Mole (Môle aux Charbons), 1000 yds. long, into the
inner harbour of Alexandria (comp. p. 434).
On the Port Said Voyage the flat coast of Egypt is generally
approached at night. We first sight the lights of Damietta, on the
E. bank of the Damietta branch of the Nile, the ancient Phatnitic
Arm. This and the Rosetta arm are now the only mouths of the
river, which had seven in ancient times.
A conspicuous landmark is Fort Jemil, between the former
Mendesian and Tanitic mouths. It rises on the low downs flanking
Lake Menzaleh (970 sq. M.), the largest lagoon in the Nile delta.
The entrance to Port Said (p. 436), 766 yds. in breadth, is
marked by a lighthouse, several minor lights, and a number of
buoys. On the W. pier (r.) rises the Lesseps monument (p. 437).
Between Venice and Alexandria (1423 M.), Società Nazionale (Line
VII: Venice, Alexandria, Port Said) on the 14th and 28th of every month
(returning 1st and 15th), viâ Ancona, Bari, and Brindisi, in 5–6 days;
fare 280 fr. 95 or 191 fr. 30 c. (from Brindisi 195 fr. 25 or 132 fr. 15 c.).
Agents at Venice, see p. 420; at Brindisi, p. 429; at Alexandria, p. 432.
Between Trieste and Alexandria (1383 M.), Austrian Lloyd, two
lines: 1st. Quick steamer from Trieste on Thurs. noon (from Brindisi
Frid. aft.), in ca. 4 days (returning from Alexandria Sat. aft., from Brindisi
Tues. foren.); fare 360 or 245 fr. (from Brindisi 300 or 200 fr.). 2nd.
Trieste and Syria Line (R. 72), on Sat. foren., viâ Gravosa (occasionally) and
Brindisi, in 5 days (returning Thurs. aft.); fare 250 or 175 fr. (from Brindisi
200 or 135 fr.). Agents at Trieste, see p. 425; at Brindisi, p. 429; at Alexandria,
p. 432.
419Between Trieste and Port Said, Austrian Lloyd, Syrian Line, see
above; also the Bombay steamers (usually 1st and 16th of every month; to
Port Said in 4 days), the Calcutta steamers (12th and 25th of each month;
6 days), and the Japan steamers (27th of each month; 6 days). Agent at
Port Said, see p. 437.
From Brindisi to Port Said, P. & O. on Sun. morn., corresponding with
Calais and Brindisi express, chiefly for through-passengers to India.
Venice.—At the Railway Station (Pl. C, D, 3; Restaurant, good),
where care of heavier luggage may be left to the hotel porters, are a gondola
station and two piers for the local steamers (see below).—Agents
for sleeping-cars, Thos. Cook & Son and P. Faerber (see p. 420).
Arrival by Sea. The steamers anchor in the Canale di San Marco,
opposite the Punta della Salute (Pl. G, 6). Custom-house examination on
board. Gondola tariff, see below.
Hotels.Hôt. Royal Danieli (Pl. a; H, 5), on the Riva degli Schiavoni
with its fine views, R. 7–30, B. 2, déj. 4, D. 7–10, pens. 15–25 fr.;
*Hôt. de l’Europe (Pl. b; G, 6), on the Canal Grande, entrance Calle
del Ridotto, R. 5–8, B. 2, déj. 5, D. 7, pens. 14–18 fr., frequented by American
and French travellers; Grand-Hôtel (Pl. o ; F, 6), on the Canal Grande,
entr. Via Ventidue Marzo, Ramo Minotto 2322, R. 7–30, B. 1½, déj. 4, D.
7 fr.; *Gr.-Hôt. Britannia (Pl. c; G, 6), also on the Canal Grande, entr.
Corte Barozzi, similar charges; four high-class houses.—Less pretending:
*Gr.-Hôt. d’Italie (Pl. h; G, 6), in Campo San Moisè and on the Canal
Grande, R. 3½–15, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 5–6 fr., often full; *Grand Canal
Hotel & Monaco (Pl. l; G, 6), on the Canal Grande, entr. Calle Vallaresso,
R. from 5, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 6 fr.; *Hôt. Regina (Pl. t; G, 6), also
on the Canal Grande, entr. Calle Traghetto, R. 5–18, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 5 fr.,
frequented by English and American travellers; Hôt. de Milan & Bristol
(Pl. u; G, 6), also on the Canal Grande, entr. Calle Traghetto, R. from 4,
B. 1½, déj. 3–3½, D. 4½–5 fr.; Hôt. Beau-Rivage (Pl. r; H, I, 5), Riva
degli Schiavoni, R. from 4, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5 fr., patronized by English
and American travellers.
Restaurants. *Bauer-Grünwald, Via Ventidue Marzo, adjoining
the Gr.-Hôt. d’Italie; Pilsen, in the Moderne Hôt. Manin, N.W. corner of
the Piazza of St. Mark.
Cafés.Florian, Aurora, Quadri, all in the Piazza of St. Mark.—Tea
Room.Ortes, Via Ventidue Marzo 2288.
Gondolas, the famous and picturesque boats which are the cabs of
Venice, have their chief station on the Molo (Pl. H, 6; p. 422). Tariff:
in the town, per hour, 1–2 pers. 1½, 3–4 pers. 2, 5–6 pers. 2½ fr. (after
dusk ½ fr. extra); half these charges for each addit. ½ hr.; from the Molo
to the sea-going steamers, or the reverse, 20 c. each passenger; trunk 20,
small packages 5 c.—A boat with two gondolieri costs double. (As a
rule one, ‘basta uno’, is enough.) In case of dispute with the boatmen,
often insolent and especially towards ladies travelling alone, a vígile
municipale (policeman) may be applied to.
The Local Steamers (Vaporetti Comunali), which do not carry
luggage, ply (except in fog) on the main line through the Canal Grande
every 10–15 min., from 6 a.m. till midnight; fare 10, to the Lido 20 c.
(money changed on board; fare paid on landing). The chief landing-stages
(Pontoni), beginning from the station, are: 1. Scalzi (Pl. D, 3), near the
exit from the station; 2. Cerva, Riva del Carbón (Pl. G, 4), for the Rialto
bridge (p. 421) and streets (p. 421) leading to St. Mark’s; 3. San Tomà
(Pl. E, 5), for the church of the Frari (p. 422); 4. Accadémia (Pl. E, 6),
for the picture-gallery (p. 422); 5. San Marco (Pl. G, 6; near the Calle
Vallaresso), for St. Mark’s; 6. San Zaccaria (Pl. H, 5), for the Riva degli
Schiavoni and St. Mark’s; 7. Giardini Pubblici (Pl. L, 7); 8. Lido (p. 424;
April-Oct. only). In the reverse direction the steamers call at the Riva
del Carbón (Pl. G, 4) instead of Cerva, and at Santa Lucia, close to the
entrance to the railway-station (see above), instead of Scalzi.
A minor line connects the Riva degli Schiavoni (comp. Pl. H, 5, 6)
with the islands of San Giorgio Maggiore (Pl. H, I, 7; p. 424) and
Giudecca; in April-Sept. every ½ hr., in winter hourly.
420A third line plies from the Riva degli Schiavoni (dep. near the Ponte
della Paglia, Pl. H, 5, 6) direct to the Lido, every 20–30 min. Ticket 15,
return 25 c.; or, incl. adm. to bath-house 40 c., incl. bath 1 fr. 30 c.
Post Office. Fóndaco dei Tedeschi (Pl. G, 4; p. 421), near the Rialto
bridge, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; poste restante in the court, on the left.—Telegraph
Office (Pl. G, 6; also branch post-office), Bocca di Piazza,
behind the W. side of St. Mark’s Piazza.
Banks.Banca Commerciale Italiana, Via Ventidue Marzo 2188;
Società Bancaria Italiana, San Marco, Bocca di Piazza 1239; Guetta
(American Express Co.), Campo San Moisè; Thos. Cook & Son, see below.—Bookseller.Istituto Veneto di Arti Gráfiche, Piazza San Marco 40.
Tourist Agents.Thos. Cook & Son, Piazzetta dei Leoni 289 (N. side
of San Marco); P. Faerber, in Hôt. d’Italie (p. 419), also town-agent for
the railway.
Steamboat Agents.North German Lloyd, Piazza San Marco 118;
Hamburg-American (for winter pleasure-cruises by ‘Meteor’), P. Faerber,
see above; Società Nazionale, Campo Morosini 2802; Austrian Lloyd,
for the Venice and Trieste Line (p. 425), in the Piazzetta (p. 423); Hungarian
Croatian Co., Thos. Cook & Son (see above).
Consuls. British, E. de Zuccato, Traghetto San Felice, Grand Canal.—United
States Consul, J. V. Long, Campiello Querini Stampaglia 5257.
Churches.English (St. George’s), Campo San Vio 731; Presbyterian,
Piazza of St. Mark 95.
One Day may suffice for a hurried glance, but a week or more should
if possible be devoted to this unique city. Sail through the Grand Canal;
inspection of the piazza and the church of St. Mark and the Doges’ Palace
(p. 423).—Of the Churches St. Mark’s (p. 423) is open throughout the day,
Santi Giovanni e Paolo (p. 424) and Frari (p. 422) save from 12–2 (adm.
in the afternoon, till their restoration is completed, 50 c.). The Doges’
Palace is open on week-days, 9–3 (adm. 1 fr., or incl. visit to the
Archæological Museum and the Prigioni 2½ fr.), on Sun. and holidays
10–2, free. Academy (p. 422) on week-days 9–4 (adm. 1 fr.), on Sun. and
holidays 10–2, free.
Venice, Ital. Venezia, once the most brilliant commercial city
in the world, now a provincial capital, with 148,500 inhab., of whom
one quarter are practically paupers, is a commercial and naval
port. It lies 2½ M. from the mainland in the lagoons, a shallow
bay 25 M. long by 9½ M. broad, separated from the Adriatic by
narrow sandy strips of land (lidi). The city is built on piles, on
117 islets, and is intersected by over 150 canals, which are crossed
by 378 bridges. The interior of the town consists of a labyrinth
of narrow streets and lanes, some of them scarcely 5 ft. wide. The
centre of traffic is the Piazza San Marco (‘la Piazza’), with the
adjacent Piazzetta. The other open spaces are called campi or
campielli. The local name for a street is calle or salizzada, and
for a narrow canal rio.
The tribe of the Veneti, the ancient inhabitants of N.E.Italy, were
of Illyrian race, but became Romanized in the 3rd cent. B. C. The havoc
committed on the mainland by the barbarian Huns compelled the inhabitants
of the coast to seek refuge in the islands of the lagoons, where
in 697 they formed the Venetian League, headed by a doge (dux). In
811 Rivoalto (now Venice) became their capital. Aided by its close
connection with the Byzantine Empire (p. 541), the town rose to be a
rival of Genoa in its important traffic between East and West. In its
art also Venice was under Oriental influence throughout the middle ages.
After the conquest of Constantinople by the great doge Enrico Dandolo421in 1204, the lion of St. Mark laid his mighty talons on the coasts and
islands of Greece and Asia Minor. On the Italian continent also the
republic gradually extended its conquests to Bergamo.
The 15th cent. saw the zenith of the republic’s glory, when her fleet
commanded the whole of the E. Mediterranean. But after their capture
of Constantinople in 1453 the Turks began to menace the Venetian
supremacy. The discovery of America and of the new sea-routes to
India carried the world’s traffic into new channels, while her continental
possessions involved her in the wars between the rival powers of France,
Austria, and Spain. Her protracted conflicts with the Turks led in 1718
to the final loss of all her Oriental possessions, and in 1798 her political
independence was destroyed by the French. From 1814 to 1866 Venice
belonged to Austria, and since 1866 has formed a part of the kingdom
of Italy, under whose auspices her trade has somewhat revived.
The *Canal Grande or Canalazzo, the main artery of Venice,
intersects the city from the Railway Station (Pl. C, D, 3) to the
harbour (Canale or Bacino di San Marco, Pl. G-K, 6, 7), from
N.W. to S.E., and resembles an inverted S in shape. The voyage
through it by steamer (p. 419; 25 min.) or by gondola (p. 419;
1 hr., preferable) conveys a most striking impression of the magnificence
of mediæval Venice. The canal is bordered with fine old guild-houses,
sumptuous churches, and stately palaces of the 12–18th
cent., and each of its bends reveals a new and picturesque vista.
Left.
Right.
Chiesa degli Scalzi (Pl. D, 3; church of the barefooted friars), in the highly ornate baroque style (1649–89).
Fóndaco dei Turchi (Pl. E, 3; ‘trade hall of the Turks’), a late Romanesque edifice (11th cent.), restored in 1861–9, now the Museo Civico.
*Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi (Pl. E, F, 3), the most beautiful early-Renaissance palace in Venice (1509), in which Richard Wagner died in 1883.
Palazzo Pésaro (Pl. F, 3), the most brilliant example of late-Renaissance (1679), now the Gallería d’Arte Moderna.
*Cà Doro (Pl. F, 3), the most elegant Gothic palace (15th cent.).
Fóndacodei Tedeschi (Pl. G, 4; p. 420), once the warehouse of the Germans (1505).
The *Ponte di Rialto (Pl. G, 4; ‘Rivo Alto’, the ancient name of Venice; comp. p. 420), is a marble arch of 29½ yds. span and 74 ft. in breadth, flanked with shops (1588–92).
Near the bridge are the steamboat-piers of Cerva and Riva del Carbón (p. 419), whence the Mercería (Pl. G, 4, 5), a street of shops, and the Calle dei Fabbri (Pl. G, 5) both lead in 5 min. to St. Mark’s.
422
Pal. Loredan (Pl. F, 5) and Pal. Farsetti, once Dándolo, both Romanesque (12th cent.).
Pal. Corner-Spinelli, early-Renaissance, in the style of the Lombardi.
Pal. Grimani, high-Renaissance (16th cent.).
Near it is steamboat pier San Tomà (Pl. E, 5; p. 419), for the old Franciscan church *Frari (Pl. E, 5; adm., see p. 420; ticket valid also for San Tomà), in the Gothic style (1380–1417), the resting-place of many eminent Venetians, with admirable altar-pieces by Giov. Bellini and Titian (temporarily in San Tomà, close by; adm. 9–5, ticket 50 c. admitting also to the Frari church).
*Pal. Fóscari (Pl E, 5), Gothic (15th cent.).
Pal. Rezzonico (Pl E, 6), built in 1680. Robert Browning died here in 1889.
Between the Campo San Vitale (Vidal) and the Campo della Carità is the Ponte di Ferro or dell’Accadémia (Pl. E, 6).
Near the bridge is steamboat pier Accadémia (p. 419) for the *Accadémia di Belle Arti (Pl. E, 6), containing admirable Venetian pictures (G. Bellini, Carpaccio, Titian, P. Veronese). Adm., see p. 420.
Pal. Cavalli (Pl. E, 6), now Franchetti, Gothic (15th. cent.).
Pal. Corner della Cà Grande (Pl. F, 6), by Jac. Sansovino (1532).
Pal. Contarini-Fasan (Pl. F, G, 6), Gothic (14th cent.).
*Santa Maria della Salute (Pl. F, G, 6), by Bald. Longhena (17th cent.); fine pictures by Titian in the sacristy.
Dogana di Mare (Pl. G, 6), custom-house (1676–82), on the point between the Grand and the Giudecca canals.
Giardino Reale (Pl. G, 6), or royal garden, behind the Procuratie Nuove (p. 423).
Molo (Pl. H, 6), adjoining the Piazzetta (p. 423).
From the Molo, or from one of the steamboat-piers (p. 419) of
San Marco (Pl. G, 6) or San Zaccaria (Pl. H, 5), we next visit the
423**Piazza di San Marco (Pl. G, 5), the centre of the traffic of the
city. Even now this far-famed piazza (182 yds. long, 100 yds. wide
at the E. end, 61 at the W. end; paved with slabs of trachyte and
marble) conveys an admirable idea of the ancient glory of Venice.
On the N. and S. sides of the piazza rise the Procuratíe, once
the residences of the nine procurators or highest officials of the
republic. The Procuratíe Vecchie, on the N. side, were erected
in 1480–1517. The Procuratíe Nuove, now used along with the
adjacent old Library (see below) as a royal palace, were begun by
Vinc. Scamozzi in 1584. The Atrio or Nuova Fábbrica, on the
W. side, dates only from 1810. The groundfloors of these buildings,
flanked with arcades, are now occupied by cafés (p. 419) and shops.
The old Campanile di San Marco, at the corner of the Old
Library, collapsed in 1902, but has been rebuilt. The top of the
tower (adm. 15 c.) commands a fine and extensive *View. The
Torre dell’ Orologio, a clock-tower built in 1496–9, adjoining the
Old Procuratie, forms the entrance to the Mercería (p. 421).
The church of **San Marco (Pl. H, 5), which is said to contain
the bones of St. Mark, was begun in 830, rebuilt after a fire in
976, and restored after the middle of the 11th cent. in the Byzantine
style. The ground-plan (83½ yds. long, 56¾ yds. broad in front)
is in the form of a Greek cross (with equal arms), crowned with
five domes. The front arm of the cross is flanked with a colonnade.
Outside and inside the church is adorned with over five hundred
marble columns, mostly Oriental, and with mosaics, chiefly of the
10–16th centuries. The Gothic additions to the façade (15th cent.)
enhance its fantastic charm. Over the main portal are four antique
bronze-gilt horses from Constantinople.
The Interior is wonderfully impressive. The beauty of the outlines
and the magnificence of the decoration are equally striking. The priceless
Pala d’Oro, which forms the altar-piece, from Constantinople (1105), is
shown on week-days (11–2; ticket, 50 c., admits also to the Tesoro in
the right transept, 11–2).
Adjoining the Piazza of St. Mark, on the side next the lagoon,
is the *Piazzetta (Pl. H, 5, 6). The *Librería Vecchia, or old
library, now part of the royal palace (see above), by Jac. Sansovino
(1536–53), is one of the most beautiful secular buildings in Italy.
The adjacent Zecca (mint) now contains the famous library of
San Marco. On the opposite (E.) side of the square rises the—
**Doges’ Palace (Palazzo Ducale; Pl. H, 5), which is said
to have been founded in 814 as the residence of the first doge. It
was rebuilt after the fires of 976 and 1105, and has since been
repeatedly restored and altered. The Gothic exterior is flanked
with two superb arcades with pointed arches; the W. front dates
from 1423–8; the S. front, next the lagoon, is of the 14th century.
The Porta della Carta, the late-Gothic chief portal, next to
the church, leads into the quadrangle of the palace, where the
424façades, though still partly Gothic, show the influence of the new
Renaissance style. In the interior (adm., see p. 420) we visit the
central and upper floors, containing the state-apartments which were
redecorated after the fires of 1574 and 1577, a brilliant example
of the Venetian late-Renaissance and rococo art. The countless pictures
by Titian, Paolo Veronese, Jac. Tintoretto, and other masters,
proclaim the ancient glory of Venice. (Guide unnecessary. Catalogues
for public use on week-days.) The groundfloor contains the
Archaeological Museum (antiques, Renaissance sculptures, etc.).
At the E. end of the Molo (p. 422) the Ponte della Paglia
(Pl. H, 5, 6), which crosses the Rio di Palazzo, affords a good view
of the ‘Bridge of Sighs’ (Ponte dei Sospiri; Pl. H, 5), specially
interesting to readers of Childe Harold. The latter bridge connects
the Doges’ Palace with the Prigioni di San Marco.
The contiguous Riva degli Schiavoni (Pl. H, I, 5; ‘quay of
the Slavonians’) forms the sunniest promenade in the town. To the
left, nearly opposite the Monument of Victor Emmanuel II., a
narrow lane leads to the church of San Zaccaria (Pl. H, I, 5;
adm. in the afternoon 50 c.), built in 1458–1515. Over the second
altar on the left is a Madonna by Giov. Bellini (1505).
A few paces to the W. of the church is Campo San Provolo. The
street of that name to the right, the first bridge to the left, and
then the Calle Corte Rotta and the Ruga Giuffa (Pl. H, 5) lead to
Santa Maria Formosa (Pl. H, 4; knock at W. portal; gratuity
25–30 c.), with the famous *St. Barbara by Palma Vecchio.
From the Campo Santa Maria Formosa we follow the Calle Lunga
to the E., and near the end of it the Calle Bragadin to the left (N.)
to the—
Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo, with the *Monument of Colleoni
(Venetian condottiere, d. 1475), the grandest equestrian statue
of the Italian Renaissance, by the Florentine Andrea Verrocchio.
The church of *Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Pl. H, 4; adm. see
p. 420), once the church of the Dominicans and the burial-church
of the doges, erected in the Gothic style in 1330–90, is quite a
museum of Venetian sculpture. The finest monument is that of
Andrea Vendramin (d. 1478; in the choir, on the left), by Tullio
and Ant. Lombardi and Al. Leopardi.
On the S. side of the Canale di San Marco (p. 421), reached by ferry
from the Molo (‘traghetto’, 1–2 pers. 15, 3–4 pers. 20, 5–6 pers. 30 c.), or
more quickly by steamer from the Riva degli Schiavoni (see p. 419), are the
island and the Benedictine church of San Giorgio Maggiore (Pl. H, 7;
if closed, ring on the right), built by Palladio (1565) and Ant. Palliari.
The Campanile, 197 ft. high (ascent to the left of the choir; easy wooden
stairs), offers a superb **View of the city, the lagoons, and the sea,
embracing in clear weather the Alpine chain far away to the N. (finest
in the early morning or just before sunset).
425The Lido, the most fashionable sea-bathing place in Italy (height
of season July and Aug.), is reached either by the direct steamers or by
those coming from the railway-station (p. 419, 420). An electric tramway
connects the pier with the Bath Establishment (café-restaurant) and with
the large hotels on the shore.—See also Baedeker’s Northern Italy.
Trieste.—Railway Stations, 1. Stazione Meridionale (S. Station;
Pl. B, C, 2; buffet), 10 min. to the N. of the Piazza della Borsa, for Vienna,
Abbazia and Fiume, and Cervignano (Venice).—2. Stazione dello Stato
or di Sant’ Andrea (State Railway Station; Pl. A, 6), at the S. end of the
Old Harbour (p. 426), 15 min. to the S.W. of the Piazza della Borsa, for the
Tauern Railway, and for Assling and Vienna. Cabs, see below; hotel-omnibus
1 K.
Arrival by Sea. The Austrian Lloyd steamers anchor in the New
Harbour (p. 426), at Moles I-III, near the Dogana (Pl. B, 2, 3) and the
S. Station, or at the Molo San Carlo (Pl. B, 4; excursion-steamer ‘Thalia’).
Hotels.Grand-Hôtel, Riva dei Mandracchio, adjoining the Lloyd
Palace (p. 426), a first-class house, to be opened in 1911; Hôt. de la Ville
(Pl. a; C, 4), Riva Carciotti, with first-class restaurant, high charges, variously
judged; Hôt. Volpich all’ Aquila Nera (Pl. d; C, 4), with good
café-restaurant, R. 3–8 K, B. 1 K 20 h, D. 3 K, Hôt. Toniato (Pl. h; C, 4),
R. 3–10 K, both Via San Nicolò, good; Hôt. Balkan (Pl. c; C, 3), Piazza
della Caserma, R. from 3 K, B. 70 h, D. 2 K 80 h; Hôt. Vanoli (Pl. k; B, 4,
5), Piazza Grande 2; Hôt. Delorme (Pl. b; C, 4), Via del Teatro 5; Hôt.
Central (Pl. f; C, 4), Via San Nicolò 15, R. from 2 K 50–4 K 50 h, B. 1 K 20 h.
Cafés.Caffè degli Specchi, Caffè al Municipio (in the town-hall),
Orientale (in the Lloyd Palace), all in Piazza Grande; Stazione, Piazza
della Stazione.
Restaurants at the hotels. Also, Restaurant Dreher, Via della Cassa
di Risparmio (Pl. C, 4), near the Old Exchange (p. 426); La Cooperativa,
Piazza San Giovanni 5 (Pl. D, 3, 4).
Cabs. From or to the stations 1 K 60 h (9 p.m. to 6 a.m. t2 K); in
the inner town per drive with one horse 1 K (at night 1 K 20 h), farther
out 1 K 40 or 1 K 60 h; by time: ½ hr. 1 K 20 h, at night 1 K 60 h, ¾ hr.
1 K 60 or 2 K 20 h, 1 hr. 2 K or 2 K 80 h, each ¼ hr. more 50 or 60 h
(with pair, 1 K 40 or 1 K 60 h; 2 K 20 or 2 K 40 h; 2 K 80 or 3 K 20 h;
70 or 80 h). Trunk 50 h; small articles carried inside free, outside 20 h.
Tramways from the Boschetto (beyond Pl. E, 2) viâ the Piazza della
Borsa and Passeggio di Sant’ Andrea (p. 427) to Servola (p. 427); from the
S. Station to Barcola (p. 427), etc.—Electric Hill-Tramway (views on
left, best to sit backward), from the Piazza della Caserma (Pl. C, D, 3) viâ
(2½ M.) Obelisco (80 h) in ½ hr. to (3¾ M.) the rail, station of Opčina
(p. 427; 1 M. to the S.W. from the S. Station).
Motor Omnibus in the forenoon, on week-days only, every hour
to Miramar (p. 427; return-fare 3 K).
Steamboat Lines.Austrian Lloyd (offices in Lloyd Palace, Pl. B, 4)
to Venice (daily in summer, in 4–6½ hrs.; in winter Tues., Thurs., Sat.,
returning Mon., Wed., and Frid.); quick boats to Alexandria; other lines
to Syria and to Port Said (comp. p. 418); quick boats to the Piræus (for
Athens) and Constantinople (R. 78), etc.; Cunard Line (agents, Schröder
& Co.), viâ Fiume, Palermo, Naples, and Gibraltar to New York (R. 16);
Austro-American Line (office Via Molin Piccolo 2) to Buenos Ayres, to
Almeria, Cadiz, and Las Palmas, to New York, and to Patras (R. 78) and
Palermo; German Levant Line to Tunis, Algiers, and Oran; Hungarian-Croatian
Co. (agent, Maule, Riva dei Pescatori 16) and Croatian Steamboat
Co. to Fiume.—Local Steamers (from Molo San Carlo, Pl. B, 4) to
Barcola (p. 427), half-hourly in summer, and to Miramar (p. 427) twice daily.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. 12; C, 3), Piazza delle Poste.
Consuls. British Consul-General, J. B. Spence; vice-consul, N. Salvary.—United
426States Consul, M. G. Hotschick; vice-consul O. Demartini.—Lloyd’s
Agent, R. Greenham, Via San Lazzaro 15.
English Church Services, in the Via San Michele 1714, every
Sun. at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Trieste (pop. 221,000, Italians, Slovenians, and Germans; in
1758 about 6400 only), the Roman Tergeste, the chief seaport of
Austria and in the E. Mediterranean, lies on the E. shore of the
Bay of Trieste, at the head of the Adriatic and at the foot of the
Karst or Carso Plateau (1945 ft.), which is often visited by N.E.
gales (Bora). Having become the heiress of Venice Trieste was a
free harbour from 1719 to 1891; in 1833 it became the seat of the
Austrian Lloyd, the oldest and one of the greatest of the steamboat
companies in the Mediterranean. The harbour is entered by
ca. 12,000 vessels annually (imports 573, exports 508 million
florins). The new Tauern Railway, completed in 1909, the direct
route to the Baths of Gastein, the Tyrol, and thence to Germany, is
expected to give a new impulse to the trade of the city.
The Harbour comprises the Porto Vecchio (Pl. A, B, 4), sheltered
by the Molo Santa Teresa (Pl. A, 5; lighthouse) of 1756,
the Porto Nuovo (Pl. A, 1–3), with its four moles and a breakwater
1186 yds. long, constructed in 1867–83, and the Porto Nuovo di
Sant’ Andrea or Francesco Giuseppe Primo (Pl. A, B, 7). The
last, in the Bay of Muggia, was completed in 1910. Between the
Porto Nuovo and Porto Vecchio is the Canal Grande (Pl. C, 4),
completed in 1756, for small vessels only.
Near the old harbour are the two busiest squares in the town,
the Piazza Grande (Pl. B, C, 4) and the Piazza della Borsa. In the
Piazza Grande are a marble Statue of Charles VI. and the Maria
Teresa Fountain (1751). On its E. side rises the Municipio or
town-hall (Pl. C, 4). Next to the sea are pleasure-grounds; at the S.
end of these is the Lloyd Palace (Pl. B, 4); at the N. end is the
Luogotenenza (or governor’s residence; Pl. 7, C, 4).
To the N. of the Piazza Grande are the Theatre (Teatro Comunale
Giuseppe Verdi, Pl. C, 4) and the Tergesteo (Pl. 13; C, 4), the
new exchange, built in 1852. The Borsa, or old exchange (Pl. C, 4),
is now the seat of the chamber of commerce.
The Via del Corso (Pl. C, D, 4), the main street of Trieste,
running to the E. from the Piazza della Borsa, separates the new
town from the streets of the old town, which ascend the castle-hill.
The old Castello (Pl. D, 5) now contains the barracks. Fine views
are obtained from the terraces of the Convento dei Cappuccini
(Pl. D, 4, 5) and of the Cathedral (Basilica San Giusto; Pl. 3, D, 5;
closed 12–3), which is composed of three early-Christian churches
(6th cent.), united in the 14th century.
Between the cathedral and the Piazza Grande are the open-air
Museo Lapidario (Pl. 9; C, 5), Via della Cattedrale 9, and the
Arco di Riccardo (Pl. 1a; C, 5), the remains of a Roman arch.
427In the Piazza Lipsia, to the S.W. of the Piazza Grande, rises
the Commercial and Nautical Academy (Pl. 1; B, 5), containing
the Museo Civico of natural history and antiquities. Near it is
the Piazza Giuseppina (Pl. B, 5), with a bronze monument by Schilling
to the Archduke Maximilian (d. 1867; see below).
Environs. By the Passeggio di Sant’ Andrea (Pl. A-E, 6, 7), past
the Stabilimento Tecnico (Pl. B, 7) and Lloyd Arsenal (Pl. C, D, 7), to
(2½ M.) Servola (tramway, p. 425).—By hill-tramway (p. 425) to *Obelisco
(1125 ft.; Hotel), with terrace; walk thence to the N.W. along the foot of
the Karst to the Belvedere (1303 ft.; fine view; best in the evening).
The *Excursion to Miramar is best made in the afternoon; the traveller
should ascertain whether or not the park and château are open. The
highroad (4½ M.; motor-omnibus, see p. 425) skirts the coast. We may
take the train also from the S. Station to (5 M.) Miramar or to (5½ M.)
Grignano and descend thence in ¼ hr. (or ½ hr.) to Miramar, or take
the tramway (p. 425) to Barcola (sea-baths; Hôt. Excelsior) and walk
thence to (2½ M.) Miramar (motor-omnibus 60 h). The pleasantest route,
however, is that of the steamer (p. 425),—The imperial château of
Miramar, on the beautiful Punta di Grignano, was built in 1854–6 by
Archd. Maximilian. It was here that he accepted the imperial crown of
Mexico (1864). The château, which has a charming park, is open to the
public (10–12 and 3–5, in winter 2–4; adm. 60 h).
From the S. station of Opčina (pronounced Óptchina; see p. 425; ordinary
trains only stop here) directly in ½ hr. (or from Trieste viâ Miramar,
10½ M. Nabresina, and 18 M. Opčina in 1¼–2½ hrs.) to (10 or
28 M.) Divača (pronounced Divátcha; 1418 ft.; Buffet, also R. 2 K 80 h,
good; quarters also at the Restaurant Obersnel), station for (1 M.) Kronprinz
Rudolf’s Grotto (tickets, etc. at the buffet), for the (¾ hr.) Stephanie-Warte
(1428 ft.; view), and for the grand Cataracts and Caverns of St.
Canzian (tickets and guides at the inn of Joh. Gombač at Matavun, ½ hr.
below the Stephanie-Warte, ¾ hr. from Divača).
See also Baedeker’s Austria-Hungary.
The Italian Steamers from Venice to Alexandria usually leave
the lagoons to the N. of the Lido (p. 424), avoiding Chioggia and
the marshy delta of the Po. They then steer down the Adriatic Sea
towards Ancona. In clear weather we obtain a superb view of the
Alps, of the Euganean hills to the N.W., and of the Apennines,
whose offshoots come close down to the Adriatic near Rimini.
Ancona (Hôt. Roma e Pace, etc.; Brit, vice-consul; pop. 33,300,
incl. about 6000 Jews), 140 M. to the S.E. of Venice, a strongly
fortified town and the busiest seaport on the E. coast of Italy, is
splendidly situated between the headlands of Monte Astagno and
Monte Guasco, the N.W. spurs of Monte Conero (p. 428).
The Harbour, an oval basin open towards the W., is considered
the best in Italy. The well-preserved Arch of Trajan, in marble,
of 115 A.D., and a Triumphal Arch of the time of Pope Clement XII.
(1730–40) recall the two founders of the N. quays. The Banchina,
on the E. side of the harbour, is a modern quay (1880).
From the Dogana we may walk to the E. in a few minutes to
the church of Santa Maria della Piazza, with its lavishly decorated
façade (1210), and to the late-Gothic Loggia dei Mercanti428(Exchange; 1454–9). A little to the E. is the Prefettura (15–16th
cent.), with its fine quadrangle and a superb Renaissance archway.
The Via del Comune, near this, leads to the N., past the Palazzo
del Comune (of 1493, but much modernized), to the *Cathedral (San
Ciriaco; closed 12 to 4.30), on Monte Guasco, a fine point of view.
The church, in which Byzantine and Romanesque forms are mingled,
dates from 1128–89; the fine porch is of the 13th century.
The Steamers round the N. pier, and beyond Monte dei Cappuccini
(lighthouse) pass Monte Conero (1877 ft.; the ancient
Promontorium Cunerum), crowned with a Camaldulensian monastery.
This limestone mass does not form part of the Apennines,
in front of which it lies, and geologically considered is perhaps,
like Monte Gargano (see below), a relic of the great Dalmatian
limestone tableland (p. 429).
The coast recedes. In clear weather we sight in succession the
summits of the Central Apennines, snow-clad till July: Monte
Vettore (8130 ft.), the highest of the Monti Sibillini, the Gran
Sasso d’Italia (9561 ft.) in the Abruzzi, and the Maiella, with
Monte Amaro (9170 ft.).
After some time we pass the four low Trémiti Islands, the
mythical Insulae Diomedeae, and then the rocky island of Pianosa
(ancient Planasia), beyond which we sight Monte Gargáno
(3464 ft.; Mons Garganus), once, as late as the tertiary age, an
island separated from the mainland by a strait.
Off the lighthouse of Vieste, on the E. side of the peninsula, we
steer away from the Bay of Manfredonia and due S.E. to—
Bari (Hôt. Cavour, Corso Vittorio Emanuele; Caffè del Risorgimento,
at the hotel; Brit. vice-cons. and U. S. cons. agent; pop.
73,400), the ancient Barium, a provincial capital and the largest
trading town in Apulia. As in the time of Horace, this is the part
of the Adriatic where fish are most abundant.
From the Porto Nuovo, on the N.W. side of the old town, Monte
Gargano, often cloud-capped, is visible even in rainy weather. The
small Porto Vecchio, on the E. side, admits small craft only.
The sights of the old town are the Castle, once that of the
Hohenstaufen, dating from Emp. Frederick II. (1223; now barracks
and signalling station), the Cathedral, a Romanesque church of the
12th cent. modernized in 1745, and the church of San Nicóla,
dedicated to St. Nicholas of Bari. San Nicola and the small church
of San Gregorio near it date from the end of the 11th century.—The
old town and the new (Borgo) are separated by the broad
Corso Vittorio Emanuele, which ends in pleasant promenades.
Beyond Bari we skirt the coast, where in the seaports of Mola
di Bari, Polignano a Mare, and Monopoli, with their white
houses, we see the first signs of the Orient. The Faro di Penna,
429the lighthouse on Capo Gallo, and the lighthouses in the islands of
Sant’ Andrea (see below) and Le Petagne mark the approach to
(475 M.) Brindisi (see below).
The Austrian Lloyd Steamers, on leaving Trieste (p. 425), steer
to the S.W. through the Bay of Trieste, avoiding the numerous bays
of the N.W. coast of Istria; then, beyond the lighthouse of Salvore,
the ancient Silvium Promontorium, they keep in sight of the hilly,
olive-clad W. coast of Istria. We pass the small coast-towns of
Umago, Cittanuova, and Parenzo (ancient Parentium), then the
lighthouse on the Marmi Bank, the Canal di Leme, a kind of
fiord, backed by Monte Maggiore (4580 ft.), and the harbour of
Rovigno, sheltered by cliffs (scogli).
Beyond the cliff of San Giovanni in Pélago (lighthouse) we
pass the Isŏle Brioni, where the Venetians once quarried stone for
their palaces and churches. Fine view of the deeply cut bay of
Pola, the chief naval seaport of Austria, used also by the Romans
of the imperial age as a naval harbour.
Beyond Cape Promontore (ancient Polaticum Promontorium),
the flat S. extremity of Istria, with a lighthouse on the Porer Cliff,
a delightful view in clear weather is revealed of the Dalmatian
islands, relics of the ancient Dalmatian limestone plateau, now submerged
in the Adriatic. The most conspicuous are Lussin (Apsorus
Insula), culminating in Monte Ossero (1929 ft.), and to the
E., overtopped by it, Unie and Sansego with their lighthouses.
We pass the large islands of Lunga or Grossa and Incoronata
(Celadussae Insulae), lying off the coast near Zara. A good way
farther on we sight the rocky islet of Pomo, midway between
Dalmatia and the E. coast of Italy; then the islands of Sant’ Andrea
(1001 ft.), Busi (788 ft.; containing the Spelonca di Ballon, resembling
the blue grotto of Capri), and Lissa (1920 ft.; ancient
Issa), where the Austrian fleet defeated the Italian in 1866.
Between the islands of Cazza (797 ft.) and Lagosta (1368 ft.;
ancient Ladesta) and the Italian island-group of Pelagosa, we
may descry Monte Gargano (p. 428) to the S.W. in clear weather.
We now steer straight towards the Faro di Penna (p. 428).
Brindisi.—The Quay is on the N.E. side of the town; the
Station, on the S.W. side, is ¾ M. from the quay. Between them runs
the Corso Garibaldi, continued to the W. by Corso Umberto Primo.
Hotels (charges should be agreed upon beforehand). Grand-Hôt.
International, at the quay, R. 5–10, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 6, omn. 1½ fr.;
Albergo Europa, Corso Garibaldi 147, R. from 2 fr.; Alb. Centrale, Corso
Garibaldi 67, near the harbour; these two, with restaurants, fairly good.—Café
Caprez.
Cab (bargaining necessary) from station to quay 60 c., 2 pers. 1 fr.,
3 pers. 1 fr. 20 c.; ½ hr. 2, 1 hr. 3 fr.; at night 20 c. more; trunk 20 c.
Post & Telegraph Office, Corso Umberto Primo and on the quay.
British Consul, S. G. Cocoto.
Steamboat Offices.Società Nazionale, Via Margherita 32; Austrian
Lloyd, Thos. Cook & Son, Strada Marina.—The steamers are generally
430moored at the quay; otherwise, landing or embarkation 60 c.—Lloyd’s
Agent, Sig. Nervegna.—English Church Service in winter.
Brindisi (pop. 22,000), a quiet town, the seat of an archbishop,
has been ever since ancient times an important starting-point for
the East. In the middle ages its harbour was often sought by the
Crusaders, and hosts of travellers now pass through it on their way
to or from Egypt, India, Australia, etc. The inner harbour, sheltered
from every wind, consists of two natural creeks formed by
erosion; in the southmost, the Seno di Ponte Piccolo, 492 yds. long,
the large steamers are easily berthed. The channel connecting the
inner harbour with the outer had become choked with sand in the
later middle ages, but was reopened in 1755 and lined with masonry
in 1866. On the island of Sant’ Andrea, outside the harbour,
rises a castle of the 15th cent., now a quarantine station.
The town offers few sights. On a height close to the quay stands
a Column, 62 ft. high, with a rich capital containing figures of gods.
Adjacent is the base of a second column. The unfinished inscription
on the first mentions Lupus Protospatha, a Byzantine governor, who
restored the town in the 10th cent. after its destruction by the Saracens.
These columns are said to have marked the end of the Via
Appia which led from Rome to Tarentum and Brundisium, and they
perhaps bore a beacon-fire. The Gothic Castle, with its huge round
towers, on the N. creek, to the W. of the town, built by Emp. Frederik
II. about 1235 and strengthened by Charles V., now contains
a bagno for galley convicts. The baptistery of San Giovanni al
Sepolcro (11th cent.), with its fine portals and frescoes, is now a
museum of antiquities. The Cathedral, in its present form, is of
the 18th cent.; at the corner of a street opposite is a mediæval house
with an elaborate balcony. The Norman church of San Benedetto
(early 13th cent.) has an interesting side-portal and fine cloisters.
Santa Lucia has a crypt with relics of Byzantine frescoes.
Leaving Brindisi the Steamer next passes through the Straits
of Otranto, the entrance to the Adriatic, about 47 M. in breadth,
within sight at first of the flat and marshy coast of Apulia, with
the lighthouse of San Cataldo. To the E., on the coast of Albania,
rise the Acroceraunian Mts. (p. 496).
Far away to the left appear the Othonian Islands (p. 496),
belonging to Greece, and the W. coast of Corfu (p. 495).
Steering through the Ionian Sea we near the W. coast of
Kephallenía (p. 500) and Zante (p. 502). Off the Strophades
(p. 502) we sight the Messenian Peninsula, with Mt. Ægaleon
(p. 502).
Beyond the Œnussae Islands (p. 493) we proceed to the E.S.E.
till at length we pass the W. coast of Crete (p. 415) and the island of
Gavdos (p. 418). We then lose sight of land until near Alexandria
or Port Said (comp. p. 418).
431
Arrival. Most of the steamers are berthed at the quay in the inner
harbour (otherwise the fare to or from the steamer is 2 pias., at night 3 pias.,
each trunk 1 pias.). After the formalities of the sanitary authorities are
concluded, the care of heavier baggage is entrusted to one of the Arabian
hotel porters, or to Cook’s agents (p. 432), who wear an official cap or badge.
The inclusive charge to the hotel or to the railway-station is 15–20 pias.,
which through-passengers to Cairo may sometimes pay in advance at one
of the tourist agencies before starting on their journey. The custom-house
examination is usually lenient.
6. Money. The Egyptian Pound (£E, ‘livre égyptienne’) contains
100 Piastres (pias.) of 10 Millièmes (mill.) each. The Arabic for piastre is
kirsh, pl. kurûsh (pronounced in Cairo ’irsh and ’urûsh), but the European
name is known everywhere. Petty traders often distinguish between the
‘great piastre’ of 10 mill, (kirsh sâgh) and the ‘little piastre’ of 5 mill.
(kirsh tarifa). In the following data the ‘great’ is always understood.
The Egyptian pound is worth ca. 20s. 6d., the piastre nearly 2½d.
Egyptian gold coins are rare, their place being taken by the sovereign
(ginê inglîsi, 97½ pias.), the French 20 fr. piece (bint, 77 pias.), and the
Turkish pound (mejidîyeh, 87½ pias.), which are all legally current.
The silver coins are riyâl masri (20 pias.), nusse riyâl (10 pias.), rub’a
riyâl (5 pias., 1s. ¼d., often called a ‘shilling’ at Cairo), kirshen (2 pias.),
and kirsh or kirsh sâgh (1 pias.). Nickel: nusse kirsh or kirsh tarifa
(½ pias.), 2 mill. (⅕ pias.), and 1 mill. (ca. ¼d.). Copper: ½ and ¼ mill.
Eastern European time, which is about 2 hrs. in advance of Greenwich,
is observed in Egypt.
Railway Station.Gare du Caire or Bab el-Guedid (Pl. G, 5; buffet),
near the old Porte Moharrem Bey.
Hotels (English style). Savoy Palace (Pl. g; H, 4), Rue de la
Porte de Rosette 35, R. 40–70,. B. 10, déj. 20, D. 30, pens. 80, omn. 5 pias.;
Metropole Hotel (Pl. k; F, G, 3), Rue Avéroff, near the E. harbour,
R. 20–30, B. 6, déj. 15, D. 20, pens. 40–60, omn. 5 pias., well spoken of;
Excelsior Hotel (Pl. a; H, 4), Rue de la Porte de Rosette 15; Grand-Hôtel
(Pl. b; F, 4), Square Ste. Catherine, R. from 25, B. 6, déj. or D. 20,
pens. 60–80, omn. 5 pias.; Windsor Hotel (Pl. d; G, 3), Rue Avéroff 7,
near the E. harbour, R. from 17, déj. 15, D. 20, pens. from 50 pias.; Hôt.
Bristol (Pl. i; G, 4), Rue de la Gare de Ramleh; Hôt. des Voyageurs
(Pl. f; F, 4), Rue de l’Eglise Ecossaise 4, pens. 11 fr.; Hôt. Bonnard
(Pl. e; F, 3), Rue Champollion 7, pens. from 42 pias.—Hôtels Garnis.Hôt. du Nil (Pl. h: F, 3), Rue de l’Ancienne Bourse 11; Hôt. Continental
(Pl. c; F, 4), Rue de France 2.
Cafés (cup of Arabian coffee 1 pias.). Several in Place Méhémet Ali
(Pl. F, 4), etc.—Confectioners.Confiserie Albengo, Rue Chérif Pacha 17;
Groppi, same street, No. 33; Zola, Rue Toussoun Pacha 3; Sault, Rue
Chérif Pacha 26.
Restaurants.Ristorante Firenze, Rue de la Poste 14 (Pl. F, 3, 4);
Restaurant Universel, Rue de l’Ancienne Bourse 9 (Pl. F, 4); same street,
Nos. 3 and 6, Old Bourse Bar and Spathis; Castelli, Rue Chérif Pacha 1.
Tramways (see Plan), all diverging from Place Méhémet Ali. Uniform
fare, 1st cl. 10, 2nd cl. 5 mill., with right to one change of car.—Electric
line to Ramleh (p. 436) every 5 min. till midnight (dep., see Pl. G, 3).—There
are in addition several services of Motor Omnibuses plying within
the town and to the suburbs.
Cabs (Arabic arabîyeh). In the town, drive of 10 min. 2 pias., with
two horses 3 pias.; 20 min. 2½ or 4 pias.; ½ hr. 3 or 5 pias.; hr. 6 or
9 pias.; each addit. ¼ hr. 1½ or 2 pias.; from steamer to railway-station
3 or 5 pias. (See tariff in vehicle as to suburbs). The aid of a friend who
speaks the language is desirable in bargaining for long drives.
432Post Office (Pl. F, 3), open 7–12 and 2 to 9.30. Postage, see p. 441.
France has its own post-office, Rue de la Gare de Ramleh 2.—Telegraph
Offices.Egyptian, Rue Tewfik Premier 1; British, Rue du Télégraphe
Anglais 5 (Pl. F, 4).
Consulates. British (Pl. 6; H, 3), Rue de l’Hôpital Egyptien: consul-general,
D. E. Cameron; vice-consul, E. H. Mulock.—United States, Rue
Chérif Pacha 21; consul, D. R. Birch; vice-consul, F. L. Romeo.
Tourist Agents.Thos. Cook & Son, Rue de la Porte de Rosette 2;
Clark, Grand-Hôtel; Hamburg-American, Square Ste. Catherine (Pl. F, 4);
F. Th. Fotiades & Co., Rue Chérif Pacha 22.
Physicians.Dr. Morrison, Place Méhémet Ali; Dr. Webb Jones,
Rue de Stamboul; Dr. Elkins (Government Hospital); Dr. Forster (lady-doctor);
Dr. Hoddad, Rue de la Gare de Ramleh 29.
Steamboat Offices.Peninsular & Oriental, Rue Avéroff (Haselden
& Co.; ‘Box 153’); Messageries Maritimes (RR. 67, 72), Ricard, Rue de
l’Eglise Debbane 5; Austrian Lloyd (RR. 68, 72), Rue de la Porte de
Rosette; Società Nazionale (RR. 67, 68, 72), Capt. Baldovino, Rue Sésostris
12; Khedivial Mail Steamship Co. (RR. 72, 75, 76), Rue Centrale;
North German Lloyd (R. 67) and Rumanian Mail (R. 76), Müller & Co.,
Rue Sésostris 16; German Levant Line (R. 72), Stross, No. 11, same street;
White Star, Ross & Co., Rue de la Marine; Russian Steam Navigation
& Trading Co. (RR. 72, 75, 76), Reidemeister, Rue St. Marc 1.
Banks (usually 9–12 and 3–5). Ottoman, Place Méhémet Ali 5 (Pl. F, 4);
National Bank of Egypt, Rue Toussoun Pacha 4 (Pl. G, 4); Anglo-Egyptian,
Rue Chérif Pacha 7; Crédit Lyonnais, same street, No. 4; Bank of Egypt,
Rue Tewfik 4; Deutsche Orientbank (Pl. F, 4), Rue Adib 4.
Photographs.Reiser & Binder, Rue de l’Ancienne Bourse 6 (also
art-dealers); Lassave, Rue de l’Eglise Debbane 7; Fettel & Bernard, Rue
Toussoun Pacha 1. Photographical requisites at Delmar’s, Rue Tewfik
Premier.
Theatres.Zizinia (Pl. G, 4), Rue de la Porte de Rosette, often
closed; French and Italian operas, alternating after 1st Jan. with Cairo.—Variety
Theatres (all with gardens): Alhambra (Pl. G, 4); Nuovo Teatro
Alhambra, cor. of Rue Misalla and Rue de la Gare de Ramleh (Pl. G, 3).—Jardin
Rosette, Rue de la Porte Rosette (Pl. H, 4).
Churches.English (St. Mark’s; ‘Egl. anglicane’; Pl. F, 4), Place
Méhémet Ali; chaplain, Ven. Archdeacon Ward, M. A.; services on Sun.
at 8, 11, and 6.15 o’clock.—Presbyterian (St. Andrew’s; Pl. 1, F, 3, 4),
Rue de l’Eglise Ecossaise; service on Sun. at 10.30 a.m.—American Mission
(‘Egl. améric.’; Pl. G, 4), Rue Sidi el-Metwalli.
One Day, when time is limited. Forenoon, Place Méhémet Ali (p. 434),
the Arab and Turkish Quarters (p. 434); tramway or cab to Pompey’s
Pillar (p. 435); *Catacombs of Kôm esh-Shukâfa (p. 435). Afternoon, Rue
Chérif Pacha (p. 435) and Museum (p. 436). A ‘billet cumulatif’ obtained
at the Museum (8 pias.) admits also to Pompey’s Pillar and the Catacombs.
Alexandria, called by the Arabs and Turks Iskanderîeh, the
second town of Egypt, strongly fortified, and one of the most important
trading places on the Mediterranean, lies in 31° 11′ N. lat.
and 29° 53′ E. long., at the W. end of the Nile Delta (p. 418), on a
strip of land separating Lake Mareotis from the sea. The population
is about 377,000, incl. 48,000 Europeans (‘Franks’), chiefly
Greeks and Italians, but many French and Austrians and a lesser
number of English and Germans. The Moslems live mostly in the
N. and W. quarters (comp. p. 434), the Europeans chiefly in the E.
quarter or in Ramleh (p. 436).
433Alexandria was founded in 331 B. C. by Alexander the Great, who
endeavoured to blend the land of the Pharaohs with his new Greek empire.
His Egyptian governor and successor, Ptolemy I. Soter (323–286),
made Alexandria a centre of art and science. He founded the Museum,
an institute for the promotion of science and poetry, to which the famous
Alexandrine library was attached. The highly advantageous position of
the town, which was connected, through Lake Mareotis, with the Nile by
several navigable channels, and whose harbour (unlike the other older
seaports at the mouth of the Nile) was protected by marine currents from
being silted up, led to the surprisingly rapid development of its trade and
prosperity under the Ptolemies. Alexandria had attained its zenith when,
in 48 B. C., the Romans intervened in the quarrels between Cleopatra and
her husband Ptolemy XIV. Both Caesar, who entered Alexandria in triumph
after the murder of Pompey at Pelusium, and Antony were ensnared
by Cleopatra. After the defeat of Antony’s partisans Augustus
founded the large E. suburb of Nicopolis. When at its prime the city is
said to have had a population of half-a-million inhabitants. The Greek
element predominated, after which came the Egyptian, while a Jewish
community had existed here ever since the time of Ptolemy I. Christianity
also took root in Alexandria at an early period, having been first proclaimed
here, according to tradition, by St. Mark the Evangelist.
In the time of Trajan (96–117) the revolt of the Jews, who then composed
one-third of the population, gave rise to terrible bloodshed and
disaster. A century later the emperor Caracalla (211–7) paid a fateful
visit to the city, and, to punish the citizens for their contumacy, ordered
many of them to be massacred and the famous academy to be closed.
The city suffered even more severely from the persecution of the Christians
under Decius (250) and Valerian (257), from the plague in the reign of
Gallienus, and from its battles with the Palmyrenes (260–8). Having become,
like Carthage, a stronghold of Christian erudition, Alexandria afterwards
became the chief scene of the embittered controversies between
Arius (d. 336), a presbyter of the city, and the ‘orthodox’ bishops Alexander
and Athanasius (328–78). Even after the victory of the Athanasians at
the councils of Nicæa (325) and Constantinople (381) the Arian heresy,
which admitted the divine nature of Christ but denied his identity with
the Father, subsisted for centuries among the Germanic tribes.
Under Theodosius I. (379–95) paganism received its death-blow, when
the patriarch Theophilus waged war against all heathen temples and
monuments. But the material prosperity of the city declined at the same
time. The citizens were no longer able to pay for the cleansing of the
Nile and the maintenance of the canals, and they were further impoverished
when the patriarch Cyril banished the Jews. In 619 the Persian
Chosroes made Alexandria his base for the conquest of Egypt. The country
was next overrun by the hordes of caliph Omar, whose general Amr
ibn el-Âsî captured Alexandria in 641. Its importance now declined still
further in the same proportion as Cairo, the new capital of the conquerors,
rose to wealth and importance. In 1303 and 1326 a great part
of the city, with the Pharus (p. 434), was destroyed by earthquakes.
Lastly, the discovery of America and of the sea-route to India completed
the ruin of its trade.
About the year 1800 the population of Alexandria had dwindled to
about 5000, but Mohammed Ali (p. 414) wisely laid the foundations of a
new era of prosperity. He improved the harbours and constructed canals.
His great work was the Mahmûdîyeh Canal (p. 434), begun in 1819,
which fertilized anew the environs of the city and again connected it
with the interior of Egypt, which had long been obliged to export its
produce by way of Damietta and Rosetta. Subsequent rulers also were
zealous for the welfare of Alexandria. During the revolt of the national
party under Arâbi Bey (1882) Alexandria was bombarded by the British
fleet and the European quarter was burned down, but since then the city
has resumed its steady and vigorous career of progress.
434The old town of to-day lies partly on the Heptastadion, the
embankment ‘seven stadia’ (about 1430 yds.) in length, which ever
since the time of the Ptolemies has connected the mainland with
the island of Pharos, but which in the course of centuries has been
greatly widened. At the E. extremity of the island, now peninsula,
rises the picturesque Fort Kâït Bey (Pl. D, E, 1), on the site of
the famous ‘Pharus’, a lighthouse erected under Ptolemy II. Philadelphus
by Sostratus of Cnidos, in 280–279; it was originally 400 ells
(590 ft.) in height, and was deemed one of the seven wonders of the
world; it is supposed to have been the prototype of the Egyptian
minaret (comp. p. 445). The main or ‘great’ harbour of that period,
protected by a huge embankment, is now the Port Est, the new
quays of which afford a pleasant seaside walk and are being completed
as a fashionable boulevard.
The Port Ouest, the ancient Eunostos (‘haven of happy return’),
was little used till the later Roman age. Improved since
1871 it now consists of an inner basin of 475 acres, and a new
outer harbour of 1750 acres (p. 418). From the beginning of the
Gabbari Mole extend quays with warehouses along the E. side of
this harbour to the Naval Arsenal (Pl. C, D, 3). Of the 2000
steamers entering the port annually more than half are under the
British flag. The inner harbour is connected with the Mahmûdîyeh
Canal (p. 435) by means of locks. The chief exports are cotton,
cotton-seed, grain, beans, rice, sugar, onions, and tomatoes.
The Rue de la Marine (Pl. E, D, 5, 4; tramways, see p. 431) and
its continuation the Rue Moutouch Pacha (Pl. D, 4, 3) form one of
the chief approaches to the peninsula of Pharos (see above). Between
the viceregal Palace of Râs et-Tîn (Pl. A, B, 3) and the Port Est
lies the Turkish Quarter, with its pretty houses and a few gardens.
The Rue Râs et-Tîn, the main street of the N. quarters, leads
past the Government Buildings (Pl. D, E, 3), to the S.E., to the
Arab Quarter, lying on the ancient Heptastadion (see above) and
containing several Sûks or markets, which present an interesting
picture of Oriental life.
The Rue de France (Pl. E, F, 3, 4), the S.E. prolongation of the
Rue Râs et-Tîn, leads to the Place Méhémet Ali (Pl. F, 4), the
focus of European life, planted with trees and adorned with a
Statue of Mohammed Ali (p. 444) on horseback. The chief buildings
here are the Palais de Justice, the Bourse, and the English
Church. The last is adjoined by St. Mark’s Building, belonging
to the British community and used as a school and for official purposes.
From the W. harbour the Place Méhémet Ali is reached by
the Rue Bab el-Karasta (Pl. E, 5) and Rue Anastasi (Pl. E, F, 5, 4),
skirting the lofty Fort Cafarelli or Napoléon (Pl. E, 5; signalling
station).
A few paces to the S. of the Place Méhémet Ali lies the triangular
435Square Ste. Catherine (Pl. F, 4), named after the Catholic
Church of St. Catharine. From this point we walk (or take a car
or motor-omnibus, see p. 431) to the S.E. through the Rue Abou
Dardah (Pl. F, 4, 5) and Rue de la Colonne Pompée (Pl. F, G, 6, 7),
past the Sidi Amr Mosque (Pl. G, 6) and a large Cimetière Arabe
(Pl. F, 6, 7), to a bare hill, on the right, covered with débris.
Here in the time of the Ptolemies rose the Serapeum, the most
superb temple in the city, dedicated to Serapis, god of the lower
regions. On the same site now stands Pompey’s Pillar (Pl. F, G, 7;
adm. 3 pias.; see also p. 432), the grandest memorial of antiquity
in the city. We ascend by steps to the plateau. All around are traces
of recent excavations, chiefly bringing to light relics of Roman
edifices. The column, composed of red granite from Assuan, is 88 ft.
high including the mutilated base. It is perhaps a Christian monument
of victory, dating from the time of Emp. Theodosius I. (p. 433),
signalizing the destruction of the Serapeum (391). In the middle
ages it was supposed to be the tomb of Pompey.
We follow the Rue Karmouss (Pl. G, 7, 8), which leads hence to
the S. to the Mahmûdîyeh Canal, and diverging to the right viâ
the Rue Bab el-Melouk, we pass a small mosque and reach (10 min.)
the entrance (Pl. ‘E.’; F, 8) to the—
*Catacombs of Kôm esh-Shukâfa (Pl. F, 8; ‘hill of potsherds’),
an Egyptian burial-place of the 2nd cent. A.D., hewn in
the rock. Adm. from 8 a.m. till dusk (5 pias.; see also p. 432).
The tombs, discovered in 1900, consist of several stories and afford an
excellent example of the characteristic Alexandrine blend of the Egyptian
with the Græco-Roman style. They probably belonged to some Egyptian
magnate. Around the principal chambers are plainer vaults for the domestics
of the family. Modern stairs ascend to the restored entrance on the
hill-top. The interior is rendered accessible by wooden bridges and lighted
by electricity, but is partly under water.
A spiral staircase, lighted by a large round shaft, descends near a
sarcophagus-chamber of later date to two stories. From the entrance to
the upper story we enter a rotunda covered with a kind of dome. On
the right are two smaller vaults with niches, sarcophagi, and shelf-tombs
(loculi). On the left is a large chamber, the Triclinium Funebre, used for
funeral banquets.
The stairs divide farther down, affording a survey of the principal
chambers, and lead round the entrance to the *Tomb Chapel on the lowest
floor, with three niches for sarcophagi. Round the chapel runs a gallery,
accessible from the vestibule, with 91 shelf-tombs.
An important thoroughfare, leading to the N.E. from the Rue
Abou Dardah (p. 434), is the Rue Sidi el-Metwalli (Pl. F, G, 5, 4),
with its continuation the Rue de la Porte de Rosette (Pl. F-I,
4, 3). These streets unite at the end of the busy Rue Chérif Pacha
(Pl. F, G, 4), a street of shops, coming from the Place Méhémet Ali
(p. 434). This thoroughfare corresponds with the E. half of the
Dromos, the main street of the ancient city, which ended at the
Canopic Gate, the site of the now removed Porte de Rosette. In
the Rue du Musée, a N. side-street, is the—
436*Museum (Pl. H, 3), a building in the Greek style, which contains
an extensive collection of Græco-Roman antiquities, mostly
Alexandrine, found in catacombs and tombs. Adm. daily, 9–12 and
3 to 5.30, 2 pias. (see also p. 432; closed on Thurs. in summer).
From the ante-room we see the statue of Hercules in the transverse
gallery between the main wings of the building (see below). The side-room
contains a topographical collection. Room I (on the right). Christian
antiquities, including tombstones and some of the terracotta flasks in which
pilgrims brought holy oil from the tomb of St. Menas (d. 296) at Mariut.—Rooms
II-V. Alexandrian coins, stamps from Greek amphoræ, etc.
Room VI. Inscriptions and tombstones. On the right, Ptolemaic
*Tombstones (Nos. 83, 97, etc.), resembling those of Attica in the 4th cent.
B.C.—Rooms VII-IX. Egyptian antiquities. (In Room VIII, No. 380.
Fine bas-relief with a man, a harper, and singing-women.)
Rooms X & XI. Egyptian monuments and smaller sculptures. (In
R. XI, No. 3704. Portrait-head in black basalt.)—Rooms XII & XIII.
Portrait-busts and sculptures. (In R. XII, Case B, admirable small busts
of Alexander; *66. Marble Head of Hercules or, according to others, of
Zeus.)
Rooms XIV & XV. Architectural fragments. (In R. XV, No. 3, painted
capitals from palaces of the Ptolemies.)—Room XVI. Sculptures.
Rooms XVII & XVIII. Small objects of art. In R. XVII glass;
mummies with portraits of the deceased painted on wood (2nd cent. A.D.).
In R. XVIII small clay figures of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods;
among the former, *Figures of girls in the style of the Tanagra figurines.
Room XIX. A mosaic and cinerary urns from Shatbi.—Room XX.
Tomb accessories.—Room XXI. Objects from tombs, including elegant
bronze wreaths; terracotta figures.—Room XXII. Architectural fragments;
mosaics from Canopus.
In the gallery crossing the garden is a colossal figure of Hercules.
From the Museum the Rue du Musée to the N.W., the broad
Rue d’Allemagne to the left, and the Rue Missala to the right soon
lead to the old Ramleh Railway Station, now used for the electric
line (see p. 431) to Ramleh (i. e. ‘sand’), a villa suburb and sea-bathing
place, inhabited in summer by wealthy Alexandrians and
Cairenes. At San Stefano, the terminus, is the Hôtel Casino San
Stefano, with a theatre and concert-rooms (adm. 5 pias.).
From Alexandria to Cairo, see R. 71.
Arrival. The steamers moor alongside the Quai François-Joseph
or in the Bassin Ismaïl. If they are not berthed at the quay the fare
for landing at the Custom House (Pl. 8) is 1½–2½ piastres (trunk 2,
small packages 1 pias.). The North German Lloyd provides a steam-tender
in winter, which lands passengers free of charge. Heavy luggage
had better be entrusted to one of the hotel-porters, or to an agent of
Messrs. Cook (comp. p. 431) or of the Hamburg-American Line.
Railway Station near Lake Menzaleh (p. 418), 10 min. to the W.
of the Custom House.
Hotels. *Eastern Exchange Hotel (Pl. a), Rue Sultan Osman, pens.
from 12s., English house; *Savoy (Pl. d), corner of Quai François-Joseph
and Rue el-Tegara, with restaurant and bar, pens. from 62 pias. ; Hôt.
Continental (Pl. b), Rue el-Tegara, with bar, pens. 10s. 6d.; Hôt. de la
Poste (Pl. c), Rue du Nil.
Cab from the quay to the station 4 (at night 5) pias.
437Post Offices. Egyptian (Pl. 14) and French (Pl. 15), Rue du Nil.—Telegraph
Offices. Egyptian (Pl. 18), Rue el-Tegara; Eastern Telegraph
Co. (Pl. 17), Quai François-Joseph, for Europe.
Consulates at the Quai François-Joseph. British (Pl. 3): consul-general,
E. C. Blech; vice-consul, T. D. Dunlop.—United States (Pl. 2):
consular agent, H. Broadbent.
Tourist Agents.Thos. Cook & Son, Quai François-Joseph; F. C.
Clark, Savoy Hotel; Hamburg-American Line, Rue du Nil.
Steamboat Offices. All the important companies have offices on
the quay. L. Saxon & Co. (Società Nazionale) are also Lloyd’s Agents.
Banks.Bank of Egypt and Crédit Lyonnais, Rue du Nil; National
Bank of Egypt, Rue Eugénie; Ottoman, Bassin du Commerce.—Money,
see p. 431.
Physicians.Dr. Curling, Dr. W. Hayward (Egyptian Government
Hospital); Dr. E. Cuffey (Lady Strangford Hospital); Dr. J. H. Wigham.
English Church.Church of the Epiphany (‘Eglise angl.’ on Plan),
Rue el-Tegara; services every Sun. at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Port Said (pop. 42,000, incl. 11,300 Europeans) lies at the E.
end of the strip of land between Lake Menzaleh (p. 418) and the
open sea, at the N. end of the Suez Canal, to which it owes its
foundation. Its trade, chiefly through-traffic, is growing rapidly.
The Harbour of 570 acres has a depth of 26 ft., which is maintained
by laborious dredging. It is sheltered by two massive
breakwaters, the Jetée Ouest, 2460 yds. long, with a statue of Ferd.
de Lesseps (1805–94), the builder of the Suez Canal (1859–69), and
the Jetée Est, 1750 yds. long. The former protects it against the
mud of the Nile. Between these is the Digue Nouvelle, an inner
breakwater 597 yds. long, for shelter against E. winds; on the mainland
opposite (to the W.) rises the *Phare, a lighthouse 174 ft.
high, visible 23 M. away.
The inner harbour of 220 acres consists of the Bassin Ismaïl
(with its three very shallow creeks), the Bassin des Chalands
Charbonniers, and the Bassin Abbas Hilmi or Africa Basin,
with the quarantine establishment.
The Rue Quai du Nord (tramway) leads to the N.W. to the
Quartier Arabe.
From Alexandria to Cairo, 130 M., express in 3, ordinary train in
6–6¾ hrs.; 1st cl. 87½, 2nd cl. 44 pias.—From Port Said to Cairo,
145 M., express (with dining-car) in 4–4¼, ordinary in 5 hrs.; 96 or
48 pias.—As to transport of luggage, see p. 431.—The buffets at the
intermediate stations are poor.
Alexandria, see p. 431. The Cairo railway, the oldest in the
East (1855), rounds Lake Mareotis (p. 432), which during the
Nile inundation rises at places to the permanent way. On the left
is the Mahmûdîyeh Canal (p. 434).
On the right beyond (17 M.) Kafr ed-Dâwâr appear the first
cotton-fields.—38 M. Damanhûr (pop. 22,100), the ancient Egyptian
Timē-en-Hor (town of Horus) and Roman Hermopolis Parva,
438is now the capital of the province of Beheireh, which extends from
the Rosetta arm of the Nile (p. 418) to the Libyan desert.
The soil becomes more fertile. Villages of wretched mud-huts
and a few groups of trees appear. We cross the Rosetta Arm.
64½ M. Kafr ez-Zaiyât.
76 M. Tanta (Buffet; Hôt. Khédivial, etc.; Brit. cons. agent,
E. Erba; pop. 80,000), capital of the province of Gharbîyeh, between
the Rosetta and Damietta arms (p. 418), possesses a palace
of the Khedive and an unfinished mosque of Seiyid el-Bedawi, a
popular Egyptian saint, born at Fez (12th cent.). The great August
fair (el-Mûlid el-Kebîr; ‘the great mûlid’, or nativity of the saint)
is often attended by half-a-million persons, including a number of
European merchants.
Farther on we pass several cotton-cleaning mills, evidencing
the prosperity of this region, and then cross the Damietta Arm.
101 M. Benha (Buffet), junction of the Port Said (see below)
and Suez lines, is noted for its fruit. 120½ M. Kalyûb (or
Qualioub).
The Libyan hills become more prominent; so also the Mokattam
Hills (p. 443) and the citadel with the slender minarets of the
mosque of Mohammed Ali (p. 454). Gardens and villas appear. On
the left are the site of ancient Heliopolis (p. 459; obelisk not
visible), Matarîyeh with its sycamores, Kubbeh, the residence of
the Khedive, and the suburb of Abbâsîyeh (p. 459).
Port Said, see p. 436. The Cairo line at first skirts the W. bank
of the Suez Canal (p. 437). On the right lies Lake Menzaleh.
Beyond (28 M.) El-Kantara (‘the bridge’), the isthmus between
lakes Menzaleh and Balah, traversed by the time-honoured military
and caravan route from Egypt to Syria, we cross the bed of
the latter lake, now largely drained.
We next cross El-Gisr (‘the barrier’), a hill 52 ft. high, between
lakes Balah and Timsâh (‘crocodile’), once the most serious
obstacle in the way of the canal.
49 M. Ismaîlîya, or Ismaïlia (Buffet; pop. 7000), junction
for Suez, a quiet little town on the N. bank of Lake Timsâh.
The train now runs to the W. through the Arabian Desert,
intersected here by the Wâdi Tûmîlât, and skirts the Ismaîlîyeh
Canal (p. 454).
Near (85 M.) Abu Hammâd begins the well-watered and well-planted
E. part of the Nile Delta. To the S. of the railway lies
the Biblical land of Goshen (Gen. xlv. 10), which was miserably
neglected during the Turkish period, but has now awakened to
new life.
43997 M. Zakâzîk (Buffet; Brit. cons. agent, G. Diacono; pop.
60,000), capital of the E. Egyptian province of Sharkîyeh, favourably
situated at the junction of several railways and on the
Muizz Canal (part of the ancient Tanite arm of the Nile, see p. 418),
is a rapidly improving place. It is the chief seat of the Egyptian
cotton and grain trade. The large cotton-mills give some quarters
of the town quite a European look.—Near Tell Basta, ½ hr. to
the S.E. of Zakâzîk, are the ruins of the ancient Bubastis (Egyp.
Per-Bastē, the Pi-beseth of Ezekiel xxx. 17).
116 M. Benha, and thence to (145 M.) Cairo, see p. 438.
Railway Stations.1.Central Station (Pl. B, 1; Buffet), for Alexandria,
Port Said, and Upper Egypt, to the N.W. of the town, beyond the
Ismaîlîyeh Canal, ½ M. from the Ezbekîyeh.—2.Pont Limûn Station, or
Gare de Matarîyeh, adjoining the central, for Matarîyeh (Old Heliopolis),
for the electric line to the Heliopolis Oasis (see p. 441), etc.—3.Bâb el-Lûk
Station (Pl. B, 5), for Helwân (p. 464).—The hotel omnibuses and the
porters and tourist-agents (p. 441) await the arrival of the express trains.
Or an Arab porter, wearing a metal badge on his arm, may be engaged to
carry luggage to an omnibus or a cab (tariff, see p. 441). Heavy luggage is
taken to the hotels in separate vehicles.
7. A Street is often called sikkeh or tarîk. A shâria (French chareh)
is an avenue or boulevard; derb is a road (also caravan-route); hâra, a
lane (also quarter of the city); atfa, a blind alley or cul-de-sac; mîdân,
a square. Most of the names have been affixed, since the British occupation,
in Arabic character and in English or French transliteration. It
should be noted that in the Plan and in the text the English ee is replaced
by the continental and more usual i or î and the French ou or English oo
usually by u or û.
Hotels (mostly in the English style and excellent, but generally
crowded in Jan.-March; advisable to telegraph for rooms from Alexandria
or Port Said; closed in summer or charges reduced).
In the Town: *Shepheard’s Hotel (Pl. B, 3), Shâria Kâmel, with
terrace, garden, restaurant, bar, post-office, etc., pens. from 80 pias.,
patronized by American and English travellers; *Savoy (Pl. B, 4), Mîdân
Suleimân Bâsha, pens. from 80 pias., with excellent restaurant (déj. 30,
D. 50 pias.); *Semiramis (Pl. A, 5), Kasr ed-Dubara, on the Nile, with
garden and roof-terrace, restaurant, post-office, etc., pens. from 80 pias.;
*Continental (Pl. B, C, 3), Place de l’Opéra, with terrace, restaurant, etc.,
pens. from 70 pias., frequented by English travellers; *Hôt. d’Angleterre
(Pl. B, 3), Shâria el-Maghrâbi, with terrace, etc., pens. 70–80 pias.—*National
(Pl. B, 3), Shâria Suleimân Bâsha, pens. from 50 pias.; New Khedivial Hotel
(Pl. B, 2), Shâria Bâb el-Hadîd, pens. from 45 pias.; Eden Palace (Pl. C, 3),
Shâria el-Genaïneh, pens. from 50 pias., frequented by English and American
travellers; Villa Victoria (Pl. B, 3; private hotel), Shâria Shawarbi Bâsha,
quiet and well-situated, pens. 70 pias.; Villa Nationale, Shâria Shawarbi
Bâsha (Pl. B, 3), also a private hotel, with garden and tennis-court, pens.
50 pias.; Bristol & du Nil (Pl. C, 2, 3), Mîdân el-Khaznedâr, pens. from
65 pias., commended; Métropole (Pl. B, C, 3), Hâret Zogheb, pens.
50–60 pias., well spoken of; Hôt.-Pens. Rossmore House (English), Shâria
el-Madabegh 13, pens. 40–50 pias.—Hôt. des Voyageurs (Pl. B, 2), Shâria
Nubar Bâsha, pens. 45–50 pias., with good cuisine, patronized by the
440French; Hôt. Royal (Pl. C, 2), Shâria Wagh el-Birket, with bodega, pens.
60 pias.; Hôt. de Londres (Pl. B, 2, 3), Shâria Kâmel, pens. 40 pias.;
Hôt.-Pens. Suisse, Shâria el-Genaïneh 10 (Pl. C, 3), pens. 33–40 pias.
On the Island of Gezîreh (p. 457): *Ghezireh Palace Hotel, with
restaurant, large gardens, daily concerts, etc., open Dec.-April, pens. from
80 pias. (electr. omnibus to station; motor to Shepheard’s and Semiramis
Hotels frequently).
At the Heliopolis Oasis (p. 459): Heliopolis Palace Hotel, a new extensive
establishment of the first class, on the Metropolitan Line (p. 441),
with all modern appliances, a garden, pavilion, etc., open in winter only,
pens. 80–150 pias.; *Heliopolis House, a first-class family-hotel, opposite
the former, with a large terrace, restaurant, American bar, and concerts,
pens. 40–50 pias.; Pens. Belle-Vue, with restaurant (déj. 12, D. 16 pias.),
pens. 40 pias.
Near the Pyramids of Gîzeh (p. 461): *Mena House Hotel, with restaurant,
swimming-bath, tennis-courts, golf-links, riding-track, etc., open
1st Nov. to 15th May, pens. 60–100 pias.; Sphinx Hotel, near Kafr el-Haram
(p. 463), a village 10 min. to the S.E. of the tramway-station, new, pens.
from 10s.
Restaurants at the hotels, with grill-rooms. Also Santi, in the Ezbekîyeh
Garden, déj. 20, D. 25 pias.; St. James’s, Shâria Bûlâk, opposite the
Egyptian Telegraph Office; Restaurant du Nil, Shâria Elfi Bey, déj. 14,
D. 16 pias.; Hermes, Shâria Kâmel, opposite the Ezbekîyeh Garden.
Bars & Cafés.New Bar, Place de l’Opéra; Splendid Bar, Shâria
Kâmel; Bar High Life, Shâria Wagh el-Birket 42.—European style, but
not for ladies: Sphinx Bar, Shâria Bûlâk, with grill-room; Café Egyptien,
opposite Shepheard’s Hotel, with female orchestra; Eldorado, Shâria Wagh
el-Birket.—The Arabian cafés (kahwa’s) are small and dirty.
Confectioners.Lehrenkrauss, Shâria Kasr en-Nîl 34, with tearooms;
Sault, Groppé, both Shâria el-Manâkh.
Beer.Restaurant Falck, Shâria el-Mahdi (Pl. B, C, 2, 3); Bavaria,
Mîdân Kantaret ed-Dikkeh (Pl. B, 2), good restaurant (déj. 12, D. 15 pias.);
Kemmler, in the street on the N. side of the Crédit Lyonnais (p. 442);
Flasch, near the Ezbekîyeh Garden.
Tramways (fare 1 or ½ pias. unless otherwise stated; separate compartment
for women). The following are the chief lines: 1. From the Atabet
el-Khadra (Pl. C, 3) to Place de l’Opéra (Pl. C, 3), Shâria Bûlâk (Pl. B, A, 3),
Kasr en-Nîl (Egyptian Museum), Kasr el-Aïni (Pl. A, 7), Rôda, Gîzeh Village,
and the Pyramids (Mena House, see above), every 30 (aftern. every 20)
min.; fare 4 or 2 pias.—2. From the Atabet el-Khadra to Bâb el-Khalk
(Pl. D, 4; Arab Museum), Shâria Khalîg el-Masri, Place Seiyideh Zeinab
(Pl. C, 6), Shâria Mawardi, and the Abattoirs (beyond Pl. B, C, 7), every
7½ min.—3. From the Mîdân el-Khaznedâr (Pl. C, 3) to Kasr en-Nîl,
Kasr el-Aïni (Pl. A, 7), Gezîret Rôda (p. 461), Pont Abbâs II., and the
Village of Gîzeh (p. 461), every 10 min.; fare 2 or 1 pias.—4. From the
Mîdân el-Khaznedâr to Mîdân Bâb el-Lûk (Pl. B, 4), Mîdân Ismaîlîyeh
(Pl. A, 4, 5; for the Great Nile Bridge and Egyptian Museum), Shâria
Kasr el-Aïni, Fum el-Khalîg (Pl. A, 7), and Old Cairo, every 6½ min.—5.
From Kasr en-Nîl (Gezîreh, p. 457) to Zoological Garden and Village
of Gîzeh, every 10 min.—6. From Bûlâk (p. 454) to Shâria Abou el-Ela
(Pl. A, 3), Shâria Bûlâk, Atabet el-Khadra (see above), Bâb el-Khalk (see
above), and the Citadel (Place Rumeileh; Pl. E, 6), every 3 min.—7. From
Zabtîyeh (Shubra), to Central Station (Pl. B, 1), Shâria Clot Bey, Atabet
el-Khadra, Mîdân Bâb el-Lûk (Pl. B, 4), and Mîdân Nasrîyeh (Pl. B, 5),
every 3 min.—8. From Central Station (Pl. B, 1) to Shâria Abbâs (Pl.
B, A, 2, 3), Shâria Mariette Bâsha (Pl. A, 4; Egyptian Museum), Kasr en-Nîl,
Mîdân el-Azhâr (Pl. B, 4; Gare de Bâb el-Lûk), every 9 min.—9.
From Ghamra (to the N. of Pl. D, 1) to Mîdân ez-Zâhir (Pl. D, E, 1),
Bâb esh-Sharîyeh (Pl. D, 2), Muski, Bâb el-Khalk, and thence as No. 2,
every 6 min.—10. From the Atabet el-Khadra (Pl. C, 3) viâ the Place de
l’Opéra, Shâria Bûlâk, Shâria Imâd ed-Dîn (Pl. B, 3, 2), Bâb el-Hadîd
441(Pl. B, 1), and Abbâsîyeh to the Heliopolis Oasis (p. 459), every 10 min.;
in ca. 50 min.; fare 1½ or 1 pias.
Electric Railway (‘Métropolitain’) from the Pont Limûn Station
(Pl. B, 1) every 10 min. (from 6.30 a.m. till 12 p.m.) to the Heliopolis
Oasis (p. 459), in 10 min.; fares 1st cl. 2, 2nd cl. 1 pias.
Steam Ferries between Bûlâk (Shâria Abou el-Ela; to the W. of
Pl. A, 3; corresponding with tramway No. 6) and Gezîreh (p. 457), and
between Old Cairo (p. 460; corresponding with tramway No. 4) and the
village of Gîzeh (p. 461).—Local Steamers from the Bûlâk Bridge (Pl. A, 4)
to Bûlâk.
Cabs (comp. p. 431), open victorias with two horses, abound in the
European quarters and tourist-resorts. Closed cabs (landaus) usually have
to be ordered, and the fares are higher. The Tariff (in cab) is for
1–3 pers. (each addit. pers. 2, trunk 1 pias.) as follows:
1. Drive within a radius of 4 kil. (2½ M.) from the Administration
Building (Gouvernorat; Pl. D, 4), for 1 kil. 3, each addit. kil. 2 pias.; if
dismissed outside the zone named, 2 pias. more per kil.; waiting, up to
¼ hr., 2 pias.
2. By Time (Arab, bis-sâa), in town 1 hr. 10, each addit. ¼ hr. 2 pias.;
per day (12 hrs.) 70 pias.
3. Longer Drives. To the Citadel 10, and back 20 pias. (incl. stay of
1 hr.); to Old Cairo 12 or 18 pias. (halt of 1 hr.); to the Pyramids 50 or
80 pias. (halt of 3 hrs.); to the Heliopolis Oasis 30 or 50 pias. (halt of 2 hrs.).
A gratuity (bakshîsh) of 5–10 per cent over the fare is usually given.
Complaints, with the number of the cab and other details, should be
lodged at the police-office (p. 442). During the season the demands of the
cabmen are often exorbitant, but the mere mention of the dreaded word
‘karakól’ (prison) generally brings them to reason.
Motor Cabs (with taximeter): 3½ pias. for the first 1200 mètres
(¾ M.), 1 pias. each addit. 400 mètres (¼ M.), waiting 1 pias. for each
5 min. In addition to these fares a surtax must be paid for each drive
as follows: from or to the Mena House (Pyramids) 10 pias., Heliopolis
8 pias., Citadel, Gîzeh 5 pias., Gezîreh 3 pias.
Donkeys (Arabic homâr; per hour about 2, day 12 pias.) abound. They
are pleasant on bridle-paths free from dust. The donkey-boys (hammâr)
often lash the animals into a gallop, but this should be checked. Ala
mahlak means ‘slow’, erbût or the English stop ‘halt’. The bakshish
should be of course proportioned to the donkey-boy’s behaviour.
Post Office (Pl. C, 3; p. 446), corner of Shâria Tâhir and Shâria el-Baidak.
The outside-offices, for the sale of stamps only, are open from
7.30 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. (inland letter ½, in postal union 1 pias.; post-cards
3 and 4 mill.). The offices inside are open from 9 to 6.30, with a short
break at 12.30. Lists of the over-sea mails are exhibited in the vestibule.
Notice of the arrival of registered letters is sent to the addressee, who
obtains delivery by producing the notice, stamped by the hotel or signed
by some well-known person. Branch-offices at Shepheard’s, the Continental,
Ghezireh Palace, and Mena House. Letter-boxes at all the hotels.
Telegraph Office.Eastern Telegraph Co. (Pl. B, 3), corner of Shâria
Imâd ed-Dîn and Shâria el-Manâkh. Egyptian (Pl. B, 3), Shâria Bûlâk,
corner of Shâria Imâd ed-Dîn.—Branches at Shepheard’s, the Crédit Lyonnais,
and Ghezireh Palace.
Consulates.Great Britain, Shâria Gâmia esh-Sherkes (Pl. B, 4):
consul-general and plenipotentiary, Sir Arthur Hardinge; consul, A. D.
Alban; vice-consul R. M. Graves.—United States, Kasr ed-Dubara:
consul-general and plenipotentiary, P. A. Jay; vice-consul, L. Belrose.
Also French, German, Austrian, Italian, etc.
Tourist Agents.Thos. Cook & Son (Pl. B, 2, 3), Shâria Kâmel 6;
Lubin, Shâria Bûlâk 5; F. C. Clark, near Shepheard’s; Hamburg-American
Line, Hôt. Continental (Pl. B, C, 3); D. E. Munari, Shâria Kâmel 5.
442Steamboat Offices.Khedivial Mail, White Star, Union Castle,
Thos. Cook & Son (see p. 441); Messageries Maritimes, Shâria el-Maghrâbi
10; Società Nazionale, Figari, Shâria el-Maghrâbi 33; Austrian Lloyd,
Heller, same street, No. 2; North German Lloyd, Rumanian State Maritime
Service, Sterzing, Place de l’Opéra 3; German East African Line,
Fix & David, Shâria Mansûr Bâsha; Russian Steam Navigation & Trading
Co., Alchewsky, Shâria el-Manâkh 6.—Notices of departure also posted
in the hotels.
Police Office (Pl. D, 4; p. 450; Zabtîyeh). About 300 officials, incl.
a few Europeans, chiefly Italians, obliging to strangers and well organized.
Complaints against the police must be lodged at the traveller’s consulate.
Banks.Crédit Lyonnais (Pl. C, 3), Shâria el-Bosta; Ottoman (Pl. B, 3),
Shâria Imâd ed-Dîn 13; Bank of Egypt (Pl. B, 3, 4), Shâria Kasr en-Nîl 17;
Anglo-Egyptian, Shâria el-Manâkh; National Bank of Egypt, Shâria Kasr
en-Nîl 35; Deutsche Orientbank (Pl. B, 3), Shâria el-Manâkh 23; Banque
d’Athènes.
Shops.Booksellers.Diemer, at Shepheard’s Hotel; British Library,
opposite the Savoy.—Photographs, at Diemer’s; also sold by Dittrich,
Shâria Elfi Bey; Paul, Shâria el-Manâkh 26.—Embroidery, Carpets,
and various Oriental Articles (mostly made in Europe): Chellaram,
Hôt. Continental; Madjar, at Shepheard’s; Spartali, opposite the Savoy;
J. Cohen, Valliram Bros., and other dealers in the Khân el-Khalîli (p. 446).—Arabian
Woodwork.Parvis, next to Shepheard’s (large warehouse
near the entrance to the Muski, p. 446; to the left in the court); Haloun,
Sikket el-Gedîdeh (Pl. D, 3); Furino, Shâria Suleimân Bâsha.—Antiquities
(genuine) at the Egyptian Museum (p. 455).
Physicians (addresses obtainable at the hotels, at Diemer’s, or at the
chemists’). Dr. Keatinge (head of the Kasr el-Aïni school of medicine),
Dr. Murison (of Victoria Hospital), Dr. Milton, Dr. Phillips, Dr. Tribe,
Dr. Madden, and Dr. Richards, all English; Dr. Keichline, American.
Chemists.Pharmacie Anglo-Américaine, Place de l’Opéra; Pharm.
Coscarelli, Shâria Abdîn 17; Pharm. Nardi, in the Muski; Anglo-German
Dispensary, Shâria el-Bawaki 11; Savoy Pharmacy (Norton & Co.), Shâria
Kasr en-Nîl 34; Stephenson & Co., Shâria el Manâkh 15.
Theatres.Khedivial Opera (Pl. C, 3; p. 446; French or Italian), boxes
dear; evening dress compulsory; office open 8–12 and 2–5.—Théâtre Abbas
(Pl. B, 2), Shâria Kantaret ed-Dikkeh, Ital. operas and Fr. operettas.—Théâtre
Printania (Pl. B, 3), Shâria Elfi Bey.—Ex-Verdi, Shâria Bâb
el-Bahari 5, Arabian and Greek.—Nouveautés, Shâria Nubar Bâsha 9; Jardin
de Paris, Shâria Imâd ed-Dîn; at both varieties.—Summer Theatre,
mostly Italian pieces, in the Ezbekîyeh Garden (p. 445).—Evening Concerts
by English military bands on Tues. and Thurs. in the Ezbekîyeh
Garden (p. 445).
Churches.Church of England Services at All Saints Church (Pl.
B, 3), Shâria Bûlâk (services at 8 and 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m.), and at St.
Mary’s (Pl. A, 5), Shâria Kasr el-Aïni.—Church of Scotland (St. Andrew’s;
Pl. A, 3), Shâria Bûlâk, to the S. of the Bridge of Abu’l Eileh.—American
Mission (Pl. B, C, 3), opposite Shepheard’s.—Rom. Cath. (L’Assomption;
Pl. D, 3), Shâria el-Banadkiah 2, in the Muski; St. Joseph’s, in the Ismaîlîyeh
quarter (Pl. A, B, 4).—Orthodox Greek (St. Nicholas; Pl. D, 2, 3),
in the Hamzâwî (p. 447).—Coptic Cath. (Pl. D, 3) and Coptic Orthodox
(Pl. C, 2).—New Synagogue (Pl. B, 3), Shâria el-Maghrâbi, and others.
Collections (closed on Frid. and Mohammedan festivals): Arab
Museum (p. 450), 9 to 4.30 (May-Oct. 8–1), adm. 5 (in summer 1) pias.—Egyptian
Museum (p. 455), 9 to 4.30 (May-Sept. 8.30 to 1), adm. 5 (in
summer 1) pias.—Khedivial Library (p. 451), exhibition-room 9–4, free.
Visitors are admitted to most of the Mosques (p. xxv) and to the
Mameluke Tombs (p. 458) daily except Frid. and at the hour of noonday
prayer. Ticket (2 pias.) at the entrance. Fee of ½–1 pias. to the attendant
who supplies slippers.
443Three Days (when time is limited). 1st. Forenoon, Muski (p. 446),
Market Quarter (p. 446), *Gâmia el-Azhar (p. 447), Muristân Kâlaûn
(p. 448), *Gâmia el-Muaiyad (p. 450), Bâb Zuweileh (p. 450); afternoon,
Mameluke Tombs (p. 458) or Gezîreh (p. 457) or Heliopolis Oasis (p. 459).—2nd.
Forenoon, Arab Museum (p. 450; closed Frid.), Medreseh Kâït Bey
(p. 451), *Gâmia Ibn Tulûn (p. 451); afternoon, *Gâmia Sultân Hasan
(p. 452), Citadel (p. 453).—3rd. Forenoon, *Egyptian Museum (p. 455; closed
Frid.); afternoon, *Pyramids of Gîzeh (p. 461).—Intercourse with natives,
see p. xxv.—Guides, touts, and beggars should be summarily shaken off.
Cairo, Arabic El-Kâhira or Masr el-Kâhira, or simply Masr
or Misr (after the old Semitic name of Egypt), lies in 30° 4′ N.
lat. and 31° 17′ E. long., on the right bank of the Nile, about
12½ M. to the S. of the ‘cow’s belly’, where the river divides into
the Rosetta and Damietta arms (p. 418).—On the E. side of the
city, which covers an area of about 11 sq. M., rise the reddish
rocky slopes of the Mokattam Hills (p. 454; about 650 ft.), marking
the beginning of the Arabian desert.
Cairo, the largest city in Africa and in the whole of the Arabian
world, is the residence of the Khedive and of all the chief authorities.
The population is estimated at 630,000, including 50,000
Europeans, chiefly Greeks and Italians. The great majority of the
citizens are Egypto-Arabian, Fellah (peasant) settlers, Christian
Copts (also nearly pure descendants of the ancient Egyptians),
Nubians, Turks, Armenians, and (about 6000) Jews; then negroes
of many different tribes, Berbers and Arabs from the N. African
seaboard, Bedouins (nomadic Arabs), Syrians, Persians, Indians.
The street scenes in the older quarters are very curious and picturesque.
History. In hoar antiquity a suburb of Heliopolis (p. 459) lay on the
E. bank of the Nile, opposite the great Pyramids, and was called by the
Egyptians Kherē-ohē, or place of combat, because the gods Horus and
Seth, the tutelary deities of Upper and Lower Egypt respectively, are
said to have fought there. The Greeks called it Babylon, probably in
imitation of the Egyptian name of the island of Rôda, Perhapi-n-On, the
‘Nile city of On’ (Heliopolis). The Roman citadel of Babylon was garrisoned
under Augustus by one of the three legions stationed in Egypt.
In 611 A.D. the town was conquered by Amr ibn el-Âsî (p. 433), who
founded the new capital of the country in the plain to the N. of the
fortress, a city which, unlike Alexandria, was to be free from the hated
Christian element. On the site of his fostât or tent he built a mosque,
and the new city then took the name of Fostât. Between Fostât and the
citadel and adjoining the older suburb of El-Askar (of 815) the new
quarter of El-Katâi was begun by Ahmed ibn Tulûn (868–83), founder of
the Egyptian dynasty of the Tulunides, but it was burned down in 905.
The Cairo of to-day owes its origin mainly to Gôhar, the general of the
Fatimites (p. 323), who conquered Egypt in 969 and founded a new town
to the N.E. of El-Katâi and made it the residence of the caliph and head
quarters of his army. At the hour when its foundations were laid the
planet Mars (Arabic Kâhir, ‘the victorious’) is said to have crossed the
meridian of the new city, whence it received its new name of Masr el-Kâhira
or El-Kâhira, while Fostât was afterwards called, by way of
distinction, Masr el-Kadîmeh or el-Atika (Old Cairo). In 973 Abû Teminn
el-Muizz transferred his residence from Mehdia (p. 369) to Cairo. Two
centuries later the famous Saladin comes prominently on the scene. This
was the Kurd general of mercenaries, Salâheddîn Yûsuf ibn Aiyûb, who,
444on the death of the last Fatimite in 1171, usurped the supreme power.
He built a new citadel on the slope of the Mokattam Hills and enclosed the
whole city with a wall 29,000 ells long (p. 453), and Cairo soon became
the most populous place in N. Africa next to Fez. Under the dynasty
of the Aiyubides (1171–1250) and the Mameluke Dynasties (Bahrite, 1250–1382,
and Circassian or Borgite, 1382–1517), the sultans chosen from the white
body-guard, Cairo witnessed almost continuous scenes of revolution, rapine,
and bloodshed. In 1302 it suffered severely also from an earthquake, and
terribly in 1295 and 1492 from the plague. And yet, in spite or all these
disasters, the city grew and prospered wonderfully.
After his victory at Heliopolis in 1517 the Osman sultan Selim I.
(p. 542) marched into Cairo; Tûman Bey, the last Mameluke sultan, was
captured and executed; and Selim caused the finest marble columns in
the citadel to be removed to Constantinople. Cairo now became the seat
of a bey (‘prince’), who was placed over the twenty-four Mameluke chiefs
entrusted with the government of Egypt and was controlled by a Turkish
pasha. Thenceforth the city was a mere provincial capital.
It was not till 1798 that Cairo again became prominent in history.
After the Battle of the Pyramids Bonaparte had his headquarters for
several months in the ancient city of the caliphs. From Cairo in 1799
he started on his Syrian expedition; and when he returned to France
Kléber remained behind as commander-in-chief of the French troops. Kléber
was assassinated in Cairo in 1800, and the following year the French
garrison, hard pressed by the grand-vizier and the British troops, had to
capitulate.
Under Mohammed Ali (1805–48), the new Turkish pasha, with whom
begins the modern chapter in the chequered history of Egypt, and who
did much to develop the resources of the country, the citadel of Cairo
witnessed another tragedy in 1811, when by his order the last of the
Mameluke beys were shot (comp. p. 453). His successors, particularly
Ismaîl (1863–79; Khedive or viceroy from 1867) and Tewfik (Arabic Taufîk;
1879–92), greatly improved and extended the city by the construction of
new quarters (Ismaîlîyeh and Tewfîkîyeh, p. 454), though to the prejudice
of its mediæval architecture; and under the present Khedive Abbâs II.
Hilmi (b. 1874) Cairo has expanded as far as the islands in the Nile. Since
the defeat of the national party under Arâbi Bey (p. 433) in 1882 the
country in general and Cairo in particular have prospered greatly. The
paramount British control of the administration is more noticeable at
Cairo than at Alexandria or on the Suez Canal.
A convenient short history of Cairo is ‘The Story of Cairo’, by Stanley
Lane-Poole, in the ‘Mediæval Towns Series’ (2nd ed., London, 1906).
Comp, also ‘Cairo and its Environs’, by A. O. Lamplough and R. Francis
(London, 1909, illus.; 20s.) and ‘The City of the Caliphs’, by E. A. Reynolds-Ball
(Boston and London, 1897).
History of Art. The Arabian architecture of Egypt is founded
partly on antique, on Byzantine, and on Coptic models which the conquerors
of the country found ready to their hand, and partly on Persian
types, developed under the Sassanides and adopted by the Arabs with
the aid of native builders. The chief Arabian edifices at Cairo are the
mosques, the fountains, and the tombs. The period of their construction
extends from the time of the Tulunides (9th cent.) down to the conquest
of Egypt by the Turks (1517). Of the earlier buildings, known to us
only from the fantastic descriptions of Arabian authors, hardly a trace
is left. The later edifices, partly of Arabian-Turkish type with Egyptian-Arabian
ornamentation, seldom show much artistic merit.
The oldest mosques (gâmia, or chief mosque; mesgid, smaller mosque
or chapel), such as the Amru Mosque (p. 460) and that of Ibn Tulûn
(p. 451), are simple in plan. A quadrangle (sahn), answering to the atrium
of the Byzantine basilica, is flanked with four flat-roofed colonnades
(lîwân), which on three sides are single or double, while on the fourth
side, in the direction of Mecca, the chief lîwân (sanctuarium) is composed
445of several aisles or arcades. The cruciform medreseh (school-mosque),
of Persian origin, was first introduced by Saladin the Aiyubide. The
lîwâns were now roofed with massive barrel-vaulting, and in their four
corners were introduced schools or lecture-rooms for the four orthodox
sects of Islam (Hanefites, Shafiites, Malekites, and Hambalites). To the
second Mameluke dynasty (1382–1517) Cairo owes its most beautiful specimens
of Arabian architecture. In the smaller mosques the lateral
lîwâns were shortened, the court reduced in size, roofed in, and lighted
from above, and the transepts were again roofed with flat timber ceilings.
In the Turkish period, as in the case of the mosque of Mohammed Ali
(p. 454), the four lîwâns were often replaced by a single vaulted hall,
preceded by a forecourt.
The minarets, always in three stories, are of the Pharos or lighthouse
type (p. 434; Arabic manara, light).
Most of the mosques built since the middle of the 14th cent. have
a sebîl attached. This is a public street-fountain, roofed over, with a
chamber above it (kuttâb) used as an elementary school.
The tombs of sultans and emirs are always connected with the mosques.
The tombs of saints or sheikhs, on the other hand, as everywhere in the
East, are independent buildings, domed like the burial-chapels in the
mosques. The ordinary tombs of the Moslems are underground chambers;
above the vault usually stands a sarcophagus or cenotaph (tarkîbeh).
Wealthy families enclosed their tombs with halls for funeral festivals,
rooms for the mourners, a dwelling for the custodian, etc., collectively
called a hôsh.
Of the old palaces and caravanserais a few ruins only remain. The
latter (okellas; Arabic wakkâleh) served also as warehouses (khân). Of
the mediæval dwelling-house the so-called Bookbinder’s House (p. 449) is
a good example.
Sculpture and painting existed as independent arts under the Tulunides
and Fatimites, being favoured by the Persians and the sect of
the Shiites, but in the later Egyptian-Arabian art they survived only in
the ornamentation of walls. The main features of this surface decoration
consisted in curiously interlaced geometrical figures (entrelacs) and conventional
foliage (arabesques). Both mosques and private houses often
have charming kamarîyehs, or windows of perforated slabs of plaster,
inlaid with coloured glass. The façades of the older houses are adorned
also with picturesque oriel-windows and with mashrebîyehs, or balcony-gratings
or lattice-work of beech-wood rods.
The main thoroughfare here is the Shâria Clot Bey (Pl. B, C, 2;
tramway No. 7, p. 440), leading from the Railway Stations and
the Limûn Bridge (Pl. B, 1) to the Mîdân el-Khaznedâr (Pl. C, 3),
adjoining which, between the old Arabian Cairo and the new town
(p. 454), is the—
Ezbekîyeh Garden, the chief rallying-point of strangers.
The name is derived from the Ezbek mosque which once stood here,
built in 1495 in honour of a general of the sultan Kâït Bey (p. 458).
The grounds (adm. ½ pias.), 20 acres in area, laid out by Barillet
in 1870, contain many rare trees and plants. The open spaces are
planted with Lippia nodiflora instead of grass, which does not
thrive in this dry climate. Among the attractions are a café, a
restaurant, a summer theatre, and evening concerts (see p. 442).
446To the S. of the Ezbekîyeh Garden rises the Opera House
(p. 442), between which and the Hôtel Continental is the Place de
l’Opéra (Mîdân et-Teatro; Pl. B, C, 3), with the monument of the
famous general Ibrâhîm Pasha (d. 1848). From this point the
Shâria Abdîn leads to the S. to the spacious Mîdân Abdîn, where
the Khedivial Palace (Pl. C, 4, 5) rises on the left.
To the E. of the Place de l’Opéra, between the Ezbekîyeh and the
Opera House, the Shâria et-Teatro leads to the small Mîdân Ezbek,
in which are the Tribunaux Mixtes (Pl. C, 3; international law-courts).
A parallel street, Shâria Tâhir, in which is the General
Post Office (Pl. C, 3; p. 441), on the right, leads to the Atabet
el-Khadra, where the principal tramways intersect (p. 440).
On the E. side of this square begins the *Muski, or Mouski
(Pl. C, D, 3), which, with its continuations the Sikket el-Gedîdeh
and Shâria esh-Sharawâni (Pl. E, F, 3), is 1 M. long, and forms
the chief artery of the Oriental quarters, intersecting the whole of
the old town. Externally these streets have lost their mediæval
character, the shops appearing quite European, but the motley
throng that surges through them at all hours is still quite Oriental.
At the end of the Muski, near the Sûk el-Kanto (Pl. D, 3), we
enter the old Fatimite City (Masr el-Kâhira, p. 443), to whose
second wall, dating from 1074, belonged the still existing N. gateways
Bâb el-Futûh and Bâb en-Nasr (Pl. E, 2; p. 449), and the
S. gateway Bâb Zuweileh (Pl. E, 4; p. 450). The old town was
bounded on the W. by the old town-conduit El-Khalîg, now Shâria
Khalîg el-Masri (tramways Nos. 2 & 9, p. 440).
The Gâmia el-Ashraf (Pl. E, 3), a small mosque built by Sultan
Bars Bey (1422–38), at the point where the Sikket el-Gedîdeh
is crossed by the old and important line of streets (1 M. long) between
Bâb el-Futûh and Bâb Zuweileh, lies in the heart of the
Market Quarter, which, though usually overcrowded, especially
in the early morning, should by all means be visited.
Immediately to the left of the Shâria el-Khordagîyeh (Pl. E, 3;
p. 448), which leads from the mosque to the N., is the Sûk es-Sâigh
(pl. siyâgh), the bazaar of the goldsmiths and silversmiths, who
keep their wares under glass in their cramped little shops, selling
them by weight (but often spurious).
On the opposite (E.) side of the same street is the Khân el-Khalîli
(Pl. E, 3), founded in 1400 on the site of the Fatimite
tombs, and once the centre of business. Vendors of silks and carpets,
of trinkets and other wares are still located here. Buyers
who are judges of carpets will select those of Bagdad or Brussa,
but exorbitant prices are generally asked. The silk-stuffs of Lyons
and Crefeld often do duty for those of Damascus. The main street
of the khân, Sikket el-Bâdistân, contains two pretty Arabian gates.
To the S. of the mosque of El-Ashraf runs the Shâria el-Ashrafîyeh
447(Pl. E, 3), whence the Shâria el-Hamzâwî es-Seghîr diverges
to the right. This street, continued by the Shâria el-Hamzâwî el-Kebîr
(Pl. D, 3), forms the Sûk el-Hamzâwî, the market of the
Christian traders (Syrians and Copts). Here, immediately to the
left, is the Shâria et-Tarbîyeh (Pl. E, 3), with the Sûk el-Attârîn,
or spice-market (comp. p. 335).
Opposite the entrance to the Hamzâwî is the Shâria es-Sanâdikîyeh
(Pl. E, 3), also called Sûk es-Sudân, for the produce of the
Sudan (india-rubber, dûm-palm nuts, etc.).—The last side-street
on the left, the Shâria el-Halwagî (Pl. E, 3; the direct way to the
university from Shâria esh-Sharawâni, p. 446), is the seat of the
Booksellers (over 20 shops).
In the Shâria el-Azhar, behind the small Mosque of Mohammed
Bey Abû Dahab (1770), is the chief entrance of the—
*Gâmia el-Azhar (Pl. E, 3, 4; adm., see p. 442; photographing
prohibited), ‘the flourishing’, the finest building of the
Fatimite period. It was completed by Gôhar (p. 443) in 973, and
converted into a university by caliph El-Azîz in 988, but after the
earthquake of 1302 was almost entirely rebuilt by Emir Salar.
The venerable edifice, whose rectangular plan is still distinctly
traceable, was again materially altered by the wealthy Abd er-Rahmân
Kikhya in 1759. The university is still considered the
most important in the territories of Islam. In 1909 there were
10,000 students (mugâwirîn) and 319 teachers (sheikhs). The
rector is called the Sheikh el-Azhar.
Adjoining the N.W. façade, erected by Abbâs II. (p. 444) in the neo-Arabian
style, is the Bâb el-Museiyinîn (‘barber’s gate’), built in the
time of Abd er-Rahmân, now the chief entrance, where a guide is assigned
to the visitor. Adjacent to the gateway, on the right, is the Mesgid
Taibarsîyeh, restored by Abd er-Rahmân, containing a superb mihrâb or
prayer-recess of 1309, richly adorned with mosaics. On the left is the
Zâwiyet el-Ibtighâwîyeh, also of the 14th cent., now the library.
The handsome inner portal, built along with the contiguous minaret
by Kâït Bey (p. 458), leads into the sahn (p. 444), or chief quadrangle,
flanked with five minarets, and always enlivened by knots of students,
mostly grouped in their various nationalities. The colonnades, restored in
the time of Tewfik (p. 444), have the Persian keel-arches, in special favour
with the Shiites, the walls above which are tastefully decorated with
medallions and niches and crowned with pinnacles. The lateral lîwâns
on the N.E. and S.W. sides of the quadrangle are allotted to students of
different countries and provinces as sleeping-apartments and studies (riwâk).
The court of ablutions (p. 63), behind the N.E. lîwân, dates from the
time of Kâït Bey.
The Chief Lîwân, or sanctuary, on the S.E. side of the quadrangle,
with its 140 antique and Byzantine marble columns, forms the great lecture-room.
No lectures are given on Thursdays or during the fasting-month
of Ramadan. The low front half of this great hall, with its four
much restored rows of arcades, belongs to the original building. The
dome of the vestibule, the broad transept borne by two rows of columns,
and the dome of the old mihrâb, all point to the Sidi Okba mosque of
Kairwan (p. 374) as their prototype. The raised inner half of the sanctuary,
with its two prayer-niches, was added by Abd er-Rahmân.
448The dilapidated Okella of Kâït Bey (1496), behind the S. angle
of the university, with its sebîl (p. 445), has a charming façade.
We next visit the N. half of the old city of the Fatimites. In
the Shâria el-Gohergîyeh (Pl. E, 3), in line with Shâria el-Khordagîyeh
(p. 446), we are struck with the façades (on the left) of the
Muristân Kalâûn, the Medreseh Mohammed en-Nâsir, and the Barkûkîyeh,
on the site of the Fatimite palaces.
The Muristân Kalâûn (Pl. E, 3), a great hospital begun by
the Mameluke sultan El-Mansûr Kalâûn (1279–90) in 1285, shows
the influence of the European architectural style which the Crusaders
had introduced into Syria. The massive portal, flanked with
a minaret 192 ft. high, leads into a long corridor. On the left is a
small Mosque, partly restored. On the right is the *Tomb of Kalâûn,
completed in 1293 by his son Mohammed en-Nâsir (1293–1340),
one of the most beautiful Arabian buildings in Cairo. The
square hall has a rich timber ceiling; the mosaics of the walls and
central pillars are composed of marble and mother-of-pearl, and the
superb prayer-niche is enriched with porphyry columns and dwarf
arcades. The wards for the sick and lecture-rooms, grouped round
the large quadrangle, now partly used as store-rooms and workshops,
are sadly disfigured.
The adjoining *Medreseh Mohammed en-Nâsir (Pl. E, 3), dating
from 1303, also is in a ruinous condition. It is entered by a Gothic
church-portal brought from Acre in Syria. The fine minaret, the
sanctuary (on the left), and the tomb of the founder (on the right)
show remains of tasteful stucco decoration recalling the Alhambra
(p. 79).
The Barkûkîyeh (Pl. E, 3), the medreseh of the Mameluke sultan
Barkûk (1382–99), with its octagonal minaret, has suffered from the
gaudy modern painting of the sanctuary and of the mausoleum, in
which reposes a daughter of Barkûk. The dikkeh for the prayer-reciter
(p. 180) is modern.
Farther to the N. in the same line of streets is the lively Shâria
en-Nahhâsîn, in which is the market of the coppersmiths. On the
right is the façade of the Dâr Beshtâk Palace (Pl. E, 3), erected by
Emir Beshtâk in 1330, but now entirely altered. At the next bifurcation
we come to the *Sebîl Abd er-Rahmân (p. 447), one of the
finest structures of the kind. Upstairs the hall of an elementary school
affords from its windows a capital view of the busy Nahhâsîn Street.
Farther on the main street is called Shâria el-Margush el-Barrâni.
Immediately to the right is the Gâmia el-Ahmar (Pl. E,
2; ‘red mosque’), built in 1125 by the grand vizier of the Fatimite
Amr ben Mustali. The fine façade, recently brought to light in
part, with its high pointed niches in square framework alternating
with smaller niches in two stories, shows the oldest stalactite vaulting
in Cairo, and is therefore historically interesting.
449Near the end of the same thoroughfare, here called Shâria Bâb
el-Futûh, we come to the entrance, on the right, of the ruinous
Gâmia el-Hâkim (Pl. E, 2), begun, outside the oldest town-wall,
by El-Aziz (p. 447) in 990, on the model of the mosque of Ibn Tulûn
(p. 451), and completed by his son El-Hâkim in 1012. The two
minarets, with their heavy square setting, rise from the middle of
the second town-wall (p. 446), which is here well preserved. Their
superstructures, crowned with domes and resembling an Arabian
censer (mabkhâra), belong to the period when the mosque was restored
after the earthquake of 1302.
The two ancient gate-towers, the Bâb el-Futûh (Pl. E, 2; ‘gate
of the conquests’) at the end of the street and the neighbouring Bâb
en Nasr (‘gate of victory’; reached by the Shâria el-Kassasineh),
which was pierced with loopholes in the time of Bonaparte, recall
the late-Roman and Byzantine gateway castles. The town-wall
(adm. 2 pias.) affords an interesting survey of the whole group of
buildings.
We now return to the Gâmia el-Ashraf (p. 446) to complete our
visit to the S. part of the old town of the Fatimites. At the beginning
of the Shâria el-Ghûrîyeh (Pl. E, 4), the continuation of the
Shâria el-Ashrafîyeh (p. 446), rises the double monument of the
Mameluke sultan Kânsûh el-Ghûri (1501–16), with its fine façades:
on the right is the Medreseh el-Ghûri (Pl. E, 3, 4), whose minaret,
213 ft. high, is incongruously crowned with five modern dwarfed
domes; on the left is the Mausoleum, with its charming sebîl. The
sultan, who fell in Syria, was not, however, buried here.—A few
paces to the E., in the Shâria et-Tableta which leads to the Azhar
mosque (p. 447), is the Okella of El-Ghûri (Pl. E, 3, 4), now
entirely disfigured.
In line with the Shâria el-Ghurîyeh, farther to the S., is the Shâria
el-Akkâdîn (Pl. E, 4). A little to the E. of it, in the side-street
Hôsh Kadam (No. 12), is the so-called *Bookbinder’s House
(Beit Gamâl ed-Dîn; Pl. E, 4), built in 1637 by the president of
the merchants’ guild, an admirable example of an Arabian dwelling-house
(fee 2 pias.).
A crooked passage (dirkeh) leads into the court of the Salamlîk, the
apartments of the owner, with two well-preserved façades. In the S.W.
angle are stairs ascending to the Makad or reception-room, an open colonnade
with two arches. Adjoining it is an oriel-window closed with mashrebîyehs
(p. 445), from which the women could overlook the court. Farther on we
come to the handsome Kâa, the banqueting-room of the harem, adorned
with superb mosaics. In the centre of it is a lower chamber (durkâa)
roofed with a wooden dome. The flat timber ceilings of the two lîwâns,
or lateral rooms, are very fine.
Still farther to the S., in the same line, runs the Sukkarîyeh
(Pl. E, 4), the market for sugar, dried fruit (nukl), fish, candles,
etc.—On the right rises the—
450*Gâmia el-Muaiyad (Pl. D, E, 4), begun by the Mameluke
sultan Sheikh el-Mahmûdi Muaiyad (1412–21), and completed a year
after his death. In plan it resembles the convent-mosque of Barkûk
(p. 458). The sumptuous portal, with its striped marble enrichment
and stalactite or honeycomb half-domes, is well preserved. The
*Bronze Gate, the finest in Cairo, was brought from the mosque of
Hasan (p. 452). The main court and the lateral lîwâns, with their
heavy modern outer walls, now form shady grounds. The sanctuary,
restored in 1880, is a splendid hall of three arcades with lofty stilted
arches. The decoration of the back-wall and the coloured wooden
ceiling are charming. To the left of the sanctuary is the mausoleum
of the sultan, and to the right that of his family. The two minarets,
167 ft. high, rise from the platform of the Bâb Zuweileh (Pl. E, 4;
p. 446), or Bâb el-Mitwelli, the S. gate of the Fatimite city.
From the Bâb Zuweileh the Shâria Taht er-Rebâa leads to the W. to
the Place Bâb el-Khalk (Pl. D, 4; see below); to the S. run the Kasabet
Radowân, a Shoemakers’ Market, where the favourite red slippers (p. 97)
are sold, and the Shâria el-Khiyamîyeh, the bazaar for gaily coloured
Tent-Covers, leading to the Shâria Mohammed Ali (see below).
To the E. of the Bâb Zuweileh runs a line of streets, bending round to
the S., to the Citadel (p. 453). Nearly opposite the gate, at the corner
of Kasabet Radowân and Derb el-Ahmar, is the small Mosque of Sâlih
Telâyeh (Pl. E, 4), dating from the reign of El-Âdid, the last of the
Fatimites (1160). The sanctuary contains some beautiful stucco ornamentation
in the Syrian-Arabian style.—In the Derb el-Ahmar, farther on,
to the left, rises the small *Mosque of Emir Kijmâs (Pl. E, 4), built
in 1481 by a master-of-the-horse of Kâït Bey (p. 458). The interior is a
perfect gem of its kind.
Farther on this line of streets is called Shâria et-Tabbâneh. On the
right rises the *Mosque el-Merdani (Pl. E, 5), one of the largest in
Cairo. It was built by the cup-bearer of sultan Mohammed en-Nâsir (p. 448)
in 1338–40 and after having almost fallen to ruin was recently restored.
The sanctuary is still separated from the court by its old maksûra, or
wooden screen. The prayer-recess and its sides are lavishly enriched
with costly mosaics. The dome in front of the prayer-niche, partly restored
with cement, rests on ancient Egyptian granite columns.
Starting from the Place Atabet el-Khadra (p. 446) the featureless
Shâria Mohammed Ali (Pl. C-E, 3–6), 1860 yds. long, leads to the
Citadel (tramway No. 6, p. 440). After 8 min. it crosses the former
town-conduit El-Khalîg (p. 446). On the left is the Place Bâb
el-Khalk, with the Gouvernorat (government-house; Pl. D, 4;
containing the Police Office, p. 442), and the superb new buildings
of the Arab Museum and the Khedivial Library (1902).
The *Arab Museum, founded by Franz Pasha, a learned
German architect, on the groundfloor of the building, contains a
large and valuable collection of objects of art, mostly from old
mosques and houses in Cairo. Adm., see p. 442; entrance on the E.
side. Director, M. Herz Bey.
In the Vestibule is shown a chronological list of the Mohammedan
451dynasties of Egypt.—Room I. Tombstones.—Room II. Sculptures in
stone.—Room III. Stone sculptures, casts, mosaics.
Rooms IV-VIII. Wood-carving, including pulpits (mimbar), reading-desks
for the Koran and tables (kursi), movable prayer-niches and Koran-boxes
from mosques, mashrebîyehs (p. 445).
Rooms IX & X. Metal-work. Fine bronze doors from the mosque
of Sâlih Telâyeh (p. 450) and elsewhere; a Koran-case with brass cover
and silver enrichment, candlesticks, lustres in metal, bronze candelabra
(tannûr).—Rooms XI & XII. Fayence, including tiles of European make,
a favourite wall-decoration in Arabian houses of the 18–19th centuries.
Room XIII. Wall-incrustations in stucco; Arabian room from Rosetta.—Room
XIV. Specimens of textiles; two Koran-cases covered with leather
from the Hasan mosque (p. 452).—Rooms XV & XVI. Enamelled *Mosque
Lamps, the richest collection of the kind, mostly from the Hasan mosque.
The first floor of the building contains the Khedivial Library
(Kutubkhâneh, entered from the Shâria Mohammed Ali), founded in
1870 and arranged by German savants. It consists of 68,000 vols.
(about 32,000 being Oriental), including 2700 Korans. The illuminated
Persian MSS. are extremely valuable. The Exhibition Room
(adm., see p. 442) contains also a fine collection of the coins of the
Moslem rulers of Egypt.
We now follow, to the S.W., the long Shâria Khalîg el-Masri
(Pl. D, C, 4–6; tramways Nos. 2 & 9, p. 440) to a small square with
the Gâmia es-Seiyideh Zeinab (Pl. C, 6, 7), and then turn to the
S.E. into the Shâria el-Marâsîn (Pl. C, 7), near the end of which
the Derb Tanaïfa leads to the right to the—
*Medreseh Kâït Bey (Pl. C, 7), in the Kalat el-Kabsh
quarter of the city. Built in 1475, shortly after the sultan’s burial-mosque
(p. 458), and recently restored by Herz Bey, it offers a good
example of the architecture of the second Mameluke dynasty (see
p. 445). The minaret is one of the most tasteful in Cairo. In the
richly decorated interior we specially note the fine ornaments on
the arches of the court-façades, the stalactites of the window-niches,
the mosaic pavement, and the pulpit. The dome is modern.
The Shâria er-Rahaba and the winding Shâria Kalat el-Kabsh
lead to the E. in a few minutes to the picturesque Shâria ez-Ziyadeh
(Pl. D, 7), on the S.W. side of the—
*Gâmia Ibn Tulûn (Pl. D, 7), the oldest in Cairo next to
the Amru mosque (p. 460). It stands near the N. border of what
was once the Katâi quarter, on the rocky Gebel Yeshkûr (33 ft.).
It was erected by Ahmed ibn Tulûn (p. 443) on Mesopotamian
models in 876–9, immediately after the last extension of the
Kairwan mosque (p. 374), and was the largest of that period in all
the lands of Islam. The total area of its precincts is 30,720 sq. yds.,
while the mosque itself, without the courts, forms a huge square of
150 by 132 yds. The external façades, which are almost undecorated,
are relieved by pointed windows and niches and with
shell-shaped half-domes and are crowned with pinnacles. We first
pass through the E. forecourt to the sanctuary.
452The chief quadrangle, about 99 yds. square, is enclosed by
double arcades on three sides, while the sanctuary has four arcades
(originally five, the fifth having collapsed in 1875). The façades of
the court are relieved by pointed windows and rosettes in the spandrels
above the brick pillars; still higher runs a frieze of rosettes,
and the whole is crowned with pinnacles. In the interior the ornamentation
framing the arcades and the foliage frieze on the wall-spaces
are carved in stucco, exhibiting as yet none of the intricate
forms of the Byzantine-Arabian style. The old prayer-recess with
its fine Byzantine capitals and fragments of Byzantine glass-mosaics
is noteworthy. The dikkeh (p. 448) also dates from the earliest
period. Above the dikkeh are remains of the original timber ceiling.
A prayer-recess in the fourth series of arcades dates from 1094.
The pulpit, now bereft of its sumptuous incrustation, the wooden
dome in front of the mihrâb, the plaster windows in the mihrâb
wall, and also the dome in the court are all additions by the Mameluke
sultan Melek el-Mansûr Lagîn (1296–1308).
The peculiar minaret in the great quadrangle, of which the square
basement only was originally built of stone, offers a splendid *View of
the vast city. We look down the Nile, to the N., to the Delta, and to
the W. and S.W. we see the Pyramids.
The small Medreseh Serghatmash (Pl. D, 7) in Shâria el-Khedeiri,
on the N. side of Ibn Tulûn’s mosque, built by a mameluke
of sultan Hasan in the style of Hasan’s mosque (see below) in 1357,
is interesting on account of its original unaltered dome.
We now turn to the E., past the effective marble Sebîl of the
Mother of Abbâs I. (1849–54), and through the Shâria es-Salîbeh
(Pl. D, 6) and the Shâria Shekhûn (Pl. D, E, 6), to the Place Rumeileh
(Pl. E, 6; tramway No. 6, p. 440), the starting-place of the
Mecca caravans.
To the N. of this square, and at the end of the Shâria Mohammed
Ali (p. 450), rise the modern Gâmia Rifaîyeh (Pl. E, 6),
of the reign of the khedive Ismaîl (p. 444), and the famous—
**Gâmia Sultân Hasan (Pl. E, 6), the grandest medreseh
in Egypt, erected for the Mameluke Hasan en-Nâsir (1347–61)
probably by a Syrian architect. It rises on a shelving rock opposite
the Citadel (p. 453). The cruciform medreseh has been skilfully
adapted to the precincts, an irregular pentagon, about 9470 sq. yds.
in area.
The chief *Portal, 85 ft. high, whose side-pillars were originally
to have borne two minarets, recall the Seljuk buildings of
Konia. The façades terminate in a projecting stalactite cornice,
crowned with modern pinnacles, and the walls are relieved by blind
niches with round-arched windows in pairs. Over the detached
mausoleum, which projects from the S.E. façade, rises a dome
181 ft. high, restored in 1616 in the Arabian-Turkish style, but
said to have been originally egg-shaped. The minaret of 267 ft.,
453at the S. angle of the medreseh, is the loftiest in Cairo, and after
that of the Kutubia at Marakesh the highest in N. Africa.
Interior (undergoing restoration). The old court of ablutions on the
N.W. side of the building is again in use. The chief portal of the medreseh
leads into a vestibule with a stalactite dome. We then pass through
a second vestibule and a corridor to the main quadrangle, 38½ by 35 yds.,
containing the ruinous meidâ, or basin for ablutions, and a Turkish fountain
(hanefîyeh), both disused. The four lîwâns, with their massive
barrel-vaulting, are entered from the court by lofty marble portals, and
are in this exceptional case all used as halls of prayer. The four small
medresehs in the angles of the outer precincts, each with its court and
lîwân, served as lecture-rooms and dwellings.
The sanctuary, 76 ft. in height, is adorned with a *Frieze bearing
an inscription in Cufic (or old Arabic) characters, carved in stucco on a
beautiful groundwork of arabesques. The wall of the mihrâb is richly
decorated with marble. Of the once sumptuous furnishings the mimbar
(pulpit), the dikkeh (reading-stand), and the wire-chains of the countless
lamps (see p. 451) and candelabra are now the sole relics.
To the right of the pulpit a bronze door, inlaid with gold and silver,
leads into the sultan’s *Mausoleum, a domed chamber of 23 yds. square,
92 ft. in height. The only remains of the original dome are the wooden
spandrels of the stalactites. The inscriptions on the wooden frieze are
in the round characters (naskhi) used since the time of Saladin.
The Citadel (Pl. E, F, 6; ‘El-Kala’), commanding the city but
itself overtopped by the Mokattam hills (p. 454), was built by
Saladin after 1166, in connection with the third town-wall (p. 444),
on the model of the Crusaders’ castles in Syria. The only remains
of that building are the E. outer wall and several towers in the
interior. The palaces of the Aiyubides (1171–1250), already half
in ruins when Selim I. entered the city (1517), have entirely disappeared.
The first restoration of the fortress dates from the reign
of El-Ghûri (1501–16).
The direct way to the Citadel from the Place Rumeileh is by
a street beyond the huge gate-tower Bâb el-Azab (Pl. E, 6), where
the Mameluke leaders were shot by order of Mohammed Ali (p. 444)
in 1811. The chief approaches, ascending from the broad Shâria
el-Maghar (Pl. E, 6), are the Shâria Bâb el-Gedîd and the Shâria
ed-Defterkhâneh. The latter, for foot-passengers only, passes the
S. side of the Defterkhâneh (Pl. F, 6; state-archives). The Bâb
el-Gedid (Pl. F, 6; ‘new gate’) leads into the outer court of the
Citadel. We then pass through the Bâb el-Wastâni (‘middle gate’)
into the main court, where the ‘alabaster mosque’ faces us and the
mosque of Nâsir rises on the left.
The Gâmia en-Nâsir (Pl. F, 6), built by En-Nâsir (p. 448) in
1317, later used as a military storehouse and a prison, has now
been cleared out, but may be seen by leave of the British military
authorities. The fortress-like façade, and the portals in particular,
show traces of Romanesque influence. The peculiar minarets, with
their bulbous domes, are adorned with coloured fayence in the Persian
style. The finest columns in the court are Byzantine; others are
antique. The sadly disfigured lîwâns still retain their old coloured
454fretwork ceiling. The dome in front of the prayer-niche, which
has collapsed with the exception of its drum, rests on ancient Egyptian
granite columns, as in the mosque of Merdani (p. 450).
The Gâmia Mohammed Ali (Pl. E, F, 6), known as the
‘alabaster mosque’ from the building-material chiefly used, was
begun by Mohammed Ali in 1824 but completed only in 1857 by
his successor Saîd. The architect was the Greek Yûsuf Boshna of
Constantinople, who built it on the model of the Nuri Osmanieh
mosque (p. 550) with a staff of Greek workmen. The tall and unduly
slender minarets form one of the chief landmarks of Cairo. The
forecourt, with its hanefîyeh (fountain with taps), is flanked with
arcades. The *Sanctuary, a domed Byzantine hall, borne by four
square pillars, is grandly proportioned and beautifully lighted. To
the left of the entrance is Mohammed Ali’s tomb (d. 1849).
From the S.W. wall of the Citadel, opposite the Viceregal
Palace, we enjoy, especially towards evening, a magnificent *View
of the city with its countless minarets and domes. To the N. and
W. are the windmill-hills and the green plains watered by the
Nile. To the W. rise the Pyramids of Gîzeh.
The view is far grander from the **Mokattam Hills, or Gebel Giyûshi,
a fine standpoint being the conspicuous Gâmia Giyûshi, a Fatimite
mosque (1085), reached in ½ hr. from the Bâb el-Gebel (Pl. F, 6), the
‘hill-gate’ of the citadel. A side-path to the right leads to the Convent
of the Bektashi (Turkish dervishes), picturesquely situated on the bare
hill-side.
From the Bâb el-Attaba (Bâb el-Atabeg; Pl. F, 5), the N. gate of the
Citadel, we proceed past the cemetery Karâfet Bâb el-Wezîr (Pl. F, 5)
to the Mameluke tombs (comp. p. 458).
To the W. of the Ezbekîyeh Garden and the Place de l’Opéra
(p. 446), to the W. also of the fashionable Shâria Kâmel (Pl B, C, 2,
3) and of the Shâria Abdîn (Pl. C, 3, 4), lie the new Ismaîlîyeh and
Tewfîkîyeh quarters, extending to the Nile and the Ismaîlîyeh
Canal, the latter quarter, named after Tewfik (p. 444), being the
most recent. They contain several of the large hotels, most of the
ministerial and consular offices, the chief banks, and many palaces
of wealthy European, Levantine, and Egyptian magnates.
Ismaîlîyeh and Tewfîkîyeh are separated by the broad and busy
Shâria Bûlâk (Pl. B, A, 3; tramway No. 6, p. 440), which leads from
the Ezbekîyeh Garden to the Abu’l-Eileh Bridge (Pl. A, 3) and
Bûlâk. From October to December the banks of the Nile present a
very busy scene, the state of the river being then most favourable
for the goods-traffic from Upper Egypt, Nubia, and the fertile Delta.—Steam-ferry
to Gezîreh (p. 457; bridge now being built).
The direct way to the Nile is by the Shâria Kasr en-Nîl
(Pl. C-A, 3, 4), diverging from the Shâria Abdîn to the S. of the
455Place de l’Opéra. It crosses the round Mîdân Suleimân Bâsha and
ends at the Mîdân Mariette Bâsha (Pl. A, 4), near the Egyptian
Museum.
A little to the S. is the Mîdân Ismaîlîyeh (Pl. A, 4, 5; tramway
No. 4, p. 440). On the S. side of it runs the Shâria el-Kubri,
to the W., to the Great Nile Bridge (p. 457), while from it to the S.
stretches the long Shâria Kasr el-Aïni (Pl. A, 5, 6). In the latter
street, immediately to the left, is the free Egyptian University
(Pl. A, 5), founded in 1908, the purpose of which, in contrast to
the old Gâmia el-Azhar (p. 447), is to offer Mohammedans a liberal
modern education. Farther on, to the left, opposite the handsome
houses built on the site of the palace Kasr ed-Dubara, are the
Ministries of Public Works and War (Pl. A, B, 5) and the building
of the Sudan Agency; on the N. side of the grounds is the Geological
Museum.—Still farther to the S. the street is prolonged by the
Shâria Fum el-Khalîg (Pl. A, 7), leading past the native (Government)
hospital Kasr el-Aïni (Pl. A, 7) and close to the narrow
E. Arm of the Nile (Bahr el-Khalîg), opposite the island of Rôda
(p. 461), to Old Cairo (comp. p. 460).
The **Egyptian Museum (Pl. A, 4; El-Antikkhâneh) is now
housed in a new building (1897–1902) in the Shâria Mariette Bâsha,
near the Great Nile Bridge. The collection, the greatest of its kind,
founded in 1857 by the French Egyptologist Aug. Mariette (1821–81),
consists of Egyptian and Græco-Roman antiquities found in the
Nile Valley. Adm., see p. 442. Director, M. G. Maspero.
The two long colonnades adjoining the vestibule, are destined for casts.
They terminate in two pavilions, containing, on the left, the Library
and, on the right, the office for the sale of duplicates, photographs, and
scientific publications.
The Ground Floor contains the large stone monuments, including the
sarcophagi in the Grande Galerie d’Honneur, beyond the vestibule.
From the W. (left) wing of the Grande Galerie we first enter, to the
right, Rooms A-D, containing memorials of the Old Empire (3rd–6th Dynasties;
about B.C. 2900–2350). Noteworthy among the master-works in
Room B are: *74. Wooden statue of a man, known as the Sheikh el-Beled
(village magistrate); 73. Statue in diorite of king Khephren (p. 463);
78. Figure of an official, writing. Case B: *114. Nofer, the brewer; 115.
Wooden figure of a man in a cloak.—Room D: *163. Statues in limestone
of prince Ra-hotep and his wife Nofret; 167. Statue of king Phiops I., in
embossed copper, with eyes of enamel; 164, 165. Statues in limestone of
the priest Ra-nofer.
Rooms E-H contain objects dating from the Middle Empire (12–14th
Dynasties; about B.C. 2000–1680) and the era of the Hyksos (Syrian conquerors;
15th and 16th Dynasties; about 1680–1580). In Room F: 194 (in
the middle). Wooden statue of the tutelary genius (Ka) of king Hor; 199.
Limestone statue of king Amenemhêt III.—Room G: 206 (in the middle).
Sacrificial chamber of Harhotep, with drawings of the furniture of the
deceased; 207. Ten colossal statues of Sesostris I. in limestone.—Room H:
260. Tombstone of Prince Mentuhotep.
456Rooms I-P and the large Atrium Central, or covered court, are set
apart for monuments of the New Empire (17–20th Dynasties; about B.C.
1580–1090). Room I: 300 (on the right). Triumphal monument of Thutmosis
III. (1501–1447); 338, 339. The goddess Hathor, as a cow, in the
ancient chapel (naos); *291. Head of king Haremheb (?), in black granite;
312. Bust of the goddess Mut (?); 327. Statue of the aged Amenhotep;
*334. Statue of Thutmosis II., in slate; 341. Statue of Isis, mother of Thutmosis
III.—Room J: 316. Statue of the god Khons.—Room L (beyond
the N. gallery): 364. Sacred barge in red granite.—Portique du Nord
(beyond the covered court): 398. Memorial stones of kings Amenophis III.
(‘Memnon’; 1411–1375) and Merenptab (p. 457).—Room M: 378. The famous
tablet of Sakkâra (p. 464), with its list of kings; 390. Statue of the god
Ptah.—Rooms N and O: Chiefly objects of the Ramesside period (19–20th
Dynasties). Room N: 616. Granite head of Ramses II. (about 1292–1225),
best known of all the Egyptian kings for his immense building enterprise.
Rooms Q-S: Foreign (B.C. 1090–663) and Late Egyptian (663–332) Dynasties.
Room Q: 1016. Statue of the goddess Toëris in the form of a hippopotamus,
an admirable work in green stone (26th Dynasty; 663–525); 667.
‘Pithom Stele’ or memorial stone of Ptolemy Philadelphus, from Pithom.—Room
S: Ethiopian period (25th Dynasty; 712–663); 685. Alabaster
statue of queen Amenertaïs.
Rooms T, V, and X: Ptolemaic (B.C. 332–47; comp. p. 433), Roman (B.C.
47–395 A.D.), and Coptic monuments. Room T: 719. Marble bust of a Gaul,
a Greek original from Thasos; 728. The famous trilingual Decree of Canopus
(B.C. 238), in sacred (hieroglyphic), popular (demotic), and Greek
characters.—Room V: Coptic objects.—Room X (Case A): 688. Bust of
prince Mentemhēt, and 689. Bust of king Taharka (688–663; the Tirhakah
of the Bible), both with negro features.
The Upper Floor contains the smaller antiquities, the objects found
in the royal tombs of Thebes in Upper Egypt, and the mummies.
We begin with the Great Gallery, where the coffins and mummies
of priests of Ammon are exhibited.
In the Salon Méridional, adjoining the central court, and (to the
right) in Rooms A and B, are vessels, implements, toilet requisites, musical
instruments, lamps, candlesticks, candelabra etc.; in Case G of the South
Hall is the *Wooden war-chariot of Thutmosis IV. (1420–1411), with beautiful
reliefs. Also in Room A (later to be reserved solely for Coptic
objects), Coptic utensils.—Rooms C-F: Burial equipments, including
figures of the dead, amulets, jars for the entrails of the deceased (so-called
Canopi).
Rooms G-I: MSS. on papyrus or linen; wooden tablets, potsherds
(ostraca), and slabs of limestone, used as cheap substitutes for papyrus.—Rooms
J-L: Furniture and utensils.
Rooms M, N, and Gallery O (to the N.): Chiefly Greek and Roman
antiquities and foreign objects. In glass-cases C and D of Room N are
(Nos. 433, 434) the famous clay tablets from Tell el-Amarna in Central
Egypt, with cuneiform inscriptions, being letters from Babylonian kings
and the Hittite kings of Arsapi to Amenophis III. (see above).
The Salon Septentrionale, adjoining Gallery O, contains statues of
gods and requisites for their cult. Case B: 886. Hair-pin in the form of
a papyrus stem (Middle Empire); 888. Small bowl in the form of a dog
holding a fish in its mouth; without number, Head of a woman with a
wig; *891. Funerary statuette of the vizier Ptahmosē.—We now cross
Gallery O to—
Room P, with its rich collection of *Trinkets, illustrating the development
of the Egyptian goldsmiths’ art from the earliest age down to
the Byzantine period (A.D. 395–640). Case IV, B, in a recess on the right,
contains jewellery found at Abydos in Upper Egypt (bracelets from the
tomb of king Zer, 1st Dyn.), dating from the earliest period, and already
showing a high degree of skill. To the Middle Empire belong the *Tomb
457Treasures of Dahshûr (p. 464; trinkets of princess Khnumet, etc.), in the
centre of the room, showing the Egyptian goldsmiths’ art in its highest
perfection. Admirably executed are also the *Trinkets of queen Ahhotep,
mother of king Amosis, the Hyksos conqueror (1580 B.C.; p. 455), of the
New Empire (niche on the right, case IV, G-M.). The 20th and 21st
Dynasties also are represented by treasures from Bubastis (p. 439; Case XII).
The extensive collection of Græco-Roman and Byzantine jewellery, partly
pure Greek in style, partly of ancient Egyptian pattern, also merit notice.
To the former class belongs notably, in a niche to the left (stands VII, X),
the *Treasure of Tukh el-Karâmûs, of the early Ptolemaic era (about
300 B.C.).
Gallery Q (continuation of Gallery O) and Rooms R-U contain *Mummies
of the kings of the New Empire, from the ravine Deir el-Bahri near
Thebes. In Gallery Q: 1187. Mummy of Merenptah, son and successor of
Ramses II.; 1251. Gilded coffin-lid of queen Ahhotep (see above).—Room S:
Furnishings from the tombs of Thutmosis III. (p. 456) and Amenophis II,
(B.C. 1447–1420); wooden figures, boxes, shrouds, wigs, etc.—Room T:
*Coffins and furnishings from the tomb of the parents-in-law of Amenophis
III. (p. 456).
Rooms V-Z, Gallery A′, and the last Rooms B′–D′ contain requisites
for the cult of the dead. Room V: Scarabæi (beetle-stones), used as amulets
and as seals.—Room Y: Objects found in tombs of the Middle and
New Empires; in cases D and E, 1337, 1338. Forty Egyptian soldiers and
forty negro soldiers, carved in wood.—Room C′: 115–117. Coffins and
mummy of Oment, priestess of Hathor and lady of the royal harem (11th
Dyn.), with tattooed body.—Room D′: Relics of the earliest period, mostly
from the royal tombs at Abydos (see p. 456).
The Great Nile Bridge (Pl. A, 5; Arabic Kubri Kasr en-Nîl),
427 yds. long, at the end of Shâria el-Kubri (p. 455), connects
the new town with Gezîreh. It is usually opened from about 1.30
to 3 p.m. for the passage of vessels (see notices).
The island Gezîret Bûlâk, or simply Gezîreh (‘island’), is the
favourite residence of the fashionable world. The *Park (café near
the bridge) at the S. end is much frequented, especially in the afternoon,
and is skirted by a pleasant drive shaded by lebbakh-trees.
Passing the Race Course and the grounds of the Khedivial Sporting
Club, we reach the N. part of the island with its handsome villas,
the Ghezîreh Palace Hotel (p. 440; built by Franz Pasha in 1863–4
as a viceregal palace), and the interesting Aquarium (8.30 to
5 o’cl., 2 pias.; Frid. 5 pias.).—Steam-ferry to Bûlâk (p. 454).
From Gezîreh a road crosses the sometimes dry W. arm of the
Nile, above the so-called English Bridge, and leads to the S. to the
village of Gîzeh (tramways Nos. 3 & 5, see p. 440). On the right,
beyond the Gîza Garden, is the Polytechnic School. Farther on,
opposite Rôda (p. 461), is the—
*Zoological Garden (adm. ½ pias.; on Sun. afternoon, when a
band plays, 5 pias.), containing many Egyptian and Sudanese animals
and an aquarium. The grounds, 50 acres in area, with their superb
royal palms (Oreodoxa regia) and pond for aquatic flowers, are
in themselves worth seeing.
1. The *Mameluke Tombs, to the E. of the old town, erroneously
called the Tombs of the Caliphs (comp. F, 3, 4), date mostly
from the second Mameluke dynasty (pp. 444, 445). They are most
easily reached, on donkey-back (p. 441), from the Bâb en-Nasr
(Pl. E, 2; p. 449).
Passing a large Moslem Cemetery (Pl. E, F, 2) we come first
to the N.E. group of the tombs, all much ruined. These are the
Tomb Mosque of Emîr el-Kebîr, son of Bars Bey (p. 446), the
*Monastery Mosque of Sultan Melek el-Ashraf Inâl (1453–68),
an irregular quadrangle of 115 by 51 yds., with a fine minaret and
dome, and the cubical Tomb of an Emir of El-Ghûri (p. 449).
We now turn to the S. to visit the *Monastery Mosque of Sultan
Barkûk (p. 448), partly restored of late. It forms a square of
80 yds. each way. The two handsome minarets have been deprived
of their bulb-like summits. In front of the mihrâb is a small dome.
Of the two mausoleums that on the N. was built in 1400–5 by
Barkûk’s sons Farag and Azîz; that on the S., together with the
monastery (Khânkâ), was completed by Farag in 1410.
The old chief portal, with its stalactite niche, is on the N. side.
To the right of it is a sebîl with an elegant kuttâb (p. 445). On the left
are the ruins of the three-storied monastery and a dilapidated hall connecting
the monastery with the tomb of Barkûk’s father, Sharaf ed-Dîn
Anas (d. 1382).
From the present entrance in the outbuilding at the S.W. angle we
pass through a vestibule and a corridor to the quadrangle (sahn) with
its fountain (hanefîyeh). The lîwâns, borne by pillars, are roofed with
flat domes, some of which have fallen in. The beautifully proportioned
sanctuary, with nave and two aisles, contains three plain prayer-recesses
and a stone *Pulpit presented by Kâït Bey (1483; see below). Large double
portals lead to the left to the mausoleum of Barkûk and his sons, and
to the right to the tombs of the ladies of the family.
Within a walled court a little to the W. are the Tombs of
Emirs Suleimân ibn Selîm (d. 1526) and Ahmed. The dome of
the former is richly adorned with trellis-work set in lozenge-shaped
meshes, and shows remains of the inscribed frieze of blue fayence.
A few minutes’ walk to the S.W., past the large flattened dome
of the Turkish Mabed er-Rifaîyeh, brings us to the Hôsh of Kâït
Bey (1468–96), once 330 yds. long, the largest family burial-place
at Cairo, now occupied by a whole village. A dilapidated dwelling-house
(rab), 86 yds. long, and trough, and the tomb-mosque still exist.
The *Tomb Mosque of Kâït Bey, the finest of all the Mameluke
tombs, at once strikes the eye with its wall decoration in coloured
stripes, the delicate network of the dome of the mausoleum,
and the graceful minaret, 131 ft. high. Between the minaret and
the railed-in sebîl is the chief portal with its trefoil arch, leading
into a vestibule containing the throne of the sultan. The adjoining
sanctuary, with its pavement in coloured mosaic, its two inscription-friezes,
its kamarîyehs, and stained-glass windows, has been almost
entirely renewed. The mimbar or pulpit also is modern. The lîwân
opposite still has its fine old timber ceiling. The mausoleum, on
the S.W. side of the sanctuary, also shows great wealth of colouring.
A colonnade adjacent contains the tombs of the sultan’s four wives.
459We now follow the Shâria es-Sultân Ahmed and (to the right)
Shâria Karâfet el-Mamalik, cross the so-called Windmill Hill
(Pl. F, 3), the central great mound of débris on the E. side of the
old town, and thus regain the Fatimite city (Shâria esh-Sharawâni,
p. 446). On the way, from the ‘Point de Vue’ marked on the Plan,
we have a fine *View of the city of tombs and the Mokattam Hills
behind us.
The Shâria Karâfet Bâb el-Wezîr, the S. prolongation of Shâria es-Sultân
Ahmed, leads to the Citadel (comp. p. 453).
2.Excursion to the Heliopolis Oasis and Heliopolis-On.
The new Heliopolis Oasis is most quickly (10 min.) reached from
Cairo by the Metropolitan Railway (p. 441), or by railway and
electric tramway viâ Palais de Koubbeh (20–30 min.; comp.
below); tramway No. 10 in ca. 50 min., see p. 440; cab, see p. 441.
The Heliopolis Oasis or New Heliopolis (hotels, see p. 440),
called by the Arabs Masr el-Gedida, i. e. ‘New Cairo’, is a new
‘suburb’, founded in 1906 by a Belgian company, about 5 M. to the
N.E. of Cairo. On this healthy site an entirely modern town, consisting
of villas and buildings mostly in the Moorish style, is being
laid out on an ambitious scale. Broad avenues planted with trees
and streets pleasantly interspersed with spacious squares intersect
the town, while recreation grounds of every description and a race
course provide for the residents’ entertainment.—Heliopolis Oasis
is connected with Cairo by a beautiful Avenue (cab, see p. 441),
the favourite promenade of the inhabitants and visitors in Cairo,
which, close to the Oasis, passes the not yet completed British
Barracks.
The visit to Heliopolis-On may be combined with the route just
described by way of rail. station Palais de Koubbeh (tramway, see below).
If, however, we make our visit from Cairo direct we go by railway from the
Pont Limûn Station (p. 439; trains every ½ hr., in 21 min.; also several
fast trains in ¼ hr.; return-fare 4½ or 3 pias.).
The train crosses the Ismaîlîyeh Canal (p. 438). 2 M. Demîrdash, or
Demerdache, station for the villa-suburb of Abbâsîyeh. 4¼ M. Palais de
Koubbeh, with the Khedivial Palace; from the station an electric tramway,
in connection with the trains, runs to the S.E. to (1 M.) the Heliopolis
Oasis (see above). 5 M. Ezbet ez-Zeitûn, a group of villas; 6¼ M.
Matarîyeh.
At the village of Matarîyeh (hotel), in a garden to the right of the
road, is the Virgin’s Tree, a sycamore marking the spot where the Holy
Family is said to have resided during their exile in Egypt. A little to
the E. of the station is an Ostrich Farm (adm. 10 pias.), with a belvedere.
From the Virgin’s Garden the Shâria el-Misalleh (obelisk street) leads
to the N. to the site of Heliopolis-On, one of tho most ancient places
in Egypt, famous for the cult of the falcon-headed sun-god Rē-Harakhtē.
The Obelisk of red granite is the oldest in the land. Scanty fragments
of the temple and of the town-wall are the only other ruins.
4603. We may next visit Old Cairo (tramway No. 4, p. 440).
The route is by the Shâria Masr el-Kadîmeh, the continuation
of Shâria Fum el-Khalîg (Pl. A, 7; p. 455). On the left, at its beginning,
is a hexagonal Water Tower, which once supplied an
Aqueduct (El-Kanâtir) built by El-Ghûri (p. 449), extending to Bâb
el-Karâfeh (Pl. E, 7), and still traceable in its ruins, 66 ft. high.
About ¼ M. beyond the new Abbâs Bridge (p. 461) the Shâria
Gâmia Amr, on the left, leads to the picturesque old Coptic convent
Deir Abû Sefein and the Amru Mosque (see below).
From the tramway-terminus in the poor little town of Old Cairo
(Masr el-Kadîmeh, p. 443) we follow the street to the Gîzeh steam-ferry
(p. 461), turn to the left past the police-station, and in the
Shâria es-Saghîr to the left again. This brings us to St. Georges,
a station on the Helwân railway (see p. 439). On the E. side of
the railway is the site of—
Babylon (p. 443), a Roman castle, of which the only remains
are parts of the outer walls and a Gateway, on the S.W. side, with
two projecting towers.
Within the precincts of the ancient fortress now lies Kasr esh-Shama,
a village inhabited chiefly by Copts, with a synagogue, five
mediæval Coptic churches (El-Moallaka, Abu Sergeh, etc.), and
the Greek Convent of St. George (W. side). One of the entrances
is between the convent and an old tower.
From the N.E. angle of the fortress, skirting the rubbish-mounds
of Fostât (p. 443), we reach (10 min.) the Amru Mosque, surrounded
by cemeteries and potteries, where the porous kullehs are made, and
conspicuous by its red and white striped façade.
The Gâmia Amr ibn el-Âsî, commonly called the Amru
Mosque by Europeans, is named after the general of caliph Omar
(p. 443). It was originally a small edifice built in 642, probably
of crude bricks, but it was repeatedly rebuilt or restored, as in 698
and 827, and notably by Saladin in 1172, after the invasion of king
Amalarich of Jerusalem and the burning of Fostât in 1168. Other
restorations took place in the three following centuries. The two
minarets are modern.
The Interior, a slightly irregular rectangle, 132 by 108 yds., though
sadly ruinous, is of impressive dimensions. The six-aisled sanctuary
contains 21 series of arcades (with pointed arches) running towards the
kibla (prayer niche facing Mecca). The three outer rows of columns on
each side are continued by those of the N.E. and the S.W. lîwâns, of
which, however, the bases alone remain. The lîwân on the side of the
quadrangle next the entrance has a single arcade only. The Roman and
Byzantine columns from Memphis (p. 464), once 366 in number it is said,
have been utilized without regard to symmetry or congruity.
In the centre of the court, now planted with trees, is a hanefîyeh
(18th cent.). In the N. angle of the sanctuary is an uninteresting monument
over the supposed tomb of Sheikh Abdallah, son of Amr, erected by
Abbâs I. (1849–54). On the almost intact S.W. wall of the sanctuary are
curious wood-carvings, still purely Byzantine (9th cent.).
4614. The Pyramids of Gîzeh should be visited on a calm and
clear day, as the sand-drift is most trying in windy weather.
(Umbrella or dark-coloured spectacles advisable to protect the eyes
from the glare.) The excursion takes at least 4 hrs., or, including
Sakkâra, a whole day. Those who are pressed for time visit the
Great Pyramid, the Sphinx, and the Granite Temple only. (Tramway
No. 1, see p. 440; carr. in 1–1¼ hr., p. 441.)
The tramway diverges at Old Cairo (p. 460), about 770 yds. to
the S. of the Water Tower, to the right from line No. 4, and crosses
a branch of the Nile to the island of Rôda (Gezîret Rôda), at the
S. end of which is the old Nilometer (Arabic Mikyâs), dating from
the time of the Omaiyade caliph Suleimân (716), but often restored
since.
We next cross the main channel of the Nile by the Pont Abbâs II.
(opened 10–11 a.m. and 3.30 to 4.30 p.m. for the passage of vessels)
to the village of Gîzeh (Tues. market), at the N. end of which,
about 550 yds. below the steam-ferry (p. 460), our tramway joins
the branch from Gezîreh (p. 457).
Leaving the Nile, and passing a station on the Upper Egyptian
railway (p. 463), we still have a run of 5 M., nearly due W., to the
Pyramids, the huge angular forms of which gradually become more
distinct and soon stand out in clear outlines.
The terminus of the tramway is near the large Mena House
Hotel (p. 440), on the N.E. border of the Libyan Desert. Adjacent
is a Greek restaurant. The road then ascends in a curve to the
(½ M.) plateau of the Pyramids.
Near the tramway-terminus is a station for donkeys and camels (5 pias.
per hour; see also pp. 173, 174).—The plateau is open to the public and
may be quite well explored without a guide. Tickets of admittance to
the monuments themselves are sold at a stall next to the Viceregal Kiosque,
at the N.E. corner of the Great Pyramid. Guides (Bedouins) also are
obtained here on application to their sheikh (recognizable by the rosette
on his breast). Ticket for the ascent of the Great Pyramid 10 pias. (for
the interior, also 10 pias.); for the other monuments 5 pias.; for the entire
expedition, including the ascent of the Great Pyramid and the visit to its
interior, 20 pias.—Bakshîsh optional, but it is usual to give a few piastres.
No attention should be paid to beggars or to vendors of ‘antiquities’. Unofficial
guides who try to thrust themselves on visitors should be repelled,
with the aid of the police if need be.
The **Pyramids of Gîzeh form the second and most imposing
of the six groups of pyramids extending along the border of the
Libyan desert, in a line of about 19 M. in length. To the N.W. is
the Abu Roâsh group, towards the S.E. are the groups of Zâwyet el-Aryân,
Abusîr (p. 464), Sakkâra (p. 464), and Dahshûr (p. 464).
The Arabs call them ahrâm (sing, háram).
The Pyramids of Gîzeh, creations of the 4th Dynasty (about
B.C. 2850 to 2700), rank among the oldest monuments of human industry,
and their colossal proportions extort from us to-day the same
astonishment that was felt in antiquity by Greek and Roman travellers.
462We marvel both at the technical skill shown by the Egyptians
in their construction, and at the might of the kings, who must have
had the services of many thousands of their subjects at command.
The pyramids are believed to have been built in layers. Each king
at his accession began to erect his tomb-pyramid on a small scale.
If wealthy or long-lived he enlarged the original design, and after
his death the outer covering was added.
The **Great Pyramid, erected by Kheops or Cheops, the
Khufu of the Egyptians, was called by them Yekhwet Khufu (the
‘glorious place of Khufu’). Herodotus (II, 125) states that 100,000
men were employed for three months every year in building it.
The outer covering, with the exception of a few fragments on the
base below the entrance, has disappeared. Each side is now 248 yds.
in length (originally 255 yds.). The perpendicular height is 450 ft.
(once, to the apex, 480 ft.). The sides rise at an angle of 51°50′.
The solid content of the masonry, deducting the nucleus of rock
and the chambers in the interior, was formerly about 3,302,500
(and is still about 3,081,100) cubic yards. This stupendous structure
is composed of yellowish limestone blocks, quarried in the
vicinity and containing numerous fossils, chiefly nummulites (a
kind of snail-shell), while the incrustation consisted of blocks of
a finer white limestone from the Mokattam quarries.
The Ascent of the Pyramid, though free from danger, is very toilsome.
The visitor is helped up the steps, mostly 3 ft. high, by three Bedouins,
two holding his hands and the third pushing behind. We may reach the
top, a platform of 11 yds. square, in 10–15 min., but a more leisurely
ascent is advisable. The *View of the yellow sands and bare rocks of
the great desert-plateau, on which rise the Sphinx, the smaller pyramids
of Gîzeh, and the more distant tombs stretching as far as Dahshûr, awakens
solemn thoughts of death and eternity. At our feet stretches a tract of
rich arable land, luxuriantly clothed with blue-green vegetation and entirely
inundated in autumn. To the E., beyond the glittering river, rise
the citadel of Cairo and the warmly-coloured Mokattam hills.
The Interior of the Pyramid will not interest ordinary travellers.
The air in the passages, hall, and tomb-chamber is hot and stifling and
makes the visit very disagreeable.
From the E. side of the Great Pyramid, where a Temple for
the cult of the dead once stood, we walk past the Three Small
Pyramids of relatives of Kheops to the Sphinx, which rises from
the sand of the desert some 350 yds. to the S.E.
The **Sphinx, the most famous monument in this vast burial-ground,
probably once a natural rock, has the form of a recumbent
lion with the head of a king (Khephren?), wearing a head-cloth
adorned with the royal serpent. In front of the breast is the
image of a god, much weather-worn. The head also is sadly mutilated,
the nose and beard have broken off, and the reddish tint
which once enlivened the face has almost entirely disappeared. But
in spite of all injuries the monument preserves a striking expression
of strength and majesty. The eyes have a pensive, faraway
463look, the lips wear a half-smile, and the whole face is of
graceful and beautiful type. The height of the monument, from the
pavement on which the fore-legs of the lion rest to the crown of
the head is about 66 ft.; its length, from the lion’s fore-paws to the
root of the tail, is about 186 ft. On the top of the head is a cavity.
Some 48 yds. to the S.E. of the Sphinx are the remains of
the *Granite Temple, or Sphinx Temple, a large building of
hewn stone. It was once the sacred entrance through which the
Pyramid of Khephren (see below) was approached from the valley
below. The edifice is a fine example of majestic simplicity, and the
very hard stone has been treated with marvellous skill. The exterior
of the temple is buried in rubbish. The two main halls are rectangular,
and the beams of their ceilings rested on granite pillars.
The Circuit of the Pyramid Plateau (1½–2 hrs.) is interesting.
From the Great Pyramid we walk to the W. to the great Burial Ground
of the relatives and officials of the royal family, as well as of the priests
and officials of the temples of the dead. The square tombs (mastabas)
are ranged in straight lines like streets, affording a good example of an
Egyptian necropolis. On the way we pass the Tomb of Shepses-kef-onekh,
dating from the 5th Dynasty (about 2700–2550 B.C.).
Through a cleft in the rock, near the Quarry which yielded the stone
in the reign of Ramses II. for the temple of Heliopolis (p. 459), we descend
to the artificially levelled plateau of the—
Second Pyramid, Egyp. Wer-Khefrē (‘great is Khefrē‘), built by
Khephren (Khefrē). Standing on higher ground, it looks larger than the
Pyramid of Kheops. Its perpendicular height is 447 (once 454) ft.; each
side is 230 (formerly 235) yds. in length; its sides rise at an angle of
52°20′. The masonry has a solid content of 2,173,552 (once 2,445,377) cub. yds.
The foundations of the Temple of the Dead, on the E. side of the
pyramid, were excavated in 1908. On the W. side of the pyramid we
observe an Inscription and several Rock Tombs. Adjacent is a mummy
shaft (caution advisable).
The road now leads to the S.W. to the Third Pyramid, Egyp.
Neter-Menkewrē (‘divine is Menkewrē‘), built by Menkewrē, the Mykerinos
of Herodotus. Its perpendicular height is 204 (once 218) ft., while its
sides rise at an angle of 51°; each side of the base measures 118 yds. The
stones are unusually large. To the S. rise Three Small Pyramids.
We next walk to the remains of the Temple of the Dead to the E.
of the third pyramid and then follow the ancient paved track by which
the stones were once brought up from the Nile valley. On the way,
among several Rock Tombs, are the ruins of an unfinished pyramid. Passing
a very ruinous family burial-place of the 26th Dynasty, called Campbell’s
Tomb after its discoverer, we now descend to the Granite Temple
(see above), and walk to the N.W., past the Sphinx (p. 462), to the Three
Small Pyramids (p. 462) near the Pyramid of Kheops.
Lastly we may visit the Rock Tombs of the Ancient Empire, near
the Arab village Kafr el-Hâram. The best-known, the ‘Tomb of Numbers‘,
contains badly preserved reliefs (counting of cattle).
5. The Excursion to Memphis and Sakkâra is easily made
in one day. Provisions (supplied by the hotels in lieu of déjeuner),
candles (obtainable also at Bedrashein), and if possible an acetylene
lamp should be taken. We start early from the chief station (first
train usually at 7 a.m.) by the Upper Egyptian line for Bedrashein
(1 hr.; fare 16½ or 8½ pias.), where donkeys are in waiting (to
464Sakkâra and back 10 pias.; bargain should be made in presence of
the Bedouin sheikh). The ride back takes fully 1½ hr. (train for
Cairo at present 4.56 p.m.). Tickets for the monuments (5 pias.)
are sold by the custodians or at Mariette’s House (p. 465).
Robust travellers may ride from Sakkâra along the margin of the
desert, or viâ the pyramids of Abusîr, in 2½–3 hrs. to the Mena House
Hotel (p. 461). The charge (15–20 pias.) should be agreed upon with the
donkey-boy at the Bedrashein station. In the reverse direction we may
go by tramway to Gîzeh (comp. p. 461), and ride thence viâ the Pyramids
of Gîzeh to Sakkâra (donkey 20, camel 30 pias.; comp. pp. 173, 174). Or
we may drive in a desert-car (80 pias.) from Mena House Hotel along
the border of the desert to Sakkâra.
The Railway, passing Bûlâk (p. 454), runs to the N.W. and
crosses the Nile. 2 M. Embâbeh, noted for the ‘battle of the
Pyramids’, in which Bonaparte defeated the Mamelukes in 1798.—Describing
a circuit the train next comes to (6¼ M.) Bûlâk ed-Dakrûr,
on a Nile canal. At (8 M.) Gîzeh (p. 461) we sight the
Pyramids (p. 461) on the right, and then, on the left, Old Cairo
(p. 460) and the long range of the Mokattam (p. 454), continued to
the S.E. by Gebel Turra. Next, on the left, is Gezîret Tirsâ, an
island in the Nile.
14½ M. Abu Nemrûs. On the right rise the hills bordering
the Libyan desert, with the pyramids of Abusîr. Beyond (17½ M.)
El-Hawamdîyeh the step-pyramid (p. 465) is visible for a short
time. To the left, at the foot of Gebel Turra, lies Helwân (Hélouan),
a winter health-resort.
20½ M. Bedrashein, on the E. side of the railway.
From the railway-crossing we ride to the W., past the village
(Wed. market), by a road through green fields, which are entirely
flooded in autumn, to the (20 min.) palm-grove of Bedrashein.
In the foreground, shaded by palms, lies the site of Memphis,
now a heap of débris, the oldest capital of Egypt, founded under
the name of ‘White Walls’ about 3400 B.C. by Menes, the first
historical king. The vast area of the ruins seems to have extended,
down to the 12th cent. A.D., as far as Gîzeh. The chief quarters of
the city probably lay on the fields of Bedrashein and Mit-Rahîneh.
The road forks 20 min. beyond Bedrashein. The Summer Route,
impassable during the inundations, leads to the left in about 8 min.
to the two *Colossal Statues of Ramses II. (p. 456), both now
prostrate, which once stood at the entrance to the famous temple
of Ptah. The first is 25 ft., or including the crown 31½ ft., long;
the second, protected by a mud-hut (adm. 4 pias.), is 42 ft. in length.
We now ride on, leaving the village of Mit Rahîneh at a little
distance to the right, towards the palm-grove of Sakkâra, at the
foot of the desert-plateau. On the yellow sand of the desert rise
eleven pyramids. To the extreme left (S.) is the necropolis of
Dahshûr, where the ‘blunted pyramid’ or ‘pyramid of the two
465angles’ catches the eye. To the right (to the N.W. of the huts of
Sakkâra) rise the Onnos and step-pyramids (see below).
Turning to the N. near Sakkâra, ½ hr. beyond the statues of
Ramses, and skirting the palm-grove, we ride towards the ruins of
some mud-built houses. The Winter Route from the bifurcation
mentioned at p. 464 makes a long bend to the N. and leads through
the palm-grove of Bedrashein and past the ruins of the brick houses
of ancient Memphis; it then crosses a sluice-bridge, passes on either
side several ponds, and rejoins the summer route.
We now ascend to the sandy plateau and overlook the *Necropolis
of Sakkâra. This vast area, about 4½ M. long from N.
to S. and from 550 to 1600 yds. in breadth from E. to W., has
afforded material for repeated exploration.
We ride straight to the *Step Pyramid (Arab. El-Hâram el-Mudarrag),
the great landmark of Sakkâra. This was the tomb of
king Zoser (3rd Dynasty, about 2900–2850 B.C.), and is still older
than the pyramids of Gîzeh. It is 196 ft. high, and each step recedes
about 6½ ft.
About 330 yds. to the S.W. of the Step Pyramid rises the Pyramid
of King Onnos (or Unis; about 2550 B.C.), which is easily scaled. The
view embraces all the pyramids from Dahshûr to Gîzeh. The central
chamber and burial-vault in the interior (shown by the custodian) are full
of hieroglyphic inscriptions, the oldest religious Egyptian text known.
Beyond the Step Pyramid, in the direction of Mariette’s House,
we suddenly obtain a striking view of the pyramids of Abusîr and
Gîzeh to the N.; in the palm-shaded Nile valley, bordered by the
yellowish-grey desert, we observe in the distance the mosque of
Mohammed Ali (p. 454).
When the road forks we ride to the left to the Mastaba of
Ptahhotep, the tomb of the highest state-official of a king of the
5th Dynasty (about 2700–2550 B.C.). The interesting, delicately
executed wall-reliefs, like those of the almost contemporaneous
mastaba of Ti (p. 466), are among the finest of the Ancient Empire
but are imperfectly lighted. The richest wall-decoration is in the
sacrificial chamber (funeral repast, rural scenes, etc.).
We now repair to Mariette’s House, a little to the N., where
the famous Egyptologist lived during the excavations. We rest and
take luncheon on the terrace here. (Custodians 2½–5 pias.; Arabian
coffee provided if desired.)
A few min. to the W. of Mariette’s house is the *Serapeum,
with the underground rock-tombs of the sacred bulls of the god Ptah.
Apis, the sacred bull, had a temple of his own at Memphis, and after
death was buried with great pomp. He represented man in a future state
as identified with the god Osiris, and his tomb was a favourite goal of pilgrims.
Hermits too sometimes lived in the narrow cells of the tomb. After
Ptolemy I. had introduced the cult of Serapis (p. 435) into Egypt, this
new god was identified with Osiris-Apis (Egyp. Oser-hapē, Gr. Osorapis).
The temple over the Apis tombs has disappeared, and so too has a
second temple erected here by Nektanebos (358–341 B.C.), to which the
466great sphinx avenue ascended from the plain below. The main passage
to the tombs, which was constructed by Psammetichos I. (663–609), is
now alone accessible. In the tomb-chambers are still preserved 24 of the
huge sarcophagi in which the mummies of the Apis bulls reposed.
The famous *Mastaba of Ti, to the N.E. of Mariette’s house,
is still deeply imbedded in the sand. This was the tomb of the
royal architect of king Nuserrē (5th Dyn.). The most beautiful of
the reliefs are in the tomb-chamber, which is entered from the road
through two vestibules and two passages. We note particularly, on
the E. wall, Harvest and Boat-building; on the S. wall, Sacrifices
to the dead; on the N. wall, *Scenes from life in the Delta marshes.
Those who do not intend to ride on to Gîzeh may, on their way
back, glance at the Tomb of Merekura, of the early 6th Dynasty,
and at the Street of Tombs near it, of like date (including the Tomb
of Enkhmē-Hor, also called the ‘Tomb of the Physicians’, etc.)
For full details, see Baedeker’s Egypt.
464 (or 261) M. Steamers (mostly small and old; agents at Alexandria,
see p. 432; at Port Said, p. 437; at Jaffa, p. 467; at Beirut, pp. 481, 482).
1.Messageries Maritimes, S. Mediterranean line (coming from Marseilles,
and touching at Alexandria): from Port Said on Frid. (returning Mon. or
Tues.) to Beirut, alternately direct in 1 day and viâ Jaffa in 2 days; fare
from Port Said to Jaffa 35 or 25 fr., to Beirut 65 or 55 fr.—2.Austrian
Lloyd (Trieste and Syria line; comp. R. 68; touching at Alexandria):
from Port Said on Mon. aft. viâ Jaffa and Haifa to Beirut in ca. 2½ days
(returning Thurs. night); fare from Port Said to Jaffa 33 or 22 K, to
Beirut 75 or 52 K.—3.Khedivial Mail Co. (coming from Alexandria), from
Port Said on Sun. aft. viâ Jaffa and Haifa in ca. 1½ days to Beirut (going
on, every alternate week, to Alexandretta and Constantinople), returning
from Beirut Sun. foren.; fare from Port Said to Jaffa £ 1 E 35 pias. or
£ E 1, to Beirut £ 2 E 60 pias. or £ E 2.—4.Russian Steam Navigation
& Trading Co. (Syria and Egypt circular line; coming from Alexandria),
from Port Said on Mon. or Sat. nights viâ Jaffa and Haifa in ca. 2 days
to Beirut (going on to Smyrna and Constantinople), returning from Beirut
Tues. or Wed. aft.; fare 60 or 44 fr. (to Jaffa 36 or 26 fr.).—5.German
Levant Line, cargo-steamers from Alexandria twice monthly viâ Jaffa
and Haifa to Beirut (comp. R. 65).—6.Società Nazionale (Lines VII,
VII bis; coming from Alexandria), from Port Said each monthly viâ Jaffa
to Beirut in ca. 2 days.
As to passports, see p. 491; Turkish money, p. 536.
Alexandria, see p. 431; Port Said, see p. 436. The flat Egyptian
coast disappears soon after we leave Port Said.
Nearing Jaffa we survey the hill-country of Judaea, with the
heights around Jerusalem and (to the N.E.) the mountains of Samaria,
The broad coast-plain, flanked with low dunes, is the ancient
Peleshet, the ‘plain’, stretching from the Egyptian frontier to
Mt. Carmel (p. 468), once inhabited by the Philistines (Pelishtîm).
467Jaffa.—Arrival. The steamers anchor in the open roads. In winter,
when a westerly gale is blowing, it is often impossible to land. Passengers
must then go on to Haifa (p. 468) or to Beirut (p. 481). The arrangements
for landing are unsatisfactory; in rough weather as much as 20 fr. is
demanded. It is best to land in one of the boats belonging to the hotels
or tourist-agents (see below; 6–7 fr. to station or to hotel, incl. baggage,
on which a watchful eye should be kept), and to decline the services of
other boatmen or of porters and dragomans (Arabic terjumân). The passport
office and custom-house are in the S. angle of the harbour. Customs
examination, see p. 537.
Railway Station to the N.E. of the town, 1½ M. from the harbour.
Hotels (charges should be ascertained at once; advisable to order
rooms beforehand in the height of the season). Jerusalem Hotel and Hôt.
du Parc, both in the German colony, pens. 12½, in the quiet season 8 fr.;
Hôt. Kaminitz, in Rue Boustrous, leading to the German colony; Frank,
in the German colony, with restaurant.
Tourist Agents.Thos. Cook & Son, opposite the Jerusalem Hotel;
Clark, in the Hôt. du Parc; Dr. Benzinger, at Frank’s Hotel; Hamburg-American
Line, Agence Lubin, both at the harbour.—Steamboat Offices
all on the quay, to the N.E. of the custom-house.
Post Offices.Turkish in Rue Boustrous (also International Telegraph);
German and Austrian-Hungarian, at the N.E. end of the quay;
French, farther to the N.E.; Russian, on the quay, opposite the Quarantine
Station.
Consuls. British Vice-Consul, J. Falanga.—United States Consular
Agent, J. Hardegg.
Physicians.Dr. J. M. Keith (medical superintendent of the English
Hospital); Dr. Lin (French); Dr. Lorch, Dr. Saad (both German).
Banks.Anglo-Palestine Co., Banque Ottomane, both in the Gaza
Road; German Palaestina-Bank, Crédit Lyonnais, both on the quay.
English Church Services, on Sun. at 9.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m.
Carriages. Drive 1 beshlik (3½ pias.); ½ day 10, day 20 fr.; to
Jerusalem (7–8 hrs.) in the season 50–60 fr. (single seat 10–15 fr.), to
Haifa (1½–2 days), 100–140 fr., according to weather.
Jaffa, Arabic Yâfâ, Gr. Joppa (pop. 47,000, viz. about
30,000 Moslems, 10,000 Christians, and 7000 Jews), originally a
Phœnician colony in the land of the Philistines, is mentioned as
early as the reign of Solomon (p. 472) as the seaport of Jerusalem.
The Maccabees (p. 472) brought it under Jewish domination. During
the Crusades it was repeatedly wrested from the Christians,
and in 1267 it was destroyed by the Mameluke sultan Beybars. In
1799 the town was stormed by the French under Kléber (p. 444).
The old town rises on a rock 118 ft. high, behind the Quay,
built towards the end of the 17th century. Its streets are very dusty
and in wet weather muddy.
The quay and its prolongation, the main arteries of traffic, lead
in a curve towards the E. to the Market (Sûk), where the Semitic
type of the inhabitants is very noticeable.
Beyond this market is a public garden with a Clock Tower
erected by the town of Jaffa to commemorate the 25th year of the
reign of the now deposed Sultan Abdul Hamid (1876–1909), and
several Arabian cafés. The Gaza road leads thence to the right
through the S. suburb. The Jerusalem road leads straight on through
the new town and a number of orange-groves; after 12 min. a road
468diverges to the left to the Russian settlement, where we are shown
the site of the house of Tabitha and her rock-tomb (Acts ix. 35).
The Rue Boustrous leads to the left to the railway-station and the
pleasant houses of the German Colony, founded in 1868 (about
350 inhab., chiefly of the ‘Temple’ sect).
A second colony of these Templars is Sarona, 1 M. to the N.E.,
behind the dunes, in the coast-plain of Sharon between Jaffa and Cæsarea,
famed ever since ancient times for its fertility. The vine in particular
thrives here admirably.
Beyond Jaffa the Steamer soon passes the mouth of the Nahr
el-Aujâ, the largest river in Palestine next to the Jordan, and then,
near the N. boundary of Judæa, the site of Apollonia (now Arsûf).
Farther on we sight the scanty ruins of Caesarea Palaestina (Arabic
El-Kaisarîyeh), a seaport founded by Herod the Great, which
in the Roman period surpassed Jerusalem.
Beyond the Nahr ez-Zerkâ (‘blue river’, p. xxxiii), the Crocodile
River of Pliny, come the little town of Tantûra, the Dor of the
Old Testament, which classical authors say was a Phœnician colony,
and then Atlît, the Castellum Peregrinorum of the Crusaders,
the seat of the Knights Templar in 1218–91, with its grand ruins.
The beautiful outlines of *Mt. Carmel (1811 ft.; Jebel Mâr
Elyâs, ‘sacred mount of Elijah’) become more distinct. On the hill-side
is the Carmelite Monastery (558 ft.), the original seat of the
order, which extended its sphere to Europe in 1238. Below it, on
the evergreen N. slope of the range, rises a Lighthouse.
Most of the steamers call at the open roads of Haifa or Khaifa
(Hôt. Karmel or Krafft, pens. 8–10 fr.; carr. at the tourist-office of
Unger & Hermann, at G. Sus’s, etc.; Brit. vice-cons., P. Abela;
U. S. cons. agent, Th. Struve; pop. 16,000), a rapidly rising commercial
town, beautifully situated at the N. base of Mt. Carmel and
on the S. shore of the Bay of Acre, not far from the site of the
Sycaminum of antiquity. The trade is chiefly in the hands of the
German ‘Temple’ sect, whose settlement presents a striking contrast
to the prevailing Oriental squalor.
A Road leads from Haifa viâ Atlît and Tantûra (see above), and then
inland viâ the Jewish agricultural colony of Zammarín (Hôt. Graff) and
Kakûn (410 ft.) to Nàbulus or Nâblus (1870 ft.; Hôt. Nablus, German,)
once Sichem, the capital of Samaria. After the war of 67 A.D. (p. 472)
it was re-founded by Vespasian as Flavia Neapolis. It is now a town of
27,000 inhab. (incl. 700 Christians and 170 members of the Samaritan sect).
Fine view from Mt. Gerizim (2848 ft.; Arab. Jebel et-Tôr), to the S. of the
town. A new road leads from Nâbulus, past Jacob’s Well (St. John, iv. 5–30),
viâ El-Lubban and El-Bireh, to Jerusalem (p. 470).
From Haifa viâ Derât to Damascus, 177 M., Railway. One train
daily in 10 hrs.; fares, 1st cl., 142½, 3rd cl. 65½ pias. (note exchange at
rail. stat.: 1 mejidieh = 19 pias.; 20 fr. = 86½ pias.; £ 1 = 109¼ pias.;
£ 1 Turkish = 96 pias.). Most travellers, however, prefer the following
profoundly interesting route, joining the train at Samakh (p. 469).
We drive from Haifa to (24 M.) Nazareth (1145 ft.; Hôt. Germania,
pens. 8–12½ fr.), the home of Christ, whence the Christians in the Levant
469are still called Nazarenes (Nasâra). Then past Mt. Tabor (1844 ft.; Jebel
et-Tor; fine view), the traditional scene of the Transfiguration, and Kafr
Kennâ, the Cana of the Bible (St. John, ii), to (4½ hrs.) Tabarîya (82 ft.
below sea-level; Hôt. Tiberias or Grossmann, pens. 10–12½ fr.; pop. 7500,
incl. many Polish Jews), the ancient Tiberias, once the capital of Galilee,
and, after the destruction of Jerusalem (p. 472), the chief seat of the Jewish
nation. It lies high up on the W. bank of the Lake of Gennesaret, or of
Tiberias, or Sea of Galilee (682 ft. below sea-level; 13 M. long, 7½ M.
broad), through which flows the Jordan. During half of the year the
climate in this profound Syrian valley is extremely hot.
From Tiberias we row down the lake in 2 hrs. to the rail. station of
Samakh (610 ft. below sea-level; 54½ M. from Haifa). The train ascends
the *Yarmuk Valley to (100 M.) Derât (1735 ft. above sea-level; Buffet),
where it joins the main Hejâz line to Damascus (p. 484; Kadem station).—For
details, see Baedeker’s Palestine and Syria.
Beyond Haifa all the steamers skirt the coast of ancient Phoenicia
at some distance from land, as the cliffs here endanger navigation,
but the numerous small headlands, bays, and islands adapt
it admirably for settlement. It once extended, far beyond Beirut,
to the river Eleutheros, now Nahr el-Kebîr.
From afar we sight the lighthouse and forts of Akka or Acre,
the ancient Akko (later Ptolemais). In 1104 it became the naval
station of the Crusaders. Taken by Saladin in 1187 it was recaptured
by Richard Cœur-de-Lion in 1191 and for a century was a
great bulwark of Christianity. Under the name of St. Jean d’Acre
it was the seat of the knights of St. John (p. 475) after their expulsion
from Jerusalem. Far to the N.E. rises Mt. Hermon (p. 489).
Beyond the white Râs el-Nâkûra, the ancient Scala Tyriorum,
and Râs el-Abyad, the Promontorium Album of Pliny, we
sight a low headland on which lies the poor little town of Sûr,
with a ruined church of the Crusaders, ruins of their fortifications,
and a lighthouse. This was the ancient seaport of Tyre, once situated
on two islands, but connected with the mainland by an embankment
built by Alexander during his famous siege (332 B.C.).
Farther on we pass the mouth of the Nahr el-Lîtânî (p. 483),
here called Nahr el-Kâsimîyeh, and obtain a fine view of the coast-region
in front of Lebanon; to the E. rise Jebel er-Rihân and
Tômât Nîhâ (6070 ft.; ‘twins of Nîhâ’), snow-capped in winter,
and to the N.E. the distant Jebel Sannîn (p. 483).
Beyond Sarafant (ancient Zarpath or Sarepta) opens the
broad bay of Saida, formerly Sidon, the oldest and, next to Tyre,
greatest port of the Phœnicians, now girdled by rich vegetation.
Passing the mouth of the Nahr el-Auwâlî (ancient Bostrenus)
and the Râs er-Rumeileh, the N. limit of the bay of Saida, we come
to the far-projecting Râs ed-Dâmûr and the Nahr ed-Dâmûr,
the ancient Tamyras, which in winter is one of the most copious
rivers in the Lebanon region. Near Beirut begin the mulberry and
olive groves and the vineyards of the fertile coast-plain.
We round the reddish hills of Râs Beirût (p. 483), with the
pigeons’ grottoes and lighthouse, and enter Beirut harbour (p. 481).
470
54½ M. Railway. Two trains daily in 3 hrs. 40 min. (1st cl. 70½ pias.;
2nd, inferior to good Engl. 3rd, 25 pias.). Railway rates of exchange:
1 mejidieh = 20 pias.; 20 fr. = 94 pias.; £ 1 = 124 pias.; £ 1 Turkish =
108 pias. (comp. p. 536).
Jaffa, see p. 467. The train skirts the orchards around Jaffa
(with Sarona on the left) and turns to the S.E. through the plain of
Sharon (p. 468), following the depression of the Wâdi Miserâra.
On the right is the agricultural colony of the Alliance Israélite.
To the E. rise the bluish hills of ancient Judaea.
12 M. Lydda, Arabic Ludd, Old Test. Lod, Gr.-Rom. Diospolis,
was severed from Samaria by the Maccabees (p. 472) in 145
B.C. and annexed to Judæa.
14 M. Er-Ramleh (accommodation at the Franciscan convent;
pop. exceeding 7000, incl. 2500 Christians), founded by the Omaiyades
(p. 485) in 716, was the Ramula of the era of the Crusades,
when it was even more important than Jerusalem. The chief sight
is the *Minaret of the oldest mosque (Jâmi el-Abyad, ‘white
mosque’), famed also for its view. It was erected by En-Nâsir
(p. 448) in 1318, in a style recalling the Romanesque transition
buildings of the Crusaders (p. 474), but has lost its original summit.
The train crosses the Jerusalem road and runs to the S. through
marshy flats to (18 M.) the village of Nâaneh. At some distance
from the railway Akir, once Ekron, one of the five chief cities of
the Philistines (p. 466), lies on the right (W.), and on the left (E.)
are the famous ruins of Tell Jezer, mentioned in the letters found
at Tell el-Amarna (p. 456), originally the Canaanitish (Phœnician)
city of Gezer (a drive of 1 hr. from Er-Ramleh).
24½ M. Sejed. Soon turning to the E., we ascend the Wâdi
es-Sarâr (‘valley of Sorek’, Judg. xvi. 4), which beyond (31 M.)
Deir Abân narrows to a wild rocky gorge.
47½ M. Bittir, the ancient Baither or Bethar, was heroically
defended against the Romans during the revolt of Bar Cochba
(p. 472). The train then ascends in the Wâdi el-Werd (‘valley of
roses’) and crosses the plain of El-Bukeia to (54½ M.) Jerusalem.
Jerusalem.—The Station (2451 ft.; see Pl. C, 9) lies ¾ M. to the
S. of the Jaffa Gate; carr. into the town 2–5 fr., according to the season.
Hotels. *Fast’s Hotel (Pl. a; C, 4, 5), Jaffa Road; Grand New Hotel
(Pl. c; D, 5), New Bazaar; Hôt. Hughes (Pl. d; C, 4), Jaffa Road; Olivet
House (Pl. e; C, 2); Hôt. Kaminitz (Pl. b; C, 4), Jaffa Road. Pension at
all 12–15 (out of season 8–10) fr. per day. Agreement advisable. Wine
of the country 1–2, French wine from 3 fr. a bottle.
Hospices.Prussian Johanniter-Hospiz (Pl. g; F, 4), pens. 5 fr.;
German Catholic Hospice St. Paulus (Pl. h; E, 2), outside the Damascus
Gate; Austrian (Pl. i; F, 3), Via Dolorosa; Casa Nuova (Pl. k; D 4, 5),
of the Franciscans; all good, pens. 5–8 fr.
Restaurants.Deutsche Bierhalle, Jaffa Road; Lendhold (brewery),
in the German Temple colony.
471Post Offices.Turkish (Pl. C, 5: with the International Telegraph),
outside the Jaffa Gate; French (Pl. C, 5), adjoining it; German
(Pl. D, 5), etc.
Tourist Offices.Thos. Cook & Son, inside Jaffa Gate; Clark, Hamburg-American
Line, Dr. Benzinger (North German Lloyd), N. Tadros,
all in Jaffa Road.
Carriages at the Jaffa Gate. Drive ¼ hour, ½ mejidieh. Excursions
are best arranged for by tourist-agent or landlord of hotel. So also
Horses, half-day 5, whole day 8 fr.; donkey per day 4–5, half-day 2–3 fr.
Consulates. British (Pl. 5; A, 1), H. E. Satow.—United States (Pl. 13;
E, 5): consul, W. Coffin.
Banks.Anglo-Palestine Co. (Pl. 1; E, 6), opposite the citadel; Crédit
Lyonnais (Pl. 2; D, 5) and Banque Ottomane (Pl. D, 5), Jaffa Road; German
Palaestina-Bank (Pl. 3; D, 5), inside Jaffa Gate.
Photographs. The best are those of the American Colony, of Bonfils
of Beirut, and (coloured) of the Photoglob of Zürich, to be obtained from
Vester (American Colony Store), Boulus Meo, Sfeir, and Shammas, all in
the Grand New Hotel; A. Attallah, at the Bâb el-Jedîd; Salman & Co.,
Jaffa Road.—Other favourite Souvenirs of Jerusalem are carved olive-wood
and mother-of-pearl objects, in which there is a brisk trade; the largest
choice is to be found in the square in front of St. Sepulchre’s, but half
at most of the price asked should be offered; higher class work is best
purchased at the shops mentioned above.
Churches, convents, missions, schools, etc. abound (see Baedeker’s
Palestine & Syria). Among them may be mentioned the Collegiate Church
of St. George (with the Bishop’s House; services at 9 a.m. and 4.30 p.m.),
to the N. of the town; Christ Church (Pl. E, 6; services at 10 a.m. and
4 p.m.); St. Paul’s (Pl. C, 1, 2; Arabic services at 9.30 a.m. and 3 p.m.).
Two Days (when time is limited). 1st. Forenoon, Mt. of Olives (p. 479),
Kidron and Hinnom Valleys (p. 480); afternoon, Church of the Holy Sepulchre
(p. 474), Mûristân (p. 475), and Zion (p. 473).—2nd. Forenoon,
Haram esh-Sherîf (p. 476); afternoon, excursion to Bethlehem (p. 480).
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is open before 11.30 and after 3;
a forenoon visit may usually be prolonged by giving a fee to the Moslem
custodian (1 fr.).
Leave to visit the Haram esh-Sherîf must be obtained from the Turkish
authorities through the visitor’s consulate (see above). He is then
escorted by a Turkish soldier and usually by a cavass of the consulate
also. The cavass receives 8–10 fr., or 4–5 fr. from each member of a party,
which covers all fees and outlays. On Fridays and during the Moslem
festival of Nebi-Mûsâ (Wed. of Holy Week to Easter Mon.) the mosque
is closed to strangers.
Key to Plan of Jerusalem.Banks, see above.—Bazaars, Old (Sûks)
and New, F 5; E 5.—Churches. Christ Church (English), E 6; Church of
the Redeemer (German Prot.), E 5; Holy Sepulchre, E 4; St. Anne’s, H 3;
St. George’s (English), with Bishop’s House, a little to the N. of E 1;
St. Mary’s, K 3; St. Mary Magdalen’s, K 4; St. Paul’s (Arab.-Prot.), C 1, 2.— Consulates,
see above.—Monasteries. Abraham’s (Greek), Pl. 19, E 4, 5;
Abyssinian, Pl. 14, E 4; Armenian Catholic, Pl. 15, F 4; Coptic, Pl. 16, E 4;
Gethsemane, Pl. 20, E 5; Greek (Great), D E 4, 5; Panagia (Greek), Pl. 21,
E 4; Panagia Melæna (Gr.), Pl. 22, E 5; St. Basil (Gr.), Pl. 23, D 4; St.
Caralombos (Gr.), Pl. 24, E 4; St. Catharine (Gr.), Pl. 25, E 4; St. Demetrius
(Gr.), Pl. 26, D 5; St. George’s (Coptic), Pl. 17, D 5; St. George’s
(Greek), Pl. 27 & 28, D 4 & E 7; St. John the Baptist’s (Gr.), Pl. 29,
E 5; St. John Euthymius (Gr.), Pl. 30, E 4; St. Michael’s (Gr.), Pl. 31,
D 4; St. Nicholas (Gr.), Pl. 32, D 4; St. Salvator’s (Latin), Pl. 36, D 4;
St. Stephen’s (Dominican), E 1; St. Theodore’s (Greek), Pl. 33, D 4.—Mosques.
El-Aksâ, H 5, 6; Kubbet es-Sakhra (Dome of the Rock), H 4, 5;
Sîdni Omar, Pl. 37, E 5.—Synagogues (indicated by the letter ‘S’ on the
Plan), many, E, F 5–7.
472Jerusalem (Hebrew Yerushalayim, Gr. and Lat. Hierosolyma,
Arabic El-Kuds) lies in 31°46′ N. lat. and 35°13′ E. long., on an
arid limestone plateau (cold in winter) which rises in the form
of a peninsula from the Kidron Valley (Wâdi Sitti Maryam,
‘Mary’s Valley’), on the E., and from the Valley of Hinnom (Wâdi
er-Rabâbi), on the S. side. The narrow E. height (2441 ft.), the
ancient Temple Hill, is separated from the W. hill, that of the old
Upper Town (2550 ft.), by a depression, now very slight, called
Tyropoeon (‘dung valley’) by Josephus, the Jewish historian. Still
higher is the N.W. angle of the present town (2591 ft.).
The population is estimated at 70,000, of whom 45,000 are Jews,
living mostly on alms bestowed by the charitable institutions of their
European co-religionists; of the 15,000 Christians nearly half are
Syrians of the Greek orthodox faith; the Moslems number about
10,000. In spring, especially at the time of the Greek Easter, the
town is flooded with pilgrims, the majority being Russians. As a
centre of the three chief religions of the world, Jerusalem has quite
a religious atmosphere and is historically a city of overwhelming
interest, but its tranquillity is sadly marred by the dissensions
and jealousies of its numerous religious communities. Careful and
patient study alone will reveal to the traveller something of the
departed glory of the venerable capital of the Jewish empire.
History. From the tablets of Tell el-Amarna (p. 456) it appears that
Urusalim was the capital of a small principality dependent on Egypt
about 1400 B.C. When the Israelites under David conquered the town
in the 11th cent. (2 Sam. v. 6–10) it was the chief stronghold of the Jebusites,
a Canaanitish tribe. David made it his residence and built a
castle known as the City of David. His son Solomon, with the aid of
Phœnician artificers, afterwards built his palace and the Temple of Jehovah
on Mt. Zion (the E. hill). On the bi-partition of the kingdom after
his death Jerusalem became the capital of Judah. The kingdom of Israel
in N. Palestine was subjugated by the Assyrians in 722 B.C., and in 597
Jerusalem, under Jehoiachin, shared a like fate at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar
of Babylon. In 586 the revolt under Zedekiah led to the destruction
of the city. On the return of the Jews from captivity in 538 the city
and Temple were gradually rebuilt, and the new town-wall was completed
in 444. On the death of Alexander the Great in 323 Jerusalem fell into the
hands of the Ptolemies (p. 433) and often suffered severely from conflicts with
the Diadochi of Syria. The last royal dynasty, that of the Maccabees
(167–63), was overthrown by the Romans when Pompey conquered the city.
As the residence of Herod the Great (37–4 B.C., according to the accepted
chronology), in the last year of whose reign Christ was born, Jerusalem
prospered anew. A new palace in the Roman style was erected at the
N.W. angle of the upper town, and the rebuilding of the Temple was
begun. But a revolt of the Zealots, or Jewish national party, led to
embittered struggles with the Romans in 67 A.D., with the result that
Jerusalem was stormed by Titus in 70, the Temple burned down, and
the city was completely destroyed as Carthage had once been. Another
rising of the Jews under Trajan (117) extended as far as the Cyrenaica
(comp. p. 413) in N. Africa. On the ruins of the city, on a site almost
coinciding with that enclosed by the present city-walls, Emp. Hadrian
erected the new pagan colony of Ælia Capitolina, from which, after the
last revolt, that of Bar Cochba (132–5), Jews were excluded.
The modern history of Christian Jerusalem begins with the building
473of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Emp. Constantine (about 326–36).
Pilgrims soon flocked to the holy places, and in 570 there were already
hospices with 3000 beds for their use. In 614 the Persians under Chosroes
II. (p. 485) sacked the city, but when it was captured by caliph Omar
in 637 it was treated with clemency, being regarded as a sacred place by
Moslems as well as by Christians. In 691 began the erection of the famous
Dome of the Rock, on the sacred rock (p. 477), the site of the ancient
Jewish Temple, the greatest sanctuary of Islam after the Kaaba of Mecca.
Jerusalem fell into the hands of the Egyptian Fatimites in 969, but was
wrested from them by the Seljuks in 1077. It was chiefly the maltreatment
of the Christian pilgrims by the Seljuks that gave rise to the First
Crusade. In 1099 the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem, which under Godfrey
de Bouillon (d. 1100) became the capital of the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem.
The city was retaken by Saladin in 1187, but in 1229 was voluntarily
ceded by Melik el-Kâmil to Emp. Frederick II. Lastly, in 1244, it was
stormed by the Kharezmians, and has been under Moslem rule ever since.
Books. Among the best of the numerous works on Jerusalem are
Barclay’s ‘City of the Great King’, Besant & Palmer’s ‘Jerusalem, the
City of Herod and Saladin’ (5th ed., London, 1908), Warren’s ‘Underground
Jerusalem’ (London, 1876), and Wilson & Warren’s ‘Recovery of
Jerusalem’ (London, 1871). Miss A. Goodrich-Freer’s ‘Inner Jerusalem’
(1904), Laurence Hutton’s ‘Literary Landmarks of Jerusalem’, and C. R.
Conder’s ‘The City of Jerusalem’ (London, 1909) also may be mentioned.
The *Old Town is enclosed by a *Wall of the 13–14th cent.,
restored by Suleiman the Great (p. 542) in 1537–41; it is 40 ft.
high and about 2½ M. long. The two main streets lead to the W.
from the Jaffa Gate (Pl. D, 5, 6; Arabic Bâb el-Khalîl), and N.
from the handsome Damascus Gate (Pl. D, 5, 6; Bâb el-Amûd)
respectively. They divide the town into four quarters, to the N.W.
the Greek-Frank, S.W. the Armenian, S.E. the Jewish, and N.E. the
Moslem. The streets are crooked, often vaulted over, and, in the
Jewish quarter especially, very dirty. All the houses have rain-water
cisterns, besides which there are several reservoirs.
The Jaffa Suburb, situated to the N.W., is the most important,
in style the most European. It is the chief seat of the European or
‘Frank’ inhabitants and contains the consulates, several churches,
and the extensive Russian Buildings (Pl. A-C, 2, 3).—Outside the
Gate of Zion (Pl. E, 7, 8; Bâb en-Nebi Dâûd, ‘gate of the prophet
David’), but originally within the town-walls, lies the so-called
Zion Suburb. It contains the Christian cemeteries, the German
Benedictine monastery Dormitio Sanctae Mariae (Pl. E, 8; ‘death-sleep
of Mary’), with the new Church of St. Mary, and the now Mohammedan
buildings of En-Nebi Dâûd (Pl. E, 8; with ‘David’s
Tomb’ and the ‘Room of the Last Supper’). Near the railway-station
(p. 470) is the substantial German Temple Colony (comp. p. 468).
We begin our visit to the old town at the Jaffa Gate, a busy centre
of traffic, to which the road from the station leads (p. 480). To
the S.E. of the gate, and partly on the site of Herod’s palace, rises
the citadel El-Kala (Pl. D, 6; 14th and 16th cent.); the N.E. tower
probably corresponds to the Phasaël Tower of the time of Herod.
David Street, one of the chief business streets, under different
474names (Sueikat Allân, Hâret el-Bizâr, and Tarîk Bâb es-Silseleh;
Pl. D-G, 5), connects the Jaffa Gate with the Silseleh Gate of the
Haram esh-Sherîf (p. 476). On the left, opposite the citadel, is the
well-stocked New Bazaar (Pl. D, 5).
At St. John’s Monastery (Pl. 29; E, 5), the Greek pilgrims’
hospice at the S.W. angle of the Mûristân (p. 475), we first turn
to the left into the Hâret en-Nâsara (Pl. E, 5, 4; Christians’ Street).
On the left is the very ancient Patriarch’s Pool (Birket Hammâm
el-Batrak; Pl. E, 5), assigned by tradition to king Hezekiah (about
700 B.C.); on the right is the Patriarch’s Bath. Opposite the
Great Greek Monastery (Deir er-Rûm el-Kebîr; Pl. D, E, 4, 5),
is, on the right, the entrance to the—
*Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Pl. E, 4; adm., see p. 471),
whose principal dome, crowned with a gilded cross, is everywhere
conspicuous. This, especially at Easter, is the great goal of the
pilgrims. The discovery of the Holy Sepulchre, which Eusebius,
Bishop of Cæsarea, the father of church history (314–40), tells us
was made by Constantine, induced that emperor to build a round
church here, the so-called Anastasis (church of the resurrection),
and a five-aisled basilica, dedicated to the sign of the Cross (Martyrion).
These churches having been burned down by the Persians
(p. 473), Abbot Modestus, under Emp. Heraclius, began to build,
in 629, a new church of the resurrection, the prototype of the Dome
of the Rock (p. 477), a new church of the Cross, and a small Calvary
church on the supposed site of the Crucifixion (Golgotha). A fourth
church, that of St. Mary, is said to have existed here in 670. Between
1140 and 1149, the period of the Second Crusade, the Crusaders
caused a great new church to be built by the architect Jourdain,
in the Romanesque transition style, under Arabian influence, an
edifice intended to embrace almost all the holy places. On the E.
side of the new double church a chapel was dedicated to St. Helena
(d. about 326), the mother of Constantine, who, according to later
historians, once made a pilgrimage to the holy places and discovered
the true Cross near the Sepulchre. On the S. side of the double
church a Gothic clock-tower, originally detached, was erected in
1160–80. After the destructions of 1187 and 1244 (see p. 473),
we hear of a handsome new church existing here in 1310. At length
in 1719 a great part of the church was rebuilt, and at the joint
cost of the Greeks and the Armenians, again in 1810 by the architect
Komnenos Kalfa. Since then the Greek cathedral, the dome-roofed
‘Catholicon’, has occupied the nave of what was once the
Crusaders’ basilica. Among the many additions the chapel of the
Apparition (p. 475) is one of the oldest (14th cent.).
In the N.W. corner of the Quadrangle, or outer court, over the
Chapel of the Forty Martyrs, rises the Bell Tower, the upper part of which
has been destroyed. The Façade, dating from the era of the Crusades,
has fine reliefs of the French school over the portals.
475A vestibule, where the custodians (p. 471) sit, leads to the Stone of
Unction (John xix. 38–40), last renewed in 1808.
The great Rotunda of the Sepulchre still has the foundation pillars,
the massive outer wall of the W. semicircle, and the three apses of the
Crusaders’ church. The round central structure embraces the Chapel of
the Sepulchre and the Angels’ Chapel. Adjoining the Sepulchre is the
14th station of the Via Dolorosa (see below).
From the N.E. side of the ambulatory an ante-room leads to the
Chapel of the Apparition, the chief Latin (Rom. Cath.) sanctuary, on
the spot where Christ is said to have appeared to his mother. In a niche
is shown a fragment of the ‘Column of Scourging’.
The Nave, which we next visit, has suffered greatly from the introduction
of the Catholicon. The pointed windows, the clustered pillars,
and the groined vaulting still bear traces of their origin in the Crusaders’
era. The southmost of the three chapels in the apse, in the outer wall
of the choir ambulatory, contains the ‘Column of the Derision’.
To the left of this chapel a flight of 29 steps descends to St. Helena’s
Chapel, belonging to the Armenians, on the site of Constantine’s
basilica, with foundations of the period of Modestus; 13 more steps descend
thence to the Chapel of the Finding of the Cross.
We now return to the ambulatory and ascend from it, to the left
(S.), to the higher-lying Golgotha Chapels, the 10–13th stations on the
Via Dolorosa (see below).
On the S. side of the quadrangle, in front of the Holy Sepulchre
Church, lies the Mûristân (Pl. E, F, 5), an open space of 170 by
150 yds., which contained, from the days of Charlemagne onwards,
the hostels and hospitals of the European pilgrims and, from 1140,
the grand buildings of the Knights of St. John. Saladin (p. 443)
granted it as a charitable endowment (wakf) to the Dome of the
Rock (p. 477), but allowed the old hostels to remain. The larger W.
half, with modern shops, now belongs to the Greek patriarchate; the
E. half was presented by the sultan to Prussia. At the N.E. corner,
next to the street called Hâret ed-Dabbârîn, is the German Prot.
Church of the Redeemer (Pl. E, 5).
The Mûristân is bounded on the E. by the now unimportant
Old Bazaar, or sûk, the three parallel streets of which form part of
the great thoroughfare between the Damascus and Zion gates (p. 473).
The middle street, the Sûk el-Attârin (p. 335), is continued to the
N. by the Khân ez-Zeit (Pl. F, 4), from which an alley on the left
leads to the Abyssinian and Coptic Monasteries.
At the Coptic Monastery is the 9th station on the Via Dolorosa,
the ‘route of suffering’, mentioned for the first time in the
16th cent., on which Christ is said to have borne the Cross from
Pilate’s house to Golgotha. The last five stations are within the
Holy Sepulchre Church (see above). The other stations lie between
the Greek Monastery of St. Caralombos (Pl. 24, E F, 4; 8th station)
and the Barracks (Pl. G, 3; 1st station) in the Tarîk Bâb Sitti
Maryam (street of the Virgin Mary’s gate).
This street leads to the E. to St. Stephen’s Gate (Pl. H, I, 3;
2405 ft.), the only E. gate of the city, called by the natives Bâb
Sitti Maryam, or Lady Mary’s Gate, from its proximity to the
Virgin’s Tomb (see p. 480).
476Within the gate a passage leads to the N. to the fine old Church of
St. Anne (Pl. H, 3; Arabic Es-Salâhiyeh), on the supposed site of the
house of Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Virgin. It is mentioned as
already existing in the 7th cent., but in its present form dates chiefly from
the 12th. The crypt hewn in the rock is the traditional birthplace of the
Virgin, and the tombs of Joachim and Anna also are now pointed out.
We now retrace our steps towards the W., and halfway along
the Via Dolorosa follow the El-Wâd street (Pl. F, G, 4, 5) to the
left, through the hollow of the ancient Tyropœon (p. 472), to the
Sûk el-Kattânîn (see below), near the entrance to the Haram esh-Sherîf;
or starting from the Old Bazaar, we reach the same point
by the Tarîk Bâb es-Silseleh (Pl. F, G, 5).
The *Haram esh-Sherîf (Pl. G-I, 4–6; ‘noble sanctuary’),
the ancient site of the Temple, is the most interesting place in
Jerusalem. Adm., see p. 471. The usual entrance is by the Bâb
el-Kattânîn (Pl. G, 4, 5), the central W. gate, built by En-Nâsir
(p. 448) in 1318, behind the now deserted Sûk el-Kattânîn (cotton-market).
On this site king David erected an altar (2 Sam. xxiv. 25), and
Solomon built his palace and Temple. Here stood also the second
Temple, erected about 520–516 after the Babylonish captivity, and
the third Temple, begun by Herod the Great (p. 472) in 20 B.C.
but never completed on the grand scale projected. On the same
spot Hadrian erected a temple of Jupiter as the chief sanctuary
of Ælia Capitolina (p. 472), and near the S. wall of the great
quadrangle Justinian built a basilica in honour of the Virgin,
which afterwards became the mosque of El-Aksâ. Beyond these
facts little or nothing is known of the history of this memorable
site during the early centuries of the Christian era.
Mohammed, who claimed to have visited this spot, evinced great
reverence for the ancient Temple, and before he had broken off his
relations with the Jews he even enjoined believers to turn towards
Jerusalem in prayer. About the year 637 caliph Omar converted
the church of St. Mary into a mosque, and the Omaiyade Abd el-Melik
(685–705) erected the famous Dome of the Rock on a platform
in the centre of the sacred precincts, a building which the Crusaders
took to be Solomon’s Temple. Adjoining the mosque of El-Aksâ,
then called the Porticus or Palatium Salomonis, probably stood the
royal palace of the Franks and the castle of the Knights Templar.
The huge substructions of the Temple plateau, the surface of
which was much altered by Saladin, still date from the reign of
Herod. The plateau itself forms an immense quadrangle of irregular
shape (W. side 536, E. side 518, N. side 351, S. side 310 yds. long).
In the N.W. corner, once perhaps the site of Baris, the castle of
the Maccabees, and of the Roman castle of Antonia, rises the highest
Minaret of the Haram. The buildings by the W. and N. walls, Koran
schools, dwellings, etc., with open arcades on the groundfloor, are
477unimportant. The great quadrangle, now partly planted with trees,
is studded with numerous mastabas, raised platforms with prayer-niches
(mihrâbs), and sebîls, or fountains for the religious ablutions.
Especially to the S.W. of the Dome the ground is honeycombed
with deep Cisterns, some of which are very ancient.
Entering the precincts and passing the pretty Sebîl of Kâït
Bey (p. 458) we mount one of the flights of steps of the time of
Abd el-Melik to the Platform, 10 ft. in height.
The so-called **Dome of the Rock (Kubbet es-Sakhra;
Pl. H, 4, 5), usually but erroneously called Omar’s Mosque, was
built, according to the Arabian historians, by Abd el-Melik for
political reasons, the Omaiyades being at that period denied access
to the Kaaba at Mecca. The year 72 of the Hegira (691–2) is mentioned
as the date of its erection. The chief restorations in the middle
ages were undertaken by the Fatimite Ez-Zâhir (1021–36), who rebuilt
the dome in 1022, and by Saladin, to whom is due the
superb stucco decoration of the dome. Most of the later additions
were made by the Turkish sultan Suleiman the Great (1520–66).
The W. porch alone is quite modern.
The building, in the late-Roman and Byzantine style (comp. p. 548), is
in the form of an octagon, 50 yds. in diameter, with sides 22½ yds. in length,
and with two concentric aisles. Above the inner aisle rises the boldly
designed *Dome (98 ft. high), consisting of two wooden vaults placed one
inside the other and roofed with plates of copper. The external walls
are still incrusted below with their old slabs of marble, while above
the window-sills the ancient glass mosaics were replaced in the time of
Suleiman by superb Persian porcelain-tiles (kishâni). The keel-arches of
the windows are of the same period.
The two aisles are separated by two series of supports. Between the
eight pillars of the outer octagonal aisle, which are incrusted with marble
dating from the time of Suleiman, rise sixteen columns with late-Roman
or early-Byzantine capitals, and the round-arched arcades are connected,
above the Byzantine imposts, by tie-beams overlaid with copper. The
inner row of supports, bearing the dome, consists of four large pillars
and twelve antique monolith columns. The pointed arches of the
vaulting here, dating from Suleiman’s restoration, rest immediately on
the capitals. The wrought-iron screen is of French workmanship of the
Crusaders’ era.
The glass *Mosaics in the spandrels of the outer aisle, executed by
Byzantine artificers, all belong to the earliest building; those in the
drum of the dome are partly of the time of Ez-Zâhir and of Saladin.
The stucco decoration of the dome was restored under Mohammed en-Nâsir
(p. 448) in 1318, and again in 1830. The *Windows, dating from Suleiman’s
restoration, present a marvellous wealth of colouring.
Enclosed by the inner aisle, and best viewed from the high bench
beside the N.W. gate of the screen, is the Sacred Rock, measuring
18½ by 14½ yds., and rising 4–6½ ft. above the pavement of the church.
Under it is a cavity, probably once a cistern. The rock is supposed to
have been the site of the great Jewish altar of burnt-offering. The Jews
and the Moslems believe it to have been also the scene of Abraham’s
sacrifice. From this spot Mohammed is said to have been translated to
heaven on his miraculous steed Burâk, while an angel restrained the rock
in its attempt to follow him; here too, they believe, will be erected the
throne of God on the Day of Judgment.
478Outside the E. gate of the Dome of the Rock, and probably as
old, is the so-called Dome of the Chain (Kubbet es-Silseleh, or
Mehkemet Dâûd, ‘David’s Place of Judgment’). This structure
consists of two concentric rows of columns, the outer forming a
hexagon, the inner an endecagon. The large prayer-recess on the
S. side, facing Mecca, is of the 13th century. The arcades, connected
by tie-beams, and the drum of the dome are richly adorned with
fayence tiles of Suleiman’s period. Across the dome, it is said, will
be stretched a chain (silseleh) on the Day of Judgment, from which
the awful scales will be suspended.
We now descend from the platform by the steps near the ‘Summer
Pulpit’ (15th cent.), at the S.E. angle, and walk past the round
basin of El-Kâs to the—
*Mesjid el-Aksâ (Pl. H, 5, 6), the sanctuary ‘farthest’ from
Mecca and one of the holy places of Proto-Islam, to which God is
said to have brought Mohammed from Mecca in one night (Sureh
xvii. 1). The mosque without its additions is now 88 yds. long
and 60 yds. wide. Of the church of Justinian nothing apparently
has survived except the columns of the nave and two inner aisles.
The capitals perhaps date from caliph Omar’s period (637). The
broad transept was probably constructed by the Abbaside El-Mehdi
(775–95); the wooden dome is now covered with lead outside. The
transept gave the edifice the form of a ⟙, which was converted later
into a rectangle by the two rows of aisles added on the E. and W.
These, in their present shape, and the pointed arcades of the nave
and inner aisles, connected by tie-beams, belong to a late period of
restoration. The so-called White Mosque, now set apart for women,
a long double corridor to the W. of the transept, probably once
belonged to the castle of the Knights Templar. The latest addition
is the porch built by Melik el-Muazzam Isâ (d. 1227) and restored
at a later period. Its middle arcades imitate Frank Gothic.
The interior was once almost as sumptuously decorated as the Dome
of the Rock. The *Pulpit (mimbar), carved in wood and inlaid with ivory
and mother-of-pearl, executed by order of Nûreddîn (p. 485) in 1169 for
the great mosque of Aleppo, was presented by Saladin. To him also the
mosque owes the prayer-recess, with its graceful little marble columns, the
superb mosaics of the mihrâb-wall, and the drum of the dome. The author
or at least restorer of the decorations of the dome is said to have been
Mohammed en-Nâsir (p. 448). The windows date only from the time of
Suleiman.
In the S.E. corner of the Haram area a staircase descends to a
small Moslem Oratory with the ‘Cradle of Christ’ and to 13
vaulted galleries, part of the old substructure of the Haram, known
as Solomon’s Stables. In the sixth gallery, counting from the E.,
there is a small door in the S. wall called the ‘Single Gate‘, an
old entrance to the Haram.
The roof of the ‘Golden Gate’ (Pl. H, I, 4; Bâb ed-Dâhirîyeh),
the only E. gate of the Haram, dating from the reign of Justinian
479(?) but now built up, affords a survey of the whole great
quadrangle. At our feet lies the Kidron valley (p. 480), with its
rock-tombs, and opposite rises the Mt. of Olives (see below).
Time permitting, we may now visit the Wailing Place of the
Jews (Kautal Maarbei; Pl. G, 5), to the W. of the Haram, reached
by descending (to the S.) the eastmost side-street of the Tarîk Bâb
es-Silseleh. It is probable that the Jews, who never enter the
Haram precincts for fear of desecrating the holy of holies, were in
the habit of repairing hither as early as the middle ages to bewail
the downfall of Jerusalem. The scene is most touching on Friday
afternoons (after 4 p.m.), when crowds of mourners flock to the
place and litanies are chanted.
The Mount of Olives (Mons Oliveti, Jebel et-Tûr), running
parallel to the Temple hill, is closely associated with the last days
of Christ on earth. It is visited (best in the forenoon) either by
carriage from the Jaffa or the Damascus Gate (10–12 fr.; ascent
½ hr.), or on horseback (p. 471) or on foot from St. Stephen’s Gate
(p. 475). Those who return by the valley of the Kidron should
order their carriage to meet them at the Garden of Gethsemane.
From the Damascus Gate (p. 473) the road leads past the Dominican
Monastery of St. Stephen (on the right; Pl. E, 1) and
then, beyond the Anglican Bishop’s House, past the so-called
Tombs of the Kings (on the right). This large subterranean burial-ground,
with its tomb-chambers and shaft-tombs, probably belonged
to queen Helena of Adiabene and her family (1st cent. A.D.). The
road to Nâbulus soon diverges to the left; ours ascends in a wide
curve northwards to the top of the Scopus and to the Mt. of Olives.
On the N. height of the Mt. of Olives, to the left of the road,
is the new German Augusta Victoria Institute (sanatorium and
church).
On the E. summit (2665 ft.) are the Russian Buildings, a pilgrims’
hospice, the Russian Church of the Ascension, and a six-storied
Belvedere Tower (214 steps). The *Panorama embraces
the city and the hills around Jerusalem and Bethlehem (the latter
itself not visible). Towards the E. lie the Dead Sea (1293 ft. below
sea-level) and the Jordan valley (Arabic El-Ghôr), and among the
bluish Mts. of Moab rises Mt. Nebo (2644 ft.), whence Moses beheld
the promised land before his death (Deut. xxxiv. 1–4).
A little to the W. of the Russian Buildings lies the poor village
Kafr et-Tûr. Near it is the Chapel of the Ascension, built in
1834–5, to mark the scene of the Ascension (in contradiction to
Luke xxiv. 50, ‘He led them out as far as Bethany’). Of the
earlier churches here, one a round building of Emp. Constantine,
the other built by the Crusaders, few traces are left.
To the S. of the village are the Latin Buildings, including the
Credo and Paternoster Churches (1898).
480A steep path descends hence, to the W., to the Garden of
Gethsemane (Pl. K, 4), now the property of the Franciscans. Near
the entrance (E. side) a rock marks the spot where Peter, James,
and John are said to have slept (Mark xiv. 32 et seq.), and the
fragment of a column close by indicates the traditional scene of the
Betrayal. (A monk acts as guide; fee 3–6 pias.) A little higher up
the Greeks have their own Garden of Gethsemane, containing the
many-domed Church of Mary Magdalen (Pl. K, 4).
A few paces to the N.W., on the road to the upper bridge over
the Kidron (Pl. I, 3) and to St. Stephen’s Gate, rises St. Mary’s
Church (Pl. K, 3; Arabic Kenîset Sitti Maryam), built by queen
Milicent or Melisendis (d. 1161) on the site of an ancient church
mentioned as early as the 5th cent.; it contains the ‘coffin of the
Virgin’, in which she lay until her Assumption.
The Valley of the Kidron, identified from a very early age with
the Valley of Jehoshaphat, has been supposed, ever since pre-Christian
times, owing to a misinterpretation of Joel iii. 2, to be the future scene
of the Last Judgment. The Moslems bury their dead on the E. slope of
the Haram esh-Sherîf, and the Jews on the W. slope of the Mt. of Olives.
From the Jericho road, to the S. of the Garden of Gethsemane, a path
diverges to the right to the lower bridge over the Kidron (Pl. I, 5). To
the left of the path are the so-called Tomb of Absalom, a cube of rock,
with a curious conical roof expanding at the top; St. James’s Cavern, a
rock-tomb; and the Pyramid of Zacharias. All these date from the
Græco-Roman period.
Farther on, to the S.E., passing below the hill-village of Siloah (Pl.
H, I, 7–9; Arabic Kafr Silwân), we come to St. Mary’s Fountain (Pl. H,
7; Aïn Sitti Maryam), an intermittent spring, probably the Gihon of the
Old Testament. Since the time of Hezekiah (about 700 B.C.) its water
has flowed through the underground Siloah Conduit to the Pool of Siloam
(Pl. G, H, 9), within the Jewish town-wall.
Farther down the valley we reach in a few minutes ‘Job’s Well’
(about 2035 ft.; Bîr Eiyûb).
We return thence to the town by the Valley of Hinnom (p. 472).
The ‘Zion Suburb’ (p. 473) rises steeply on the N.W.; to the left is
the slope of Jebel Abû Tôr, covered with rock-tombs. Near (12 min.) the
Sultan’s Pond (see below) we join the Bethlehem road.
The Excursion to Bethlehem, by a good road (half-a-day; carr.
about 12 fr.; horse, see p. 471), will even repay walkers.
The road descends to the S. from the Jaffa Gate (p. 473) into the
Valley of Hinnom (see above). Beyond the Birket es-Sultân (Pl.
C, D, 8), an old Jewish reservoir restored by Suleiman the Great
(16th cent.), the station-road diverges to the right.
Our road leads to the S.W. across the tableland of El-Bukeia
(p. 470), past the traditional Well of the Magi (Matth. ii. 9), to the
(3 M.) Greek convent of Mâr Elyâs (left). Bethlehem appears in
the foreground. Fine view of the Dead Sea (p. 479) to the left.
At (4 M.) ‘Rachel’s Tomb’ (Kubbet Râhîl), built like the welis
or tombs of Moslem saints, the Hebron road diverges to the right.
4815 M. Bethlehem (2550 ft.; pop. about 11,000, almost all
Christians), the home of David and the birthplace of our Saviour,
has a situation resembling that of Jerusalem. It consists of eight
different quarters, containing many monasteries, hospitals, and
schools. Fine view from the German Prot. Weihnachtskirche
(‘Christmas Church’, 1893), on the W. outskirts.
Over the traditional birthplace of Christ rises *St. Mary’s
Church, now occupied by the Greeks, Latins, and Armenians
jointly. The original columnar basilica of the time of Constantine,
with its double aisles, is still the nucleus of the present church. It
was thoroughly renovated by the Crusaders, and the superb wallmosaics
were restored by the Byzantine Emp. Manuel Comnenos
(1143–80). The Greeks, who were in sole possession from 1672 to
1852, unfortunately added the transept wall.
Interior. The entrance is by the old central portal, approached from
an open space once occupied by an atrium. Three passages lead through
the transept, with semicircular apses at either end, to the semicircular
choir. Among the almost obliterated mosaics is a quaint representation
of the Entry into Jerusalem in the S. apse.
Adjoining the choir are two flights of steps descending into the
Crypt, or Chapel of the Nativity, and to the ‘Chapel of the Manger’,
the ‘dwelling of St. Jerome’ (b. about 340 in Dalmatia, d. in 420 at
Bethlehem), and his tomb, which also are highly revered.
The stairs on the N. side ascend to the Latin Church of St. Catharine,
through which we return to the principal church.
For full details, see Baedeker’s Palestine and Syria.
Arrival. The steamers anchor in the harbour (Pl. F, G, 1). The
landing is better managed than at Jaffa. Boat for 1 pers. 2 fr.; less for
a party, as may be arranged. The hotels and tourist-agents send their
men on board. The Douane (Pl. F, 1; passport and custom-house formalities;
comp. p. 537) is close to the landing-place.—To the E. of the Douane
lies the Railway Station (Gare; Pl. F, G, 1).
Hotels. *Hôt. d’Allemagne (Pl. a; E, 1), well spoken of, Hôt. d’Orient
(Pl. b; E, 1), both near the sea; Gassmann’s Hotel (Pl. c; F, 1), in the
Sûk ed-Jemîl; pens. at these 12–15 fr. (less for a prolonged stay); Hôt.
Victoria (Pl. d; E, 1), plainer, etc.—Restaurants.Blaich, Jean Schröter,
both near the Hôt. d’Allemagne.
Electric Tramways. Four different lines traverse the town (comp.
Plan); of these the Blue Line runs from the Place des Canons to the
Lighthouse (Phare; Pl. A, 2), near the Râs Beirût (p. 483).
Carriages. Drive 1 fr.; per hr. in town 2, in country 2–3 fr. (more
on Sun.). Longer drives as may be arranged.—Horses. Half-day 1, whole
day 1½ mejidieh.
Post Offices. Turkish (Poste Turque; Pl. F, 1); British, French,
German, and others, Khân Antûn Beg (Pl. F, 1).—Telegraph Office
(Internat.; Pl. F, 2), Derb el-Kebîreh (p. 483).
Banks.Banque Ottomane (Pl. F, 1), Anglo-Palestine Co., German
Palaestina-Bank, all at the harbour.—For the Turkish money, see p. 536.
Consulates. British (Pl. 2; G, 2): consul-general, H. A. Cumberbatch;
vice-consul, H. E. W. Young.—United States (Pl. 6; C, 2): consul-general,
G. B. Ravndal; vice-consul, L. Memminger.
Steamboat Agencies.Khedivial Mail, opposite the custom-house;
Austrian Lloyd, Messag. Maritimes, and Russian Steam Navigation
& Trading Co., all in Khân Antûn Beg (Pl. F, 1); Società Nazionale,
482opposite the German Bank.—Tourist Agents.Thos. Cook & Son, in the
Hôtel d’Orient; Agence Lubin, Khân Antûn Beg (Pl. F, 1).
Churches.American Presbyterian Mission (Pl. F, 2); services on
Sun. at 11 a.m. in English and at 9 a.m. in Arabic. Among the many
other missions and schools are the British Syrian, the Ch. of Scotland
Jewish, the Syrian Prot., and a number of German, French, etc.
Beirut (Fr. Beyrout, Arab. Beirût; pop. 190,000), the chief commercial
place in Syria (Esh-Shâm), and the capital of the Turkish
vilayet (province of a vali or governor) of that name, is beautifully
situated, in 33° 50′ N. lat. and 35° 30′ E. long., on the S. shore of
St. George’s Bay, between Râs Beirût (p. 483) and Mt. St. Dimitri.
To the E. rises Lebanon (p. xxxiv), with Jebel Keneiseh and Jebel
Sannîn (p. 483). The climate is mild and pleasant (mean temperature
of Jan. 56° Fahr., of Aug. 81°), and the rainfall is considerable
(34 in.). The sea-breezes render the summer bearable, but
they are apt to fail in August and September. Many of the citizens
then seek refuge in the summer quarters of Lebanon, to which Egyptians
and Cypriotes also resort.
Berytus (‘fountain’) is mentioned in the tablets of Tell el-Amarna
(p. 456) as the seat of the Egyptian vassal Ammunira. It lay in the
territory of the Giblites, a northern branch of the Phœnicians. In 140
B.C., during the wars of the Diadochi, the town was entirely destroyed.
The Romans rebuilt it and named it Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Berytus,
after the daughter of Emp. Augustus. In the 3rd cent. its school of
Roman law became renowned. From that time down to the present day
it has been noted also for its silk-industry, which was transplanted to
Greece and to Sicily. In 529 the prosperity of the town was destroyed
by an earthquake. Since its conquest by the Arabs in 635 it has been
in the possession of the Moslems, except during the brief Crusaders’
occupation. Like Saida (p. 469) it was a favourite residence of the able
Druse prince Fakhreddîn (1595–1634), who in league with the Venetians
wrested Central Syria from the Turks. They, however, later recaptured
Beirut. During the 19th cent. Beirut gradually attained a new lease of prosperity.
Under the Egyptian rule its sea-borne commerce increased, while
Saida and Tripoli declined. In 1840 the town was bombarded by the British
fleet and recaptured for the Turks. After the massacre of Christians in
1860 (see p. 485) many Christians from central Syria settled at Beirut.
The Moslem inhabitants (about 65,000) are in a considerable
minority. Among the Christians there are 64,000 Greeks, 40,000
Maronites, and 2100 Protestants. The Jews number about 5500.
An unusually large percentage of the natives can read and write.
The chief language is Arabic.
Beirut offers few sights. The poor and closely built Old
Town contains the Great Mosque (Pl. F, 2), once a Crusader’s
church, the Greek Churches, and the Maronite Cathedral (Pl. F, 2).
The Sûks or markets have lost much of their Oriental character.
Most of the genuine native products come from Lebanon (keffîyehs
or head-cloths, embroidery, woven stuffs, slippers, bridal chests,
etc.). The filigree-work has long been noted (sold by weight).
The native population may be studied also in the large Place
des Canons or Place de l’Union (Pl. F, 2), on the S. side of the
483Serâi or government-buildings. The numerous Arabian cafés are
for men only.
The broad streets of the New Town skirt the picturesque hill-sides.
Palm, orange, and lemon trees abound in the beautiful gardens.
The Damascus Road (tramway; Pl. G, 4, 5) leads to the S. in
½ hr. to the Bois de Pins (Pl. G, F, 6), a pine-wood planted by
Fakhreddîn for protection against the sand of the dunes.
The finest point of view is *Mt. St. Dimitri (Pl. H, 3–5; best
by evening light), ½ hr. to the S.E. of the old town. From the
Place des Canons we follow the Derb en-Nahr (Pl. G, 2) and the
Tripoli road, turn to the right beyond the Greek Orthodox Hospital
(Pl. H, 2), and then ascend to the left.
From the Place des Canons (tramway, see p. 481) the Derb el-Kebîreh
(Pl. F, E, 2) and Derb el-Prusiani lead to the W., below
the dunes, to the Râs Beirût. After ½ hr. we reach the Lighthouse
(Phare or Fanâr; Pl. A, 2). Thence the road descends in windings
to the sea and farther on to the ‘Pigeons’ Grottoes’ (reached by boat
from the harbour in ½ hr.; 1½ mej.). The light is best near sunset.
From Beirut to Damascus, 91½ M., narrow-gauge railway
(20 M. being on Abt’s rack-and-pinion system). Two trains daily
in 9¼–11 hrs. (fare 110 pias. 10 or 75 pias.). The passenger should
have the exact fare ready before booking. Reyâk is the diningstation
for the day-train.
This Railway Company (French) has its own rate of exchange:
1 napoleon = 87 pias.; 1 sovereign = 110 pias.; 1 mejidieh = 18½ pias.
The train runs from the harbour to the E., close to the sea,
to the (1½ M.) Chief Station, and through the valley of the Nahr
Beirût at the E. base of Mt. St. Dimitri, soon turning to the S. to
(4½ M.) El-Hadet. It then rapidly ascends the slopes of Lebanon.
10½ M. Areiya, 13 M. Aleih (2460 ft.), two summer resorts
in the Lebanon. The train threads a tunnel to the highest point
of the line (4879 ft.). We then descend, enjoying fine views, to the
right and left, of Jebel el-Barûk (6749 ft.) and Jebel Keneiseh
(6660 ft.), to (35 M.) El-Muallaka, a large village, and station
for the Christian town of Zahleh (3101 ft.) on the S. spurs of Jebel
Sannîn (8556 ft.; snow-capped in early summer).
We next traverse the lofty valley of El-Bikâ, the ancient
Bucca Vallis, watered by the Nahr el-Lîtânî (Leontes), once the
most fertile part of Coelesyria (‘hollow Syria’).
41 M. Reyâk or Rayak (Buffet; halt of ½ hr.), junction for
Baalbek (Heliopolis) and Aleppo (Haleb).
Passing through the narrow Wâdi Yahfûfeh we next ascend
the Anti-Lebanon Mts.; 54½ M. Sarrâyâ or Zerghaya (4610 ft.)
lies between their two main ranges, on the watershed between the
Bikâ and the plain of Damascus.
484Beyond (61 M.) Ez-Zebedâni (3888 ft.) the train enters the
valley of that name, famed for its fruit and watered by the Nahr
Baradâ (Gr. Chrysorrhoas, ‘gold stream’). 71½ M. Sûk Wâdi
Baradâ (‘market of Baradâ vale’), at the end of a defile.
76½ M. Aïn Fîjeh, the chief source of the Baradâ, has remains
of a Roman Nymphæum (see p. 241). 85 M. Dummar, a villa-suburb
of Damascus. The city with its minarets soon comes in sight.
The floor of the Baradâ valley, between (left and right) Jebel
Kâsyûn (p. 489) and the hills of Kalabât el-Mezzeh, is well
planted with trees. At the mouth of the valley the river divides
into seven branches which water the great plain of Damascus.
Skirting large meadows (merj), then orchards, and a Roman
Aqueduct, the train reaches (89½ M.) Damascus-Beramkeh (see
below), where it is usual to alight, and lastly runs past the W.
side of El-Meidân (p. 487) to (91½ M.) Damascus-Meidân.
Damascus.—Railway Stations.1.Beramkeh or Baramki, near
the hotels and the Serâi.—2.Meidân, near the Bauwâbet Allah, chief
station of the Beirut line.—3.Kadem, for the Hejâz line (p. 469; no cabs).—Cabs
and tramway, see below.
Hotels.Hôt. Victoria, Hôt. d’Orient, Palace Hotel, all near the
Beramkeh Station and the Serâi; Hôt. d’Angleterre, to the E. of the
Serâi Square; pens. 10–15 fr. (or more when crowded), in the quiet season
6–10 fr.; good wine of the country (from Shtôra) 1½–5 fr.
Arabian Cafés, the largest and most interesting in the East, mostly
on an arm of the Baradâ, in the Serâi Square, on the Beirut road, the
Aleppo road, etc.—Visitors should beware of the cold night-air from the
river after a hot day.
Cabs in the Serâi Square, 6–7 pias, per drive, or 10–12 pias. per hr. (always
to be agreed upon beforehand); but more on holidays and in the
height of the season.—Electric Tramway (3¼ M.) from the El-Meidân
quarter viâ the Serâi Square to the suburb of Es-Sâlehîyeh (p. 489).
Post Office and International Telegraph Office, Serâi Square.
Consuls. British, G. P. Devey, near the Beramkeh Station.—United
States Consular Agent, N. Meshâka, in the Christian quarter.
Dragomans (Arabic terjumân), about 10 fr. a day during the season,
desirable for new-comers (comp. p. xxvi), and essential in visiting the
Omaiyade Mosque. Travellers should beware of trusting them with money
or purchases.
Banks.Banque Ottomane, German Palaestina-Bank, both in the
Sûk el-Asrunîyeh (p. 486).—Photographs sold by Suleimân Hakîm, at
the E. end of the Straight Street (p. 487).—Baths. The Hammâm el-Khaiyâtin
and the Hammâm ed-Derwîshîyeh or el-Malikeh, among others,
are worth seeing.
Churches.English Church (St. John’s), of the London Jews Society,
in the Hammâm el-Kari Quarter; Rev. J. E. Hanauer; Sun. service at
10.30. Also Edinburgh Medical, British Syrian Mission, Irish Presbyterian,
and other missions, with excellent schools, hospitals, etc.—The Latins,
the Greeks, and the Jews also have their own schools.
Sights (when time is limited). 1st Day, in the forenoon, Serâi Square,
the Bazaars, and Meidân (pp. 486, 487); afternoon, Es-Sâlehîyeh and Jebel
Kâsyûn (p. 489).—2nd Day. Mosque of the Omaiyades (p. 488).
Damascus (2268 ft.), formerly called Dimishk, a name still
sometimes used, but commonly called by the natives Esh-Shâm (a
485term applied also to the whole of Syria; p. 482), lies on the borders
of the Syrian Desert (p. xxxiii) in the Rûta, a beautiful oasis between
Anti-Lebanon and the ‘Meadow Lakes‘, into which fall all
the branches and canals of the Baradâ. As the Koran pictures paradise
as a garden, where luscious fruits drop into the mouth, the
Arabs have ever regarded Damascus, with its luxuriant orchards,
as the prototype of that blissful abode. The Rûta does not, however,
and least of all in winter, impress Europeans quite so favourably.
Yet in May, when the walnut-tree is in full leaf and the vine climbs
exuberantly from tree to tree, or still later, when the apricot-trees
in the midst of their rich carpet of green herbage bear their countless
golden fruits and the pomegranates are in the perfection of
their blossom, the gardens are truly beautiful.
History. With regard to the foundation of Damascus, which like
the whole of Syria belonged from about 1500 B. C. onwards to Egypt
and to the Hittite empire (p. 547) alternately, countless traditions are
current among the Jews, Christians, and Mohammedans. After David
had temporarily extended his sway to Damascus, there arose here, in
Solomon’s time, an independent Aramæan kingdom under Rezon (1 Kings,
xi. 23–25). In the protracted struggles between the neighbouring kingdoms
of Israel and Judah the Syrian kings generally succeeded, by means of
judicious alliances, in maintaining their independence. In the annals of
the Assyrians, who destroyed Damascus in 732, the town is called Dimaski
and the kingdom Imîrisu. From that time onwards Damascus lost its
political importance; but it continued, especially under the sway of the
Seleucides of Antioch during the period of the Diadochi, to prosper as a
trading and industrial city and as the starting-point of the caravan traffic
with Mesopotamia and Persia. When it became a Roman provincial city
it formed a political bulwark against the Arabs (Nabatæans) and Parthians.
In 611 A. D., under the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, many of its inhabitants
were carried into captivity by the Sassanide Chosroes II.
With its conquest by the Arabs in 635 begins the most brilliant period
in the history of the city. Under Mûawiya (661–79), founder of the dynasty
of the Omaiyades, the greatest of Arabian princes, it became the seat of
the caliphate. But when the Abbasides removed their residence to Mesopotamia
in 750 Damascus again sank to the position of a provincial town.
It fell successively into the hands of the Egyptian Tulunides and Fatimites
(p. 443), and at length in 1075 succumbed to the Seljuks (p. 542). In 1148
it was unsuccessfully besieged by Conrad III. Under Nûreddîn and Saladin
(p. 443) Damascus was the chief base of all the wars against the Crusaders.
During the conflicts between the Mongols, who under Hûlagû had captured
the city in 1260, and the Egyptian Mameluke sultans, Damascus was specially
favoured by Beybars (1260–77). During the great predatory expedition of
the Mongols under Timur (1399–1400) many scholars and artists, including
the city’s famous armourers, were exiled to Samarkand. In 1516 the
Turkish sultan Selim I. (p. 542) entered the city as its final conqueror.
In 1860 there took place a great massacre of Christians in which the
Christian quarter was utterly destroyed and about 6000 Christians killed.
Damascus consists of several different quarters. The Jews’
Quarter, as in the time of the Apostles, adjoins the ‘Straight Street’
(p. 487), on the S.E. side of the city; to the N.E. of it is the
poor Christian Quarter. The other parts of the town are Moslem.
Far towards the S. stretches the suburb of Meidân, inhabited by
peasants. The Arabian houses in the old town are noted for their
486splendour. They usually contain a spacious court, adorned with
fountains, flower-beds, orange-trees, etc., and flanked on the S. side
by a lofty open arcade (lîwân) with pointed arches.
The population is roughly estimated at 300,000, of whom four-fifths
are Moslems, and there is a garrison of 12,000 men. The
Damascenes are notorious for their ignorance and fanaticism. The
city was once a great centre of learning, but of about a hundred
old medresehs or colleges five only now remain. The famous old
weaving industry of the place (still employing about 10,000 primitive
looms for silk, woollen, and cotton stuffs) is being steadily
ousted by European competition. The busy bazaar traffic here is
hardly less picturesque than at Cairo.
We begin our visit at the Serâi Square, the centre of business,
built over the main branch of the Baradâ (p. 484). A Monument
here commemorates the opening of telegraphic communication
with Mecca.
To the E. of the square are the *Bazaars. Through the covered
Sûk Ali Pasha (fruit and tobacco) we reach the Sûk el-Hamîr
(donkey-market), beyond which is an open street where corn is sold.
At a large plane-tree here we turn to the right to visit the
interesting Sûk es-Surûjîyeh (saddlers’ market), which ends near
the citadel at the Sûk en-Nahhâsîn. This is the bazaar of the
coppersmiths, who make the handsome kursi, or trays placed on
wooden stands (p. 487) to serve as tables.
The Citadel (no admittance), a huge castle in the style introduced
by the Crusaders, was built in 1219 and was afterwards
restored by Beybars (p. 485). The thick walls stand on ancient
substructures of massive blocks. At the corners rise square towers
with bartisans. The chief gate is on the W. side.
From the W. side of the Citadel the chief thoroughfare of the
city (tramway, see p. 484) leads past the Military Serâi and the
Hammâm el-Malikeh (or ed-Derwîshîyeh) to the Meidân suburb
(p. 487). On the left is the Sûk el-Kharrâtin, or Turners’ Market.
Opposite the Military Serâi is the entrance to the ‘Greek
Bazaar‘, a covered market restored in 1893, one of the largest in
the city. Among the wares, for which buyers can hardly offer too
little, are weapons, antiquities, clothing, pipe-stems, and ‘damascened’
daggers (made in Germany).
Straight through the Greek Bazaar we come to the Sûk elHamîdîyeh,
also renovated, with its attractive Arabian sweetmeatshops.
A side-street leads thence (l.) to the bazaar for Water Pipes
(a kind of hookah smoked by the peasants) and the Sûk el-Asrunîyeh,
for utensils, glass, henna (p. 108), and attar of roses (p. 335).
Beyond the Sûk Bâb el-Berîd (on the left) we pass the almost
deserted bazaar-street of the Booksellers (leading to the Omaiyade
mosque, p. 488), with an old Triumphal Arch; whence a double
487row of columns once led to the ancient temple (see p. 488). We
then turn out of the Hamîdîyeh, to the right, into the Cloth Bazaar
(chiefly imported goods). On the right is the Tomb of Nûreddîn
(p. 485; unbelievers not admitted).
Adjoining the S. side of the mosque are the bazaar of the
Joiners, where we note the kabkâbs, a kind of patten, the kursistands,
and the bridal chests, and that of the Goldsmiths.
To the S. of the great mosque is the region of the Khâns (p. 445).
We come first to the Khân el-Harîr, or silk-bazaar, now that of
the furriers. Near it is the House of Asad Pasha, one of the finest
in the city (admittance with the aid of a dragoman). The *Khân
Asad Pasha, with its superb stalactite portal, is the largest of all.
Near this point runs the ancient ‘Straight Street’ (Acts ix. 11;
now Sûk et-Tawîleh, or ‘long market’), connecting the Meidân road
with the Bâb esh-Sherki (see below). A few paces to the W., towards
the Meidân road, on the left, is the Khân Suleimân Pasha, for
Persian carpets and silks. On the right, where the cloth-bazaar
(see above) diverges, is the Silk Bazaar proper, for the sale of
keffîyehs (head-cloths, ‘kerchiefs’), table-covers, embroidery,
woollen cloaks (abâyehs) for peasants and Bedouins, etc.—We next
come to the Sûk el-Attârîn, or spice-market, and to the Meidân
Road.
At the point where we join this road rises the Jâmi es-Sinânîyeh,
one of the most sumptuous mosques in Damascus. The chief portal
(E. side), with its rich stalactites, and the minaret enriched with fayencetiles
(kishâni, p. 477) are interesting.
The road forks farther on. We follow the Meidân Road (at first
called Sûk es-Sinânîyeh) to the S. Close to the Jâmi el-Idein, where the
Meidân Road trends somewhat to the right, we pass, on the left, the
Moslem cemetery Makbaret Bâb es-Sarîr, where women weep at the tombs
on Thursdays.
The poor suburb of Meidân is modern. Its numerous mosques,
including the fine Kâat el-Ûla, are in a ruinous state. The sûk is frequented
by corn-dealers, whose grain is heaped up in open barns, and
by smiths. The arrival of caravans here presents a picturesque scene.
The long strings of camels are attended by ragged Bedouins. Among them
are seen Haurânians, bringing their corn to market, and here and there a
Kurd shepherd with his square felt-mantle driving his sheep to the shambles.
The Bedouins, armed with guns or with long lances, sometimes ride beautiful
horses. The wealthy Druses from Lebanon have a most imposing appearance.
Twice a year almost all these types may be seen together: on
the departure, and again, better still, on the return of the Mecca pilgrims.
If time permit we may now retrace our steps to the cemetery
Makbâret Bâb es-Sarîr (see above) whence we take a short walk along
the City Wall, on the S.E. side of the old town, beyond the Jewish and
Christian quarters (p. 485). Its foundations are Roman, the central part
dates from the days of Nûreddîn and the Egyptian sultan El-Ashraf Khalîl
(1291), and the upper part from the Turkish period. Passing the camping-ground
of the caravans from Bagdad and the Bâb esh-Sherki (E. Gate,
originally Roman), we come to the well-preserved Bâb Tûmâ (St. Thomas’s
Gate). [About ¾ M. to the S. of the Bâb esh-Sherki are Christian
burial-grounds; in one of which Henry Thomas Buckle, the eminent
English historian (d. 1862), is interred.]
Near the Bâb Tûmâ on the Aleppo road, beyond the Baradâ, are public
488gardens and pleasant cafés patronized by Christians. We return thence
to the Citadel (p. 486), passing between the Baradâ and the N. side of
the town-wall, here probably Byzantine.
The great *Omaiyade Mosque (Jâmi el-Umawî), the finest
monument of that dynasty in Syria next to the Dome of the Rock
(p. 477), deserves close inspection. Entrance by the W. gate
(Bâb el-Berîd), at the end of the booksellers’ sûk (p. 486). Gratuity
to the sheikh who acts as guide ca. 1 mejidieh each person; addit.
charge for slippers 1–2 pias. each person.
On the site of the mosque there once stood a Roman temple within
a large quadrangle. This was succeeded by the church of St. John, a
three-aisled basilica built by Emp. Theodosius I. (379–95), and so named
from the ‘head of John the Baptist’ (Arabic Yahyâ) preserved in the
Confessio, by which the Damascenes still swear. After the conquest of
the city by the Arabs (p. 485) the E. half of the church was assigned to
the Moslems. Caliph Welîd (705–15) deprived the Christians of the W. half
also; and in 708, with the help, it is said, of 1200 Byzantine artificers,
he transformed the church into the present mosque, which was so magnificent
that Arabian authors extolled it as one of the wonders of the world.
Adjacent to it the earliest school of learning was built by caliph Omar II.
(717–20). The mosque was carefully restored after fires in 1069, 1400,
and 1893, but its ancient glory has departed for ever.
We enter the great Court, which with the mosque itself forms
an immense rectangle of 143 by 104 yds., and is flanked by two-storied
arcades in the Byzantine style. Behind these are the
sleeping-apartments and studies of the teachers and students.
The old marble pavement of the court, the mosaic incrustation of
the walls, and the crown of pinnacles have disappeared. The fountain
of ablution (Kubbet en-Naufara) and the two smaller domed
buildings are modern.
Of the three Towers the ‘bride’s minaret’ (Mâdinet el-Arûs;
now being rebuilt) on the N. side of the court is said to date from
the time of Welîd. The ‘minaret of Jesus’ (Mâdinet Isâ), at the
S.E. angle of the mosque, recalls the Crusaders’ edifices. The
Mâdinet el-Rarbîyeh, at the S.W. angle, in the Egypto-Arabian
style and famed for its view, was added by Kâït Bey (p. 458).
The Interior (143 by 41 yds.), with its three span-roofs, still
has the form of an early-Christian basilica. Above each of the
two rows of columns, 23 ft. high, which separate the aisles, rises
a row of ‘colonnettes’ with round-arch openings, to which similar
round-arched windows in the outer walls correspond. In the centre
a threefold transept, with four huge pillars supporting the dome
(Kubbet en-Nisr, eagle’s dome), indicates the direction of Mecca.
The Byzantine glass-mosaics of the time of Welîd, the superb timber
ceiling, and the mihrâb and mimbar (15th cent.) were all sadly
damaged by the fire of 1893. In the central aisle on the E., over
the ‘head of John the Baptist’, rises a modern dome in wood.
On the N. side of the mosque, near the Bâb el-Amâra, are the handsome
Tomb of Saladin (Kabr Salâheddîn; adm. 6 pias.) and the Medreseh
and Tomb Mosque of Sultan Beybars (p. 485), the latter, according to the
inscription, built by his son in 1279.
489The suburb of Es-Sâlehîyeh (tramway, see p. 484), l–1/4 M.
to the N.W. of the Serâi Square, has about 25,000 inhab., mostly
descended from Seljuks, reinforced later by Kurds and by Moslem
refugees from Crete. The finest of the ruinous mosques, but not
readily shown, is the tomb-mosque of Muhieddîn ibn el-Arâbi
(d. 1240), adjoined by the tomb of Abd el-Kâder (p. 221).
From the Cretan quarter at the W. end of the suburb we may
ascend, past a platform affording a good view, to the (1¼ hr.) top
of the Jebel Kâsyûn (3718 ft.). The *View at the small Kubbet
en-Nasr (‘dome of victory’) embraces the city, encircled by the
broad green belt of the oasis of the Rûta, the barren heights of Anti-Lebanon,
with the long chain of Mt. Hermon (9052 ft.; generally
snow-capped) to the S.W.; and to the S.E., beyond Jebel Mâni, the
distant hill-country of the Haurân.
Fuller details in Baedeker’s Palestine and Syria.
713 M. Steamers (agents at Beirut, see p. 481; at Smyrna, p. 531; at
Constantinople, pp. 538, 539). 1.Messageries Maritimes (N. Mediterranean
Marseilles and Beirut line), from Beirut every alternate Sat. (from Constantinople
on Thurs.) viâ Rhodes, Vathy, and Smyrna to Constantinople in
4 days (fare 205 or 140 fr.).—2.Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co.
(see also R. 72; Syria-Egypt circular line, coming from Alexandria) from
Beirut on Thurs. night (in the reverse direction Thurs. aft.) viâ Tripoli,
Alexandretta, Mersina, Chios, and Smyrna to Constantinople in 8½ days
(fare 284 or 212 fr.; to Smyrna 198 or 148 fr.).—3.Khedivial Mail
Steamship Co. (comp. also R. 72; from Alexandria and calling at Port
Said) leaves Beirut every alternate Wed. foren. (returning Sat. aft.) for
Constantinople (in 7 days) viâ Tripoli, Alexandretta, Mersina, Rhodes,
Chios, Smyrna, Mytilini, the Dardanelles, and Gallipoli (fare £E 9¼ or
£E 6½; see p. 431).
Beirut, see p. 481. The French steamers make straight out to
sea in a W. direction. Astern Lebanon remains long in sight.
About half-a-day’s steaming brings us in view of the mountains
of Cyprus (Turk. Kibris; pop. ca. 243,000), culminating in the
bare Troodos (6408 ft.). Under the Phœnicians and Greeks Kypros,
the third-largest island in the Mediterranean (3613 sq. M.), was
the seat of the cult of Aphrodite and the scene of a peculiar civilization,
the product of Egyptian, Phœnician, and Greek influences
in succession. In the middle ages the island was governed by kings
of the house of Lusignan and was for a time the seat of the Knights
of St. John (1292–1308; see pp. 475, 469, 490). Since 1878 it has
been under British protectorate and only nominally Turkish.
Far away to the right we see the table-shaped Capo Greco and
the bays of Larnaka and Limassol. We then pass, on the S. coast
of Cyprus, the prominent peninsula of Akrotiri, with Cape Gata490(lighthouse) and Cape Zevgari. Beyond Port Paphos (lighthouse)
we skirt the rocky W. coast of the island.
On the coast of Asia Minor (Anatolia), on a clear day, we
sight the beautiful ranges of the Lycian Taurus (10,500 ft.;
p. xxxiii); at night the lighthouse on the island of Kasteloryzo (ancient
Megiste), with the seaport of Mandraki, is sometimes visible.
To the S.E. of Rhodes we cross one of the deepest parts of the
Mediterranean (12,683 ft.).
Nearing Rhodes (562 sq. M.; ca. 30,000 inhab.), the eastmost
island of the Greek Archipelago, we sight its S.E. coast as far as
Attáiros (4068 ft.; formerly Atabyrion) and Cape Lartos. The
latter rises beyond the small bay of Lindos, which together with
Ialysos and Kamiros, ancient Greek towns on the N. coast, and
with Cnidus, Cos, and Halicarnassus, once formed the league of the
Doric Hexapolis.
The French steamers call at Rhodes (Hôt. Karayannis, good;
Brit. vice-cons.), the capital of the island, picturesquely situated
at its N.E. point. Founded in 408 B. C. by the three older towns
(see above) it became famous in later Greek times for its navy and
for the Colossus of Rhodes, a bronze statue of Helios 112 ft. high,
which was accounted one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
The ruinous mediæval *Fortifications and the Strada dei Cavalieri,
with the old ‘Houses’ (places of assembly) of the different nations,
recall the mediæval glory of Rhodes under the sway of the Knights of
St. John (1308–1522) after their expulsion from Cyprus (p. 489).
We next steer through the Ægean Sea, where the scenery and
the historic associations are alike most attractive. We pass the
S. Sporades, Greek islands off the coast of ancient Caria and Lydia,
once ruled by the Knights of St. John, and now called Dodekanesos
(‘twelve islands’), which enjoy autonomy under Turkish suzerainty.
Steaming to the W.N.W. we cross the inland sea of the ancient
Doris, between Rhodes and Cos, noted for its sponge-fishery. On
our right lies the Anatolian peninsula of the ancient Chersonesus
Rhodia, with Cape Alupo (Cynossema) and the island of Symi
(Syme); to the W. rise the precipitous and fissured island of Telos
(Tilos; 2008 ft.) and the volcanic island of Nisyros (2268 ft.), with
its huge, still smoking crater and its hot springs. To the N.W.
stretch the long outlines of Chersonesus Cnidia, with the ruins of
Cnidos and Cape Krio (Triopium Promontorium).
The steamer rounds the E. coast of Cos (2871 ft.; Turk. Istankiöi;
not one of the Dodekanesos group), once the seat of the most
ancient shrine of Æsculapius and of a famous medical school (Hippocrates),
and passes the peninsula of Budrum (Halicarnassus).
To the W. appear in succession the islands of Kalymnos (2248 ft.),
Leros (1086 ft.), Lipso (902 ft.; Lepsia), and Arki (Acrite).
To the E. of the island of Gaïdaronisi (696 ft.; Tragia), where
491Cæsar was captured by pirates in 76 B. C., opens the Latmian Bay,
belonging to the ancient Ionia, now silted up by the deposits of
the Mæander. A little inland are the ruins of Miletus and Priene.
The French steamers now pass through the Straits of Samos,
between the Samsun Dagh (4150 ft.; Mykale) and the island of
Samos, whose old capital, Samos, now Tigani, with its walls of
the age of Polycrates and its new harbour (1908), is seen in the
distance.
Vathy (Xenodochion Hegemonia tēs Samu, a good inn; pop.
9500), the new capital of Samos, lies in the bay of Scalanova (set
below), on the N. coast. Above the narrow bay rises the distant
Samsun Dagh. On the shore stands the plain palace of the Samian
princes. Since 1832 the island has formed a Christian-Greek state
under Turkey. The Museum, in the court of the high school, contains
antiquities from the famous shrine of Hera and from Tigani.
The French vessels, soon after starting, offer a retrospect of
Mt. Kerki (4725 ft.; Cerceteus Mons), the highest in Samos, and
then cross the Bay of Scalanova (Sinus Caystrius). In the hill-country
on the mainland, to the E. of this bay, near the mouth of
the Cayster or Kaystros, once lay the rich Ionian towns of Ephesus
and Colophon and, to the N. of these, Lebedus and Teos.
Passing the Bay of Sighajik and Cape Koraca (Carycium
Promontorium) we soon reach the Straits of Chios (comp. p. 492).
Smyrna, see p. 530; voyage thence to Constantinople, see p. 533.
From Alexandria to the Piræus (Athens: 590 M.): 1.Khedivial
Mail Steamship Co. (Alexandria and Constantinople line), from Alexandria
on Wed. (returning from the Piræus Thurs.) aft., in 42 hrs. (fare £ E 5
or £ 3 E 25 pias.).—2.Rumanian Mail Line (Alexandria and Constantza
line), from Alexandria on Frid. aft. (returning from the Piræus Sat. aft.),
in 2 days.—3.Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co. (Odessa, Constantinople,
and Alexandria line), from Alexandria on Frid. aft. (from
the Piræus Tues.), in 2 days (130 or 90 fr.).
From Alexandria to Smyrna (623 M.), steamers of the Belgian company
La Phocéenne (between Alexandria and Constantinople), every Sat.
aft. viâ Rhodes, Leros, and Chios.
Agents in Alexandria, see p. 432; at the Piræus, p. 494; at Smyrna,
p. 531. Passports for Turkey should be visés before starting, or a Turkish
passport (teskeré) may be obtained at the government buildings (p. 434).
Alexandria, see p. 431. The Athens Steamers steer to the
N.W. to the Strait of Kasos, 28 M. broad, lying between Kasos
(1706 ft.; one of the Dodekanesos group, p. 490) and Crete (p. 415).
Behind Kasos rises the lofty island of Kárpathos (4003 ft.; Ital.
Scarpanto, Turk. Kerpe), like the former one of the southmost of
the Sporades. Fine view of the Sitía Mts. (4852 ft.), continued
492by the Lasithi Mts., together called Dikte in ancient times. Off
the E. coast of Crete we see the flat islet of Elasa.
We steer close by Cape Sídero (lighthouse), the N.E. point of
Crete, and past the Gianitsades (Insulae Dionysiades). As we
steam across the Cretan Sea (Mare Creticum) the high mountains
of Crete long remain visible.
We next pass Askania (469 ft.) and Christiana (916 ft.), the
southmost islets of the Cyclades (p. xxxii), which belong to Greece,
and which, like the S. Sporades (p. 490) in the Ægean Sea, rise
from a submarine barrier running between the extremities of Attica
and Eubœa (p. 529) and the coast of Asia Minor.
Beyond Christiana we have a striking view of the immense
prehistoric crater-basin formed by the islands of Therasía (952 ft.)
and Santorin (p. 417). To the N. appear the wild rocky island
of Síkinos (1480 ft.) and the distant Iós or Niós (p. 417), and to
the N.W. Pholégandros (1349 ft.) and the large volcanic island of
Melos or Milos (2537 ft.).
We steer between Pholégandros on the right and Polinos
(1171 ft.) on the left, a broad passage marked by lighthouses at
night, and then through the strait between Kímolos (1306 ft.) on
the left and Siphnos (2280 ft.; lighthouse) on the right, both of
which, like Sériphos (1585 ft.; on the right; with iron-mines),
have retained their ancient Greek names.
Passing at some distance from Thermiá (1148 ft.; the ancient
Kythnos) and Kea (p. 529) we steer close by the islet of Hágios
Georgios and through the Bay of Ægina to the Piraeus (p. 494).
On the Voyage to Smyrna we steam to the N.N.W., 370 M. from
Alexandria, to Rhodes (p. 490).
Beyond Rhodes on the left are the island of Charki (1954 ft.),
off its N.W. coast, and then Telos and Nisyros (p. 490). A little
farther on we pass through the strait between the Syrina Group,
on the left, and the islets of Kandelëusa and Pantelëusa (181 ft.;
lighthouse), adjoining Nisyros, on the right.
To the W. we sight the double-peaked island of Astropalia
(1660 ft.; ancient Astypalaea) and Amorgós (p. 417), and to the
E. Cos and Kalymnos (p. 490). Beyond the lights on the islet of
Lévitha (548 ft.) and beyond Leros (p. 490), at which the steamer
calls, the rocky isle of Patmos or Patínos (870 ft.), St. John’s
place of exile, becomes more conspicuous.
We next steer round Cape Papas, the W. point of the bold
island of Nikaria or Ikaria (3422 ft.), and then to the N.N.E.
through the Straits of Chios, 4½ M. in breadth, between the island
of Chios (Turk. Sakis Adasi; 318 sq. M. in area) and the mainland
of Anatolia or Asia Minor. The S. entrance of the straits, beyond
Capo Bianco (right; once Argennon), is flanked with the islets
493of Páspargon (lighthouse) and Panagia. On the right lies the
harbour of Cheshmeh, a little town with a mediæval castle.
We now enter the harbour of Kastro, or Chios (Xenodochion
Nea Chios, a good inn; pop. about 14,000, mostly Greeks), the
capital of the island, on the E. coast. Once a most important
member of the Ionian league of cities, Chios belonged in the middle
ages to the Venetians (1204–1345), and then to the Genoese (1346–1566),
and only became Turkish under Suleiman the Great (p. 542).
The fruitless Greek struggle for independence ended with the
massacre of Chios in 1832. The hill-country of Chios is extremely
fertile. A valuable export is the gum of the mastic-shrub.
We next pass close to the Goni Islands, lying in front of the
bay of Lytri (Erythrae), and the Spalmatori Islets (Œnussae
Insulae), at the N. end of the straits of Chios.
774 M. From Naples to Athens (steamboat-agents at Marseilles, see
p. 120; at Genoa, p. 114; at Naples, p. 137; at the Piræus, pp. 494, 495). 1.North German Lloyd (Mediterranean & Levant Service, RR. 23, 24, 80) from
Marseilles every other Thurs. viâ Genoa (Sat.), Naples (Mon.), and Catania
(Tues.) to the Piræus in 6 days (fare from Marseilles 180 or 120 marks,
from Genoa 168 or 112 marks, from Naples 120 or 84 marks, from Catania
96 or 64 marks).—2.Messageries Maritimes (Marseilles, Constantinople,
and Beirut line), from Marseilles every second Thurs. viâ Naples (Sat.)
to the Piræus in 4 days (fare 225 or 150 fr.); also (Marseilles, Constantinople,
and Black Sea line) every second Sat. viâ Kalamata and Canea
(p. 415) to the Piræus in 5 days.—3.Società Nazionale, lines X and XI
(Genoa, Constantinople, and Odessa line), from Genoa, Tues. night, viâ
Leghorn (p. 143), Naples (Frid.), Palermo (p. 147), Messina, Catania, and
Canea (p. 415) to the Piræus in 11 days (fare from Naples 155 fr. 50 c. or
109 fr.).
From Marseilles and Genoa to Naples, see RR. 23, 24.
From Naples (see R. 27), after half-a-day’s sail, we reach the
superb Straits of Messina. On the right, at the foot of the Monti
Peloritani, lie the ruins of Messina (p. 156); to the left is Reggio
(p. 159); to the S.W. towers Mt. Ætna (p. 159).
The German and Italian boats steer to the S.S.W. to Catania
(p. 160).
Sailing to the E.S.E., and gradually leaving Ætna behind, we
lose sight of land for a whole day. At length, on the left, we sight
the Messenian Peninsula of the Peloponnesus, flanked by the
Œnussae Islands; beyond it, the Bay of Koronē, the ancient
Messenian Bay, runs far inland. We then steer to the E. towards
Cape Taenaron or Matapán (p. xxxii), the S. point of the peninsula
of Mani. To the N.E. looms the bold rocky crest of Mt.
Taygetos (7903 ft.), whose top is free from snow in summer only.
494Beyond Cape Tænaron the Bay of Marathonisi, the ancient
Sinus Laconicus, opens to the N. We next pass between Cape
Maléa, notorious for its storms, and the island of Kythera
(1660 ft.; Ital. Cerigo), and turn towards the N. For a short time
we see the mountains of Crete (p. 415) to the S.E. The bleak S.E.
coast of the Peloponnesus is now gradually left behind, while to
the right a few small rocky islands, belonging to the Cyclades
(p. 492), come into sight.
Off Hydra (1942 ft.; lighthouse), near the peninsula of Argolis,
opens the Bay of Ægina, the ancient Saronic Gulf. To the left
is the island of Poros; in the background rises Mt. Hágios Elias
(1748 ft.), the highest hill in Ægina. On the right, beyond the islet
of Hagios Geōrgios (1050 ft.; lighthouse), the ancient Belbina,
appears the hilly S. extremity of Attica with Cape Colonna (p. 529).
The barren rounded hill in Attica, much foreshortened at first, is
Mt. Hymettos; straight in front of us is Mt. Parnes, forming the
N. boundary of the Attic plain.
Before us are the ancient Mt. Ægaleos (now Skaramangá
Mts.) and the indented coast of the island of Salamis, which
appears at both ends to join the mainland. Above Salamis towers
the lofty peak of Geraneia in Megaris. A hill jutting into the sea
in front of Mt. Ægaleos now becomes visible. This is the Piraeus
Peninsula (comp. Map, p. 528). The hill a short way inland is
the Munychia (p. 495), and to the right of it lies the shallow
bay of Phálēron (p. 528). Between Hymettus and Parnes the
gable-shaped Pentelikon appears. We now have a beautiful view
of Athens; in the centre rises the Acropolis, on the left the monument
of Philopappos. The large white building on the right is the
royal palace, beyond which rises Lykabettos (p. 528).
As we near the Piræus we observe the rocky islet of Lipsokutáli
(Psyttaleia; lighthouse), lying off the E. tongue of Salamis,
and masking the entrance to the straits of Salamis, the scene of the
famous battle of 480 B. C. (p. 506). The steamer rounds the headland
of Aktē and slowly enters the harbour of the Piræus.
Piræus.—The Commissionnaires of the chief Athens hotels come
on board (those of the smaller, only when written for). Arrangements
for landing (boat 1 dr., with baggage 2 dr.) and for a carriage to Athens
(p. 495) had better be left to them. Heavier baggage is briefly examined at
the Teloníon, at the S. E. angle of the harbour.
Station of the electric railway to Athens (comp. p. 503), to the N.
of the town (opposite the station of the Peloponnesus line).
Hotel.Hot. & Restaurant Continental, Karaïskakis Sq., to the N.
of the harbour, R. from 2 dr.; but better quarters are to be had in
Athens.—Cafés in and near the garden to the S. of the Dēmarchía,
3 min. to the E. of Karaïskakis Sq., on the harbour.
Electric Tramways from the custom-house to the Athens station;
from the station to the Zea harbour; also from the station, from the harbour
(Karaïskakis Sq.), or from the Rue de Socrate to New Phálēron (p. 528).
Steamboat Agents.Messageries Maritimes, Vamvakaris, Rue de
Miaulis 30 b; North German Lloyd, Roth & Co., Rue de Tsamadú 21;
495German Levant, Frangopulos; Austrian Lloyd, S. Calucci, Quai de
Tshelebi, to the W. of Karaïskakis Sq.; Società Nazionale, A. Vellas;
Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co., Mussuris.
British Consul, C. J. Cooke; vice-consul, J. Joannidis.
The Piraeus, Gr. Peiraieus (pronounced Piræévs; pop. 71,500),
the time-honoured seaport of Athens (comp. p. 506), became a mere
village after its destruction by Sulla in 86 B. C., and in the middle
ages even lost its name, but within the last few decades has developed
into a prosperous town. Its trade now exceeds that of Patras.
The harbour, the ancient Kantharos, admits the largest vessels.
Spacious quays, an exchange, a theatre, wide and regular streets,
and over a hundred factories have been constructed.
Its antiquities are few compared with those of Athens. The
chief are parts of the fortifications, such as a wall defended by
towers, ascending the peninsula of Eétioneia, to the W. of the harbour.
It is reached from the station in 8 min. by walking round the
shallow N. arm of the harbour (the ‘blind harbour’ of antiquity).
On the hill it is pierced by a gateway between two round towers.
A broad and easy path ascends the Munychia Hill (280 ft.),
to the E. of the town (20 min.), whence we overlook the various
basins of the Great Harbour, the round Zea Bay at the S.W.
foot of the hill, the Munychia Harbour at the S.E. base, and to
the E. of the latter the broad Phaleron Bay, where the Athenian
ships lay down to the time of the Persian wars. We may return by
the Zea Bay, noticing remains of ancient boat-houses at the beginning
of the Rue du Serangeion, and regain the station by tramway.
From the Piræus to Athens (5 M.) the electric Railway
(p. 503) is the quickest conveyance, but as it lies low and runs
through cuttings and tunnels near the city it affords little view.
New-comers had better take a Carriage. The new route (1½ hr.;
fare, with luggage, 8–10 dr.), though longer, is in better condition,
and is therefore preferred by the drivers. At first running alongside
the railway it reaches New Phaleron (p. 528); it then skirts
the bay of Phaleron at some little distance from the shore. Later
proceeding inland it follows the broad new Boulevard Syngrós,
which commands an excellent view of the Acropolis and leads in a
straight line as far as the Olympieion (p. 509).—The old route
(1¼ hr.; fare, with luggage, 6–7 dr.) follows the ‘Long Walls’
(p. 506) which once connected the Piræus with Athens. On the left
is Mt. Ægaleos (p. 494), while on the right appears the bay of
Phaleron. We cross the generally dry bed of the Kephisos (p. 505),
and then pass the limits of the ancient olive-grove that occupies
the plain of the Kephisos. Leaving behind a hill which conceals
the Acropolis we at once come in sight of the Theseion, the Areopagus,
and the Acropolis. The houses of the city, which we reach
at the Dipylon (p. 522), all too soon exclude this splendid view.
Athens, see p. 502.
496
From Venice to the Piræus (Athens), Società Nazionale (Line XII,
Venice, Brindisi, Patras, and Constantinople), from Venice on Sat. aft.
(returning from Piræus Frid. foren.), to Patras in 4½, to the Piræus in
5 days (fare 195 or 134 fr.).
From Trieste to the Piræus.1.Austrian Lloyd (fast boats to Constantinople)
from Trieste on Tues. aft. (returning from Piræus Sun. even.)
to Patras in 2½, to the Piræus in 4 days (fare to Patras 159 or 109, to
Piræus 220 or 147 fr.). Also Greek-Oriental Line (every Sun. foren.; returning
from Piræus Sun. aft.), in 5 days, and Thessalian Line (Frid.
aft.; returning from Piræus Frid. or Sat.) in 6½ days.—2.Greek Steamboat
Co. Panhellenios, from Trieste on Frid. foren. (from Piræus Mon.
morn.) to Patras in 3, to the Piræus in 5 days.
From Trieste to Patras, New York Line of the Austro-Americana
(p. 425), from Trieste weekly or fortnightly, in 42–46 hrs. (fare 150 or 110 K).
Passengers for the Piræus are conveyed through the Corinth canal by the
Achaia Co., or they may go on by rail (see below).
Agents in Venice, see p. 420; at Trieste, p. 425; at Brindisi, p. 429;
at Corfu, p. 497; at Patras, p. 501; at the Piræus, pp. 494, 495.
From Patras to Athens, 137½ M., railway in 7½–9½ hrs. (fare 25
or 18 dr.); express on Tues. and Frid. in 6–1
‘wagon de luxe’ 33 dr. 40 l.). As to Greek money, see p. 502.
The Italian steamers (comp. p. 427) from Venice touch at Ancona,
Bari, and Brindisi. The Lloyd steamers, except those of the Thessalian
line, go direct from Trieste to Brindisi (comp. p. 429).
Soon after leaving Brindisi we steer to the S.E. To the left of
the Straits of Otranto (p. 430) are seen the outlines of Albania
(Turkey), with the great rampart of the Acroceraunian Mts.
(6644 ft.). Farther on, in the foreground, lies the island of Corfu.
On the right are the Othonian Islands, Othoní, Eríkusa, Mathraki,
and the islet of Diaplo. At the S. end of the Acroceraunian
Mts. lies Santi Quaranta, where the Italian steamers call, the
poor seaport for Yánina, which is two day’s ride (59 M.) distant.
The scenery of the wide Strait of Corfu (2–4½ M. broad), separating
the island from the mainland, is very imposing. To the
right towers Monte San Salvatore (p. 500). The town of Corfu,
partly hidden at first by the island of Vido, is now revealed. On
casting anchor we have on our left the double hump of the Fortezza
Vecchia and on the right the dark ramparts of the Fortezza Nuova.
Corfu.
Arrival. Landing or embarking 1½, with heavy baggage, 2 dr. As
the boatmen are insolent, there is no tariff, and great confusion prevails,
the traveller had better allow the hotel-agents who come on board to
arrange for boat, baggage, and carriage, for which a charge of 3–4 fr. is
made in the bill. Passengers who go ashore for a few hours only may
bargain to be landed and rowed back for 1½ fr., payable on their return.
497Hotels (tariffs payable in gold, see p. 502). *Hôt. d’Angleterre & Belle
Venise (Pl. a), to the S. of the town, high site, with fine views and garden,
R. 3–7, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5 fr.; St. Georges (Pl. b), on the Esplanade, similar
charges.—Unpretending houses, with restaurants: Belvedere, Strada sulle
Mura, pens. 7 dr.; the following are in the Greek style: Orient, on the
Esplanade; Patras, Nikephoros Street; Hôt. d’Alexandrie, R. 2 fr., and
Hôt. de Constantinople, R. 3 dr., both near the harbour.
Cafés in the Esplanade, at the beginning of the double avenue; cup
of Turkish coffee 20 l.—Restaurants.Abbondanza (Greek), Nikephoros
Street, moderate; Patras, Belvedere, see above.—Beer.Dobay, on the
Esplanade; Gambrinus, near the Old Theatre (p. 498).
Banks.Fels & Co. (Pl. 1), Strada sulle Mura; Banque Ionienne, Nikephoros
Street, not far from the Esplanade; Banque Nationale.—Post
Office, adjoining the Sanità, Nikephoros Street.—Telegraph Office,
near the Banque Ionienne.
Steamboat Offices.Austrian Lloyd, Ellerman Line, Fels & Co. (see
above); Società Nazionale (Pl. 8), G. Topali.—Tourist Agency.Hamburg-American
Line, Strada sulle Mura.—Lloyd’s Agents, Barff & Co.
Consulates. British (Pl. 3): consul, G. Raymond; vice-consul, P. Papadachi.—United
States (Pl. 7): consular agent, Ch. E. Hancock.
Carriages. Drives in town or nearer environs 2–3 dr. per hr., as may
be agreed upon; short drive usually 1 fr. Carr. obtained at the hotels are
better but dearer.—Boats for excursions may be ordered at the hotels.
Motor Cars (belonging to the Société d’Automobiles): omnibus daily
to the N. and S. parts of the island, each person 10 l. per kilomètre;
vehicle seated for live 50 l. per kilomètre.
Theatres.Teatro Grande, built in 1895 on the model of San Carlo
at Naples, near the Porta Reale; Ital. opera in winter; Summer Theatre,
to the S. of the Ginnasio.
Sea Baths (80 l. to 1 dr.) and plunge-baths, near Punta San Nicolò.
English Church (Holy Trinity), service in the season.
Corfu, Ital. Corfù, Greek Kérkyra, the capital of the island of
the same name and the seat of archbishops of the Greek and Roman
Catholic churches, is one of the wealthiest towns in the Greek dominions
(pop. 28,250, incl. 4000 Rom. Cath. and 2700 Jews). The
spacious harbour is enlivened by a brisk trade, the chief export
being olive-oil. The fortifications constructed by the Venetians, the
Fortezza Vecchia, picturesquely situated in the sea, on a double
rock to the E. of the town, and the Fortezza Nuova, on the N.W.,
are both now unimportant. The narrow streets present a busy scene.
The chief languages are Greek and Italian.
Kérkyra. Lat. Corcyra, the largest (245 sq. M.) and most important
of the Ionian Islands, was supposed in ancient times to have been Scheria,
the home of the Phæaci and their king Alkinoos. Having been colonized by
the Corinthians at an early period (734 B. C.), it developed into a dangerous
rival of its mother-city, thus partly causing the Peloponnesian war.
The mediæval name seems to have been derived from ‘Korphus’, as the
old fortress on the two rocks was called. From 1386 to 1797 Corfu belonged
to Venice, from 1815 to 1863 it was under British sway, after which it
was ceded, along with the other Ionian Islands, to the kingdom of Greece.
The island (with 93,860 inhab.) possesses hill and plain, bold rocks
and charming bays on the coast, abundant water-supply, rich vegetation,
and fine old olive forests, which combine to render its scenery highly
attractive. The climate is mild and equable in spring and autumn. The
good roads made everywhere by the British government add to the comfort
and enjoyment of a short stay in the island.
On disembarking we cross the courtyard of the Dogana, turn
to the left at the small Hôt. de Constantinople, and follow the
498Strada sulle Mura, which skirts the N. side of the town, affording
numerous fine views, and reaches the Esplanade near the royal palace.
Or we may ascend direct from the Dogana through the Strada
Nikephoros, the busy main street, in 5 min. to the Esplanade. Before
we reach the Esplanade we pass a side-street on the left with
the church of Santo Spiridione, and another on the right with the
Teatro Vecchio, built by the Venetians, now the municipio.
The Esplanade, or Spianata, lies between the town and the
old fortress. On the W. side it is bounded by handsome houses
with arcades on the groundfloor. At the N. end rises the—
Royal Palace, built in grey Malta stone, at the beginning
of the British period, for the Lord High Commissioner, and containing
the throne-room and the hall of the former Ionian senate.
The entrance is by the W. side-door (gratuity). A marble staircase
ascends to the first floor. At the top is an antique lion couchant.—In
front of the palace is a Statue of Sir Frederick Adam, a much
respected Lord High Commissioner of the islands (1823–32).
At the E. end of the double avenue intersecting the Esplanade
rises a statue of Count von der Schulenburg, who conducted the
defence of Corfu against the Turks in 1716, erected by the republic
of Venice. Beyond it a bridge crosses a strait to the—
*Fortezza Vecchia (adm. on application), which rises on the
steep twin-rocks in terraces. The dilapidated buildings are now
used as barracks and a military hospital. At the foot of the height
is the garrison-church built by the British. The passage opposite
the chief entrance gives access to the commandant’s house. We
ascend hence to the left, pass through a long vaulted passage,
leading straight on to the ramparts, which are overgrown with
vegetation, and lastly mount a few steps to the platform on the W.
rock (230 ft.; with signalling station and lighthouse). The custodian
lends a telescope (25 l.). We enjoy here a superb **View of the
town and of the island, from Monte San Salvatore and Capo Cassopetto
on the N. to Capo Bianco on the S.; to the E. is Epirus in
Turkey, with its lofty mountains.
A broad street descends from the S. end of the Esplanade to the
Viale dell’ Imperatrice Elisabetta, formerly Strada Marina,
skirting the shore below the new quarter of the town and now a
favourite promenade in the evening. At the beginning of it, on the
right, is the Casino, with reading and concert rooms. Turning to
the right after 4 min., and then to the left, we come to the Museum,
containing ancient sculptures and tomb-inscriptions. Near it is the
round Tomb of Menecrates, resembling a well (7th or 6th cent. B.C.).
Above is the ruined Fort of San Salvatore (prison).
The boulevard sweeps round the suburb of Kastrades or
Garitza first to the S. and then to the E. to the Molo protecting the
bay. At a bend, short of the molo, we follow the Viale Imperatore
499Guglielmo Secondo to the right (S.). After 7 min., opposite the
apse of the old church of Santa Corcyra, we ascend a road to the
left. A gate on the left is the entrance to the—
*Royal Villa of Monrepos (Villa Reale; free on Sun. and
Thurs. aft.). The park affords fine views of the town and castle.
The Viale Imperatore Guglielmo skirts the W. slope of the hilly
peninsula which stretches to the S., between Lake Kalikiópulo and
the sea. Here probably lay the ancient city, with the bay of Kastrades
as its trading harbour, while the Lake of Kalikiopulo, now choked
with mud, seems to have been the Portus Hyllaeicus, used as a
station for vessels of war. The road is bordered with rose and orange
gardens, and farther on with beautiful olive-groves. In 25 min.
(or from the Esplanade in ¾ hr.) we reach a round open space,
called the *Canone, or One-gun Battery (carr. 5–6 fr.), which
commands a superb view of the E. coast of the island.
Opposite, at the entrance to the ancient Hyllæan harbour, lies the
Scoglio di Ulisse (‘cliff of Ulysses’), or Pontikonisi (‘mouse island’), a
cypress-planted islet with a chapel and parsonage, now owned by an enterprising
German. The Greeks took this to be the ship of the Phæacians
which had brought Odysseus to Ithaca, and on its way back was turned into
stone by the angry Poseidon. The S.W. shore of the Lake of Kalikiopulo,
where a brook named Kressida enters the lake, is pointed out as the
place where Odysseus was cast ashore and met the princess Nausicaa.
The charming drive to Gasturi and Benizze (7½ M.) and back
takes 3–4 hrs. (carr. 10–15 dr.; as far as the Achilleion, there and
back 2½ hrs., 8–10 dr.). We leave the town by the former W. gate,
or Porta Reale and pass through the suburb of San Rocco. The
road runs a little to the W. of Lake Kalikiopulo and ascends in
windings to (5 M.) Gasturi (Achilleion, pens. 7 dr.). About ½ M.
farther, a little to the left, is the villa *Achilleion (adm. to the
building and the grounds 11–3, 2 dr.), built in 1890–1 for Empress
Elizabeth of Austria (d. 1898), in the Italian Renaissance style, and
purchased by the German emperor in 1907. The back of the villa
is adjoined by a peristyle and three terraces adorned with statues.
On the road, just beyond the villa, is the Restaurant Bella Vista.
We now descend (short-cuts for walkers) to the (2 M.) fishing-village
of Benizze, where delicious oranges grow, and where there are
remains of a Roman villa (boat to Corfu, 5 dr.)
Another delightful excursion is to Santi Deca (carr. 10–15 dr.;
there and back 5–6 hrs.). About ¾ M. short of Gasturi the road
diverges to the right from the Benizze road. The drive to the
village of Hagi Deka or Santi Deca (‘ten saints’; 676 ft.) takes
1¼ hr. (the walk 2 hrs.). Thence we ascend (guide) the (1 hr.)
double-peaked Monte Santi Deca (1862 ft.), where we have a
superb view, notably of the Albanian coast. A narrow path then
descends, the last part through olive-groves, to (½ hr.) Apano-Garuna,
and proceeds thence to the N. to (¼ hr.) the pass of
San Teódoro or Hagios Theódoros (788 ft.), where the carriage
500quitted at Santi Deca may be ordered to meet us. The drive back
to Corfu viâ Kamára takes 1½ hr.
The monastery of Palæokastrizza (‘old castle’), on the W. coast,
about 15 M. to the N.W., is a delightful point of view (carr. there and
back 20–25 dr., in 6 hrs., excl. stops). A road diverging to the right about
halfway, 1½ M. beyond the picturesque bay of Govino, crosses the Pheleka
and leads over the fine San Pantaleone Pass and through hill scenery
to the N. coast. Far to the right, on the E. coast, rises Monte San Salvatore
(Greek Pantokrator; 2998 ft.; ascended with guide in 3 hrs. from
Spartilla; carr. from Corfu to Spartilla viâ Giovino, Ipso, and Pyrgi, in
2½ hrs., about 20 dr.).
See also Baedeker’s Greece.
As the Steamer leaves Corfu the picturesque fortress remains
long in view. The highest hill on the right is Monte Santi Deca
(see p. 499). The strait widens. To the left is the mouth of the
Kalamas; beyond it tower the Albanian Mts.; on our right is Cape
Lévkimo. On the left, off Kavo Aspro or Capo Bianco, the S.
point of Corfu, lie the small Sybota Islands, where, in 432 B. C.,
was fought the great naval battle between the Corinthians and the
Corcyræans, supported by the Athenians, which marked the outbreak
of the Peloponnesian war.
In 2½–3 hrs., after passing the rocky islets of Paxos and
Antipaxos, we reach the open Ionian Sea. On the mainland is
seen the little town of Parga.
We now leave in the distance the Epirote coast, where, off
Actium, at the mouth of the Ambracian bay, Octavian’s naval
victory over Antony in 31 B.C. gave him the sole supremacy. On
the left the island of Levkás (Ital. Santa Maura) remains long
in sight; its S.W. headland, Kavo Dukato, 5 M. long, ends in the
Leucadian Rock, which once bore a temple of Apollo. Sappho,
who loved the beautiful Phaon, is said to have thrown herself from
this rock, a leap which was supposed to cure unrequited love.
We round the cape and enter the strait between Levkás and
Kephallēnía (Ital. Cefalonia). Steering to the S.E., past the E. side
of Ithaca, we have a good view of its beautiful mountain with a
deep depression in the middle. At the entrance to the bay of Patras
lie the Oxia Islands. Here in 1571 was fought the naval battle of
Lépanto, where Don John of Austria annihilated the Turkish fleet.
Nearing Cape Kalógria, the N.W. point of the Peloponnesus,
we observe to the N., beyond a narrow strip of coast and a large
lagoon, the little town of Misolonghi or Mesolóngion, where Byron
died in 1824. Beyond it rises Mt. Zygós (3107 ft.), the last outpost,
to the W., of the high Ætolian range. Next, on the N. shore also,
we sight the finely-shaped Varássova (3007 ft.) and Klókova
(3415 ft.). In the Peloponnesus, to the S., tower the Olonos Mts.
(7300 ft.) and the Voïdiá (6322 ft.). Patras, completely surrounded
with currant-plantations, becomes more and more distinctly visible.
501Patras.—Arrival. The steamer anchors in the harbour near the
Molo San Nicolò (examination of luggage at the railway-station, see below).
Landing or embarkation 1, with baggage 2 dr.; but the boatmen usually
try to extort far more. Hotel-boat 2½ dr.—Station, to the N.E. of the
harbour, 5 min. from the landing-place.
Hotels (charges should be agreed upon beforehand) all near the landing-place.
Hôt. d’Angleterre, R. 2–5, B. 1, déj. 3½, D. 5, pens. 8–12½ fr.,
well spoken of; Gr.-Hôt. de Patras, R. 4, B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 4, pens.
12½ fr.; between these, New & Tourist Hotel, St. Andreas Street, R.
2½ fr., B. 70 c., déj. 2½, D. 3½, pens. 8 fr., well spoken of.—Cafés-Restaurants
at the first two hotels.
Post Office, St. Nicholas Street.—Telegraph Office, in the first
cross-street to the right as we come from the harbour.
Cab. Drive in town 1 dr.—Electric Tramway in St. Andreas Street,
parallel with the quay, and to the upper town.
Steamboat Offices.Austrian Lloyd, St. Andreas Street, next the New
Hotel; Austro-Americana, Morphy & Son; Panhellēnios, St. Andreas St.,
a little to the W. of the harbour; Società Nazionale, St. Andreas St.
Consulates. British (next Gr.-Hôt. de Patras): consul, F. B. Wood;
vice-consul, G. W. Crowe.—United States (opposite the Gr.-Hôt. de Patras):
consul, A. B. Cooke; vice-consul, H. J. Woodley.
English Church (St. Andrew’s), near the station (see above); service
at 11 a.m.
Patras, the third town of Greece (pop. 37,700), is surpassed
in its trade by the Piræus only. Currants, the staple produce of
the Peloponnesus, and wine are the chief exports. The town was
destroyed by the Turks in 1821, and after the war of independence
was rebuilt with broad and regular streets bordered with arcades.
Patrae first rose to importance under Augustus and afterwards gained
great wealth by its trade. In 1205 the Franks made it their base for the
conquest of the Peloponnesus (Morea). Since the 15th cent. it has belonged
successively to the Venetians, the Pope, the Byzantines, and the Turks,
and since 1833 to the kingdom of Greece.
The main street is that of Hagios Nikólaos (St. Nicholas), leading
to the S.E. from the quay. The third cross-street to the right
leads to the Platia Hagios Geórgios, containing the theatre and
law-courts. The second side-street to the left leads to another
square with the High School, which contains a few ancient sculptures.
The first street to the N.E. running parallel with the Hagios
Nikólaos Street leads to the Castle, once Venetian, then Turkish
(now barracks and prison), which affords a fine view of the gulf.
Excursion to Olympia by railway (5 hrs.), see Baedeker’s Greece.
The Railway from Patras to Athens (137½ M., in 6½–9½ hrs.;
see p. 496) is preferable to the steamers, as the traveller thus gains
several clear hours for Athens. The Corinth Canal is used by the
Società Nazionale and Achaia Co. only. The voyage round the Peloponnesus
to the Piræus (360 M.) takes more than a day.
The train skirts the narrow S. margin of the *Gulf of Corinth,
the grand mountains of which recall those of the Norwegian fiords.
Between the ruined fortresses of Rhion and Antirrhion, a little
way from Patras, the gulf narrows to 1¼ M. and soon, near Naupaktos,
contracts again. 25 M. Ægion (Buffet); 33 M. Diakophto,
502whence a rack-and-pinion line mounts the hills inland. Then, above
two deep bays on the N. bank, towers Mt. Parnassus. At the E.
end of the gulf lies (81 M.) Corinth (halt of ¼ hr.; Buffet, déj. 4 dr.).
In the isthmus of Corinth the train crosses the Corinth Canal (3¾ M.
long, 25 yds. wide, 26 ft. deep) by a bridge 170 ft. high, and then
skirts the N. bank of the Saronic Gulf (p. 494). On the right the
eye ranges as far as the mountains of the Argolis peninsula and
Ægina. Beyond (108 M.) Megara we near the N. coast of Salamis.
Beyond (120½ M.) Eleusis the train turns inland and passes through
the depression between (r.) Mt. Ægaleos (p. 494) and (l.) Mt. Parnes
into the Attic plain. Arrival at (137½ M.) Athens, Peloponnesian
Station, see below (hotel-agents in waiting; carr. 2 dr.).
Most Steamers (see p. 501) set out in a W. direction from the
Gulf of Patras, holding straight out to Kephallenia and keeping
distant Ithaca to the right. They then steer to the S. between the
promontory of Chelonatas, the W. point of the Peloponnesus, and the
island of Zante or Zakynthos. Beyond the cape and the little harbour-town
of Katakolo, the calling-place for Pyrgos and Olympia
(p. 501), the coast recedes and forms the sweeping curve of the
Gulf of Kyparissia; behind rise the heights of the Lykaeon
(4659 ft.). Later on we pass the Strophades on the right. At the
extremity of the Gulf of Kyparissia the Ægaleon (4003 ft.) marks
the beginning of the Messenian Peninsula. The steamers double
the S. point and from here to the Piræus their course is the same
as that of the Naples boats (see pp. 493, 494).
Stations.Peloponnesian (Pl. B, 1), for Patras, etc., on the N.W. side
of the town.—Piraeus Railway, see p. 503.—Tickets also at the tourist-agencies,
see 504.
8. Money. Greece belongs to the Latin Monetary Convention. The franc
is called a drachmē (dr.; pl. drachmǽs), the centime leptón (l.; pl. leptá).
The currency is chiefly paper (notes of 1, 2, and 5 dr.), and the chief
banks issue also their own notes (for 10, 25, 100, 500 dr., etc.). In
nickel there are coins of 5 l. (pendára, a sou or soldo), 10 l. (dekára),
and 20 l.; in copper, 1, 2, 5, and 10 lepta. The only silver coins of full
value are the 5 fr. pieces. It is safest to decline all foreign silver. The
present exchange (1911) for the English pound is about 25 paper dr., for
the gold 20 fr. piece 20 dr.
503Hotels. At most of the hotels it is usual to arrange for a fixed
charge per day; at the chief English and French are spoken; charges
mostly in gold, that is, in francs instead of drachmæ; charges higher during
the Olympic games. *Hôt. de la Grande-Bretagne (Pl. b; F, 5),
Place de la Constitution, opposite the Palace, R. from 7½, B. 2, déj. 5,
D. 6, pens. 17½–30 fr.; *Gr.-Hôt. d’Angleterre (Pl. a; F, 5), Place de la
Constitution, cor. of the Rue d’Hermès, pens. 17½–25 fr.; *Palace Hotel
(Pl. p; E, 4), Rue du Stade 18, R. 5–10, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. from
12 fr.; these three are of the first class.—*Tourist Hotel (Pl. t; E, 5),
cor. of the Rue d’Hermès and Rue de la Boulé, R. 3–8, B. 1, déj. 4½,
D. 5, pens. 10–15 fr.; Grand-Hôtel (Pl. d; F, 5), Place de la Constitution,
cor. of Rue du Stade, R. 3–6, B. 1¼, déj. 3½, D. 4½, pens. 8–12 fr.;
Hôt. des Etrangers & Splendid (Pl. c; F, 6), Place de la Constitution,
cor. of Rue des Philhellènes, R. 5–7, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 10–15 fr.;
*Hôt. de la Minerve (Pl. g; F, 5), Rue du Stade 5, near Place de la
Constitution, pens. from 12 fr., also R. from 4 dr. out of the season;
*Hôt. Hermès (Pl. s; E, 3), Boulevard de l’Université 46, pens. from
10 fr., also R. without board from 3 fr., B. 1 fr. 20 c., déj. 3½, D. 4½ fr.;
*Hôt. d’Athènes (Pl. f; E, 4), cor. of Rue du Stade and Rue de Korais,
R. 3–6 dr., B. 1 dr. 20 l., déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 10–14 dr., or less for some stay,
R. alone, out of season, from 3 dr.; these three are good second-class inns
in the Italian style, with restaurants; Hôt. Royal (Pl. r; F, 5), Rue du
Stade 9, with garden, R. 4–10, B. 1, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 10–12 fr.; Hôt.-Pens.
St. Georges (Pl. h; E, F, 5), Rue du Stade, beside the Parliament
House, R. 3–5, B. 1, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 8–15 fr.; *Hôt. Impérial (Pl. i; F, 5),
Rue Karageorgevitch, R. 2–10, pens. 8–12 fr.; Hôt. National (Pl. q; E, 4),
Rue du Stade 30, R. (from 3 dr.) and B. (1½ dr.) only, good.—In the
warm season a mosquito-curtain (kunupiera) should be asked for.
Pensions, recommended for a stay of some time. Maison Merlin
(Pl. G, 5), cor. of the Rues de Kanári and de Sekéri; Pens. MacTaggart,
Rue du Stade 12, opposite the Parliament, pens. from 8 fr.; both English.
Restaurants. At the Hôtels de la Minerve, Hermès, and d’ Athènes,
see above; also good, in the Rue du Stade: No. 6, Averof, with garden;
No. 24, Cité, with garden; at corner of the Rue de Patisia, Kapsēs; in
Rue de Thémistocle, Sintrivanēs. French usually understood.
Cafés.Zacharátos, Place de la Constitution, corner of the Rue
du Stade (music on summer evenings); Zacharátos, Place Omónia, N.
side; at the Zappion (p. 508), where there is always a cool sea-breeze.—Tea
Rooms.Khrysákis, Place de la Constitution.
Wine.Achaia Wine Co., Rue de Niké 1 (Pl. E, 5, 6).—Bars.Papagiannakis, Rue du Stade 40; Apotsos, Rue du Stade 9; Skekos, Rue
Karageorgevitch (Greek beer 30 l. per glass).
The Water of the Aqueduct (p. 528) is, especially in the hot months,
not above reproach. The hotels and restaurants supply good water from
the Marusi spring. The mineral waters of Sáriza and Lutraki cost
about 25 l. per half-bottle.
Cabs. To or from Peloponnesian Station 2 dr.; short drive in town
1 dr., longer 1½ dr.; to the Acropolis 2 dr.; to the Piræus with luggage
6–10 dr.; drives in town and environs 20–30 dr. per day; per hr. 3, afternoon
4 dr. (with one horse cheaper). Agreement advisable.
Tramways (numbered; fare 10–15, transfer 15 l.; comp. Plan). The
chief lines are: 1. From Academy (Pl. F, 4) viâ Place de la Constitution,
Amalia St., Rue de Phalère (Pl. D, 8), Tsitsiphiés (on the coast), and
then alternately to the left to Old Phálēron and to the right to New Phálēron;
fare 25 l.—From Place Omónia: 2. viâ Rue du Stade, Place de la
Constitution (Pl. F, 5, 6), and Rue des Philhellènes to the English Church
(p. 504); 3. viâ the National Museum to Patisia (comp. Pl. E, 1); 4. viâ
the Rue du Pirée, Dipylon, Theseion Station (Pl. B, 5), Monasteraki Station,
and the Rue d’Athéna to Place Omónia; 5. viâ the Rue Constantin to
Peloponnesian Station (Pl. B, 1).—12. From Place de la Constitution
(Pl. F, 5, 6) viâ the Rue des Philhellènes and Boulevard Olga (Pl. F,
G, 7, 8) to the Stadion (Pl. G, H, 8).—16. From the Academy (Pl. F, 4)
to the Acropolis.
Electric Railway to New Phálēron and the Piraeus every ¼ hr.,
in 18 min. (fare 65 or 45 l., return 1 dr. 15 or 80 l.; to Phaleron 40 or 30,
return 75 or 55 l.). Three stations in Athens: Omónia (Pl. D, 3), Monastēráki
(Pl. C, 5), and Theseion (Pl. B, 5); fare between these 5–10 l.;
the ticket-clerks speak French.
504Tourist Agents.Thos. Cook & Son, Place de la Constitution, corner
of Rue d’Hermès; Ghiolman Bros., T. D. Ralli, both same Place.—For
steamboat-agents at the Piræus, see p. 495.
Banks (9–12 and 3–5; in summer, forenoon only). Banque Nationale
(Pl. D, 3), Rue d’Eole; Banque d’Orient (Pl. D, 3, 4), Rue de Sophocle;
Banque d’Athènes (Pl. E, 4), Rue du Stade 32; Banque Ionienne (Pl. E, 4),
same street, No. 14.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. D, 3), opposite Banque Nationale.
Letter under 15 grammes within Postal Union 25 l., in Greece 20, in
Athens 10 l.; registration 25 l.; deltarion or post-card, 10 or 5 l.
Theatres (Nov. to May). Royal National (Pl. C, 2), Rue Constantin;
Théâtre Municipal (Pl. D, 3). Several summer-theatres.—Bands play
every summer evening in the Place de la Constitution, at the Záppion
(p. 508), and at New Phaleron (p. 528). Military band, Place de la Constitution,
Sun. and Thurs. afternoons.
Photographs.Barth & Eleutheroudakis, booksellers, Place de la
Constitution (Alinari’s and Boissonnas’s photographs, etc.); Rhomaïdēs
(Pinacothèque Hellénique), same square; Simiriotēs, Rue des Philhellènes 2.—Requisites:
Tavanakēs & Georgantopulos, Rue d’Hermès 12; Pestarini,
Rue du Stade 2; Ragnio, Rue du Stade, opposite the Parliament.
Legations and Consulates.Great Britain: Minister, Sir Francis
E. H. Elliot, Rue de Dragatsani 8 (Pl. E, 4). Consul, T. Cornish.—United
States: Minister, G. H. Moses, Rue Sina 16. Consul-General,
W. H. Gale, Rue Regilles 6; vice-consul, B. Melissinos.
English Church (St. Paul’s; Pl. F, 6, 7), Rue des Philhellènes,
corner of Palace Garden; chaplain, W. A. Gardner, Rue du Lycée 1.
Services at 8 and 10.30 a.m., and 6 p.m.
Scientific Institutions, all under supervision of the General Ephoros
or director Dr. P. Kavvadias; office in the Ministère des Cultes, Rue
d’Hermès. The Greek Archaeological Society, Rue de l’Université 20
(Pl. F, 4), is the central authority for antiquarian research in Greece.—British
School of Athens (Pl. I, 4), Rue de Speusippe; American School
of Classical Studies, same street; also French, German, and Austrian
institutes. National Library (Pl. E, 3); open 19–2, 3–5, and 8–11.
Collections.Acropolis Museum (p. 519) and National Archaeological
Museum (p. 526), on week-days from 9 (Dec. and Jan. 10) to 12, and from 3
(Oct.-March from 2, June-Aug. from 4) till sunset. On Sun. and holidays
the National Museum is open 10–12, and the Acropolis Museum in the afternoon
only. Adm. free (sticks and umbrellas 20 l.).—Numismatic Museum
(p. 525), Wed. and Sat. 9 (or 10)–12 and 3–6, free.—Historical and Ethnographical
Museum (p. 526), daily except on holidays, 2–5, adm. 50 l.
Plan of Visit.Three Days: 1st. *Acropolis (p. 512), *Acropolis
Museum (p. 519); afternoon, Lykabettos (p. 528).—2nd. *National Museum
(p. 526); afternoon, Stadion (p. 509), Olympieion (p. 509), Monument of
Lysikrates (p. 510), Theatre of Dionysos (p. 510), *Odeion (p. 511), Areopagus
(p. 512), Acropolis by sunset.—3rd. Boul. de l’Université (p. 525),
region to the N. of the Acropolis (pp. 520et seq.); afternoon, *Theseion
(p. 521), *Dipylon (p. 522), Hill of the Pnyx, Tomb of Philopappos (p. 524).
If 1½ Day only be available we first drive to the Acropolis (p. 512),
to which we devote 2 hrs.; then visit the Odeion (p. 511), the Theatre of
Dionysos (p. 510), the Monument of Lysikrates (p. 510), the Olympieion
(p. 509) with Hadrian’s Arch (p. 508), and the Stadion (p. 509); we then
drive past the Tower of the Winds (p. 520), the Market Gate (p. 521), and
Hadrian’s Stoa (p. 520) to the Theseion (p. 521), and if possible also to
the ancient Cemetery outside the Dipylon (p. 523). Lastly, in half-a-day,
we may drive through the Boul. de l’Université (p. 525), glance at the
chief modern buildings, and visit the National Museum (p. 526).
Athens (130–492 ft.; pop. 167,500), modern Greek Athénai, lies
3¾ M. from the Saronic Gulf, in the great Attic plain, which is
closed on the W. by Ægaleos and Parnes and on the E. by Hymettos505and Pentelikon. The city is bounded on the S.E. by the Ilissos and
on the W. by the Kephisos. The valleys of these streams are separated
by the Turkovuni hills, whose S. spur, the Lykabettos, rises
abruptly above Athens on the E. A broad saddle separates the latter
from the rock of the Acropolis and a group of hills farther to the W.;
these include the Philopappos or Museion, the Pnyx, and the
Nymphs’ hills, and slope gently down to the sea.
The Athens of antiquity circled round the Acropolis and included
the hills on its S.W. and W. sides (see Plan, where traces
of ancient walls and the probable direction of the streets are indicated).
The modern city extends to the N. of the Acropolis, far
towards the plain of the Kephisos. Down to 1834 Athens was a poor
village. Now, as the capital of the kingdom of Hellas, it has developed
into one of the finest cities of the E. Mediterranean, and is
quite European in character.
The main street is the Rue du Stade, connecting the Syntagma
Square (Place de la Constitution; Pl. F, 5, 6) with the Omónia
Square (Place de la Concorde; Pl. D, 2, 3). This street and the
broad E. end of the Rue d’Hermès (see below) contain the principal
shops. The Syntagma Square forms the centre of traffic. Parallel with
the Rue du Stade runs the Boul. de l’Université (Panepistēmion),
in which the chief public buildings are situated. This new E. quarter,
known as Neapolis, is adjoined, to the W. of the Rue du Stade, by
the older business quarter, the main arteries of which are the Rue
d’Hermès (Pl. B-E, 5; p. 520), running to the W. from the Syntagma
Square, and the Rue d’Athéna (Pl. D, 3–5), running from the
Place de la Concorde to the S. and intersecting the Rue d’Hermès
at right angles. Parallel to the latter is the Rue d’Eole (p. 520),
which leads to the N., past the National Museum, to Patisia, and
is prolonged to the S. to the Tower of the Winds at the foot of the
Acropolis. The Piræus is the chief seat of industry and the wholesale
trade.
History. The Athenians prided themselves on being the aboriginal
inhabitants of the country, whose earliest kings are said to have been
Cecrops, builder of the Acropolis, Erechtheus, Pandion, and Ægeus. Research,
however, attributes the earliest settlement on the Acropolis to the
Pelasgians, afterwards expelled by Ionian invaders. Theseus, the fifth
king, is regarded as the actual founder of Athens. To him Thucydides
assigns the Synœkismos (in 1259 B.C., it is said) or subordination of all
the Attic communities to Athens as their capital. Originally consisting
of the Acropolis only, the city gradually extended in all directions.
After the self-sacrifice of Kodros (1068 B.C.) the kings were succeeded
by Archons, first of the house of Kodros and afterwards elected from the
ranks of the Eupatridæ (landed nobles). Internal dissensions and the
capricious rule of this aristocratic oligarchy led at the end of the 7th cent.
to the codification of the existing law of Athens by Drakon, a measure
succeeded in 594 B.C. by the democratic reforms of Solon. Eligibility
for the highest offices was henceforth to depend, not on birth, but on
the possession of property and the payment of taxes (‘timocracy’). The
judges were to be chosen by lot, and a council (Boulē) of 400 members
(Bouleutæ) was placed over the archons as the supreme governing body.
506In 561 B.C., however, while Solon was still alive, Peisistratos, an
ambitious but humane man and a patron of art, succeeded in usurping
the position of tyrant. He and his sons Hippias and Hipparchos brilliantly
developed the city. Roads were made to the various ‘demoi’ or
communities of Attica, and a copious supply of water was brought by a
subterranean conduit from Hymettos. The Olympieion was begun, the
ancient temple of Athena on the Acropolis, the ‘hekatompedon’, was enclosed
with a colonnade, and other large buildings were erected. All
this splendour, however, did not compensate for the want of a free constitution;
in 514 Hipparchos was assassinated by Harmodios and Aristogeiton
and in 510 Hippias was banished with the aid of the Spartans.
After further democratic reforms, and after various wars with adjoining
states, which led to the development of the Athenian fleet, the little Attic
state obtained the leadership of the whole nation in the Persian wars.
In order to punish Athens for supporting the revolt of the Greek towns
in Asia Minor (498), Darius I., king of Persia, sent an army of over
200,000 men with a huge fleet, under Datis and Artaphernes, across the
Ægean Sea in 490. Contrary to all expectation the Athenians under
Miltiades, assisted by the Platæans only, defeated the immense Persian
army on the plains of Marathon. Even more glorious, and still further
confirming the hegemony of Athens, was the result of the campaign of
Xerxes against Greece in 480. After the heroic resistance of Leonidas
and his Spartans at Thermopylæ had been overcome by the slaughter of
the devoted band the whole of the huge army and armament of the Great
King bore down upon Attica to avenge the defeat of Marathon. The
Athenians took to their ships. The city was occupied by the Persians,
the Acropolis captured, and the temples burned down. But the decisive
naval victory won at Salamis (480), and due to the unflinching courage
and pertinacity of Themistokles, broke the power of the Persians. The
citizens had scarcely re-entered Athens when they were again compelled
to retire before the army of Mardonios, but their great victory at Platæa
in 479 finally relieved them from the menace of a Persian yoke.
Having taken the most glorious part in these terrible struggles Athens
now became the natural leader of the Greeks in the war of retaliation.
In 474 this leadership found expression in the foundation of the Attic
and Delian naval league. The zenith of the Athenian power coincided
with the rebuilding of the city, which progressed rapidly in spite of the
opposition of the Spartans. The fortification both of the city and its
harbour, which the genius of Themistokles had removed to the Piræus,
was taken in hand with special vigour, and in 460–445 the ‘Long Walls’
were erected, stretching from the Piræus and from Phaleron to Athens
itself. Next, under the rule of Perikles, arose the magnificent buildings
on the Acropolis. A colossal statue of Athena Promachos in gold and
ivory, by Phidias, was erected out of the Persian booty in 438, when the
cella of the great Parthenon also was probably completed. In 437–432
were erected the stately Propylaea, and lastly the Erechtheion, begun
probably soon after the peace of Nikias (421) but not completed till 407.
The Athenian democracy had attained its fullest development and its
widest sway when the long-standing antagonism of Sparta led to open
war between the rival states in 431. In the second year of the war
Athens was visited by a terrible plague, which carried off, among many
others, Perikles, the only man of genius powerful enough to control the
democracy, the deterioration of which may be dated from his death.
After many vicissitudes, including the disastrous campaign in Sicily
undertaken by the advice of Alkibiades (comp. p. 163), the Peloponnesian
war ended in 404 with the utter humiliation of Athens. The fortifications
of the city and the Piræus had to be demolished, the fleet to be given
up, and an oligarchic government, that of the ‘Thirty Tyrants’, to be
endured at the bidding of Sparta. In 403 Thrasyboulos restored the
democracy; in 393 Konon won a naval victory over the Spartans at
Knidos, and rebuilt the Long Walls; but all this was but a brief and
507feeble reflex of the ancient glory of the state. In vain Demosthenes exhorted
his fellow-citizens to vigorous resistance against Philip of Macedon;
when they at last roused themselves it was too late. In 338 Greek independence
received its death-blow on the battle-field of Chæronea.
Although Athens never again recovered her political importance her
material prosperity survived almost unimpaired for several centuries more.
In the year of the battle of Chæronea began the judicious financial administration
of the orator Lykourgos, who completed the theatre previously
begun on the S.E. slope of the Acropolis, built the Stadion, and filled the
arsenals and harbour of the Piræus with military stores and with ships.
After a fruitless revolt in 322 (the ‘Lamian War’) Athens was garrisoned
with Macedonian troops. Yet Athens continued to live and thrive on the
intellectual heritage stored up within her walls ever since the days of
the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. As the home of the greatest poets
of antiquity, as the seat of the far-famed schools of philosophy and rhetoric
founded by Plato, Aristotle, and Zeno, and as a great centre of art
and architecture, she still had many visitors and admirers. Foreign patrons
lavished gifts upon her or erected sumptuous buildings in the city.
To Ptolemy Philadelphos of Egypt (281–246) she owed a gymnasion with
a library, to the Pergamenian kings handsome colonnades, and to the
Syrian king Antiochos IV. Epiphanes (175–164) the Olympieion.
The dominion of Macedonia was followed by that of Rome, in spite
of the nominal declaration of the independence of Greece made by the consul
Flamininus in 196 B.C. After the overthrow of the Achæan League, of
which Athens was a member, and the destruction of Corinth in 146 Greece
and Macedonia were formed into a Roman province. Athens had to pay
heavily for the ill-considered help it afforded Mithridates, King of Pontus,
who chose Greece as the battle-field on which to contest with Rome the
sovereignty of Asia. The city was stormed and sacked by Sulla in 86 B.C.,
and the fortifications of the Piræus were finally demolished. The city
was, however, favoured by Cæsar and the Roman emperors. The chief
buildings of this period are the Tower of the Winds, the Market Gate
owing its origin to donations made by Cæsar and Augustus, the statue of
Agrippa, the round temple of Roma and Augustus, the new marble steps
of the Propylæa, and the monument of Philopappos.
A new period in the history of art was inaugurated by Hadrian
(A.D. 117–38), the friend of Greece, to whom countless statues were erected
under the titles of the Olympian, the Founder, the Liberator. A whole
quarter of the city, to the S.E. of the castle, was called after him, as
may still be read on Hadrian’s Arch. In this quarter rose the temple
of Zeus completed by him. In the old town he founded a library, a
gymnasion, and a pantheon, and Athens is still supplied with water by
his aqueduct. At the same period Herodes Atticus (101–77), a rich citizen,
built the odeion named after him. Lastly Marcus Aurelius (161–80), from
whose time dates the description of the city by Pausanias, summoned
new teachers to the Athenian school of philosophy. From that period
begins the gradual stagnation and decay of the city.
In 267 Athens was captured by the Heruli and Goths. In 395 and 396
Alaric with his Visigoths appeared before its gates, but spared it on
payment of tribute. From the 5th cent. onwards numerous works of art
were removed from Athens to Constantinople, as had been partly done
by Constantine himself, to grace the buildings of New Rome. In 529
Justinian gave the death-blow to the intellectual life of Athens by closing
the schools of philosophy. Athens sank to the position of a Byzantine
provincial town. In 1019 Basil II. held a triumphal festival in the
Parthenon, which had long been used as a church. In 1040 the Northmen
under Harald Haardraade took the Piræus by storm.
After the conquest of Constantinople by the Latin Crusaders in 1204
(p. 542) Athens fell into the hands of Frankish nobles known as dukes
after 1258. At length, in 1456, after a vigorous defence, Athens was
captured by the Turks, and thenceforth belonged to the pashalik of Negroponte
508(Eubœa). But two events in the next three centuries and a half
deserve mention; it was attacked by the Venetians in 1466 and it was
captured and occupied for a short time by their general Francesco Morosini
in 1687. On the latter occasion the Parthenon, hitherto uninjured, was
blown up, while the Propylæa had already been destroyed by an earlier
explosion (comp. p. 513). Athens then fell into complete oblivion and
had to be rediscovered by the explorers and scholars of the 19th century.
The Greeks began their war of independence in 1821, and in 1822
captured the Acropolis of Athens. The Turks, however, stormed the
town in 1826, and in 1827 took the Acropolis also after a brave resistance.
The whole of Hellas thus fell again under the Turkish yoke. But the
Great Powers now intervened. In 1833 the Acropolis was evacuated by
the Turks, and entered by the Bavarian troops of the new king, Otho.
In 1834 Athens was made the capital of the new kingdom, and since 1835
has been the seat of government. This distinction it owes to its historic
fame, its site being geographically and economically unfavourable for a
great modern city. It has attracted neither wholesale trade nor industry,
and Attica itself is by no means productive.
Books. Of the extensive literature on Athens the following books
may be useful to the traveller: Stuart’s and Revett’s ‘The Antiquities
of Athens’ (4 vols.; rev. ed., 1825–30); Leake’s ‘Topography of Athens’
(London, 1821); Wordsworth’s ‘Athens and Attica’ (4th ed., 1869); Dyer’s
‘Ancient Athens’ (London, 1873); Harrison’s and Verrall’s ‘Mythology
and Monuments of Ancient Athens’ (London, 1890); E. A. Gardner’s
‘Ancient Athens’ (London, 1902).
The Place de la Constitution, or Syntagma Square (Pl. F,
5, 6; p. 505), with its hotels and cafés, is bounded by gardens on
the E., beyond which rises the Royal Palace (Pl. F, G, 5, 6),
built of limestone and Pentelic marble (1834–8), with a Doric
portico. The trellised walks of the palace-garden (Pl. F, G, 6;
entr. to the right, in the Rue de Képhisia; adm. Wed. and Frid.,
4–6, in winter 3–5; smoking prohibited) afford shady promenades;
from the S. part, with its fine palms, we get picturesque glimpses
of the columns of the Olympieion, the Acropolis, and the sea.
From Syntagma Square the broad Rue des Philhellènes leads
to the S., past the Russian Church and the English Church (Pl. F,
6, 7), a tasteful Gothic edifice, to the beautiful grounds of the
Záppion (Pl. F, 7), an exhibition-building opened in 1888.
The two statues adorning the flight of steps represent the brothers
Zappas, who founded the building. At the W. angle of the grounds is
a pleasing Statue of Byron (Pl. E, 7). Café on the Terrace (p. 503).
To the S. we have a view of the sea; to the E. (left) rises Hymettos.
In the foreground, adjoining the Olympieion (p. 509),
is *Hadrian’s Arch (Pl. E, 7), erected either by himself or his
successor. This gateway, 14½ yds. broad and 59 ft. high, marked,
as the inscriptions record, the boundary between the older quarters
and the new town of Hadrian (p. 507). It was adorned with projecting
Corinthian columns, of which fragments of the bases and
509the entablature alone survive. Above the gateway rises an attica
with three window-like apertures and a pediment in the centre.
The Olympieion (Pl. E, F, 7, 8), or Temple of the Olympian
Zeus, has been entirely destroyed with the exception of fifteen
huge marble columns. The original temple dates from the time
of Peisistratos (ca. 530 B.C.; p. 506), but scarcely more than the
foundations were then built. The work was resumed, ca. 174 B.C.,
by Antiochos IV. Epiphanes, to whose edifice the existing ruins
belong, but it was completed only by Hadrian. When the temple
was consecrated (ca. 129 A.D.) the Athenians showed their gratitude
by erecting a statue of the emperor next to the gold and ivory statue
of Zeus. The temple rose on a basis (118 by 45 yds.) approached
by three steps, and was the largest Greek temple in existence after
those of Ephesus and Selinus. The W. and E. ends were flanked
with triple rows of eight columns, and the N. and S. sides with
double rows of twenty; in all there were 104 Corinthian columns,
56½ ft. high and 56–67 inches in diameter.
The precincts of the temple consisted of a large levelled platform,
created by Hadrian, 224 by 141 yds., which had to be backed
up on the W. side and at the S.E. corner, where it is buttressed
with huge substructions. On the N. side, in a line with the E. front
of the temple, an entrance with four columns has been unearthed.
The view stretches from Hymettos to the sea, with the islands of
Ægina and Hydra and the coast of Argolis.
The Olga Boulevard (Pl. E-G, 7, 8), on the bank of the Ilissos
(generally dry), leads to the E. from the Olympieion to the Stadion
bridge. Opposite the bridge is the old Protestant Cemetery.
The *Stadion (Pl. G, H, 8; adm. 20 l.), the scene of the Panathenæan
games, situated in a natural basin, was planned by Lykourgos
(p. 507) in 330 B.C. The seats and balustrades in Pentelic
marble were added, about 140 A.D., by Herodes Atticus (p. 507).
The great size of the Stadion and the height of its rows of seats
produce a very imposing effect, and this is enhanced by the rich
marble decorations, which were renewed in 1896–1906. On its
completion the building was inaugurated in 1906 with Olympic
games, which are to be held here every four years. The entrance
consists of a Corinthian propylæum. The race-course, ascending
slightly, is 224 yds. long as far as the semicircular space at the
S.E. end (sphendonē), and 36½ yds. in breadth. Exclusive of barriers
and corridor, the actual course was 600 Græco-Roman or 584
Engl. ft. (195 yds.) long, and was divided into sections by metae
or goals, consisting of double hermæ, two of which have been re-erected
at the semicircular space. The course is separated by a
marble parapet from a corridor, 3 yds. wide, affording access to
the lower tiers of seats. These are 24 in number, and higher up,
separated from them by a broad passage, are 20 rows of benches,
510above which runs another passage overlooking the whole and protected
on the outside by a parapet. There is accommodation for
50,000 spectators.
From Hadrian’s Arch the short Rue de Lysicrate leads to the
N.W. to the beautiful choragic *Monument of Lysikrates
(Pl. E, 7), resembling a small round temple. This is the oldest well-preserved
monument in the Corinthian style, and once served as
the library of that French Capuchin Convent where Lord Byron
spent a night. According to the inscription above the half-columns
on the S.E. side, it was erected in 335–334 by a certain Lysikrates
who had won the victory in the Dionysian games. On a cubic
basement rises a round building in Pentelic marble, 21½ ft. high,
with six Corinthian half-columns which support a tripartite architrave
and sculptured frieze. The conical roof, consisting of a
single slightly convex block of marble, is crowned with a vigorous
acanthus flower, on which once stood the bronze tripod won by
Lysikrates. The frieze, which dates from the prime of the school
of Praxiteles, represents in very low relief, partly obliterated, the
punishment of the Tyrrhenian pirates who had robbed Dionysos;
before the god converts them into dolphins, they are being tormented
in every possible way by his attendant satyrs.
We return by the Rue de Byron (to the S.) to Amalia Street,
in line with which the Dionysios Areopagites Street (Pl. D, C, 7)
ascends to the Acropolis.
The *Theatre of Dionysos (Pl. D, 7), whose entrance we
soon reach, was once the centre of the dramatic art of Greece, the
spot in which the masterpieces of Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides,
and Aristophanes first excited delight and admiration. From the
early 5th cent, this site was occupied by a round enclosed orchestra
(‘dancing place’), while for each performance a stage had to be specially
erected, the audience being seated in a levelled hollow in
the Acropolis hill-side. In the 4th cent., mainly in the time of Lykourgos
(p. 507), tiers of stone seats and a permanent stage were
erected for the first time. The present semicircular orchestra, paved
with marble, and the remains of the stage-building belong to Roman
restorations. The Roman raised stage rested on a wall adorned
with good sculptures of the time of Nero. During the Greek age
the actors and the chorus, the former wearing the raised cothurnus,
performed on the level space in the orchestra, while the skēnē or
stage served them as a kind of booth. The proskēnion, or wooden
front of the stage, formed the background of the play, and was only
superseded by a stone wall with columns at the close of the late
Hellenistic period. Between the rectangular wings of the stage
(paraskēnia) and the lowest seats for the spectators opened the
entrances for the chorus (párodoi). The auditorium was divided by
narrow flights of steps into 13 ‘wedges’ (kerkides) and by two cross
511passages (diazomata) into three main sections. The seats, originally
for 14–17,000 spectators, are only partly preserved. In the front row
were marble seats for the priests and state officials; that in the centre,
set apart for the priest of Dionysos, is adorned with reliefs. The
pedestal to the right, behind it, bore the throne of Hadrian.
Adjoining the theatre was the Sacred Precinct of Dionysos
Eleuthereus, the wine-dispensing god, with whose festivals the
dramatic performances were connected. The walls of his temple
(5th or early 4th cent.) are still partly preserved between the stage
of the theatre and the modern street. Behind the stage ran a colonnade
offering shelter in rainy weather; at its S.W. end once stood
an older temple, the N.W. corner of which has been discovered.
The ancient buildings to the W. of the theatre of Dionysos skirt
the hill-side in two terraces. The E. half of the upper terrace, on the
steep slope of the castle-hill, above the conspicuous arched wall, is
the site of the famous Asklepieion, or sacred precinct of Asklepios
(Æsculapius), Hygieia, and kindred deities, with which institutions
for the treatment of the sick were connected. Of the temple, founded
in 420, the foundations only are left. The perpendicular side of
the Acropolis is here faced with masonry, in which is the entrance
to a round well-house converted into a chapel. In front of it ran
a colonnade towards the W., leading to a round pit, once roofed
over, which is supposed to have been used for sacrificial purposes
or as the abode of the sacred serpents.
On the lower terrace, from the theatre to the Odeion, ran the
Stoa of King Eumenes II. of Pergamon (B.C. 197–159), 180 yds.
long, with its back to the masonry supporting the upper terrace.
The *Odeion of Herodes Atticus (Pl. C, 7; keys kept by
a pensioner, in the red hut at the W. entrance; 25–50 l.), founded
by a rich citizen (p. 507; about 160 A.D.), dominates all the other
ruins at the foot of the castle-hill. Unlike the usual odeon or theatre
for musical entertainments, this building was constructed with a
view to dramatic performances. The yellowish-brown façade is
constructed in the Roman round-arched style and consisted of three
stories. The usual entrance is by the westmost of the three doors.
A niche here contains the statue of a Roman official.
The Interior affords a good example of a Roman theatre (comp.
p. 510). The stage (logeion), raised 3½ ft. above the orchestra, is 38½ yds.
in breadth, but only 6 yds. deep. At the back of the stage is a massive
wall, broken by the usual three stage-doors and relieved by niches and
a row of columns. The orchestra, 20 yds. wide, was paved with particoloured
squares of marble. The auditorium, 83 yds. in diameter, could
hold 5000 spectators. The tiers of seats rise in a semicircle, one above the
other, on the rocky slope of the Acropolis. The lower 19 tiers were divided
by steps into five, the upper (probably 13), above the transverse passage
(see p. 510 and above), into ten sections. The seats, like the whole of the
masonry, were coated with Pentelic marble; the lowest tier had backs.
The whole edifice was covered with a superb roof of cedar-wood.
From the Dionysios Areopagites Street (p. 510), where it passes
512the Odeion, there diverges to the W. the avenue leading to the
Acropolis, immediately to the right of which a steep path ascends
on the W. side of the Odeion to the Acropolis gate.
Halfway up we diverge to the left to visit the summit of a
rocky plateau (377 ft.) separated from the Acropolis by a depression,
and descending abruptly to the N.E., still called as in ancient
times the Areopagus (Pl. B, C, 6). A narrow flight of steps in
the rock, partly destroyed, ascends to the site of some ancient altars,
for which platforms were hewn in the rock. Here met the time-honoured
court of justice, composed of noble and aged citizens
who wielded supreme criminal jurisdiction. The cleft in the rock
below the N.E. corner was probably connected with the cult of the
avenging Erinyes (Furies), or Eumenides (the benevolent), as they
were euphemistically called. This was the scene of Æschylus’s
famous tragedy of that name.
To the S.W. of the Areopagus rock, and below (to the E. of) the modern
road from the Theseion (p. 521) to the Acropolis, the Oldest Quarter
of the Lower Town has been partly excavated (comp. Pl. B, 7, and
p. 524). Descending at the W. point of the Areopagus rock from the
modern to the ancient road, we reach, on the left, the Dionysion en
Limnais (Pl. B, 7), a triangular space enclosed by an antique polygonal
wall of limestone. This was the sacred precinct of Dionysos Lenæos,
the inventor of the wine-press, and once contained a temple of the 7th
or 6th cent. B.C., a wine-press (in the N.W. angle), and a large hall of
the Roman period (in the N.E. half).
To the S. of the temple-precinct lay the City Well of Kallirrhoë.
Peisistratos connected it with his aqueduct from the upper Ilissos valley,
and provided it with nine spouts, whence it was called Enneákrunos.
The abrupt limestone plateau (512 ft.) on which stands the Acropolis,
or castle of Athens, has formed from hoar antiquity the nucleus of all
the settlements in the Attic plain. The legendary Pelasgi are said to
have first levelled the top of the hill, enclosed it with a wall, and erected
the so-called Enneápylon, an outwork with nine gates, to defend the sole
approach on the W. side. The Acropolis contained the residence of the
kings and the chief sanctuaries of the state. The kings afterwards transferred
their seat to the lower city, Peisistratos alone preferring to reside
in the Acropolis. The ancient buildings were destroyed by the Persians
in 480–479. Themistokles and Kimon rebuilt the walls, and Perikles then
became the chief founder of those magnificent buildings which, even in
their ruins, still present the finest picture of the unrivalled art of antiquity.
The avenue mentioned above which ascends to the W. at the
Odeion of Herodes Atticus brings us to the so-called Beulé Gate,
on the plateau below the last steep W. slope of the **Acropolis.
Carriages stop here. Visitors admitted till sunset.
The Beulé Gate, named after the French savant who discovered
it, was entirely built over by bastions down to 1852, but since
1889 has formed the chief entrance to the Acropolis (side-entrance
under the Nike bastion). The towers flanking the gateway were
513built about 50 A.D.; the gateway itself dates from 160 A.D. and
is embellished with fragments from a choragic monument erected
by Nikias in 319.
From the Beulé Gate we ascend a flight of marble steps, with
many gaps, to the Propylæa. This staircase, which also was made
in the first half of the 1st cent. A.D., replaces the steep ancient track.
The tower-like pedestal on the left, below the Propylæa, once bore a
Statue of M. Vipsanius Agrippa, the general and son-in-law of Emp.
Augustus, erected between 27 and 12 A.D.
To the right of the Propylæa projects a bastion, 26 ft. high,
from which a small flight of marble steps descends, stopping short
of our staircase. On this bastion rises the *Temple of Nike
(Athena Nike, erroneously called Nike Apteros), which was reconstructed
with the ancient stones in 1835–6. Its date is uncertain
(probably between 440 and 410 B.C.).
Like the Propylæa this little temple, 27 ft. long and 18 ft. wide, is
built entirely of Pentelic marble. It stands on a basement of three steps,
and is preceded at the E. and W. ends by a portico of four Ionic columns
13 ft. high. Above the tripartite architrave runs a sculptured frieze 85 ft.
long and 18 inches high. At the E. end it represents a council of the gods,
among whom are Athena with her shield (in the centre) and Zeus (sitting)
next to her. On the sides are battles of the Greeks with the Persians
(some of them mounted). At the W. end is a conflict between Greeks
and Greeks. Only a few fragments of the roof have been found; it ended
on the E. and W. in pediments which were unadorned. The entrance to
the cella is formed by two pillars.
On the marble cornice of the temple bastion there once rose a
Balustrade adorned with reliefs outside, and bearing a bronze
railing. These admirable reliefs, remains of which are preserved
in the Acropolis Museum (p. 520), represented goddesses of victory
erecting trophies and presenting offerings in presence of Athenä.
The *View from beside the Temple of Nike is justly celebrated. In
the picturesque intermingling of land and sea we descry the bay of Phaleron
(p. 528), the peninsula of Munychia, the Piræus (p. 494), Salamis, and its
adjoining islet of Psyttaleia (p. 494). A little farther to the right, beyond
the bay of Eleusis, appears the dome-like rock of Acro-Corinth, backed by
distant mountains. To the right of this, but in the immediate foreground,
rises the Pnyx Hill with its rock-steps. The plain is overgrown with fine old
olive-groves. Above it rise Mt. Ægaleos and the hills of Megara. To the
S.W., to the left of the tower-like monument of Philopappos, stretches the
Saronic Gulf, bounded by Ægina, with Mt. St. Elias, and by the Argolic
Mts. and the island of Hydra. To the left runs the Attic coast as far as
the islet of Gaïdaronisi, off Cape Colonna.
The **Propylæa, the greatest secular edifice in ancient Athens,
composed entirely of Pentelic marble, were erected in 437–432 B.C.
by the architect Mnesikles. This highly artistic building consists
of three parts—a central gateway with wings on the N. and S.
The Central Building, ruined by an explosion in 1645, consists
of a wall pierced with five openings and preceded by Doric
colonnades on the E. and W. sides. Each colonnade has six columns
in front, above which ran a frieze of triglyphs and metopes, crowned
by a plain pediment. The W. Colonnade, to which three huge steps
514ascend, is 19 yds. wide and 17 yds. deep. Its front columns belong
to the Doric order and consequently rise directly from the ground
(stylobate), without bases; they are 29 ft. high, and each is fluted
with twenty grooves separated by sharp edges. Behind the two
central columns, which are 12½ ft. apart, and flanking the main
passage there are on each side three slender Ionic columns, 33 ft.
high, resting on their cushion-like bases, and grooved with twenty-four
flutes separated by broad fillets. The ceiling was divided into
sunk panels adorned with painting.
On the N. and S. sides the central building was bounded by
massive walls, 17½ yds. long, ending in huge buttresses (antæ).
Between these extended the Gateway proper consisting, as above
remarked, of a wall with five openings. Five marble steps ascend
to the threshold, composed of black Eleusinian stone, on which the
side-gates rest. The broad central gateway is without steps. All the
gateways were once provided with massive folding doors.
The E. Colonnade is as broad as the other, but only 23 ft.
deep. Of its six Doric columns five still have their capitals, and
two are connected with their architrave.
The well-preserved North Wing consists of a porch or vestibule,
open towards the S., with three Doric columns between antæ,
and an inner hall connected with it by a door and two windows.
This was called the Pinakotheka, from its use as a receptacle for
votive pictures (‘pinakes’) on marble or terracotta. The South
Wing, of which two columns and the back-wall only have been
preserved, was never quite completed.
Passing through the E. Colonnade of the Propylæa we enter the
Inner Ward of the Acropolis and ascend a gradual slope, now covered
with profoundly impressive ruins. When we picture to ourselves
the mighty Parthenon, on the right, and the exquisite Erechtheion
on the left, in the full glory of their sculptures and colouring,
surrounded by smaller sanctuaries and a forest of statues, we may
well understand the enthusiastic pride of the Athenians in their
unrivalled Acropolis.
From the central gateway of the Propylæa a broad pathway
ascends along the main axis of the citadel. The rock has evidently
been much cut away to facilitate the ascent, as we see from a glance
at the rocky terrace on the right, which has a precipitous face 6½ ft.
in height. Fragments of pedestals and square hollows in the rock
indicate the ancient sites of numerous votive offerings.
The terrace of rock just mentioned, to which nine low steps ascend
farther on, once bore the temple of Artemis Braurōnia, but is now
strewn with beams and fragments of ceiling from the Propylæa (panels
with traces of blue colouring). The terrace is bounded on the W. by a
fragment of a broad wall belonging to the original Pelasgic fortifications
(p. 512).—Another rock-terrace, about 2½ ft. higher, and also cut perpendicularly,
to the E. of the Brauronion, is supposed to have been the place
where, without any actual temple, Athena was worshipped as Ergánē,
515the mistress and inventor of every art. To the S. of this terrace we
observe traces of walls which, together with the S. wall itself, seem to
have formed a gigantic building. It was perhaps the Chalkotheka, an
arsenal where not only implements of war but also bronze votive offerings,
and other objects were kept. Towards the Parthenon the terrace had nine
narrow steps on which votive offerings were deposited.
About forty paces from the Propylæa, straight on, we come to
a large cutting in the rock, the supposed site of the bronze statue of
Athena Promachos, about 26 ft. high, by Phidias, erected with the
booty of Marathon. The goddess was represented in full armour,
with shield and lance. The gilded point of the lance, gleaming
in the sun, was a landmark for sailors rounding Cape Colonna.
The principal roadway, once used by the festal processions, passes
between the Erechtheion and the Parthenon to the E. front of the
latter.
The **Parthenon, the most perfect monument of ancient art,
once far surpassing all other Athenian buildings in the brilliancy
of its plastic and polychrome decoration, and even in its ruins a
marvel of majestic beauty, stands on the highest S. margin of the
Acropolis precincts. On this site, as early as the middle of the
6th cent., a large temple was begun, adjoining the ancient Hekatompedon
(p. 518), in poros or Piræan stone, and after the battle of
Marathon down to the Persian occupation was continued in marble.
In the time of Perikles, after 447, the whole edifice as it now stands
was rebuilt in Pentelic marble. The architects were Iktinos and
Kallikrates, but Perikles himself presided over the works and provided
the funds. The external sculptures are attributed to Phidias
and his pupils. The temple was probably opened for worship in 438,
on the occasion of the erection of the statue of Athena at the Panathenæan
Festival. This marvellous work must therefore have been
completed within ten years. Its decoration alone included 98 columns,
50 life-size statues for the pediments, a frieze 524 ft. long,
92 metopes, and a gold and ivory figure of Athena 43 ft. high.
On the massive basement in three steps, whose Stylobate, or
platform for the colonnade, measures 75½ by 33 yds., rise 46
Doric columns averaging 34 ft. high, eight at each end and seventeen
on each side (the corner-columns being counted twice). On the
abaci of the columns rests the undivided Architrave or Epistyle,
above which runs a Triglyph Frieze, the most characteristic feature
of the Doric order. This consists of triglyphs or triple grooves,
alternating with metopes or flat spaces, which in this case are adorned
with reliefs. Above the frieze is the geison, or lowest flat moulding
of the cornice, while below each triglyph hang regulae (guttae,
or drops), corresponding with drops above it. The triglyphs and
drops were painted blue, the ground of the metopes blue or red,
and the lower surface of the geison and the continuous moulding
above the frieze and architrave red. The smooth spaces in front
516were left white, as were also the columns, with the exception of
the four rings or annuli below the capitals.
The gable-roof rose at an angle of 13½°. At each end is a pediment,
framing the tympanum, or receding space for statuary
91½ ft. long, 3 ft. deep, and in the centre 10½ ft. high. It was
painted red at the back, so as to throw the statues into strong relief.
The raised edges (simae) of the external members of the pediment,
18½ inches high, are intended to prevent the rain-water
from escaping over the front; they were adorned with wreaths of
foliage. The pediment was crowned with a boldly executed palmette,
and at each corner was placed a golden oil-jar.—The roof, resting
partly on timber and partly on stone framework, consisted of slabs
of Parian marble 1¼ in. thick; it was edged with artistic antefixae,
or hollowed tiles, between which the rain-water escaped.
The lions’ heads at the ends of each side were purely ornamental.
The Cella, or sanctuary proper, enclosed by the outer colonnades,
is raised two steps above the stylobate. At each end a portico
is formed by six Doric columns, 33 ft. high, and by the projecting
sides. Above the architrave, round the whole building ran a frieze,
of which hardly any traces remain except on the W. side (comp.
p. 517).—The porticos were closed by high bronze railings between
the columns. From the E. portico massive folding doors led
into the interior, which was divided by a partition into an eastern
and a smaller western section. The former, the inner sanctuary,
was known as the Hekatompedon, being ‘100 ft. long’ (comp.
p. 518). It was divided into three aisles by two rows of Doric columns
(9 in each). On a square of darker stone in the pavement
stood the famous gold and ivory statue of Athena Parthenos by
Phidias. The ceiling was of wood in lacunars, which were doubtless
richly coloured. Light was admitted by the door alone. The
walls were painted dark-red, but no adequate idea can now be
formed of the original wealth of colouring.—Between the partition
and the W. portico, which is supposed to have formed a kind of
treasury (opisthodomos), lay the W. section of the cella, 14 yds. in
depth, sometimes called the Parthenon in the narrower sense.
The crowning glory of the Parthenon consisted in its plastic
decoration, executed under the direction of Phidias. Most of the
sculptures still preserved were taken to London by Lord Elgin in
1802–3 and are now in the British Museum, but there are several
others in the Acropolis Museum (see p. 519).
The E. Tympanum was devoted to the nativity of Athena.
All that remains of its sculptures in their original position consists
of two horses’ heads belonging to the chariot of the rising Helios,
on the left, and remains of a horse’s head of the chariot of the
setting Selene, on the right. In the W. Tympanum, which illustrated
the victory of Athena over Poseidon in their contest for the
517possession of Attica, are still seen, near the left angle, a half-recumbent
male figure, round whose neck is the arm of a kneeling
woman (Æsculapius and Hygieia?), and in the right angle a female
figure supposed to be Kallirrhoë (p. 512).
The Metope Reliefs are of inferior artistic value. Of the 92
there still exist the 28 at each end and 12 on the N. side. They represent
the conflicts of the gods with the Giants (E.), of the Lapithæ
and Athenians with the Centaurs (S.), of the Athenians with the
Amazons (W.), and lastly the siege of Troy. The high relief in
some cases assumes an almost entirely rounded form.
The masterpiece of Attic bas-relief is the *Frieze of the cella
wall, 175 yds. long and 39 in. high. On the W. front the greater
part of it has been preserved, but on the S. side there are only
scanty fragments. Twenty-two slabs are now in the Acropolis Museum
(see p. 519). The reliefs represented the festal procession in
which every four years, at the close of the Panathenæa, the maidens
of Athens presented the goddess with a magnificent woven robe.
Over the chief entrance is the presentation of the robe to Athena;
to the right and left of it are the assembled gods; on the sides and
at the back are Athenians. The figures were executed in low relief
of 2–2½ in. only, in order to prevent strong shadows being thrown
by the light entering the covered hall from below. The effect was
enhanced by painting and mountings in metal.
In the hollows on the S. side of the Parthenon, far below, may
be traced the line of the Pelasgic Wall (p. 512), which was covered
up when the terrace of the temple was formed. Excavations here,
and notably also to the N.W. of the Erechtheion, brought to light
a number of archaic statues and architectural fragments dating
from the Persian destruction.
Near the N. margin of the Acropolis precincts, but in a slight
depression, rises the **Eréchtheion, the temple of the tutelary
goddess Athena Poliás and the other deities of the city. The
building was probably begun soon after the Peace of Nikias (421),
but only completed in 407 or after 400. It contained chambers for
the cult of Athena and Poseidon Erechtheus, while the vestibule
had an entrance to the salt-spring produced by Poseidon. But the
temple is now sadly ruined, having served in the middle ages as
a church and afterwards as a Turkish harem. Since 1902, however,
the ancient fragments have been pieced together, and they
now afford a fairly complete idea of the exterior of the building,
which differed from that of the ordinary temples.
The nucleus of the edifice (24 by 12 yds.) rises on a threefold
basement in steps, and the sanctuary was entered by three porticos
(E., S., and N.) of charmingly varied type.
The E. Portico was formed by six Ionic columns in front, the
northmost of which has been broken down. Their rich capitals
518bear the tripartite epistyle (p. 515); above it are dark blocks of
stone to which the relief figures of the frieze were attached.
Between the E. portico and the Acropolis Wall twelve broad
steps, partly modern, descend to the terrace of rock, about 10 ft.
lower, on which stands the N. Portico. Its six columns display a
still greater wealth of sculpturing than those of the E. portico. The
ceiling is relieved by lacunars. The great main doorway is specially
rich and well preserved. The three holes in the rock below
the N. side of the N. colonnade were pointed out in ancient times
as the indentations made by Poseidon’s trident during his contest
with Athena for possession of Athens. Above them the pavement
and roof were left open.—The W. façade of the temple, in front
of which lay the Pandroseion, or shrine of Pandrosos, daughter of
Cecrops, was originally articulated by four columns, resting upon
a high parapet. The existing arrangement, of pilasters engaged in
a wall with windows, dates from the Roman period.
The *Colonnade of the Caryatides at the S.W. angle is particularly
charming. Instead of columns, six statues of virgins, over
life-size (7½ ft.), placed on a parapet, support the roof, the weight
of which they bear with ease and grace. The ancient Athenians
called them simply the Korai (maidens). The second figure from
the W. is a copy in terracotta; the one standing back in the E.
row has been restored.
To the S. of the Erechtheion are the foundations (37½ by
14½ yds.) of the so-called Hekatómpedon (early 6th cent.), on
the site of the palace of Erechtheus. The name (‘100 ft. long’) is
evidenced by an inscription. Peisistratos and his sons embellished
it with a colonnade. After its destruction by the Persians it was
probably restored without the colonnade. Opinions differ as to its
object and as to its history after the completion of the Erechtheion.
It had a front (E.) chamber of three aisles and a narrow chamber
at the back (W.), with two small rooms between them.
To the Palace of Erechtheus, the ancient residence of the
Attic kings, belonged the foundations to the E. of the Erechtheion.
So also did the poros (Piræan stone) bases of columns, lying opposite
the S.E. angle of the colonnade of the Caryatides, 5 ft. lower;
their extremely archaic form, with the shaft of the column embedded
in the base, points to the Mycenæan period.
We now return to the Parthenon. To the E. of it once stood a
small round Temple of the Goddess Roma and the Emp. Augustus,
round the foundations of which lie fragments of its architrave.
Opposite the N.E. corner of the Parthenon are the remains of a
sacrificial altar of Athena.—At the S.E. angle of the precincts
the huge masonry of the Kimonian Wall (p. 512) may be seen.
The Belvedere at the N.E. angle of the Acropolis affords the best
survey of the city. To the S.E. are the columns of the Olympieion, with
519the distant Hymettos; nearer rises Hadrian’s Arch; in the foreground is
the monument of Lysikrates; then the royal Palace and its gardens;
beyond them are Lykabettos and the gable-shaped Pentelikon; in the town,
a little to the left, shine the dazzling marble buildings of the Academy,
the University, and the Library; to the N. of these runs the Patisia road;
more to the left rises the lofty Metropolis Church, with the small Metropolis
nestling beside it; in the centre of the N. slope of the Acropolis rises
the Tower of the Winds; adjacent is the Bazaar with Hadrian’s Stoa;
to the W. is the Theseion, and beyond it the Kephisos Valley with its
olive-groves, and Mt. Parnes with its S. spur Mt. Ægaleos.
The *Acropolis Museum, erected in 1878, contains all the
sculptures of the Acropolis, except those previously removed, and
the yield of later excavations. Besides works of the golden age, it
comprises valuable examples of the earlier periods of art. Adm.,
see p. 504.
From the Vestibule, containing antiques of various ages, we enter
(left) Room I, where the chronological order begins.
Room I. Archaic sculptures in poros (6th cent.). Straight before us,
No. 3. Bull attacked by two lions; above this, and by the right wall: 1, 2.
Tympana with statues of Hercules (with traces of painting). By the
window-wall: 9, 10. Deities enthroned, from a tympanum of the pre-Peisistrateian
Hekatompedon (p. 518).
Room II. Remains of the tympanum groups in poros from the Hekatompedon
just mentioned: 36. Hercules with the Triton; 35. Figure with
three bodies (‘Typhon’); 40. Remains of two large serpents in poros stone,
showing abundant traces of painting (comp. water-colour on the wall).
Room III. Figures (idols), tablets, and architectural fragments in
terracotta, some with admirably preserved painting. Specially noteworthy,
at the entrance, No. 67. A warrior (6–5th cent.).
Room IV. Fragments of marble sculptures; architectural ornaments
in terracotta, poros, and marble, some of them painted. On the right,
the tympanum figures from Peisistratos’s colonnade round the old Hekatompedon
(p. 518): Athena fighting with the Giants.
Room V. Archaic marbles (6th cent.), incl. (on the right of the entrance)
624. Calf-Bearer (youth bringing a calf to the altar).
Room VI. Archaic *Draped Female Figures, erected in the Acropolis
in the 2nd half of the 6th cent. as votive offerings, but buried in
the rubbish after its destruction (480), also with interesting traces of
painting. No. 681 is by Antenor, author of the tyrannicide group (comp.
p. 506); No. 686 is the most recent.
Room VII. Later archaic marbles, notably (in the centre, under glass)
No. 689. Beautiful head of a youth; also two graceful reliefs, 695. Athena,
and 702. Hermes and three women—Above, along the walls, Metopes
from the Parthenon (p. 517), few of them original; the finest, a Centaur
carrying off one of the Lapithæ.
Room VIII.Sculptures from the Parthenon: Statues from the tympana
and reliefs from the frieze, those in the British Museum being represented
by casts. In the centre of the room a reconstruction of the tympanum
groups, according to Furtwängler. By the wall on the right are
remains of the E. tympanum (p. 517), two torsos only being originals.
No. 880 (in the centre). Hephæstus; on the right, 881. Selene. Above
are remains of the W. tympanum; in the centre, 885. Poseidon.
Most interesting of all is the better-preserved **Parthenon Frieze, of
which nearly 28 yds. are almost entirely original (partly replaced by casts).
To the right of the entrance, 856. Three deities, Aphrodite (?), Apollo,
and Poseidon; below these, 857. Three youths with cows for sacrifice.
Then, on the right, 877. Four women with silver or gold basins; 875.
Three men with musical instruments. We note also several slabs from
520the procession of horsemen and chariots. To the right of the entrance,
860. Youth with sacrificial sheep.
Room IX. On the right, beautiful reliefs from the Nike balustrade
(p. 513); in the centre of the front row, *973. Nike loosening her sandal.
On the left, Nos. 1071–78. Fragments of the relief-frieze of the Erechtheion.
The upper or E. end of the Rue d’Hermès (Pl. E-B, 5), which
leads to the W. from the Place de la Constitution, is one of the
chief business quarters of Athens. Among the wares sold in the
shops here are Oriental silks and woollen stuffs and antiquities,
the latter dear and sometimes spurious.
A few paces to the S. of the Rue d’Hermès rises the Metropolitan
Church (Pl. E, 5), erected in 1840–55 with the materials of
seventy smaller churches and chapels, and sumptuously fitted up
in the interior. Adjoining it on the S. is the so-called *Little
Metropolis, or church of Panagia Gorgópiko, of the early
9th cent., the oldest extant Byzantine edifice on Greek soil. The
walls, composed of antique blocks of stone, contain many ancient
and Byzantine sculptures.
Halfway along the Rue d’Hermès is the Kapnikaræa Church
(Pl. D, 5), a complex Byzantine building (9th cent.?). Just beyond
it we cross the busy—
Rue d’Eole (Pl. D, 6–3), the second main street of the old town,
where men in Greek costume are often seen. Following it to the
S., towards the Acropolis, and passing the Place Panteleēmon, we
come to the old Bazaar (Pl. D, 5), where tailors, shoemakers, and
smiths ply their crafts in their open workshops.
Adjoining the bazaar on the S. is Hadrian’s Library (Pl. D, 5),
with its back to the Rue d’Eole, a massive edifice of 134 by 90 yds.
A gate (keys at the provision-shop opposite) leads from the Rue d’Eole
into the quadrangle, once bordered with a colonnade. The columns still
standing and the building in the middle are restorations. On the wall of
the large hall on the E. side are seen the places where the bookshelves
were attached, as in the Pergamon library.
On the W. side of the library, reached from the outside, still
stands the N. half of the main façade, known as Hadrian’s Stoa.
The marble wall is embellished with seven monolithic columns,
28 ft. high, with rich Corinthian capitals. An eighth column with
the wall of the anta belonged to the colonnade of the chief portal.—Near
this is the Stoa of Attalos (p. 521).
At the S. end of the Rue d’Eole rises the so-called Tower of
the Winds (Pl. D, 6; custodian 20–30 l.), a well-preserved octagonal
marble edifice of the 1st cent. B.C., more accurately named the
Horológion of Andronikos of Kyrrhos. On the upper spaces of
the eight walls, which are turned towards the different points of
521the compass, are reliefs representing the various winds; below are
seen the lines of sun-dials. The round channels in the pavement
inside, into which water flowed from a semicircular cistern outside,
belonged to a water-clock.
Lanes and steps ascend here to the S. to a path skirting the N. slope
of the Acropolis and leading to the right to its entrance (10 min.; p. 512).
A large paved quadrangle to the W. of the Tower of the Winds
is supposed to have been a Roman Macellum (Agora or market).
It is entered from the W. by the Market Gate (Porte de l’Agora;
Pl. C, 6). Four slender Doric columns, 26 ft. high, support a massive
architrave with a frieze of triglyphs and metopes and a fairly well
preserved pediment. According to the inscription on the architrave
the gateway was erected about the time of the birth of Christ.
In line with the N. central column is a tablet of Hadrian’s age,
inscribed with regulations about the prices of oil, salt, etc.
From the Market Gate we follow the Poikile Street to the W.
to the Stoōn Street and descend the latter to the right. The second
crooked side-street on the right then leads to the entrance (red door
on the right; keeper 20 l.) of the Stoa of Attalos (Pl. C, 5, 6).
This grand, two-storied market-hall was erected, as the inscription
on the architrave, pieced together in front of the colonnade, records,
by king Attalos II. of Pergamon (B. C. 159–138). It was 123 yds.
long and 22 yds. deep, and formed the E. boundary of the Kerameikos
market (p. 522). The groundfloor contained 21 closed
chambers 16 ft. deep, in front of which ran a long colonnade. The
traders probably had their stalls in the hall, while the closed rooms
were used for storage.
We now descend to the N., across the railway cutting, to the Rue
d’Adrien, follow the latter to the left for a hundred paces, and turn
to the left (S.) into Eponymōn Street; here, on the left, sixty paces
farther, is the Stoa of the Giants (Pl. G.; C, 5), a ruin so named
from its three great Atlantes (beam-bearers).
A little farther to the W., on the ancient Kolonos Agoraeos
(‘Hill of the Market’; see p. 522), rises the **Theseion (Pl. B, 5),
the best-preserved of all the ancient Greek buildings. The massive
construction, the lifelike sculptures, and the dark golden hue of
the Pentelic marble are singularly impressive. The temple, commonly
called Theseion, and converted into the church of St. George
in the Christian period, is now supposed to have been dedicated to
Hephaestos and Athena. The style of the building and its sculptures
have led different authorities to assign its erection to a date
a little before or a little after that of the Parthenon. At all events
it was completed by 421 B. C., as an inscription records the setting
up in that year of the two sacred images.
The temple stands on a marble basement in two steps, 35 by
15 yds., and is enclosed by 34 Doric columns, 18 ft. high, 6 at each
522end and 13 on each side (the corner-columns being counted twice).
They are rather more slender than those of the Parthenon, and like
them lean slightly inwards. Above the architrave, which is undivided,
runs a Doric frieze of triglyphs and metopes, encircling the
whole building. The metopes, however, are adorned with sculpture
only on the main (E.) façade and the immediately adjoining spaces
on each side. In front are depicted the exploits of Hercules, on the
sides those of Theseus. The building is crowned with a cornice
and pediments. The statuary of the tympana has disappeared.
The nucleus of the temple consists of the cella, 13 yds. long,
at each end of which is a vestibule, formed by the antæ and two
columns between them, and opening on to the colonnade. The E.
vestibule now has a modern wall with a built-up door instead of
the columns. The coffered ceiling on this side has been preserved
intact. The W. vestibule retains its original aspect, except that a
door has been broken through the wall at the back. The upper
part of the cella wall is embellished, as in the Parthenon, with a
relief-frieze (in Parian marble), which here, however, is limited
to the two façades and the eastmost part of the sides. The E. part
of the frieze represents a battle (between the Athenians and the
Pelasgians?), witnessed by the gods. The W. frieze portrays the
struggle of the Lapithæ and Athenians against the Centaurs.—The
interior of the temple contains nothing of special interest.
Many Englishmen were buried within this temple in the Turkish
period.
To the E. and N. of the Theseion lay the Kerameikos, or potters’
quarter, to which, in the 6th cent., the Market was transferred
from the S.W. slope of the Acropolis. This, like the Forum
at Rome, was the centre of classical Athens.
The market was adorned with statues of great poets and orators, such
as Pindar and Demosthenes. Around it rose the chief public buildings.
Among them were the Stoa Basileios (Pl. B, 5; seat of the Archon Basileus),
the foundations of which (6th cent.) are supposed to have been
discovered at No. 14 Poseidon Street.; also the Metroon, or temple of the
mother of the gods, the Buleuterion, or town-hall, etc.
To the N.W. of the Theseion a bridge crosses the Piræus
railway (p. 495) to the Theseion Station (Pl. B, 5). To the W. of
this we reach the continuation of the Rue du Pirée. Following
the latter for 150 paces to the N.E. towards the town, and just
before reaching the conspicuous yellow and red chapel of Hagia
Triáda or Trias (Pl. A, 4), we come to a gate on the right leading
into the ancient cemetery at the Dipylon (small gratuity on leaving).
Here we follow an ancient side-street, bordered with tombs, as far
as the walls (see Pl. A, 4), which we skirt to the left. At their N.E.
end we reach the outer Dipylon.
The Dipylon (Pl. B, 4), the only ancient ‘double gate’ of
Athens (end of 4th cent.), was the chief entrance of the city. Here
523converged the roads coming from Megara in the Peloponnesus and
Eleusis and from Platæa and Thebes in Bœotia; and from this gate
ran the Dromos, a great colonnaded street, to the S.E., below the
Theseion hill, to the Kerameikos market-place (p. 522). The left
side of the gateway has wholly disappeared, but a few blocks,
attached to their base, of the right (S.) wall are still visible. In front
of these rises a considerable part of the S. gateway-tower. In the
centre are traces of the pier between the two passages. This outer
gateway was connected with an inner gateway, on precisely the
same plan, by walls 38 yds. long, thus forming an enclosed court.
The S.E. tower was adjoined on the E. by a well-house.
To the S.W. of the Dipylon the City Wall, here only 6½ ft.
thick, has been brought to light. The carefully jointed blocks of
blue limestone rest on the hastily built wall of Themistokles
(479–478); the upper part was built of sun-dried brick. Outside
this wall once rose a rampart, probably coeval with the Dipylon,
14 ft. thick, consisting of two walls with earth between. Beside
the city wall, five paces to the S.W. of the Dipylon, is an ancient
boundary-stone; seventy paces farther are remains of another gateway,
probably the Funeral Gate. This, like the Dipylon, consisted
of two gate-buildings, enclosing a court, though it had only
a single passage. Through it, by the roadside, flowed the little
brook Eridanos.
To the W. of the Dipylon, in the direction of the Hagia Triáda
Chapel, we soon reach the *Burial Ground outside the
Dipylon, the principal cemetery of ancient Athens. As at Rome
and Pompeii the tombs bordered the highroads outside the gates.
In this case the more durable monuments have been left by the excavators
in their original positions. Some of these are artistically
executed, others seem to have been merely rectangular walled spaces.
In ancient days, as now, the ground was very uneven; some of the
tombs close to the road were raised on terraces 5–8 ft. above it.
Before reaching the Hagia Triáda Chapel, we observe, on the left side
of the road, two stelæ on Doric substructures, the tombs of Thersandros
and Simylos (375 B. C.) and of Pythagoras (5th cent.). Ascending to the
left beyond a depression in the soil we come to a temple-shaped tomb,
with figures of Demetria and Pamphile, dating from the middle of the
4th century. Close to the Hagia Triáda Chapel is a large block of marble
resembling a sarcophagus, the Tomb of Hipparete (middle of the 4th cent.).—To
the left, on and beyond the stone wall of the side-street mentioned
at p. 522, are rows of tombs, arranged in order of families and phylæ or
tribes and extending down to the Roman period. At the corner is that
of the family of Lysanias, with a *Relief of Dexileos on horseback, who
distinguished himself before Corinth in 394–393; the weapons and bridle were
added in bronze. Next come the tombs of the family of Agathon (4th cent.);
that of his wife Korallion represents a family group; then a temple-shaped
tomb, the interior of which was adorned with paintings now almost completely
erased. Farther on is a monument crowned with a huge bull.
In front of it is another little temple-like monument with traces of
painting; then a great Molossian hound. Beyond it, a tomb-relief with
524a boat.—Opposite the hound is the *Tomb of Hegeso, perhaps the finest
of all, a lady at her toilet attended by a maid (4th cent.). About twenty
paces short of the keeper’s house, and thirty paces to the S. of the path,
is a graceful Hydrophoros or female water-carrier (5–4th cent.).
The range of hills to the W. of the Acropolis and Areopagus,
now uninhabited, was a favourite residential quarter of the ancient
city, as is evidenced by countless remains of steps, cisterns, conduits,
walls, and streets. From the Theseion (223 ft.) we ascend
the broad Avenue of the Apostle Paul (Pl. B, 6), where, immediately
on the right, rises the Hagia Marina Hill, thickly strewn
with relics of ancient dwellings. Above it rises the Hill of the
Nymphs, crowned with the Observatory (Pl. A, 6; 345 ft.).
To the S. of the Observatory a road descends into a slight
hollow and then ascends the long Pnyx Hill (Pl. B, 7; 358 ft.),
the structure on the N.E. slope of which is distinctly visible from
the Areopagus and Acropolis. This consists of a terrace or platform,
131 yds. long and 71 yds. wide, the upper margin of which is
cut out of the rock, while the lower part is buttressed by a massive
wall of huge blocks of stone, forming a slightly flattened semicircle.
In front of the abrupt back-wall of the terrace, about 13 ft. high,
rise three steps bearing a cube of rock. This has been identified
with the Pnyx, the place where, before the tiers of stone benches
were erected in the theatre of Dionysos (p. 510), the Athenians held
their political assemblies. The orator’s tribune (bēma) is supposed
to have been attached to sockets on the platform in front of the
cube of rock. The space occupied by the listening throng of citizens
sloped gradually up to the supporting wall, which at that
time was much higher. Above the cube once ran an upper terrace,
where there rose a similar rock-altar, now much damaged. From
this point we obtain a very striking view of the Acropolis.
To the S. of the Pnyx Hill, in a depression, is the chapel of
Hagios Demetrios Lumpardiáris (Pl. B, 7), to the S. of which
we now ascend the Philopappos Hill, the ancient Museion. On its
crest we recognize many fragments of the ancient city-wall, which
was joined by the Long Walls (p. 506) on the heights near the
Monument and near the Observatory (see above).
The Monument of Philopappos (Pl. B, 8) was built in
114–16 A.D. The upper part, in Pentelic marble, two-thirds preserved,
had a frieze in high relief, crowned with three niches separated
by Corinthian half-columns. The statue seated in the central
niche is that of Antiochos Philopappos; to the left is that of his
grandfather Antiochos IV. Epiphanes (p. 507). The relief is supposed
to represent the ceremonial progress of Philopappos in his
consular capacity. The square chamber behind was the burial-place.
Very beautiful, especially at sunset, is the *View from the Philopappos
Hill. The Acropolis is visible in its full extent; at its base
525are the Odeion and the Theatre of Dionysos; to the right of these rise
Hadrian’s Arch and the hills of the Stadion and Hymettos. To the left of
the Acropolis are the Theseion and the Hill of the Nymphs, and beyond
them the Athenian plain, bounded by Ægaleos, and Parnes. Above the
Acropolis rise Mt. Lykabettos and part of Pentelikon. Towards the S.
stretches the Saronic Gulf.
From the Place de la Constitution two broad streets lead to the
N.W. to the Place de la Concorde: the Rue du Stade (Pl. F-D, 5–3)
and the Boul. de l’Université. In the former, immediately to the
right, are the Royal Stables; then on the left, standing a little
back, the Parliament House (Pl. E, 5).
In the Boulevard de l’Université the first house on the right
(Pl. S.; F, 5), is that of Dr. Schliemann (1822–90), the famous
discoverer of Troy, Mycenæ, and Tiryns. Farther on on the right
are also the Roman Catholic Church (Pl. F, 4) and the—
*Academy of Science (Pl. F, 4), built of Pentelic marble
in 1859–84. The style is classic Grecian, with Ionic porticos, tympana
embellished with sculptures, and rich colouring, thus resembling
a classic edifice in its palmy days. The tympanum group of
the main building (birth of Athena) and the statues of Plato (left)
and Socrates (right), opposite the entrance, are by Drosos.
From the vestibule a passage to the right, descending a few steps,
leads to the Numismatic Museum (adm., p. 504), containing a valuable
collection of coins, chiefly from countries influenced by Grecian civilization.
Adjacent is the University (Pl. F, 3, 4), founded in 1837. It
also has an Ionic portico and is enriched with colouring. The
organization is similar to that of the German universities. There
are about a hundred professors and lecturers and 2800 students.
The buildings contain also the natural history collections.
The adjacent Library (Pl. E, 3; National and University,
united in 1903), a handsome edifice in Pentelic marble, contains
314,000 vols, and 2530 MSS.
The Rue du Stade and the Boulevard de l’Université cross the Rue
d’Eole (p. 520) and its prolongation the Rue de Patisia (see below)
and end at the Place de la Concorde (Plateia tēs Omoneias;
Pl. D, 2, 3; tramways, p. 503), planted with trees and much frequented
in the evening. From its S. side runs the Rue d’Athéna
(Pl. D, 3–5) and from its S.W. angle the Rue du Pirée (Pl. D-A, 3, 4;
fine view of the sea in the evening). To the W. runs the Rue Constantin,
with the handsome new Constantine Church (Pl. C, 2) and
the new National Theatre opposite (p. 504). At the end of it the
road to the Peloponnesus Station (p. 502) bends round to the right.
In the Rue de Patisia (Pl. D, E, 2, 1), near the outskirts of the
town, on the right, are the Polytechnic and the National Museum.
526The Polytechnic Institute (Pl. E, 1), built in 1858 of Pentelic
marble, consists of a two-storied central edifice in the Doric and
Ionic styles and two Doric wings. The upper floor of the main building
contains the Historical and Ethnological Museum (adm., see
p. 504), a collection of memorials of the Greek war of independence,
costumes, etc.—Beyond the next side-street is the Museum.
The **National Archaeological Museum (Pl. E, 1), erected
in 1866–89, contains the collections of antiquities belonging to the
state (other than those of the Acropolis, Olympia, Delphi, etc.).
Adm., see p. 504. In the central rooms are exhibited the Mycenæan
and Egyptian antiquities, in the left (N.) wing the marble sculptures,
in the E. annex the bronzes, and in the S. wing the vases.
From the Vestibule we go straight into the central building.
*Room of the Mycenæan Antiquities (about B.C. 1500–1000; comp.
p. 416). The cases Nos. 1–41 in the middle contain the objects found in
the richly furnished royal tombs in the citadel of Mycenæ, the traditional
burial-place of Agamemnon and his family. They comprise trinkets,
bronze weapons, vessels and utensils of gold, silver, and clay, etc.; thus,
in stands 20 and 24 are golden masks used to cover the faces of the
dead bodies, in stand 27 a double-handled beaker with doves, like that of
Nestor described by Homer. The five reliefs on limestone slabs (Nos. 51–55),
in the centre of the side-walls, were found above the tombs. No. 50, a
case in the centre, shows the 6th tomb exactly as when discovered in 1878.
The other cases contain relics of the same period from Mycenæ, and
also, of rather later date, from other places in Greece, where the tombs
were more plainly fitted up. At the end of the room, on columns: *1758,
*1759. Gold goblets from Vaphio (near Sparta), with lifelike embossed
scenes of browsing cattle and a bull-hunt. In the centre, in the detached
glass-case No. 4, are chased and inlaid *Daggers.
Adjacent, straight on, is the Egyptian Room.
We return to the Vestibule and enter the N. wing, containing the
Marble Sculptures.
Room of Archaic Art (7–6th cent.). To the left in the ante-room,
No. 1. Female Statue (votive offering of Nikandre, primitive), and Nos.
6, 57. Female seated Statues; in the chief room are the so-called Apollo
Figures, nude, some of them probably of deceased persons exalted into
heroes; of this series No. 10, by the right wall, and Nos. 1904 and 9, by
the left, are followed by many others, progressive in style. Also in the
chief room, in front of the column on the right, No. 21. Winged Nike.
By the right wall, 2687, 1959. Tomb Stelae. By the left pillar at the
entrance, and also to the left farther on, 30, 86. Painted Stelae, and 29.
Stela of Aristion, with the painted relief of a warrior.
Room of the Athena (5–4th cent.). In the centre, 129. Varvakion
Statuette, a copy in marble, 39 inches high, of the ivory and gold statue of
Parthenos by Phidias (p. 516), appearing somewhat heavy in its reduced size,
as the original was intended to be viewed from a distance.—To the left of
the entrance, *126. The Eleusinian Relief, Demeter and Kore presenting
the young Triptolemos (father of husbandry) with grains of corn (5th cent.).
By the pillar, 177. Female ideal head.—Left wall, 178. Boar’s Head, and
179, 180. Heads of Youths, probably by Skopas; *181. So-called Eubuleus,
resembling the Hermes of Praxiteles; 182. Head of Aphrodite; 159–161.
Three graceful figures of Nike.—Wall of exit, 128. So-called Lenormant’s
statuette of Athena, another copy of Phidias’s Parthenos, more faithful
in detail (base, shield, etc.) than the Varvakion statuette; 1783. Votive
527Relief, two-sided.—By right wall, 136–174. Sculptures and architectural
fragments from the temple of Æsculapius at Epidauros (4th cent.).
Room of the Hermes (5–4th cent.). Left wall, 218. So-called Hermes
of Andros, similar to that of Praxiteles; to the left of it, 221, 222. Frieze
from Lamia, a procession of Tritons, Nereids, and Cupids; to the right,
*215–217. Marble Pedestal from Mantinea, with the contest between Apollo
and Marsyas, of the school of Praxiteles. Then, in front of the pilaster,
1733. Square Pedestal, probably by Bryaxis (4th cent.).—In the right
half of the room are four works by Damophon (2nd cent. B.C.), from
Lykosura: to the left of the entrance, 1736. Head in the style of the
Zeus of Otricoli in Rome; on the right and left of the exit, two female
heads; near the former, 1737. Fragment of drapery, with grotesque ornamentation.
Also in front of the window-wall, *1463. Triangular Tripod
Base, with Dionysos and two female figures, of the school of Praxiteles.
By the window-wall, 1561–1583. Sculptures from the Heræon at Argos
(about 400 B. C.), incl. No. 1571, a fine female head.
Straight on, we pass through the Poseidon Room to the (left)—
Room of Themis. Right wall, 231. Colossal statue of Themis (about
300 B. C.).—Two marble statues found in 1900–1 among others at the
bottom of the sea in the strait of Kythera: one, by the wall of entrance,
a wrestler, about to kneel (Hellenistic style); the other, in the right
corner, figure of a youth, coated with shells.
Room of Poseidon (Hellenistic and Roman periods). By the entrance,
235. Colossal figure of Poseidon.—In the centre, 261. Maenad asleep.—By
the left wall, 239. Satyr, from Lamia; 240. Hermes of Atalante;
244. Youth, from Eretria (head recalling the Hermes of Praxiteles); 234.
Colossal head of Athena; 243. Hermes with the Ram; 262. Aphrodite,
with transparent drapery.—To the right of the exit, *247. Celtic Warrior,
fallen in battle, recalling the Pergamenian groups.—Right side, 1826.
Copy of the Diadumenos of Polykleitos; 252, 251. Statuettes of Pan; 257.
Silenos, with the young Dionysos on his left shoulder; 258. Æsculapius.
Room of the Kosmetæ. To the left of the entrance, 249. Hadrian;
right, 420. Head with long hair and Semitic features (recalling heads of
Christ).—Near the exit, 417, 418. Antinous.—Near the left wall, 384–416.
Hermæ and heads of Kosmetae (officials of the Ephebic gymnasia of Athens),
of the early centuries A. D.—Mosaic from the Piræus.
Three Rooms of Tomb Reliefs, chiefly of the golden age of Greek
art.—Room of Tomb Vases, massive marble vases of the Greek ages,
mostly tall slender lekythi (for perfumes) and amphoræ.—Room of the
Sarcophagi and of sepulchral decorations of the Greek and Roman ages.
To the left is the annex containing the Bronzes.
I. Bronze Room. In the centre, 13,396. Statue of a Youth, over
life-size, stretching out his right hand, a good work of the 4th cent.,
(reconstructed); this is the finest of the sculptures found in the strait
of Kythera.—To the right of the entrance, Archaic Bronzes from the
Acropolis, votive offerings, implements, and utensils, mostly found in
the rubbish left by the Persians (p. 506); the finest are Nos. 6447, 6448.
Statuettes of Athena, 6445. Statuette of a youth; 6446. Bearded head, with
eyes inserted.—To the left, Bronzes from Olympia, primitive and archaic
little figures of animals and men, weapons, and implements; on columns,
6439. Realistic head of an athlete (Hellenistic), 7474. Statuette of a youth.
II. Bronze Room, containing bronze Figurines, Statuettes, Implements,
and Utensils (vases, lamps, mirrors, helmets, strigils, bracelets,
rings, brooches, surgical instruments).—To the left of the entrance of
the next room, 11,761. Statue of Poseidon (early 5th cent.).
III. Bronze Room (rotunda) contains the other bronzes found in the
strait of Kythera (comp. R. I). To the right of the entrance, 13,399. Figure
of a youth, in the style of the older Argive school, still on its old pedestal;
13,397 and 13,398. Statuettes of youths; 13,400. Hellenistic head.
We return to the Sarcophagus Room and pass to the left through
the Room of the Roman Tomb Reliefs to the—
528Room of the Votive Reliefs. By the entrance wall and on the
left are votive reliefs from the Asklepieion (p. 511). The most elaborately
executed is No. 1377, near the middle of the left wall (4th cent.); adjacent
is No. 2565, in the form of a stele.—The Karapanos Room is chiefly
devoted to relics from the Zeus oracle at Dodona.
On the S. side of the museum is the Collection of Vases. The
finest are mostly from Attica, the chief seat of the vase-painting of the
6–4th cent., such as the Black-figured Vases, with their silhouette-like
figures painted in black (6th cent.; Room I, cabinets 13–23); the Red-figured
Vases, vessels entirely covered with a black glaze, the figures
alone, on their original red ground, remaining free (after middle of 6th cent.;
Room II); and the Lekythi, slender vessels for perfumes, with coloured
figures on a white ground (after the Persian wars; Room III, cabinets 41–50).
Adjacent are three front-rooms containing the Terracottas, including
fine sets of figurines of the best period (5–4th cent.). In the last
room are exhibited also antique trinkets and vessels.
The ascent of Lykabettós (909 ft.), the finely shaped hill to
the N.E. of Athens, is specially attractive by early morning or late
evening light. We diverge to the N. from the Rue de Képhisia at
the end of the palace-garden (Pl. G, 5), cross the Kolonáki Square
(Pl. G, H, 5), and in 6 min. reach the reservoir of the Water Conduit
of Hadrian, now utilized anew (Pl. H, 4; 445 ft.), where there is
a small café commanding a fine view. Hence we proceed to the
Lukianos Street, from the N. end of which an easy path ascends
through young plantations. After the first zigzags a level path
(Pl. H, 3) diverging to the left affords almost finer views than the
top of the hill. The path straight on ascends to the Georgios Chapel
(Pl. H, 3) on the summit in ½ hr. more.
The view embraces the city of Athens, with the Acropolis and the
Attic plain, the Piræus, the bay of Phaleron, and the Saronic Gulf, with
Ægina and Salamis and the distant mountains of Argolis; to the right
of Salamis are the hills of Corinth and Megara; in the foreground, concealing
the bay of Eleusis, rises Mt. Ægaleos; farther to the N. is Mt.
Parnes. Between the latter and Pentelikon, which rises to the N.E.,
extends the upper plain of Attica. To the E. is Mt. Hymettos.
A fine view of Athens and the Acropolis is obtained also from the
Kolōnós hill, the legendary home of Sophocles. From the Place
de la Concorde (Pl. D, 2, 3) we follow the tramway to Kolokythu
(comp. Pl. A, 1) and reach the hill in ½ hr.; it rises to the right
of the road and is recognized by the conspicuous monuments of the
antiquarians Otfried Müller (d. 1840) and Chas. Lenormant (d. 1859).
Adjacent lay the Akademeia, the grove where Plato taught.
The most popular resort on fine summer evenings is New
Pháleron (tramway and Piræus railway, see p. 503), on the bay
of Phaleron. A band plays in the evening on the broad coast-terrace,
with its cafés and bath-houses (bath 40 l.).—A branch
of the tramway runs to the quieter sea-baths of Old Phaleron
(comp. p. 503).—The Piraeus, see p. 494.
529
545 M. Steamers (agents at the Piræus, see pp. 494, 495; at Smyrna,
p. 531; at Constantinople, pp. 538, 539). 1.North German Lloyd (comp.
RR. 23, 24, 77), Mediterranean & Levant Service, in either direction every
other Thurs.; from the Piræus to Smyrna in 1, to Constantinople in 2–2½
days (fare to Smyrna 40 or 28, to Constantinople 72 or 48 marks).—2.Messageries Maritimes (comp. RR. 23, 77), N. Mediterranean service, from
the Piræus every other Mon. (from Constantinople Thurs.), to Smyrna
in 1, to Constantinople in 2 days (fare 90 or 60 fr.); also the Marseilles,
Constantinople, and Batum line, from the Piræus Thurs. (from Constantinople
Tues.), to Smyrna in 1, to Constantinople in 3 days (fare 80 or 40 fr.).—3.Khedivial Mail Steamship Co. (comp. R. 76), from the Piræus Frid.
(from Constantinople Tues.) aft., to Smyrna in 18 hrs., to Constantinople
in 2 days (fare 52 or 39, and 91 or 61 fr.).—4.Austrian Lloyd (comp.
R. 78), Greek-Oriental Line, from the Piræus Frid. even, (from Constantinople
Mon.), to Smyrna in 2, to Constantinople in 5 days (fares 54 or 38,
and 132 or 93 fr.).
Line XI of the Società Nazionale (pp. 493, 563) touches at Smyrna
on the outward voyage only (Piræus to Constantinople 3½ days).
To Constantinople Direct.1.Rumanian Mail Line, from the Piræus
Sun. aft., in 24 hrs. (returning from Constantinople Frid. aft. in 23 hrs.).—2.Società Nazionale, Line XII, from the Piræus Thurs. night, in 32 hrs.
(returning from Constantinople Wed. foren., in 31 hrs.); fares 101 fr. 30,
70 fr. 70 c.—3.Austrian Lloyd, fast steamers between Trieste and Constantinople,
from the Piræus Sat. aft., in 35 hrs. (from Constantinople
Sat. foren., in 29 hrs.); fare 90 or 60 fr.
Athens and the Piraeus, see pp. 502, 494. We first steer to the
S.E. across the Bay of Ægina (p. 494), past the three pinnacles
of Cape Zostēr, the southmost spur of Hymettos, and near the islets
of Phleva (ancient Phabra; lighthouse) and Gaïdaronisi.
Beyond Cape Colonna or Kolonnaes (ancient Sunion), on which
the columns of the temple of Poseidon are conspicuous, opens the
Strait of Kea, between (left and right) the lonely Makronisi
(922 ft.; ‘long island’; ancient Helena) and the fertile island of
Kea (1863 ft.; formerly Keos), with its lighthouse on the headland
of Hagios Nikolaos. On the left are the Petali Islands
(Petaliae Insulae) in the bay of that name, and Hagios Elias
(5264 ft.), the S. point of Euboea.
We next steer through the Straits of Doro (7½ M. in width;
Ital. Canal d’Oro), where a strong N.E. current prevails and storms
are frequently encountered. They lie between Eubœa and Andros
(3199 ft.; 156 sq. M.), the largest of the Cyclades (p. 492), with
the lighthouse on Cape Fassa. Beyond them we are in the open sea.
Halfway between Andros and Chios (p. 492) are the Kalogeros
Cliffs, belonging to Greece. Most of the vessels leave them to the
right and steer to the E.N.E. to the passage between the rocky island
of Psara (ancient Psyra; notable for the revolt of the modern
Greeks against the Turks) and Chios, with the bold and conspicuous
Mt. Hagios Elias (4134 ft.; Pelinnaeon) at its N. end. To the N.
appears the S. coast of Mytilini (p. 533).
530Beyond the N. end of the Straits of Chios (p. 492) the Levant
steamers (RR. 75, 76) round the steep limestone rocks of the Anatolian
peninsula of Kara Burun, with the Boz Dagh (3920 ft.;
ancient Mimas), and come in sight of the *Gulf of Smyrna, the
ancient Sinus Hermaeus, which runs 34 M. inland. The entrance
between (right and left) the headlands Kinlu Burun and Arslan
Burun (Greek Cape Hydra) is 15 M. broad.
On the left, to the S. of Arslan Burun, near the islets of Drepanon
and Oglak (lighthouse), lies the little bay of Phokia (Turk.
Foja). This was the ancient Phocaea, the northmost Ionian town,
whose bold mariners first opened up the W. Mediterranean to the
Greeks (comp. p. 121). Farther to the S., beyond Cape Myrminghi
(lighthouse), is the new estuary of the Gedis Chai (Hermos),
flanked with swampy alluvial soil and salt-works.
After rounding the island of Kiösteni (Gr. Makronisi), which
lies in front of the E. slope of the Boz Dagh (see above) and masks
the Bay of Gülbagcheh, we sight to the S., beyond the Marathusa
Islands, the houses of Hagios Joannes (quarantine station), on an
islet in the Bay of Vurlá. Here once lay the Ionian town of Klazomenae.
The plain of Vurlá is famed for its wine and ‘Smyrna figs’.
Opposite the hills of the ‘Two Brothers’ (Dyo Adelphia,
Turk. Iki Kardash; 3252 ft.) we pass the narrow old channel of
the Gedis Chai (lighthouse). On a peninsula on the right lies the
Turkish Fort Sanjak Kalesí; farther on is the suburb of Göz
Tepeh (p. 532). To the N.E. the imposing Yamanlar Dagh (p. 533)
and the lofty Manissa Dagh (5905 ft.; ancient Sipylos) beyond it
become more conspicuous. To the S. of the latter is a depression,
beyond which rises the Takhtaly or Nif Dagh. Beside the sea
rises the Pagos (p. 532) with its old walls and many cypresses. On
its slopes, far to the S.W. and N.E., extends Smyrna.
Smyrna.—Arrival. As soon as permission to land is obtained
the hotel-agents, guides, and boatmen come on board. Landing or embarkation,
with baggage 1½ fr., but 2–3 fr. when the steamer anchors in
the outer roads. As to the examination at the Custom House (Pl. B, 3),
comp. p. 537. The porter (hamál) expects a few silver piastres.
Hotels. *Gr.-Hôt. Kraemer Palace (Pl. c; B, 3), Passage Kræmer
(p. 532), with American bar, etc., R. 6–20, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 12–25
fr.; *Gr.-Hôt. Huck (Pl. a; B, 4), on the quay, nearly opposite the
Douane, pens. 10–25 fr.; Hôt. de la Ville (Pl. b; B, 3; Ital. host), on the
quay, pens. 10–12, D. 3 fr. (in the season, March-May, rather dearer).
Cafés (all on the quay). Kraemer, see above (also restaurant, beer, etc.);
Klonaridis, in the Hôt. de la Ville; Café Costi, Café High Life, both Quai
Anglais, etc.
Post Offices.British (Pl. 9; C, 4); French (Pl. 8; B, 4); etc.—Telegraph
Offices.Turkish and Eastern Telegraph Co., on the quay, adjoining
the Douane (1st floor).
531Cabs at the hotels and railway-stations (bargain necessary). Drivers
often ignorant and exorbitant. Drive 1 fr. to ½ mejidieh, hr. 1 mej.;
½ day about 2 mej.—Horses in the Place Fassulah (Pl. C, 3), about
2 mej. per day.
Tramway from Konak (Pl. A, 6) along the quay to Punta Station
(Gare de la Pointe; Pl. E, 2), 7 metalliks; from Konak to Göz Tepeh
(p. 532), 4 metalliks.
Local Steamers to Kordelio, Göz Tepeh, etc.
Steamboat Agents (offices all on the quay). North German Lloyd,
Van der Zee (also for German Levant Line); Austrian Lloyd, Pussich;
Khedivial Mail, Cohen; Messageries Maritimes, D. G. Alevra; Società
Nazionale, Fratelli Missir; German Levant Line, Milberg; Russian Steam
Navigation & Trading Co., Bégléry.
Banks.Banque Ottomane (Pl. B, 4); Crédit Lyonnais, Rue Franque
(p. 532); Banque de Salonique and Banque d’Athènes.—Money Changers
in front of the Hôt. Huck and the Hœnischer Passage (Pl. B, 3, 4); a charge
of 2–5 metalliks is made, according to amount. Perforated coins should
be rejected.
Consulates. British: consul-general, H. D. Barnham; vice-consul,
C. E. Heathcote Smith.—United States (Pl. 3; C, 3): consul-general, E. L.
Harris; vice-consul, E. A. Magnifico.
English Church (Pl. E, 2), near Gare de la Pointe.
Smyrna, Turk. Izmir, the seat of the vali or governor of the
Turkish province of Aidin, lies in 38° 26′ N. lat. and 27° 9′ E.
long., in a bay between Sanjak Kalesí (p. 530) and the Punta
(La Pointe; Pl. D, E, 1). As all the older harbours on the W. coast
of Asia Minor have been choked by alluvial deposits, Smyrna has
developed into the chief seaport of Anatolia and the largest city
in Turkish Asia after Damascus. Population, excl. suburbs, about
200,000, incl. over 100,000 Greeks, 60,000 Turks, 20,000 Jews
(p. 542), 12,000 Armenians, and 15,000 Europeans and Levantines.
The chief languages are Greek, French, and Italian.
Smyrna was founded in the 11th cent. B.C. on the N. side of the
bay of Burnabad (p. 533), about 2 M. to the N. of the present city. The
Ionians of Colophon (p. 491) captured it for the sake of its trade in the
7th cent. and added it to their league of twelve cities. About 575 B.C. it
was taken by the Lydian king Alyattes, who destroyed it and settled its
inhabitants in villages. A new Smyrna, as planned by Alexander the Great,
was founded later on the Pagos (p. 532) by the diadochi Antigonos and
Lysimachos, and soon developed into one of the finest towns in Asia
Minor. After the havoc wrought by terrible earthquakes in 178 and 180 A.D.
the emperor Marcus Aurelius caused it to be rebuilt. For a time it was
wrested from the Byzantine emperors by Turkish pirates (1084) and the
Seljuks (p. 542). During the Latin domination in Constantinople (p. 542)
Smyrna remained under the sceptre of the Greek emperor at Nikæa. In
1344 the Genoese and the Knights of St. John took the city under their
protection, but in 1402 they were unable to save it from the ravages committed
by Timur (p. 485), nor could they in 1424 prevent its capture by
the Osmans. This ‘eye of Asia Minor’, as the Turks have called Smyrna,
has risen to wonderful prosperity of late years.
The quays were built in 1868–80 and at the same time the Harbour,
of 50 acres only, was protected by a breakwater 1400 yds.
long and 19 yds. in breadth. The entrance is between the N.E. end
of this breakwater and the N. pier (Pl. B, 3, 4) near the passport-office,
passengers’ custom-house, and telegraph office. The local
532steamers (p. 531) are berthed between the N. and the S. mole (Pl.
A, 4, 5; chief custom-house).
The great business thoroughfare is the Quay Street (Greek
Prokymaea, Ital. Marina), over 2 M. long, skirting the Frank quarter
(see below). In the S. part of this street, among the motley
throng of sailors, dock-labourers, and traders of every nation, are
often seen picturesque trains of camels, headed in some cases by a
donkey. The N. part of the quay, with its theatres, cafés, and many
handsome dwelling-houses, is of an entirely different character.
From the quay several alleys, the Kræmer Passage, the Hœnischer
Passage (Pl. B, 3, 4), and others, and the busy street Galatzo
Sokak (Pl. B, C, 3) lead to the Frank Quarter. The main streets
here, running parallel with the quay, are the so-called Parallel
St., the Quai Anglais (Turk. Eski Balik Basar; Pl. B, C, 3, 4),
the Maltese quarter, and above all the Franks’ Street, in sections
bearing different names (Rue des Verreries, Rue Franque, Rue
Trassa, etc.), and lined with many European and other shops.
To the E. of Rue Franque, passing the Rom. Cath. cathedral of
St. Jean (Pl. C, 4), we come to the Greek Quarter, to which the
lively streets Bella Vista (Pl. D, 2) and Oroman Sokak (Pl. D, 2, 3)
also lead. The Greek Cath. cathedral of Hagia Photinē or Aï
Fotini (Pl. B, 4) lies near the S.W. end of the Franks’ Street.
A little beyond Aï Fotini the street ends at the *Bazaar (Pl.
B, 5; open till sunset), which vies in its picturesque variety with
the Great Bazaar of Constantinople. Smyrna carpets, mostly from
the interior, old embroidery, and modern silks may be bought here
at reasonable prices. The so-called antiquities, however, are generally
spurious. The bazaar is within the Turkish Quarter, on the
site of ancient Smyrna, with its quiet streets ascending the Pagos
(see below), and extending to the S.W. to the Moslem and the old
Jewish Cemeteries. Near these, but difficult to find, are traces of
the temples of Asklepios and Vesta (Pl. A, 7). Within the Turkish
quarter lies the very unsavoury Jewish Quarter (Pl. B, C, 5, 6).
From the church of Aï Fotini we may walk through the Armenian
Quarter, past the Armenian cathedral of St. Etienne (Pl. C, 5)
and the Basma Khâné Station (Pl. D, 5), to the Caravan Bridge
(Pl. E, 5), which the busy traffic with the interior crosses.
From the Moslem cemeteries (Pl. A, B, 7) mentioned above, or
from the Caravan Bridge, we ascend in ½ hr. to the top of the
*Pagos (525 ft.), which affords a superb view of the city, the bay,
and the hills around. The extensive outer wall of the old Castle,
dating from the Byzantine and Genoese periods, consists partly of
the substructures and masonry of the Acropolis of king Lysimachos
(p. 531). Of the Roman Theatre (Pl. C, D, 6, 7) and the Stadion
(Pl. B, C, 7; p. 509) on the hill-side hardly a trace is left.
*Excursions. To Göz Tepeh (p. 530) by tramway or by local steamer
533(p. 531).—By local steamer or by railway (from the Basma Khâné Stat.,
see p. 532) to Kordelio (cafés; sea-baths), a little town prettily situated
among gardens on the N. bank of the bay. From the steamer, to the
E. of the Punta (p. 531), we see the Bay of Burnabad and the plain of
that name, beyond which, on the Yamanlar Dagh (3202 ft.), is the site
of Ancient Smyrna (p. 531).
Leaving Smyrna the Steamer passes the Kara Burun (p. 530)
and usually steers to the W.N.W. out to sea. Astern we obtain a
fine view of Chios. We soon skirt the beautiful S. coast of Mytilini
or Mitylene (3084 ft.; ancient Lesbos; 673 sq. M.), the largest
island in the Ægean Sea, and pass the narrow entrance of the
far-penetrating Bay of Kalloni. Beyond Cape Sigri (Sigrium
Promontorium) and the islet of Megalonisi (lighthouse) we sight
the distant coast of Troas (see below).
Some of the vessels, beyond Arslan Burun (p. 530), steer to the
N., close to the Anatolian coast, and past the finely varied scenery,
of the Bay of Chandarli, the ancient Sinus Elaeates. On the
N. bank of that bay, to the W. of the estuary of the Bakyr Chai
(once Kaïkos), rises the Kara Dagh (2559 ft.; Cane Mons).
Beyond Cape Maltepe, a spur of Kara Dagh, and the Hagios
Georgios Islands opens the Strait of Mytilini, 9 M. wide, lying
between the island and the coast of ancient Mysia. On the right,
far inland from Kabakum Bay, we sight the hills near Bergama,
the famous Pergamum of the Greeks. On the hill-side to the left,
beyond Cape Malea, the S.E. point of the island, lies Mytilini or
Kastro (Turk. Midüllü), its capital, with a Genoese castle.
At the N. end of the strait, beyond the entrance to the harbour
of Aivaly (Gr. Kydonia), and the Moshonisia Islands (Hekatonesoi),
opens to the N.E. the broad Bay of Edremid (Adramyti),
on which rises Kaz Dagh (5807 ft.), the ancient Ida. We next
steer to the W. through the Muselim Sound, between the N. coast
of Mytilini and the S. coast of Troas or the Troad, where once
rose the loftily situated stronghold of Assos.
After passing cape Baba Burnu (Lectum Promontorium),
the S.W. point of Troas, we follow the course of the direct steamers
from Smyrna, past Cape Eski Stambul (‘Old Stambul’), the site
of Alexandreia Troas, a town of the Diadochi, and through the
Strait of Tenedos (3 M. broad). The island of Tenedos, famed in
the Trojan wars, now abounding in windmills, rises in a trachytic
double peak to a height of 627 ft.
At the N. end of the strait lies the islet of Gaïdaronisi (lighthouse).
Far away to the W., in clear weather, we descry the island
of Limnos (ancient Lemnos); to the N.W., beyond Imbros, towers
the mountain-mass of Samothrake (5250 ft.).
Beyond Besika Bay, in front of which lie the volcanic islands
of Tavshan Adalar (‘rabbit-islands’; once Kalydnae or Lagussae),
534we pass the hills bordering the W. side of the plain of Troy, the
legendary scene of the Homeric battles. Between Hagios Dimitrios
Tepeh (hill of St. Demetrius) and the Greek village of Yenishehr
is the site of Sigeum or Sigeion. Near it the tumuli of ‘Achilles
and Patroklos’ were the burial-places of that Athenian colony.
We now near the strongly fortified Dardanelles (p. xxxiv), the
ancient Hellespont, now named after the ancient town of Dardanos
(see below). The straits connect the Ægean Sea with the Sea of
Marmora, a distance of 37½ M., and average ¾–4¾ M. in breadth,
and 160–295 ft. in depth. They intersect a tableland, 820–925 ft.
in height, of tertiary formation (yellow marl and marl-limestone
of the upper miocene). The surface current (p. 557), sometimes
setting as in the Bosporus at the rate of 5 M. an hour, causes serious
difficulty to sailing-vessels, especially if wind and tide are both
against them.
At the S.W. entrance to the Dardanelles, scarcely 2½ M. broad,
lies a village on the Asiatic side with the ruined fortress of Kum
Kaleh (light); opposite, on the Peninsula of Gallipoli, the ancient
Thracian Chersonesus, is the fort of Sidd el-Bahr Kalesí.
Beyond Kum Kaleh we sight to the S., rising above the marshy
plain of the Mendere Chai (Skamander), the low hill which was
once the site of Troy (near Hissarlik), with the débris of the excavations.
On the shore, to the W. of the mouth of the stream, lay
the landing-place of the Greeks.
Passing the site of Dardanos (on the right) we soon reach the
narrowest part of the straits (about 1475 yds.), commanded by the
Dardanelles Castles built by Mohammed II. in 1470, with their
new earthworks. On the European side is the picturesque Kilid
Bahr (‘key of the sea’); on the Asiatic side is Kaleh Sultanieh
or Boghaz Hissar, at the mouth of the Koja Chai (Rhodios).
Under the protection of the latter lies the town of Chanak Kalesí
(‘castle of pots’), usually called Dardanelles (pop. 16,700). While
the steamer stops for way-leave the potters of the place offer their
curiously shaped and painted vases for sale.
At the second-narrowest part of the straits (1585 yds.), where
they bend to the N.E., once lay the towns of Sestos (left) and Abydos
(right), now fort Nagara Kalesí (quarantine station; lighthouse).
This was the traditional scene of the romance of Hero and
Leander; it was here that Lord Byron swam across in 1810.
Xerxes crossed the straits here in 480 B.C., Alexander the Great
in 334 B.C., and the Turks in 1357.—On the coast, to the left, is
the small plain of Ægospotamoi (now Karakova Dereh), off which
the Spartans won a decisive victory over the Athenians in 405.
Near the N.E. end of the Dardanelles, on the right, lies the village
of Lampsaki (Lampsakos) amid olive-groves and vineyards.
To the left, on the steep projecting coast, is superbly situated the
535decayed town of Gallipoli (Kallipolis, ‘beautiful town’), the first
European town captured in 1357 by Suleiman, son of Orkhân (p. 542).
The Dardanelles expand into the Sea of Marmora (p. xxxiv),
the ancient Propontis, a basin of comparatively recent origin (extreme
depth 4450 ft.), which like the Ægean Sea has been formed
by the subsidence of large portions of the earth’s surface. On the
Asiatic side, beyond Kara Burun (381 ft.), lies the Bay of Artaki,
on the N. margin of the ancient Troas. Adjoining the bay is the
plain of the Biga Sher Chai, the ancient Granikos, where in 334
Alexander the Great won his first victory over the Persians.
On the coast of ancient Phrygia rises the peninsula of Kapu
Dagh (2625 ft.; once Arktonnesos island), flanked by the Pasha
Liman islands and Marmora or Marmara (2326 ft.), where white
marble for Constantinople has been quarried since ancient times.
On the N. coast soon appear the villages of Sharkiöi (once
Peristasis) and Hiraklitsa (Heraklea); then the town of Rodosto
(Turk. Tekirdagh), and farther on, Eregli, the ancient Perinthos.
To the S. we sight the islet of Kalolimni (689 ft.; Besbikos);
far beyond it are the Gulf of Mudania (or Gemlek) and the town
of Brussa, at the foot of the Bithynian Olympos (8200 ft.), which
is generally capped with snow.
Off the beautiful Gulf of Ismid (Nikomedeia), to the N.E., lie
the Princes Islands (Iles des Princes; comp. Map, p. 557), the
ancient Demonnesoi (Turk. Kizil Adalar, ‘red islands’, so called
from the colour of their ferruginous rocks).
Prinkipo, the ancient Pityusa (‘rich in pines’), the largest and
most populous of these islands, attracts many excursionists from Constantinople
in fine weather (local steamers, see p. 538). On the N. side
of the island lies its capital, Prinkipo (Hôt. Giacomo, déj. 5, D. 6 fr.; Hôt.
Impérial, and others). Pleasant drive thence (2½ hrs. there and back;
1–2 mejidiehs; or ride, ½–1 mej.) to the highest hill on the S. side of
the island, crowned with the old Monastery of St. George (656 ft.; *View).
On its way from Constantinople to Prinkipo the steamer first touches
at Proti (377 ft.). To the right we see the small island of Oxia, the
most westerly of the group, to which in 1910 the famous street-dogs of
Constantinople were transported, and Plati (‘the flat’), also called ‘Bulwer’s
Island’ after an English Ambassador who here built two now ruined
castles (19th cent.) in the style of Windsor. The steamer calls also at
Antigoni (542 ft.), and Chalki (446 ft.; ‘ore-island’), with a Greek commercial
school and a seminary for priests.
On the flat European shore, beyond the village of Küchük
Chekmekjeh on the lagoon of that name, we sight the Russian war-monument
with its gleaming tower, a landmark of Constantinople,
rising above the cape of San Stefano (lighthouse). A little later
appears Stambul. Next, beyond the lighthouse (Phare), is seen the
white mosque of Ahmed and the yellow Aya Sophia.
On the Asiatic coast, on the promontory which runs out into the
beautiful Bay of Moda, there is situated, in the ancient Bithynia,
Fanar Burnu or Fener Bagcheh (lighthouse). Beyond, it is
536Kadikiöi (Kadi Keuï), a modern suburb of Constantinople, on the
site of Kalchedon or Chalcedon. Farther on are the little harbour
of Haidar Pasha (p. 557), the station of the Anatolian railway,
and, at the S. end of Scutari (p. 556), the military school of
medicine, the large Selimieh Barracks, and the Selimieh Mosque.
The steamer now rounds the Seraglio Point and enters the
Bosporus (p. 557); it passes the Golden Horn, the harbour of
Constantinople, and the New Bridge, and casts anchor at the
Galata Quay below Pera. Landing, see below.
The Direct Steamers from Athens to Constantinople steer from the
Straits of Doro (p. 529) to the N.N.E. for Tenedos (p. 533). In clear
weather we descry to the right the distant Chios (p. 492) and Psara (p. 529),
and to the left Skyros (2608 ft.), the S.E. island of the N. Sporades. On
the right we next sight Mytilini (p. 533), and on the left Hagiostrati
(971 ft.; Halonnesos). From Tenedos to Constantinople, see p. 533.
Arrival by Sea. The French, German, and Rumanian (RR. 76, 82)
steamers are berthed at the Galata Quay (Pl. H, I, 4), near the Dogana
or Douane. Passengers of the French and German steamers have to pay
pier-dues (1st class 5½, 2nd cl. 3½ s. pias). The Austrian, Italian, and
Egyptian steamers also, on their arrival from the Black Sea, are mostly
moored at the quay, but when coming from the S. they usually anchor
in front of it, at the entrance of the Golden Horn (landing or embarkation,
with baggage, 2 fr. or 10 pias.). The porters (hamáls, mostly Kurds) of
the Harbour Co. receive 5 pias. and a gratuity of 1 pias. for conveying
baggage from the quay to the hotels. All trouble with boatmen and porters
is avoided by applying at once to the guides (dragomans) or hotel-agents.
9. 537In the following description the transcripts ö and ü have approximately
the German value, or the French of eu and u respectively.
Money. The Turkish Pound (lira), worth about 23 fr. or 18s.
5d., is divided into 100 piastres. There are gold coins of ¼, ½, 1, 2½,
and 5 pounds. The commonest coins are Silver Piastres (s. pias.; coins
of 5, 10, and 20 s. pias.), but at the government, railway, and steamboat
offices, in the tobacco-shops, and on the tramways they suffer a slight
loss (5 s. pias. = 4¾, 10 s. pias. = 9½, 20 s. pias. = 19 piastres in gold). The
piastre (worth 2⅒d.) is called Gurúsh in Turkish (grosi in Greek), the
five-piastre piece is a Cheïrek (or simply ‘franc’), the twenty-piastre
piece (about 3s. 6d.) is a Mejidieh. A piastre is divided into 40 parts called
Paras; the commonest para-coins are the thinly silvered bronze Metalliks
of 10 paras (about ½d.); there are others of 5, 20, 50, and 100 paras. New
nickel coins of 1 pias., 20, 10, and 5 paras will in 1912 be brought into
circulation.
A French or Greek silver franc passes in ordinary traffic for 4½ s.
pias., and the Napoleon (the most popular of foreign coins) for 95 s. pias.
(but the money-changers usually give 93 s. pias. only). The average exchange
for an English sovereign is 120 s. pias.; for bank and circular
notes the exchange is rather higher. French banknotes can be exchanged
only at the banks. Small change, of which there is always a scarcity,
is obtained at the banks (p. 539) or at the money-changers, the current
rate of exchange being ascertained beforehand. Worn-out coins may be
exchanged at the Banque Ottomane.
Accounts are still kept in the provinces in ‘bad (chürük) piastres’; of
these there are silver coins worth 1¼, 2½, and 5 pias., and copper coins of
1¼ and 2½ pias.—The Turkish pound contains 178 bad piastres, the
mejidieh 33, and the silver piastre 1⅔. A pound sterling is therefore
worth about 209 bad piastres, a shilling about 10½, and a franc 8⅓.
Baggage and passports (p. xvii) are examined in the ‘Salon’ or Bureau
des Passeports. The importation of weapons and ammunition and of
tobacco and cigarettes is prohibited. Cigars, however, if declared, are
admitted at an ad valorem duty of 75 per cent. On showing their passports
passengers must state where they intend to reside; the passports are
then stamped and returned to them. On leaving the country passports
are again examined (visés by consul, p. 539); so also is luggage, to prevent
exportation of antiquities.
On leaving the Salon each passenger has to pay the Harbour Co.
5 pias. in gold, also 1 pias. for each trunk and ½ pias. for each piece of
hand-luggage.
The Station (Pl. H, 5; Buffet, on the side for departure; Rail. Restaurant
opposite) of the Oriental Railway is at Stambul, 7 min. to the S.E. of
the New Bridge (p. 545).—The clock, which gives E. European time, is
an hour in advance of mid-European time. As the officials understand
French, the services of the hotel-agents may be dispensed with.—Small
articles of luggage are examined at the frontier-station Mustapha Pasha,
registered luggage in the hall of arrival, and passports at the exit.—Porter
to hotel 11 pias.—Cab from station to hotel 20–25 pias., incl. bridge-toll
of 2½ pias. (from quay to hotel 10 pias.; tariff, see p. 538).
Hotels (all at Pera; charges should be agreed upon beforehand). Pera
Palace Hotel (Pl. a; H, 3), near the public gardens of the Petits Champs
(p. 544), R. 10 fr. 10 c.–20 fr., B. 2 fr. 10, déj. 5 fr. 25, D. 6 fr. 30, pens.
20 fr. 60–30 fr. 60 c. (charges 3–4 fr. lower from 15th June to 1st Sept.);
Hôt. Tokatlian, Grande Rue de Péra 180, recently rebuilt, with restaurant
and café (see below), R. from 6½, B, 1½, déj. 4½, D. 5½, pens. from
15 fr., well spoken of.—Hôt. Bristol, opposite the Petits Champs (Pl. H, 2),
R. from 5, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. from 14 fr. (with dépendance Gr.-Hôt.
Missiri, Grande Rue de Péra 128, plain); Hôt. de Londres (Pl. b; H, 2),
also opposite Petits Champs, R. from 5, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. from
12½ fr.; Hôt. Berliner Hof (Royal & d’Angleterre; Pl. c, H, 2), near the
garden of the British Embassy, R. from 6, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 15
(out of season, 12) fr.; Hôt. Continental, opposite the Petits Champs (Pl.
H, 3), R. 4–10, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 12–20 fr.; Hôt. Krœcker (Pl. e;
H, 3), Rue Kabristan 36–40, with garden, R. 4–10, B. 1, déj. 2½, D. 3½,
pens. 9–16 fr.
Second Class: Khedivial Palace Hotel (Pl. f; H, 3), Grande Rue de
Péra, R. 4–6, pens. 10–12 fr.; Hôt. Grande Bretagne, Rue Vénédik, R. 2–5,
B. 1, déj. 2½, D. 3, pens. 6–10 fr.; Hôt. St. Pétersbourg, opposite the
Petits Champs (Pl. H, 2), rooms only (from 2 fr.); Constantinople Palace
Hotel, Grande Rue de Péra (Pl. H, 2), R. 3–5, B. 1–1½, déj. 3, D. 3½, pens.
7–12 fr.; Hôt. Paulick, same street, adjoining the Russian Embassy (Pl.
H, 3), R. 2¼–6, unpretending; Hôt. Rubin, R. from 2 fr.
Restaurants (European cuisine; à la carte). At Pera. *Tokatlian,
at the hotel of that name (see above); Janni (Brasserie Viennoise), Grande
Rue de Péra 396; Nicoli (Brass. Suisse), same street, No. 380; Restaurant
Lebon, same street, No. 434; Restaurant Anzière, near the Baluk Bazaar
(p. 545), D. 15 pias., well spoken of; restaurants in summer in the gardens
of the Petits Champs, in winter in the winter-theatre (concerts).—At
Galata.Restaurant ‘D.D.’, dinner only, well spoken of.—At Stambul.Railway Restaurant (see above), with garden, well spoken of; Tokatlian,
in the Great Bazaar.
Cafés.Tokatlian and Lebon, see above; also in the Public Grounds
at Pera, in the Taxim Park (Pl. I, 1), and others in the Grande Rue de
Péra.—There are Turkish Cafés, well shaded, opposite the Aya Sophia
538and in the small public garden there (Pl. H, 7); also at the piers of the
local steamers, etc.; small cup of coffee 20 paras. Those at Galata should
be avoided.—Confectioners.Tokatlian, Lebon, see p. 537; Mulassier,
Grande Rue de Péra, cor. of Rue de Pologne.
Cabs (araba). It is best to fix the fare beforehand according to the
tariff. Drive of ¼ hr. 5, of 25 min. 7½, and of 40 min. 10 pias.; 1 hr. 15,
each addit. hr. 10 pias.; two hours after sunset charges are raised by one-quarter
and from midnight till sunrise by one-third; for the whole day
80 pias.—Horses (at, begir) at Top Haneh, near the Yedikuleh station,
etc.; 5–10 pias. per hour, according to bargain (and small gratuity to
horse-boy).
Tramways (comp. Plan; electric lines under construction). Most of
the cars have two classes and a compartment for Turkish women. Fare 30–60
or 40–80 paras according to class (printed on the tickets in French). The
passenger states his destination or names the station nearest to it.—1.Galata (at lower end of Yüksek Kaldirim, Pl. H, 4) to Galata Seraï
(Pl. H, 2; 40 or 60 paras), Taxim (Pl. I, 2), and Shishli (to the N. of
Pl. I, 1).—2.Asab Kapu (Pl. G, 3; at the Old Bridge) to Galata (Pl. H, 4),
Top Haneh (Pl. I, 3), Kabatash (Pl. K, 2), Dolma Bagcheh, Beshiktash,
and Ortakiöi (p. 558).—3.Emin Önu (Pl. H, 5; at S. end of New Bridge)
to Sirkeji (rail. stat.), So-uk Cheshmeh, Kapu (Museum), Aya Sophia
(Pl. H, 7), Chemberli Tash (Colonne Brûlée; Pl. G, 6), Sultan Bayazid
(Pl. G, 6), Ak Seraï (Pl. D, E, 6; change cars), and Top Kapu (Pl. B, 4).—4.Ak Seraï (Pl. D, E, 6) to Yedikuleh (Pl. A, 9).
Tunnel Railway, the chief means of communication between the
New Bridge and Pera; lower station (Pl. H, 4) at Galata, Rue Yéni Djami;
upper station (Pl. H, 3), in the Place du Tunnel at Pera. Cars every
5 min.; 30 or 20 paras; book of 10 tickets, 2nd cl., 5 pias.
Local Steamers (comp. inset maps on the Plan; time-tables in the
newspapers; ply till sunset). a. On the Golden Horn, to Eyúb, from
the pier (Pl. H, 4) to the W. of the N. end of the New Bridge, about
every ¼ hr. till sunset; tickets (to Eyúb 30 paras; 20 paras more for
cushioned seat) on the pier. Mid-stations, see p. 555. In spring and
summer smaller steamers ply between Eyúb and Kiathaneh (Sweet Waters,
p. 556; 40 paras).—b. On the Bosporus, from the pier (Pl. H, 5) at the
S. end of the New Bridge, to the E., where tickets are obtained (to
Büyükdereh in 1½ hr.; fare 160 or 100 paras, plus a tax of 10 paras).
There are three lines: European coast, Asiatic coast, and Zigzag, recognizable
by green, or red, or red and green flags.—c. To Scutari, from
the third pier to the left (E.; Pl. H, 4), coming from the N. end of the New
Bridge, about every ½ hr.; fare 50 or 30 paras; to Prinkipo (p. 535), from
the first pier to the left, five or six times daily in summer, in 2 hrs.;
fare 160 or 100 paras.—d. On the Sea of Marmora (no piers), from the
Stambul Quay (Pl. H, 5) vià Kum Kapu (Pl. G, 7), Yeni Kapu (Pl. E, 8),
and Psamatia Kapu (Pl. B, 8) to the suburbs of Makrikiöi and San Stefano
(p. 535).
Boats (no tariff; bargain necessary). To or from steamers, see p. 537;
otherwise 10 pias. per hour. Ferry, by one of the long flat-bottomed Caïques,
with one rower, to Stambul 1–2 pias., to Eyúb or Scutari, about 10 pias.,
with two rowers 15 pias.; per hour 15 pias.
Post Offices.British (Pl. H, 4); Turkish International, Rue Voïvode
in Galata (Pl. H, 4), Grande Rue de Péra, opposite the Galata Seraï, near
the Yeni Valideh Jami (Pl. H, 5) in Stambul, and at the railway-station.
France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia also have their own post-offices.
French is generally understood. Postage within Turkey ½–2 pias.
for 10 grammes, post-card 20 paras; foreign letters 1 pias. per 20 grammes.
Telegraph Offices. The Turkish International Post Offices (see
above) send telegrams to foreign countries as well as within Turkey.
Eastern Telegraph Co., at the Turkish post-office, Grande Rue de Péra (see
above), for foreign parts (to Great Britain each word 66 c.).
Steamboat Agents (offices mostly behind the custom-house at Galata;
comp. Pl. H, 4). Messageries Maritimes, Mumhaneh Street; N. Paquet
539& Co., T. Reboul; Società Nazionale, Barboro, Cité Française: North German
Lloyd, Mewes, Mumhaneh Street, Charab Iskelessi 7–9; German Levant
Line, Mehemed Ali Pasha-Han; Austrian Lloyd, Mumhaneh Street; Khedivial
Mail, Silley, Galata Quay, Meimanetli Han; Russian Steam Navigation
& Trading Co., Petcheneff, Kiretsh Kapu; Rumanian State Maritime
Service, Galata Quay.—Tourist Agents, Thos. Cook & Son, Rue
Kabristan 12, opposite Pera Palace Hotel.
Guides. The International Courier’s and Guides Office, near the
Pera Palace Hotel (p. 537), provides reliable guides (10 fr. per day for
Constantinople and its environs, including the Bosporus).
Embassies and Consulates.Great Britain: Ambassador, Right
Hon. Sir G. A. Lowther (office, Pl. H, 2; in summer at Therapia). Consul-General,
H. Eyres (office, Pl. H, 4); consul, A. T. Waugh; vice-consul,
W. S. Edmonds.—United States: Ambassador, O. S. Straus (office,
Pl. I, 2). Consul-General, vacat; vice-consul, O. S. Heizer.
Physicians. English, German, and others (addresses at the hotels
or at the chemists’).—Chemists. In the Grande Rue de Péra, Ehrlich,
No. 579; Canzuch & Giannetti, No. 247; Matkowitsch, No. 420; Della
Sudda, No. 298; Liechtenstein, Helvaji Street, Galata.
Baths at the hotels.—Addresses of Turkish Baths may be obtained
at the hotels.—Sea Baths at the European places on the Bosporus.
Banks.Banque Ottomane, Rue Voïvode, Galata, and Grande Rue
de Péra 407, with exchange offices; Crédit Lyonnais, near the New Bridge,
Galata; also German, German Orient, Vienna, and others.—Money
Changers (sarráf) abound in the Rue Karakeuï (Pl. H, 4; p. 543), Grande
Rue de Péra, etc.
Booksellers.Economic Book Store, Passage du Tunnel; O. Keil,
No. 457, and S. H. Weiss, No. 481 Grande Rue de Péra.—Newspapers
(¼ pias.). Levant Herald, with Engl. and Fr. editions; Le Stamboul,
Moniteur Oriental, French; Osmanische Lloyd, German and French.
All have steamboat and other time-tables and notices.
Photographs & Picture Post Cards. All in Grande Rue de Péra,
Fruchtermann, No. 335; Keil, No. 457; Sébah & Joaillier, No. 439; Berggren,
No. 414 (line views of the city and environs). Photographic materials sold
by Caracache Frères, Nos. 675 and 398, and Weinberg, No. 467.
Theatre in the grounds of the Petits Champs (Pl. H, 2).—A Band
plays on summer evenings in the same grounds and in the Taxim Park
(Pl. I, 1); adm. 1–2 pias.
Churches.Church of England, at the chapel of the British Embassy
(Pl. H, 2), during summer at Therapia (see p. 559); Christ Church (Pl. H, 3),
in the Rue Yazidji; Presbyterian Church, in the chapel of the Dutch
Legation, Rue des Postes, near the Grande Rue (Pl. H, 3).
Sights.Antiquities, Collection of, see New Museum.
Bazaar, Great (p. 551), best visited early; closed 1 hr. before sunset;
Frid., Sat., and Sun. are respectively Moslem, Jewish, and Christian holidays.
Inexperienced travellers may bring a guide or the dragoman of their
hotel (but see p. xxvi). Large purchases may be sent home by a goods-agent.
Beylerbey Seraï (p. 558), adm. as in the case of the Seraglio.
Egyptian Bazaar (Missir Charshi; p. 545), as the Great Bazaar.
Galata Tower (p. 543), all day, 5 pias. (custodian with light, 2 pias.).
Mosques (Turk. Jami; very small, mesjid), all open to Christians till
sunset; during Ramadan, the Moslem month of fasting, they are gorgeously
lighted and then open in the evening also (comp. p. 549). At the inner
door the sacristan provides overshoes, or visitors may take off their own.
Hats also are removed (comp. p. xxv). There is no charge for admission
but it is usual to give the sacristan a fee of 5 pias. per person (less for
a party) for the loan of overshoes.—The Tomb Chapels (Turk, türbeh)
are open on similar conditions; fee 1–5 pias., according to their importance.
Museum, Janissaries’ (p. 550), all day, 3 pias.—Military Museum, in
the Church of Irene (p. 548), Sun., Tues., & Thurs. 10–4.—New Museum540(p. 546), daily except Frid., 9–5, in winter 10–3, adm. 5 pias.; tickets
available for the Chinili Kiosque also.
Seraglio Palace (p. 548). The consulates, to which application should
be made a few days beforehand, arrange for visits to the Treasury and
part of the old Seraglio on Sun & Tues. (small fee).
Türbeh, see under Mosques.
Two Days (when time is limited). 1st. Forenoon, *Galata Tower
(p. 543), Yeni Valideh Jami (p. 545), *New Museum (p. 546), Chinili Kiosque
(p. 547); afternoon, trip on the *Bosporus (p. 557), or to Scutari (p. 556);
summer evening in the Gardens of the Petits Champs (p. 544) or the
Taxim Park (p. 544).—2nd. Forenoon, *Aya Sophia (p. 548), At Meïdán
(p. 549), *Great Bazaar (p. 551), *Suleiman Mosque (p. 552); afternoon,
Land-Wall (p. 553); Eyúb (pp. 555, 556); Serasker Tower (p. 551).—Visitors
should be on their guard against pickpockets, especially in
Galata and Pera.
Constantinople, Turk. Stambul or Stamboul, Ital. Costantinopoli,
Slav. Tsarigrad (emperor’s town), capital of the Turkish
empire and residence of the Sultan (since 1909 Mohammed V., b.
1844; successor of Abdul Hamid, p. 544), is the seat of the government
(the ‘Sublime Porte’), and also of the Sheikh ul-Islam, of
the patriarchs of the Greek and Armenian churches, and of a papal
legate. It lies on the Sea of Marmora, at the mouth of the Bosporus,
in 41° N. lat. and 28° 58′ E. longitude.
The City consists of several distinct quarters. Stambul, in
the narrower sense, forms a nearly equilateral triangle between the
Golden Horn (p. 555) and the Sea of Marmora; to the N.E., on the
slopes of the opposite bank of the Golden Horn and on the adjacent
shore of the Bosporus, lie the Frank quarters of Galata and
Pera and their suburbs; and to the E., on the gently sloping Asiatic
shore of the Bosporus, lies the Turkish town of Scutari with
its suburbs. According to recent estimates Constantinople contains
1,125,000 inhab. (or, without the Asiatic quarters, 943,000),
incl. about 500,000 Turks, more than 200,000 Greeks, 180,000 Armenians,
65,000 Jews, mostly Spanish (see p. 542), and 70,000
Europeans. The foreign residents are said to number 130,000.
The Situation of Constantinople has justly won the admiration
of all ages. The vast city of Stambul curving over the slopes between
the Sea of Marmora and the Golden Horn, the suburbs on
the Bosporus, its green banks studded with villages, palaces, and
mosques, the Golden Horn with its busy bridges and its countless
vessels, all combine to form a picture of matchless beauty.
The Climate of Constantinople, which lies in the same latitude
as Naples (p. 137), is unsettled and comparatively cool. During
the greater part of the year the city is exposed to N.E. winds from
the Siberian steppes, which sweep through the Bosporus and in winter
occasionally bring snow. The best season for a visit is autumn (end
of Sept. to beginning of Nov.). The summer, however, is usually
fine and not unbearably hot, the coolest places being those on the
Bosporus, a little to the N., which are sheltered from the due S.
541winds (as Therapia, Büyükdereh, etc.). The mean temperature of
the year is 57½° Fahr., that of the hottest month (Aug.) 74°, and
that of the coldest (Feb.) 41°. The rainfall averages 28¾ in.
History. Attracted by the striking advantages of the site, at the
junction of two great portions of the globe and on the great water highway
between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the Dorians founded the
colony of Byzantium, about 660 B.C., on the promontory (Seraglio Point, p.
536) commanding the entrance to the Bosporus. This colony, however,
like the towns on the coast of Asia Minor, was unable to withstand the
attacks of the Persians; when Darius I. crossed the Bosporus in his campaign
against the Scythians the Byzantines were compelled to supply
him with ships; and their town was afterwards destroyed by the Persians
for taking part in the Ionian revolt. The long but somewhat weak alliance
of Byzantium with Athens was succeeded by closer bonds when the
town was threatened by Philip of Macedonia. Being hard pressed by
Phokion Philip was compelled to raise the siege of the town (340–339).
Under Alexander the Great and his successors Byzantium maintained its
autonomy, but in 278 it suffered seriously from an attack by the Gauls
(‘Galatians’) settled in Thrace.
In the wars against Philip III. of Macedonia Byzantium became
the natural ally of Rome, and this alliance continued to subsist under
the earlier Roman emperors. In 193–6 Septimius Severus besieged the
town to punish it for siding with the rival emperor Pescennius Niger,
and deprived it of its liberties and privileges; but he afterwards rebuilt
the walls, regarding it as an important bulwark of the empire. In 269
Emp. Claudius II. here repelled the attacks of the Goths when they attempted
to force their way south from the Danube.
Having become master of the whole empire by the capture of Byzantium
in 324 Emp. Constantine chose it as his new capital on account
of its admirable situation on the threshold of the East. In 330 it was
officially styled New Rome, but soon became generally known as Constantinopolis.
Enclosed by Constantine’s new walls it now extended
to the W. to the region of the present Old Bridge (Pl. F, 4) and of
Psamatia (Pl. B, C, 8). The Romans retained the old division of the city
into fourteen regions, and they even found in it their seven hills again.
The environs as far as the 7th milestone (hebdomon), called the exokionion,
were assigned to the seven milliarii of the Gothic body-guard. Under
Arcadius, in 395, Constantinople became the capital of the new E. Roman
empire. The rapid increase of the population and the necessity of defending
it against the attacks of the Huns and Goths induced Anthemius,
regent during the minority of Theodosius II. (408–50), to build the new
Theodosian town-walls, ½–1¼ M. to the W. of those of Constantine. In
439 sea-walls along the Sea of Marmora and the Golden Horn were added,
and after 447, in consequence of an attack by Attila and to repair the damage
done by an earthquake, the land-walls were restored and strengthened.
Byzantium attained the zenith of its prosperity under Justinian
(527–65). He rebuilt the city, after its almost entire destruction in 532
during the rebellion of the circus parties (Nika revolt), in a far grander
style, and on the site of Constantine’s basilica founded the famous church
of St. Sophia. In the form of Byzantine civilization antique culture
survived until the middle ages, although finally in a merely torpid state.
This Byzantine development, with its Greek language and independent
Oriental church under the patriarchal government at Constantinople, was
an outcome of the late Greek (‘Hellenistic’) and Roman culture.
After the time of Justinian the empire was shaken to its foundations
by intestine disorders and foreign wars. The attacks of the Avars and
Persians (627) were succeeded by the irruption of the Arabs under the
Omaiyades (p. 485), who in 673–8 and 717–8 besieged Constantinople by
sea and by land. About the same time the Bulgarians founded an independent
kingdom in the Balkan peninsula, and they too (in 813 and 924)
542attacked the city. Russian fleets forced their way into the Sea of Marmora
in 860 and 1048. Economically, too, Constantinople was on the
wane; from the 11th cent. onwards the Seljuks were gaining ground in
Asia Minor, and the Italian maritime cities were rapidly acquiring wealth
and power.
The quarrels of aspirants to the throne during the Angelos dynasty
led in 1204 to the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders and to the
foundation of a new western or ‘Latin’ empire. In 1261 the Greek emperor
Michael Palaeologos, who resided at Nikæa, succeeded in driving
the Franks out of Constantinople with the aid of the Genoese, to whom
he presented Galata (see below) as a reward. But the Turkish peril came
ever nearer. The Osmans, having conquered Asia Minor in the 13th cent.,
crossed the Dardanelles (comp. p. 534) under Orkhân in 1357, and under
Murad I., in 1361, made Adrianople the residence of the sultans instead
of Brussa. They were weakened for a time by the attacks of Timur
(p. 485), but in 1411 and 1422 they proceeded to besiege Constantinople.
After a heroic defence by Constantine XI. Palaeologos, the last Greek
emperor, the city was at length captured in 1453 by Mohammed II.
(Mehemed el-Fatih, ‘the conqueror’), and under the name of Stambul
became the capital of the Osmans. Its fortunes were now at their lowest
ebb; it was almost entirely depopulated and reduced to ruins, as had
been its fate when captured by the Crusaders in 1204. But soon Turkish
settlers from all quarters thronged to the new capital, and many Christians
also, their lives and religion being safeguarded, while numerous Jews
banished from Spain in 1492 found a new home here and have retained
their old language and characteristics ever since. The building enterprise
of the Turkish sultans, especially of Selim I. (1512–20), the conqueror of
Syria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, and of Suleiman the Great (1520–66), as
well as of the Turkish magnates, was directed exclusively to public
edifices. They erected mosques (p. 539) on the model of the earlier church
of the Apostles and of the Aya Sophia (or church of St. Sophia), tomb-chapels
(p. 539), bazaars and warehouses (han), and baths and fountains
(sebil, with running water; cheshmeh, draw-well). In the midst of these
sumptuous buildings lay a labyrinth of crooked streets and lanes, the
brightly painted timber houses with their grated balconies (kafehs) being
often of one story only, while here and there this strange sea of houses
was relieved by gardens and burial-grounds.
To some extent, notwithstanding destructive fires (as in 1865 and
1908) and earthquakes (the last in 1894), the old Oriental characteristics
of the city still survive in the old town of Stambul, the chief seat of
the Oriental merchants and the petty traders, and also at Scutari (p. 556).
Galata, on the other hand, the centre of the European trade, is much
like an Italian seaport-town. Above it, to the N., lies Pera, a suburb
which sprang up in the 19th cent., and which, since a great fire in 1870,
has been almost entirely rebuilt in quite European fashion.
Of Books on Constantinople may be mentioned: Grosvenor, Constantinople
(2 vols., London, 1895); W. H. Hutton, Constantinople in the
‘Mediæval Towns Series’ (London, 1900); and Van Millingen, Byzantine
Constantinople, The Walls, etc. (London, 1899).
Galata, the oldest suburb of Constantinople, rises on the slope
of a plateau on the N. side of the entrance to the Golden Horn
(p. 555), corresponding with the 13th region of the city of Constantine
(p. 541). In the middle ages it was usually called Peira.
Its inhabitants are chiefly Greeks and Armenians. In 1304 the
Genoese (see above) enclosed it with a wall, and down to 1453 held
543an almost independent position under their own rulers (podestà).
The wall was often rebuilt and was at last removed (1864).
Behind the Galata Quay (Pl. H, I, 4), constructed in 1879–95,
lies a labyrinth of narrow and dirty streets, extending to the other
side of the Grand Rue de Galata (p. 545), the chief thoroughfare
to the N.E. suburbs. At the S.W. end of the latter are the still
busier Rue de Karakeuï (Pl. H, 4), beside the New Bridge (p. 545),
and the Place Karakeuï. where the Exchange rises on the left.
In the old-fashioned W. quarter of Galata are the ruinous
Palace of the Podestà (in the Pershembeh Bazaar, Pl. H, 4) and
the Arab Jami (Pl. G, 4), the oldest mosque in the city, which was
founded at the time of the Arab attacks (717). Near it is the Yanik
Kapu, an old Genoese gateway. A little farther on, near the Old
Bridge (p. 552), is the Asab Kapu Jami (Pl. G, 3, 4), erected by
Sinán (p. 552), adjoining which is a beautiful *Sebíl (p. 542), with
gilded railings and far projecting timber roof (18th cent.).
From the Old Bridge Pera is reached by the broad Rue Iskander
(Pl. G, 3), and from the New Bridge by the steep and dirty
Yüksek Kaldirim (Pl. H, 3, 4), partly in steps (and also by the
tunnel or by tramway No. 1; p. 538).
On the boundary between Galata and Pera, a little to the W.
of the N. end of the Yüksek Kaldirim, rises the Galata Tower
(Pl. H, 3; 148 ft. high), now entirely modernized, the ascent of
which (p. 539) forms the best introduction to a walk through the
city. It marks the spot where the new land-walls on the E. and
W. sides of Galata met in 1348. We mount 143 steps to the room
of the fire-watchmen, and 72 more to the three upper stories.
The *Panorama from the fourteen windows of the watchmen’s room
embraces Galata with the buildings on the quay; to the N.E. is the Jihangir
Mosque (p. 544); opposite, on the Asiatic coast, to the extreme left is
the palace of Beylerbey (p. 558); farther to the S. is Scutari, dominated
by the Great and Little Bulgurlu (p. 557). To the S.E. lie the Princes
Islands (p. 535); to the S., above the S. coast of the Sea of Marmora,
rises the Bithynian Olympos (p. 535). With the aid of the Plan of the
city we may easily locate the chief buildings of Stambul, from the Aya
Sophia and the Ahmed Mosque with its six minarets, to the S., round to
the Great Bazaar with its numerous little domes, to the Place d’Armes
(Séraskier-Kapou), with the great tower, the barracks, and the Suleiman
Mosque, to the Mihrimah Mosque, and to the Byzantine city-wall at the
extreme N. end of Stambul. At our feet lies the Golden Horn, with the
two bridges and the naval harbour. In the distance, to the N.W., peeps
the mosque of Eyúb (see inset map in Plan of city).
The modern streets of Pera, the European quarter, run to the
N.W. from the Galata Tower, between old Turkish cemeteries and
large gardens, across the whole hill. The embassies to the Sublime
Porte, the European churches, schools, hospitals, and shops also are
situated here.
The Grande Rue de Péra (Pl. H, I, 3, 2), the continuation of
Yüksek Kaldirim, passes the Monastery of the Dancing Dervishes544(Tekkeh; Pl. H, 3), whose strange performances may be witnessed
on Fridays (except during Ramadan), usually from 7.30 to 8.30
Turkish time (4½–3½ hrs. before sunset; adm. 5 pias.).
We may now cross the Place du Tunnel, past the upper station
of the tunnel railway (Pl. H, 3; p. 538), and follow Rue Kabristan
(or one of the narrow streets to the left, farther to the N., such as
the Rue Vénédik) to the—
Public Grounds of tho Petits Champs (Pl. H, 3, 2),
near the British Embassy (Pl. H, 2) and the chief hotels (p. 537).
They afford a beautiful view of Stambul and the Golden Horn,
and are a favourite resort in the afternoon and evening (concerts,
see p. 539).
We return, to the N.E., by Rue Tepé Bachi to the Grande Rue de
Péra, whence the Rue Yéni Teharchi leads to the S.E., past the
Galata Seraï (Pl. H, 2; Imper. Lyceum), to Top Haneh.
Our street ends, at the N.W. end of Pera, at the Place du
Taxim (Pl. 1, 2). Here on the right, adjoining the Kishla Jaddesí,
are the Artillery Barracks, one of the chief scenes of conflict on
25th April 1909 when the Young Turks fought their way into the
city, and the *Taxim Park (Pl. I, 1; band, see p. 539), and on
the left a large esplanade.
From the Place du Taxim we may ascend the Ayas Pasha Boulevard,
past the German Embassy, or from the Taxim Park the
Dolma Bagtché Déré (Pl. K, 1; Dolma-garden valley), past the
Ecuries Impériales, to Place Dolma Bagtché Déré. On the E.
side of this square, below the suburb of that name, rises the Dolma
Bagcheh Palace (pp. 558, 546), of which only the high walls
with their superb gateways are seen on the inland side. The sultan
repairs hither weekly in solemn procession (‘selamlik’) to Friday
prayer (at noon), usually offered in the neighbouring Valideh Jami
(mosque of the sultan’s mother; Pl. K, 1, 2).
We may now follow the road to the N.E. through the adjacent
suburb of Beshiktash, where, opposite the steamboat pier, rises
the Türbeh Kheireddin Barbarossa (p. 221), which is best viewed
from the Bosporus. Farther on are the ruins of the Chiragan Seraï
(p. 558).
From the pier of Beshiktash a road leads to the N.E. to the Yildiz
Kiosque, surrounded with barracks and high walls, formerly the
residence of the now deposed sultan Abdul Hamid (1876–1909).
The Palace and its Park, and the private Hamidieh Mosque, built
of white marble, are inaccessible.
It is now best to return by tramway (No. 2; p. 538) to the large
suburb of Top Haneh (Pl. I, 3), inhabited chiefly by Turks, with
the loftily situated Jihangir Mosque (1553).
Here, in the esplanade of the Artillery Arsenal on the Bosporus,
are situated the Mosque of Mahmud II. (1830) and a fine
545but now roofless Well House of the time of Ahmed II. (1703–30),
resembling the sebíl at the Asab Kapu (p. 543). The Mosque of
Kilij Ali Pasha (Pl. I, 3) was built by Sinán (p. 552).
We now return to Pera by the Rues Tchoukour Bostan and Yéni
Tcharchi (p. 544), or by the Grande Rue de Galata (Pl. I, H, 3, 4),
the busiest international thoroughfare, to Place Karakeuï (p. 543).
From the Rue Karakeuï, in Galata, the New Bridge (Pl. H,
4, 5) crosses the Golden Horn (p. 555) to Stambul (toll 10 paras;
carr. 2½ pias.). It was originally built of timber in 1845, and called
Sultan Valideh Bridge after its founder (the ‘sultan’s mother’), and
was rebuilt in 1877. The new iron bridge was begun in 1909. It
affords beautiful *Views of Galata and Stambul, of the Bosporus
and the Asiatic coast, while its busy and picturesque traffic presents
scenes of endless variety.
At the S. end of the bridge lies the Place Emin Eunou (Pl.
H, 5), called also Baluk Bazar or fish-market, beyond which rise
the fine outlines of the—
*Yeni Valideh Jami (Pl. H, 5), or ‘new mosque of the sultan’s
mother’. Begun in 1615 by Khoja Kassim for the mother of
Ahmed I., after the model of Ahmed’s Mosque, and damaged by
the great fire of 1660, it was not completed till 1663. In the
middle of the outer court are ranged, as in all the larger Turkish
mosques, the forecourt (harám) with its three portals, the mosque
itself, and the türbeh (p. 539), all turned towards Mecca (to the S.E.).
The forecourt, with its two elegant minarets and large wooden roofs
above the side-portals, has a remarkably fine octagonal fountain of ablution
(shudrivàn) in the centre.
Like the Suleïmanieh (p. 552) the mosque is preceded by two colonnades.
In the interior the lower wall surfaces and the four massive
pillars of the dome are incrusted with bluish-green tiles. The mihrâb
wall is connected with the pillars by a gallery; adjoining it, near the
mihrâb or prayer-niche itself, are the superb pulpit and the railed-in
gallery of the sultan. The adjacent *Private Rooms of the sultan still
have their original decoration of fayence tiles and stained glass.
The Türbeh contains the sarcophagus of the sultan’s mother and the
tombs of five sultans, recognizable by the turban and double heron’s
plume.
On the W. side of the outer court is the Missir Charshi
(Pl. G, 5; ‘Egyptian Bazaar’), originally for goods from Egypt, but
now a general market, next in importance to the Great Bazaar
(p. 551). Among the wares in the open shops of the vaulted street
the chief commodities are spices, drugs, and pigments.
To the W. of the Egyptian Bazaar, at the foot of Rue Ousoun
Tcharchi (p. 551), rises the Mosque of Rustem Pasha (Pl. G, 5), vizier of
Suleiman the Great (p. 542) and husband of his daughter Mihrimah (p. 553).
It was built by Sinán (p. 552). The interior is noteworthy chiefly for the
superb effect produced by its fayence tiles.
We follow the tramway (No. 3; p. 538), to the S.E., through the
546Rue Bagtché Kapou, so named after the old ‘garden-gate’ of Stambul,
and the Hamidieh Jaddesi, crossing the broad Bab Ali Jaddesi which
leads to the left to the Railway Station (p. 537). Farther on we
come to the wall of the Seraglio on the left, and to (10 min.) the
Sublime Porte (Pl. H, 6; vizierate and ministry of foreign affairs)
on the right. Its central part, which contained the ministry of home
affairs and the cabinet was burnt down in Feb. 1911.
The Seraglio or Seraï (Pl. H-I, 5, 7; now officially called
Top Kapu Seraï, ‘seraglio of the cannon-gate’), with its neglected
garden-terraces and miscellaneous buildings, occupies the site of
the Acropolis and oldest streets of Byzantium (p. 541) and the first
of the seven hills of New Rome. Within the extensive precincts, enclosed
by a pinnacled wall and defended by towers, Mohammed II.
in 1468 erected a summer palace, which Suleiman the Great (p. 542)
enlarged and made his residence. All the sultans resided here until
Abdul Mejíd built the Dolma Bagcheh Palace (1850–5; p. 558).
In 1873 the railway was carried through the gardens, past the
Granite Column of Emp. Claudius II. (268–70 A. D.). Around
the palace are grouped the old church of Irene (p. 548), several
military and other new buildings, the imperial Mint, and the School
of Art founded in 1889.
From the chief entrance, the So-uk Cheshmeh Gate (Pl. H, 6),
we ascend to the right, past the Mint, to the first terrace. A road
to the left leads thence, behind the School of Art, to the New
Museum, on the right, and the Chinili Kiosque, on the left.
The New Museum (Pl. I, 6), opened in 1891, contains the
imperial **Collection of Antiquities, the arrangement of which is
still incomplete. Adm., see p. 539. Director, Halil Bey.
Ground Floor. The first rooms, on the right and left of the entrance,
contain the sarcophagi, including the famous coffins discovered in 1887
in the so-called royal tombs of Sidon (p. 470). The two vaults, in which
the rulers of Sidon of the 6–4th cent. B. C. are supposed to have been
buried, contained 26 stone coffins, some in the Egyptian form of a mummy,
with sculptured heads, others shaped like Greek temples. In several cases
their execution is highly artistic. The finest are in (right) Room I: *No. 48.
So-called Satrap’s Coffin, of Ionian workmanship (first half of 5th cent.);
*49. Sarcophagus of the mourning women, in marble, in the form of a
temple, influenced in style by the works of Praxiteles (4th cent.). In
(left) Room II: *No. 75. Lycian sarcophagus, with lid in the form of a
pointed arch, executed under the fresh influence of the Parthenon reliefs
(p. 517); **76. Alexander sarcophagus, an Attic original (about 300 B. C.),
with traces of rich colouring; 90. Sarcophagus of Tabnit, king of Sidon,
originally that of an Egyptian general (6th cent.). Again, in Room I:
No. 1142. Tomb-stele from Nisyros (p. 490; about 500 B.C.); 45. Tomb-stele
from Pella, a fine early Greek work like the last; 31–33. Fragments
of Roman sarcophagi (Ulysses fighting against the wooers, etc.); also
leaden coffins from Beirut, Khoms (p. 412), etc. (Room II contains also
six terracotta coffins from Klazomenæ, 6th cent. B. C.). Among the objects
in the other rooms we note a large Lycian sarcophagus from Trysa (2nd cent.
B. C.); *1179. Late Roman sarcophagus from the region of Konia, with
the recumbent figures of man and wife.
A large room is devoted solely to the art and inscriptions of the
547Hittites, the dominating race on the Upper Euphrates, in Syria, and in
Asia Minor from about 1500 to 1000 B.C., who were afterwards split up
into small principalities and lost their national characteristics. From
this later period (about 9–8th cent.) date the numerous objects from
Senjerli in N. Syria (among others No. 873. Two sphinxes as a base of a
column). Other relics are from Marrash in N. Syria (840. Lion with inscription)
and from Albistan (835. Limestone pillar).
Two rooms are set apart for the Greek-Roman sculptures. Among
the chief early Greek works (6th cent. B.C.) are: No. 5bis. Reliefs from
a tombstone in the form of a pillar, with scenes of peace and war; 8,
133. Torso of Apollo and Relief of Hercules drawing his bow, both from
Thasos; 680. Tomb-stele from Dorylæum in Phrygia; *78. Head of a man,
early Ionian, from Rhodes; 32, 33. Kybele, from Kyme; 1136. Relief,
Birth of Athena, from Chalcedon.—Of the 5th cent.: No. 1189. Caryatid;
1433. Hermes Propylæos, after the famous work of Alkamenes (Roman
copy); *148. Snake’s head from the tripod in the At Meïdán (p. 549).
Among other creations of the Greek golden age (4th cent.) are: No. 1121.
Statue of a youth; 114. Upper half of a stele, from Kyzikos; 1242. Relief
with a portrait of Euripides; 1028. Relief of a woman playing on the
lyre, from Mysia.—Hellenistic sculptures from Pergamum (p. 533): *764.
Dancer, from a large circular monument; *1138. Marble head (Alexander
the Great?); 72. Marsyas hanging (a good copy); also important: *709.
Alexander the Great, from Magnesia on the Sipylos; 685. Colossal head
of Zeus, from Troy; 9. Colossal statue of Apollo, from Tralleis; *1423.
Relief of a boatman (?), from Tralleis, in the style of the ‘Alexandrine’
reliefs.—Of Roman origin: 31. Largest representation of the so-called
Thracian horseman, from a triumphal arch at Saloniki.
In the room of the Byzantine antiquities we note No. 164. Statue
of the Good Shepherd (3rd cent.?); *1090. Early-Christian pulpit from
Saloniki, with the Adoration of the Magi in detached figures; 189, 190.
Fragments of a column with scenes with figures (Baptism of Christ, etc.;
about 500); also interesting capitals with figures and foliage ornamentation.
Two rooms form an Architectural Museum (Asia Minor relics).
The First Floor is occupied by the Babylonian-Assyrian antiquities
(incl. the glazed terracotta sarcophagi from Nippur, and No. 1027. Votive
relief of king Narâm-Sin, about 3750 B.C.), the unimportant Egyptian
relics, and curiosities from Cyprus (p. 489), Himyar (region of Yemen in
S. Arabia), and Palmyra. Then collections of bronzes and trinkets from
Schliemann’s excavations at Hissarlik (p. 534), from the Sidonian sarcophagi
(p. 546), etc.; vases and terracottas from Asia Minor (Hissarlik,
Myrina, Priene), Cos (p. 490), and Rhodes; glass vessels from Asia Minor,
Cyprus, Syria, and Tripolitania; also a collection of coins.—The N. wing
contains the Museum Library.
The elegant Chinili Kiosque (Pl. I, 6; ‘fayence palace’), one
of the oldest Turkish buildings in the city, was erected in 1470
by Kemal ed-Din under Mohammed II., in the Persian style, and
was restored in 1590. In 1908 it was converted into an *Oriental
Art Museum. Adm., see p. 539.
The two-storied portico (ticket-office on the left) contains tombstones,
etc.—The vestibule, with its original inscribed frieze, is adorned with
well-preserved green *Fayence Tiles.
The domed hall and five side-rooms contain Arabian, Persian, and
Turkish fayence, Turkish pottery, seals (tugres), firmans, and irades of
Turkish sultans, woodwork (koran-desks, cabinets, etc.), leather (beautiful
book-bindings), and metal work; also cut gems, Arabian and Venetian
glass, mosque-lamps, embroidery, and *Persian Carpets. The chief treasures
of the collection are the *Prayer Niche from the palace of the Seljuk
sultan Alaeddin at Konia (13th cent.) and a throne of Selim I. (p. 512).
548Passing the Mint (p. 546) we next enter the outer court of
the Seraglio. In the centre rises the huge Janissaries’ Plane Tree
(Pl. I, 6), where the janissaries (p. 550) used to meet.—To the left
the Orta Kapu leads to the Seraglio Palace (adm., see p. 540).
It contains the throne-room (Arsh Odasi) of the time of Suleiman
the Great, the Library, the Imperial Treasury (hazneh han), and
the superb Bagdad Kiosque (1639), etc.
Above the outer court rises, on the right, the Church of Irene
(Pl. I, 6; dedicated to ‘divine peace’), a domed basilica built by
Constantine, and restored first by Justinian after the Nika revolt
(p. 541), and again in 740. After the Turkish conquest it was used
as an arsenal, but is now a Military Museum (adm., see p. 539).
We leave the Seraglio by the Bab i Humayún (Pl. I, 6), the
superb modern gate of the sultan, replacing that of Mohammed II.
In the Seraï Meïdán (Pl. I, 6, 7; ‘Seraglio Square’), on the
S.W. side of the palace-walls, rises the *Fountain of Ahmed III.,
erected in 1728, the finest sebíl in the city, with a well-preserved
timber roof. Nearly opposite are the Aya Sophia and the Ministry
of Justice (Pl. H, 1, 7), which was the meeting-place of the new
Turkish parliament in 1908–9.
The **Aya Sóphia Mosque (Pl. H, 7; adm., see p. 539),
formerly the church of St. Sophia, 4 min. to the S. of the So-uk
Cheshmeh Gate (p. 546), is the most famous edifice in the whole
city. Here in 326, opposite to his palace, Constantine erected a
basilica, which he dedicated to Divine Wisdom (Sophía), and which
after a fire in 415 was rebuilt by Theodosius II. The church having
again been destroyed during the Nika rebellion, Justinian
caused the present sumptuous edifice, which was to eclipse all
others in the empire, to be erected in 532–7 by Anthemios of
Tralleis and Isidoros of Miletos.
The plan of the building is nearly square. Its axis, contrary to
custom, runs to the E.S.E., in line with that of the palace. It measures
82½ by 77 yds., but if the atrium or forecourt had still existed
the length would have been no less than 184 yds. The edifice with
its nave and aisles presents a curious combination of an ancient
Christian basilica with a dome-covered mosque. Above the nave,
which is 36 yds. in breadth, the great dome, 105 ft. in diameter
and 184 ft. in height, but externally inconspicuous, rises on four
massive pillars. It is continued lengthwise by two half-domes,
relieved by niches, the large E. central niche forming the apse.
The upper story of the aisles, borne by antique columns with capitals
resembling imposts, and the galleries above the inner vestibule
contained the gynæceum, or women’s seats.
The Crusaders pillaged the church in 1204 (p. 542), and many
of its treasures were carried off also at the Turkish conquest. The
mosaics were whitewashed, the minaret at the S.E. angle was erected,
549and the unsightly flying buttresses were added on the E. side.
To the further detriment of the general effect the successors of the
conqueror built the other three minarets, the mausoleums, schools,
and outbuildings. A thorough restoration was undertaken by Fossati,
an Italian architect, in 1847, when the outside was painted
yellow with red stripes.
The entrance for visitors is in the N. side-street, by a door to the
left of the N.W. minaret. A few steps descend to the Inner Vestibule
(eso-narthex), from which five doors open on the outer vestibule (exo-narthex)
and nine portals lead into the interior. At the S. end of the
inner vestibule, opposite the N. entrance, is a Byzantine *Bronze Door
(9th cent.), with part of the original panels.
The northmost portal admits us to the *Interior, in which the immense
central dome, in contrast to St. Peter’s at Rome, dominates the
entire nave. The marble pavement is partly destroyed and partly covered
with carpets and mats spread obliquely in the direction of Mecca (S.E.).
The mihrâb or prayer-recess has been placed, for the same reason, a little
to the S. of the axis of the apse. Beside the pillars of the apse are, on
the right, the mimbar, or Friday pulpit, and on the left the octagonal
grated gallery of the sultan, resting on eight antique columns. The nave
contains several open galleries or tribunes for prayer-recitals. The Koran
niche in the S. aisle also is worth seeing. (Visitors should be careful not
to touch anything.)
During the nights of Ramadan (p. 539) visitors are admitted only to
the galleries, which the sacristan will show at other times.
On the S. side of the mosque, adjoining the Aya Sophia Meïdán, rise
five Türbehs, or burial-chapels of sultans. The southmost, once the baptistery
of the church, dates perhaps from Justinian’s reign.
The Aya Sóphia Meïdán (Pl. H, 7), a busy square planted with
trees, on the S. side of the mosque, was the ancient Augusteion (or
Agorá), the greatest centre of traffic in New Rome, whence the triumphal
road led to the Golden Gate (p. 554). Down to the Turkish conquest
it was adorned with a mounted statue of Justinian. Adjoining
it on the S.W. lies the At Meïdán (Pl. H, 7; ‘horse square’), 330 yds.
long, partly occupying the site of a Hippodrome begun by Sept.
Severus (p. 541) and completed by Constantine. From these two
squares, and from the Seraï Meïdán (p. 548), the Roman and Byzantine
imperial palaces, with their dependencies and several churches,
extended to the S.E. to the town-wall on the Sea of Marmora.
At the N. angle of At Meïdán, where Rue Divan Yolou (p. 550)
diverges, lies a small Public Garden. Farther on, to the S.W.,
passing a Street Fountain presented by Emp. William II. in 1898,
we come to three ancient monuments which still occupy their old
places on the spina of the Hippodrome (comp. p. 348). One is the
Obelisk of Theodosius I., dating from the time of Thutmosis III.
(p. 456; brought from Heliopolis), with Roman reliefs, on the pedestal,
of the imperial family viewing the races from the court-stand
of the Hippodrome. The second is the bronze *Snake Column,
once the central support of a huge tripod which the Greeks erected
as a votive offering at Delphi after the victory of Platæa (p. 506).
The third is the so-called Colossus, an obelisk of unknown origin.
550No less conspicuous than the Aya Sophia is the *Mosque of
Ahmed I. (Pl. H, 7), on the S.E. side of At Meïdán. It was built
by the young sultan of that name in 1608–14 as the second-largest
mosque in the city, and is the only one besides the Kaaba at Mecca
that has six minarets. The large outer court, planted with trees
and often used as a market-place, is separated from At Meïdán by
a broken-down wall. The lofty chief portal, with its stalactite niche
and its fine bronze gate, leads into a forecourt flanked with domed
colonnades where we notice the pretty stalactite capitals. In the
centre rises a superb hexagonal marble fountain with a railing.
The interior of the mosque (79 by 70 yds.), in the style of the
Mehmedieh (p. 553), resembles the Shahzadeh mosque (p. 552) in
the disposition of its four half-domes. The great central dome,
73 ft. in diameter, rests on four clumsy round pillars, and around
it runs a low gallery with depressed keel-arches. The walls are
lined with white marble below and with beautiful fayence tiles
from Nikæa above.
To the S.W. of At Meïdán is the Janissaries’ Museum (Pl. G, H, 7;
adm., see p. 539), in which are exhibited wax-figures wearing the ancient
costumes of Turkish dignitaries and the uniforms of the Janissaries, or
old body-guard (1328–1826).
To the S. of the Museum, close to the railway, rises the *Küchük
Aya Sóphia (Pl. H, 7, 8), or ‘little’ mosque of Aya Sophia, a kind of
prelude to the ‘great’, now containing a military museum. It was built
under Justinian in 528, at the same time as San Vitale at Ravenna, as a
church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus. The building is nearly square, with
semicircular niches at the angles, and encloses an octagonal interior, between
the eight corner-columns of which are four semicircular niches and
four straight rows of columns. The junction of the walls with the dome
was masked, as later in the Sophia Church, by curved triangular spandrels
or pendentives.
Beyond the public garden (p. 549) we enter the Rue Divan Yolou
(tramway No. 3, p. 538). At the end of it, on the right, is a railed-in
burial-ground containing the handsome Türbeh of Mahmud II.
(d. 1839) and his son Abdul Aziz (sultan in 1861–76). Entrance to
the right, in Rue Mahmoudié.
In the main street, now called Sedefdjilar Yolou, we next come
to the second hill of New Rome (p. 541), crowned with the so-called
Burnt Column (Pl. G, 6; Turk. Chemberli Tash, ‘stone with
the hoop’). This great column of porphyry was erected by Constantine
on the ancient ‘triumphal way’, to mark the centre of his
forum, and bore his statue in bronze down to 1105. It was restored
in 1909. The street then leads past the Kalpakjilar Kapu
(on the right), the S. gate of the Great Bazaar (p. 551), to the
Bayazid Mosque (p. 551).
From the Burnt Column the Rue Nouri Osmanié leads to the N.
to the white marble Mosque of Nuri Osmanieh (Pl. G, 6), a bold
dome-roofed edifice copied from the Selim Mosque (p. 553), but
with a semicircular forecourt.
551Adjacent on the W. is the *Great Bazaar (Pl. G, 6; Turk.
Büyük Charshi, ‘great market’), one of the sights of Constantinople.
It lies in a depression between the Nuri Osmanieh Mosque
and the Serasker Square (see below) and forms a distinct quarter of
the city, enclosed by gates. As in the sûks (p. 335) the crafts mostly
have their own streets or districts. Most of the buildings have been
re-erected since the earthquake of 1894. To the early 17th cent. belongs
the still extant castellated Valideh Han (see below); of the
early 18th cent. are the Bezestán (the main central building, founded
in the 10th cent.) and the Sandal Bezestán. Besides genuine
Oriental wares many European goods also are sold here.
The Nuri Osmanieh Kapu, on the W. side of the outer court of the
mosque, opens on to the Kalpakjilar Bashi Jaddesí, the main thoroughfare
on the S. side of the Bazaar. Immediately on the right is the Sandal
Bezestán, once the silk-bazaar, now a warehouse (usually closed).
The street on the N. side (Restaurant Tokatlian, see p. 537) leads to
the W. after a few paces to the Bezestán (Pl. Bez.; G, 6), where artistic
old weapons, gold and silver wares, inlaid furniture, etc. are displayed.
In the street on the E. side are sold jewels and trinkets; on the N. side
cloth, Oriental antiquities, and books; on the W. side Turkish women’s
apparel and embroidery; on the S. side leather-work, etc.
From the W. gate of the Bezestán we pass through the Bezestán
Jaddesí, with its clothes-shops, to the Ousoun Tcharchi, the main street
ascending from the Rustem Pasha Mosque (p. 545) to the S. gate (Kalpakjilar
Kapu, p. 550). Going straight on we may ascend through the curved
Fesjiler Jaddesi, the fez-market, to the Bit Bazar Jaddesi, a street
running to the N. and S., the entrance to the (left) Second-hand Market
(Bat Bazar, jestingly called ‘bit bazar’ or louse-market). In the other
direction, a few paces to the N., is the Hakkaklar Sokak, with the stalls
of the seal-engravers, booksellers, etc., leading to the Bayazid Mosque.
Those who intend to return from the Great Bazaar direct to the New
Bridge (p. 545) may visit also the Valideh Han (Pl. G, 5, 6; see above), the
seat of the Persian traders, situated in the Chakmakjilar Yokussu, diverging
to the E. from the Ousoun Tcharchi.
On the third hill of the city, the site of the forum of Theodosius I.,
rise the Bayazid Mosque and the Seraskerat in its large court.
The *Mosque of Bayazid (Pl. G, 6) was erected in 1489–97
by the Albanian Kheireddin, under sultan Bayazid, son of Mohammed
II., the conqueror. The handsome portals of the forecourt recall
Seljuk prototypes. The beautiful forecourt, enlivened ever since
the time of the founder by countless pigeons, has pointed arcades
with elegant domes. In the centre is an octagonal fountain. The
interior, tastelessly painted in the Turkish rococo style in the
18th cent., is a simplified imitation of the Aya Sophia.
To the N. of the mosque the Serasker Kapu, the modern
S. gateway, leads into the court, now a drilling-ground, of the
Seraskerat (Pl. F, G, 5; or ministry of war). Here once stood the
Eski-Seraï, the oldest palace of the sultans (comp. p. 546). The
*Serasker Tower (closed on Frid.; fee 3–5 pias.), about 200 ft.
high, built by Mahmud II. (d. 1839) of white marble from the island
of Marmara (p. 535), affords a magnificent view of the city.
552Behind the barracks on the N. side of the Seraskerat, or by
the Serasker Jaddesi to the right, we descend to the terrace of the
Suleiman Mosque, which is surrounded by schools, baths, and the
Residence of the Sheikh ul-Islam.
The **Mosque of Suleiman the Great (Turk. Suleïmanieh;
Pl. F, G, 5), erected in 1550–66 by the Albanian Sinán
(Mimar Sinán Agha), on the model of the Aya Sophia and the Bayazid
Mosque, is one of the two master-works of this most famous of
Turkish architects (the other being the Selim mosque at Adrianople).
The superb chief portal on the N.W. side is three stories in
height. At the angles of the forecourt (63 by 49½ yds.) rise four
minarets of unequal height. The exterior of the mosque is embellished
with two arcades; the smaller domes are charmingly
grouped round the great dome; the latter, only 85 ft. in diameter,
is loftier than that of Aya Sophia.
Notwithstanding the striped decoration with which it was marred
at the time of the restoration under Abdul Aziz (p. 550), the interior
surpasses all the other mosques of Constantinople in harmony of
structure, in picturesqueness of perspective, and in magnificence of
ornamentation, but is unfortunately badly lighted. Between the
four pillars of the dome, on each side, are two monolith columns,
29 ft. high, with stalactite capitals, supporting the upper stories of
the aisles. The *Mihrâb Wall is enriched with beautiful fayence
tiles and with stained glass by Serkosh Ibrahim.
In the burial-ground behind the mosque rise the handsome
Türbehs of Suleiman (fee 5 pias.) and his favourite wife Roxolana.
From the outer court of the mosque, with its fine old cypresses and
plane-trees, we may descend to the E. to Rustem Pasha’s Mosque (p. 545)
and the New Bridge (p. 545); or we may go to the N.W. to the Old Bridge
(Pl. F, G, 4; p. 555; toll 10 paras) and the Rue Iskander (p. 543).
From the W. gate of the Seraskerat, or from the W. angle of
the outer court of the Suleiman mosque, we may soon reach the
two-storied Aqueduct of Valens (Pl. F, E, 6, 5), dating from
the reign of that emperor (368 A. D.) but much restored. It bridges
the space between the fourth and third hills of the city.
On the S. side of the aqueduct, near the scene of the great fire of
1908, rises the Shahzadeh Mosque (Pl. E, F, 5; ‘prince’s mosque’),
an early work of Sinán (see above), erected by Suleiman in 1543–7
in memory of his son Mohammed. The plan is similar to that of the
Mehmedieh (see below). It is charmingly fitted up in the interior.
In the two türbehs repose the princes Mohammed and Jíhangir and
the princess Mihrimah. As a rule the muezzin permits visitors to
ascend one of the minarets for a small gratuity.
From this mosque the Rue Chahsadé Bachi ascends to the N.W.
to the Mosque of Mohammed II. (Pl. D, E, 4; Mehmedieh or
Fatih Jami; comp. p. 542), the holiest in Constantinople after that
of Eyúb (p. 555). It was built by the Greek Christodulos in 1463–9
553on the fourth hill of the city, on the site and with the materials
of the Apostles’ Church. This church, founded by Constantine, had
been restored by Justinian and was famous as the burial-place of
the emperors.
The outer court, planted with cypresses, on the N.W. side of
which a busy market is held, is surrounded, as in the Byzantine
age, by a great many miscellaneous buildings. The plan of the
mosque is probably the same as that of the Apostles’ Church. The
forecourt is commanded by two minarets. The interior, in the form
of a Greek cross, has four half-domes in the two axes adjoining the
central dome, four smaller corner-domes, and three galleries. The
whole building was modernized after the earthquake of 1767.
The first Türbeh behind the mosque is that of ‘the Conqueror’.
From the N.W. corner of the outer court the Sultan Mehmed and
Sultan Selim streets lead to the N. to the Mosque of Selim I. (Pl. E, 3;
Turk. Selimieh) on the fifth city-hill, erected by Suleiman the Great in
1520–6 in memory of his warlike father Selim I. (p. 542). This is the
simplest of all the sultans’ mosques. The outer walls are roofed with a
single semicircular dome.
To the S. of Mehmedieh, between the fourth city-hill and the Lykos
Valley, among the ruins caused by a fire, rises Marcian’s Column (Pl. D,
E, 5; Turk. Kiz Tash, maiden’s stone), erected in honour of that emperor
(450–7).
In the Lykos Valley, to the S.W. of Marcian’s Column, once lay the
Barracks of the Janissaries (p. 550), who were massacred in the Et Meïdán
here (Pl. D, 5; ‘place of flesh’) after a revolt in 1826.—In the Ak Seraï
quarter (Pl. D, E, 6), on the ancient triumphal way (p. 550), lay the Roman
Forum Boarium (cattle-market). The road ascended thence to the seventh
city-hill. Here, in the quarter now called Avret Bazar, is still seen the
pedestal of the marble Column of Arcadius (Pl. D, 7; Turk. Avret Tash,
women’s stone), the sole surviving relic of the forum of Arcadius.
From the Mehmedieh a main street (carr. 5 pias.) leads direct
in ¼ hr., to the N.W., to the Edirneh Kapu (see below).
Beside the city-wall, near Rue Edirné Kapou, is the sixth and
highest city-hill, on which rises the Mihrimah Mosque (Pl. C, 3),
built in 1556 by Sinán (p. 552) for the princess Mihrimah (p. 545),
on the site of the Byzantine monastery of St. George, and restored
in 1910.—From the Greek Church of St. George we walk about
250 paces to the N.E., and then descend to the right, near the city-wall,
to visit the—
Kahrieh Mosque (Pl. C, 2), once the church of the monastery
of Chora (‘in the country’), which probably existed before the time
of Theodosius II. It was restored in the 11th cent. and enlarged
in the 14th, and contains famous Byzantine *Mosaics (sacristan
lives near).
We now turn our steps to the ruinous Edirneh Kapu (Pl. C, 2;
Adrianople Gate), the gate of Charisius or cemetery-gate (Porta
Polyandriu) of the Byzantines.
Outside the gate, where stretches the largest Moslem Cemetery
of Stambul, we obtain an excellent view of the old *Land-Wall554of the city, over 4 M. in length. The chief part of it is the Theodosian
Wall (p. 541), extending from the Sea of Marmora to the
Tekfur Seraï (see below). This was originally a single wall, defended
by towers, but after an earthquake in 447 it was doubled,
the two walls being 66 yds. apart and, from the bottom of the moat,
100 ft. high.
The S. part of the land-wall may be visited by carriage (one-horse 10,
two-horse 10 or 15 pias.; bargaining necessary) from the Edirneh Kapu.
We drive past Top Kapu (Pl. A, 4; ‘cannon-gate’), once the gate of
St. Romanos, famed in the siege of 1453, to Yedi Kuleh railway-station
(Pl. A, B, 9). We may return thence to the town by local train (about
every ½ hr.), or from the Yedi Kuleh Gate by tramway (No. 4; change
at Ak Seraï, p. 553), or from Psamatia Kapu (Pl. B, 8) by local steamer
(p. 538).
Near the S. end of the wall rises the castle of Yedi Kuleh (Pl. A, 9;
‘seven towers’; adm. except Sun. 2½ pias.; small fee to lantern-bearer),
rebuilt by Mohammed II., within which is the dilapidated Porta Aurea
(‘golden gate’), once the triumphal gate of the Byzantine emperors.—On
the Sea of Marmora, at the point where the land-wall joined the Marmora
Sea Wall, rises the octagonal Mermer Kuleh (Pl. A, 9; ‘marble tower’),
the sole relic of a castle of the time of Emp. Basil II. (976–1025).
To the N.E. of the Edirneh Kapu, beyond the Greek Cemetery
(Pl. C, 2), the Theodosian city-wall is joined by the single but
stronger Wall of the Blachernae Quarter (‘marsh-land quarter’).
This wall served for the defence of the famous St. Mary’s Church
of the empress Pulcheria (ca. 450), and for that of the Blachernæ
Palace, founded at the end of the 5th cent., which in the 12th cent.
became the imperial residence instead of the older palaces in the
Augusteion (p. 549). The wall dates partly from the reigns of Emp.
Heraklios (610–41), Leo V. (813–20), and Manuel Comnenus (1143–80),
but was largely rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The ruined Byzantine palace rising above the town-wall near the
small Kerkoporta (Pl. C, 2), the so-called Tekfur Seraï (‘emperor’s
palace’), was probably founded by Constantine VII. Porphyrogenetos
(912–59). Of the Blachernae Palace itself the foundations are
still traceable between the Egri Kapu (Pl. C, 1; once Porta Kaligaria)
and the Aivas Effendi Mosque. To the old terrace of the
palace belonged the massive Towers of Isaak Angelos and Anemas
(Pl. C, 1).
On the N. side the land-walls end with the picturesque castle
of Brachionon or Pentapyrgion, answering to the Yedi Kuleh on
the S. side. It lies between the inner and the site of the outer
Blachernæ gate. Near it are buried the Arabs who fell in 678
(p. 541).
From the Aivan Seraï Kapu (Pl. D, 1), which belongs to the
old Sea Wall on the Golden Horn (p. 541), a broad road to the
left (N.W.) leads through the suburb of Ortakjilar (Pl. B, C, 1) to
(¾ M.) Eyúb (p. 555). Straight on, we soon reach the Aivan Seraï
pier (p. 555).
555
By Caïque (p. 538) from the New Bridge to Eyúb about 1 hr., to the
Sweet Waters 1½–2 hrs. (there and back 20–25 pias.). The row back is particularly
fine towards sunset.—Steamboat (p. 538) to Eyúb in ¾ hr.,
thence to the Sweet Waters 20 min.
The Golden Horn, already named Chrysokeras by the Greeks,
an arm of the sea 4½ M. long and at the widest point ½ M. across,
probably a submerged side-valley of the Bosporus, is one of the
finest natural harbours in the world. In the Byzantine period it
was closed for defensive purposes by a chain. It consists of the
Outer Commercial Harbour (Pl. H, I, 4, 5), with the Galata Quay
(p. 543) and the new quays on the Stambul side, the Inner Commercial
Harbour (Pl. G, H, 4), between the two bridges, and the
Naval Harbour (Pl. E-G, 2, 3).
The voyager on the Golden Horn is chiefly struck with the
busy harbour scenes and the picturesque appearance of the crowded
Oriental quarters rising from the banks. Starting from the
New Bridge (Pl. H, 4) the steamer crosses the inner commercial
harbour to the pier of Yemish Iskelesí (Pl. G, 4) at Stambul, at the
foot of the terrace of the Suleiman Mosque, and then passes under
the Old Bridge (Pl. F, G, 4; p. 552) into the naval harbour. On the
Stambul side it first calls at the piers of Jubali Kapu and Aya
Kapu (Pl. F, 3), the latter lying below Selim’s Mosque (p. 553).
Next, on the same side, are the piers of Phanar (Pl. E, 2), the
Greek quarter, where a terrible massacre took place in 1821, and
Balat (Pl. D, 2), the largest Jewish quarter.
On the opposite bank, from the Old Bridge onwards, lie the
dockyard buildings. On the bay of Kasím Pasha (calling-place
of some of the steamboats) is the Ministry of Marine (Divan
Haneh; Pl. G, 2, 3), with its surrounding barracks, workshops, and
docks. In front of it are anchored men-of-war and guard-ships.
The steamer next touches at Ters Haneh (Pl. E, 2), on the E.
bank, at the end of the dockyard, and at the Jewish quarter of
Haskiöi (Has Keuï; Pl. E, 1); then, on the W. bank, at Aivan Seraï
(Pl. D, 1; p. 554), where we have a fine view of the N.E. end of the
land-walls and the beginning of the sea-wall on the Golden Horn;
then, on the E. bank, at Kalijeh Oglu, and on the W. bank at Defterdar
Iskelesí (Pl. C, 1) and Eyúb (see inset plans in Plan of City).
In the suburb of *Eyúb, a few minutes’ walk from the pier, is
the famous Mosque of Eyúb, where the ceremony of girding each
new sultan with the sword takes place. It was built of white marble
by Mohammed II., the Conqueror, in 1459, adjacent to the türbeh of
Abu Eyúb Ensari, the legendary standard-bearer of the prophet,
whose tomb here was revealed in a vision a few days after the conquest.
The spot is so revered by the Moslems that until now no
Christian dared set foot even in the outer court. Since the establishment
of the new Turkish government, however, visitors may
556enter the deeply impressive court and even the mosque itself, but
they should be careful not to remain standing between the railings
in the centre of the court and the gilded windows on the wall-side.
From the mosque, up the hill-side to the N.E., extends the picturesque
Cemetery, with its venerable cypresses. A path ascends
from the mosque, past a monastery (Tekkeh) of the dancing dervishes
(p. 543), to the top, where we have a splendid *View of
both banks of the Golden Horn.
From Eyúb a smaller local steamer plies through the Stambul Liman,
the shallow N.W. arm of the Golden Horn, 1¼ M. long, to Kiathaneh, or
Kiahat Haneh; this trip, on Fridays or Sundays in spring, affords an
interesting picture of Turkish life. At Kiathaneh two streams fall into the
Golden Horn, the so-called Sweet Waters of Europe (the Asiatic
waters, see p. 558), or Eaux Douces. The eastmost is the Kiathaneh
Suyu, in the valley of which, about 1¼ M. up, is a château of the sultan,
the most popular holiday resort of the citizens of Constantinople. In the
meadows, under shady trees, are erected huts and arbours, where music
and amusements of all kinds are provided. The Moslems enjoy themselves
sedately here on Fridays; the Christians come on Sundays; hither too
the people of fashion ride or drive. Shortly before sunset a whole flotilla
of boats on the Golden Horn returns home to the city.
Steam Ferry Boats from the New Bridge (see p. 538) and Beshiktash
to Scutari. Those from the New Bridge to the minor stations Salajak,
near the Leander tower, and Harem-Iskelesí, below the Selimieh Barracks
(p. 536), are less frequent and are seldom used by strangers.—Carriages
have the same tariff as in the city (p. 538). Drive from the pier to the Chamlija
Spring and back viâ the Great Cemetery (about 2½ hrs.) 1½ mejidiehs
(30 pias.).—Horse to the Bulgurlu about 1 mej.
The steamer leaves the Seraglio Point on the right and steers
to the E. to (¼ hr.) the chief landing-place at Scutari, which lies
on the Asiatic shore, in a bay to the N. of the promontory. To the
right, off the end of the promontory, is a flat islet on which rises
the so-called Leander’s Tower (by the Turks named Kiz Kulesí,
i.e. maiden’s tower, from the legend that a sultan’s daughter was
once kept here), with a signalling station and lights.
Scutari (no European inns), Turk. Üsküdar, the ancient
Chrysopolis, the harbour of Chalcedon (p. 536), now a large suburb
of Constantinople, contains 90,000 inhab., comparatively few of
whom are Armenians and Greeks. Its fine old mosques, its crooked
streets, and its small timber houses give it a more Oriental character
than Stambul. Until a century ago Scutari was the terminus
of the caravan-routes from Asia Minor, by which the treasures of
the East were brought to Constantinople. It is still the starting-point
of the sacred annual Mecca caravan.
From the pier we follow the broad main street past the Büyük
Jami (‘Great Mosque’; 1547), on the left, and the Yeni Valideh
Jami (1707–10), on the right, beyond which a road to the right
diverges to the Dervishes’ Monastery and the Great Cemetery.
557The street, inclining to the left, next leads to the quarters of
Yeni Mahalleh, with an Armenian cemetery, and Baglar Bashi;
then, past villas, to the village of Bulgurlukiöi. Before the village
is reached a road to the left leads to (2 M. from the pier) the
Chamlija Spring, shaded by great plane-trees, a favourite Friday
and Sunday resort like the Sweet Waters (p. 556).
We may thence ascend (to the N., ¼ hr.) the Great Bulgurlu
or Büyük Chamlija (879 ft.; small café, bargaining necessary),
which, in the forenoon especially, affords a superb *View of Constantinople,
the Bosporus, and the Sea of Marmora.
On the way back we turn to the left, skirting the Armenian
cemetery, to visit the *Great Cemetery (Büyük Mezaristán), the
largest Moslem burial-ground in the East. The lower road through
it leads to the N. to the Monastery of the Howling Dervishes (Rufaï
Tekkeh; no admittance).
To the S. of the Great Cemetery lies Haidar Pasha (p. 536),
with a large Military Hospital, where Florence Nightingale (1820–1910)
first devoted herself to her philanthropic work. Adjoining the
Hospital is the British Cemetery, containing a tall granite Obelisk
in memory of the British who fell in the Crimean war.
Local Steamers (p. 538), with 17 stations on the European side and
12 on the Asiatic, never all touched at on the same voyage. To Rumeli
Kavak, the northmost station on the W. shore, in 2 hrs., 5 (in summer 6)
steamers only. From any station it is easy to ferry to the opposite shore
(5–10 pias.).
The Thracian *Bosporus (‘ox-ford’, from the Greek myth that
Io swam in the shape of a cow from Asia to Europe), Turk. Kara
Denis Boghaz or Stambul Boghaz (Black Sea or Stambul Straits),
which, like the Dardanelles (p. 534), was formed by the subsidence
of a river-valley in the tertiary period (comp. p. xxxiv), connects the
Sea of Marmora with the Black Sea. Length 20 M., breadth about
2 M., average depth 89 ft. (greatest about 395 ft.). A surface-stream,
quickened by the prevailing N.E. winds, and consisting
of the fresher water of the Black Sea, fed by its copious rivers,
constantly pours through the straits towards the Mediterranean,
while the saltier and heavier water of the latter flows in the opposite
direction in a strong under-current into the Black Sea. The steep
coast-hills of the N. part, as far as Rumeli Kavak, consist of eruptive
rock, basalt, dolerite, and trachyte; in the S. part the prevailing
formations are Devonian, clay-slate, greywacke, quarzite, and
limestone. The peninsula of Stambul is of the miocene formation.
A trip on the Bosporus affords a highly picturesque and varied
panorama of the scenery on its banks, and on the way back we
suddenly obtain a striking view of the great city and its suburbs.
558The more important places only are named below. (L. signifies
landing-place or pier.)
Dolma Bagcheh (p. 544), with the Seraï of that name, built by Abdul Mejid in 1850–5 in the overladen ‘Turkish Renaissance’ style, now the residence of Mohammed V.; the façade on the Bosporus is over 700 yds. long; in the lofty central building is the huge throne-room.
Beyond Beshiktash (p. 544; L.) are the ruins of the Chiragan Seraï, a similar palace, which was burnt down in 1910.
Kuskunjuk (L.), a Jewish village, separated from Scutari by a low hill, was almost entirely destroyed by a disastrous fire in Feb. 1911.
At Ortakiöi (L.), a suburb with beautiful gardens and a pretty mosque (1870), the city is seen astern for the last time.
Beylerbey (L.). The Beylerbey Seraï, built by Abdul Aziz in 1865, is the most tasteful sultan’s palace on the Bosporus.
We round a headland and next come to the villages of Kuru Cheshmeh (L.) and Arnautkiöi (L.).The latter lies on the Akinti Burnu, a headland swept by a strong current.
Chengelkiöi (L.) and Vanikiöi (L.), where we lose sight of Stambul. We next pass Top Dagh (427 ft.; ‘cannon-hill’), famed for its view of the whole of the Bosporus. Kandili (L.) lies on a headland opposite the bay of Bebek.
Bebek (L.), on a beautiful bay, with villas (yali) of wealthy Turks, an English and American summer resort. On the hill to the N. is the Robert College, an American institution founded in 1863.
Between Kandili and Anatoli Hissar (see below) opens the Valley of the Sweet Waters of Asia, at the mouth of the Büyük (great) and Küchük (little) Gök Su, a favourite Friday resort of Moslem-excursionists in summer.
Above the cypresses of an old cemetery rise the picturesque towers and walls of Rumelí Hissar (L.; ‘European castle’), built by Mohammed II. in 1452, shortly before the siege of Constantinople (p. 542), to command the narrowest part of the Bosporus (722 yds. only). Here, too, the current (sheïtan akintisi, ‘Satan’s stream’) is at its strongest.
Anatoli Hissar (L.; ‘Asiatic Castle’), or Güzel Hissar (‘beautiful castle’), the picturesque castle by the sea, which gives its name to the village, was erected by Bayazid I. in 1393 as an outwork against Byzantium.
559
Beyond Emirgian (L.) come the palaces built by Ismaîl, khedive of Egypt (d. 1895; p. 444).
Kanlija (L.), on a small headland (beacon).
Stenia (L.), in a deep and sheltered bay, and Yenikiöi (L.; Greek Neochori), both inhabited chiefly by Greeks and Armenians. At the N. end of the headland are the summer seats of the American and Austrian ambassadors.
Chibukli, on the Bay of Beïkos, where the British and French fleets met for the Crimean war. At the head of the bay, beyond Pasha Bagcheh (L.) lies Beïkos, usually the northmost steamboat station.
From Beïkos we may ascend the Giant’s Mt. or Yusha Dagh (640 ft.; ‘Mt. Joshua’), an important landmark for ships coming from the Black Sea. The road to it (1 hr.; carr. ½ mej.) ascends past the palace of Mohammed Ali Pasha and through the grassy, well-wooded, and well-watered valley of Hunkiar Iskelesí, once a favourite country seat of the Byzantine emperors and the sultans. On the top are a mosque, the ‘tomb of the giant Joshua’, and a small café. *View over the whole Bosporus, but Constantinople is hidden.
Therapia (L.; Summer Palace Hot.; Hôt. Tokatlian, etc.; pop. 5000), a large and handsome village, on a small bay, with cafés by the sea and terraced gardens. On the quay, to the N. of the bay, are the summer residences of the British (lofty white building), French, and Italian ambassadors; on the N. side of the bay is that of the German ambassador.
The steamers plying beyond Beïkos proceed thence straight across the Bosporus to Yenikiöi (see above) on the European shore, where corresponding with them there are generally steamboats plying viâ Therapia (see above) to Mezar Burnu (see below) and to Rumelí Kavak (p. 560). Thence they go on to the last station on the Asiatic shore—
Near the small cape Kiretsh Burnu, with its battery and beacon, the Black Sea becomes visible in the distance.
Büyükdereh (L.; Hôt. Bellevue; Hôt. d’Europe; Hôt. Platane, etc.; pop. 6000) is one of the most frequented summer resorts of the wealthy Europeans of Constantinople, with handsome houses in the N. part. The Bay of Büyükdereh (‘great valley’) forms the broadest part of the Bosporus (2 M.).
560At the N. end of the bay are Mezar Burnu (L.), a small village, and Yeni Mahalleh, at the mouth of the ‘rose valley’, the terminus of most of the steamers.
Five or six boats only go on, passing the ruinous fort Telli Tabia and the Dikili Cliffs, to Rumelí Kavak, a village near a fortress built by Murad IV. in 1628 and restored in 1890. The walls of the ruined Byzantine castle of Imros Kalesí, on a hill to the N., once extending down to the sea, were prolonged by moles, like those of Yoros Kalesí opposite, so that a chain could be carried across.
Anatoli Kavak, a genuine Turkish village, lying on the Majar Bay between two strongly fortified headlands. On the N. headland rises also the picturesque ruin of the Byzantine castle of Yoros Kalesí, called the Genoese Castle since the 14th century. In ancient times the headland and the strait, one of the narrowest parts of the Bosporus, were named Hieron (sanctuary) after the altar of the twelve gods, where Jason is said once to have sacrificed, and after a temple of Zeus Urios, the dispenser of favourable winds.
At the N. end of the Bosporus the banks, which bristle with forts and batteries, consist of almost perpendicular basaltic rock, above which runs a hill-path. Between Rumelí Kavak and the headland Karibjeh Kalesí the little bay of Büyük Liman offers the first refuge to vessels of slight draught coming from the N.
In the Majar Bay vessels coming from the Black Sea have to show their papers before entering the Bosporus. Then comes Kechili Bay, bounded on the N. by the cape Fil Burnu, and defended by a fort, as is also the Poiras Burnu, a little farther to the N.E.
The Bosporus now expands at its N. entrance to 2¾ M., near Rumelí Fanar, a Greek village (Fenerkiöi or Fanaraki), with a lighthouse and a strong fortress on the rock to the N. of the bay. To the E. rise a number of dark basaltic cliffs, the Cyanean Islands or Symplegades (i.e. the rocks which, according to the ancient tradition, ‘clash together’), between which Jason had to pass on the Argonautic expedition.
Next, on the rocky coast, are the village and beyond it the low cape of Anatoli Fanar, with the Anatolian lighthouse and a fort rising above it.
Farther on are Kabakos Bay, in the basaltic rocks of which nestle countless sea-fowl, and, at the N. mouth of the Bosporus, the abrupt Yum Burnu, with a battery and rescue-station for the shipwrecked.
IX. THE BLACK SEA. — 82. From Constantinople to Constantza. — 83. From Constantinople to Odessa. — 84. From Odessa to Batum. — 85. From Batum to Constantinople.
The Black Sea (Turk. Kara Denis; Russ. Chornoye More;
p. xxxiv), the Pontus Euxinus of the ancients, sometimes deserves
its name for the dark-blue hue of its waters, which is markedly
different from the blue of the Mediterranean. Its area, nearly
equal to that of the Baltic, amounts to 163,689 sq. M., without
including the 14,519 sq. M. of the Sea of Azov (p. xxxiv) which is
united with the Black Sea by the narrow Straits of Kertch (p. 570)
and separated from the shallow Gulf of Odessa (p. 564) by the
Crimean Peninsula. The basin proper of the Black Sea is a huge
depression, falling away rapidly from its margin to its centre,
where it reaches a depth of ca. 7365 ft. Its flow and ebb are not
perceptible. Owing to the great rivers it receives its surface-water
is but slightly salt (1.8 per cent), but the deep water is more
saline (2.2 to 2.3 per cent). The bottom is coated with black mud
impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen and is therefore entirely
destitute of animal life. On warm summer nights the phosphorescence
of the water is very observable. As in the Mediterranean,
the vessels are often followed by dolphins.
During almost the whole of summer gentle N. and N.E. winds,
with a clear sky, prevail in the S.W. part of the Black Sea. At
other seasons the wind is very variable. The N.W. and W. winds
often bring fog, which makes the entrance of the Bosporus difficult.
In winter and about the time of the equinox dangerous storms
from the S. and S.E. are by no means rare.
224 M. Steamboats (agents at Constantinople, see pp. 538, 539; at Constantza,
see p. 563). 1.Royal Rumanian State Maritime Service (Serviciul
Maritim Român; in correspondence with the North German Lloyd;
comp. R. 76), from Constantinople on Tues. and Sat. aft. in 14 hrs. (from
562Constantza on Sun. and Thurs. night in 12 hrs.; comp. p. 563); fare 55 or
35 fr.—2.Austrian Lloyd (for Odessa and Nikolayev) from Constantinople
every other Sat. aft. viâ Burgas (from Constantza on Thurs. night viâ
Varna), in about 1½ days (fare 51 fr., 20 fr.; in the reverse direction 44 fr.,
20 fr.); also by Line Braila B, from Constantinople every other Frid. aft.
viâ Varna, in 2 days (from Constantza direct to Constantinople Wed. aft.,
in 19 hrs.); fare 58 (back, 46) or 25 fr. (without food in 2nd cabin).—3.Società Nazionale, Line XIII (for Braila), from Constantinople Sun. aft.
(from Constantza Mon. aft.), in 17 hrs. (fare 40 or 28 fr.).
For Constantinople and the voyage through the Bosporus, see
p. 536 and pp. 557–560.
The Rumanian and Italian vessels pursue a N. course through
the Black Sea, long affording fine retrospects of the precipitous
shores of Anatolia and the fissured promontories of the Rumelian
coast.
Steering to the N.W. the Odessa steamer of the Austrian Lloyd
reaches the open sea off Rumelí Fanar (p. 560). It again, however,
approaches the Rumelian coast abreast of Cape Iniada
(Turk. Kuru Burnu), the Thynias Promontorium of the ancients.
Beyond the far-projecting Cape Kuratan or Zeitün Burnu
(lights), belonging to S. Bulgaria (formerly E. Rumelia), opens
the wide Gulf of Burgas. We pass the peninsula of Sozopolis
and the lighthouses of the islands of Megalo Nisi and Anastasia,
and enter the Bay of Burgas, which runs deeply into the land
from the middle of the gulf.
Burgas (Hôt. Commercial, etc.), the modern Greek Pyrgos,
is the chief harbour of S. Bulgaria (11,700 inhab.) and lies at the
head of the bay between large lagoons. The harbour is tolerably
sheltered from the E. wind by two moles. The chief exports are
grain and attar of roses.
In continuing our voyage we pass the peninsula of Mesembriya
(the ancient Mesembria) and Cape Emine (lighthouse), the N. horn
of the Bay of Burgas, forming a spur of the well-wooded Little
Balkan Range, the old frontier between E. Rumelia and Bulgaria.
On the N. margin of the Balkan Mts. lies Varna, the ancient
Odessos, now the chief seaport of Bulgaria (pop. 35,000), where
some of the Austrian Lloyd steamers call. The entrance to the
bay of Varna, open towards the E., is bounded on the S. by Cape
Galata (Galata Burnu; lighthouse) and on the N. by Cape St.
George. The anchorage, between two long moles, is similar to that
of Burgas. The Devna Canal connects the bay with Lake Devna.
Farther on the steamer rounds Cape Kaliakra (Turk. Chiliga
Burnu; lighthouse), jutting far to the S., and rejoins the course
of the direct steamer from the Bosporus to Constantza. Next comes
Cape Shabla (lights), 10–12 M. to the N. of which lies the village
of Ilanjik, on the border between Bulgaria and the Rumanian
Dobruja. At night the position of the flat coast is revealed by
563the lights of the small port of Mangalia and of Cape Tusla,
stretching in front of the lagoon of Mangalia.
After a short halt in the open roads all the steamers pass
through the entrance to the harbour of Constantza and moor alongside
the quays of the E. mole. The landing-place of the Rumanian
mail-steamers (see below) is close to the harbour-station.
Constantza.—Hotels (crowded in the latter half of Aug. and in
Sept.). Hôt. Carol I., at the E. end of the headland, of the first class,
with garden, R. 6–10, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5 fr. (lei); Regina, Raynier, etc.
Post & Telegraph Office, to the E. of the chief railway-station;
branch-office at the harbour.—Cab 2 lei.
Steamboat Agencies.Rumanian State Maritime Service (see below),
at the landing-stage; Austrian Lloyd, H. Rappaport; Società Nazionale,
E. Tozzi.
British Vice-Consul, Lionel E. Keyser.—Lloyd’s Agents, Watson
& Youell.
Constantza (Ruman. Constanţa, Turk. Küstenjeh), a seaport
with 17,000 inhab. and in summer a popular Rumanian seaside-resort
(see below), lies on a small tongue of land rising boldly
from the sea and enclosing with the E. mole (1500 yds.) a sickle-shaped
harbour. The latter, which is always free from ice, is not
yet quite complete. Beside the S. mole is the so-called petroleum-harbour.
Petroleum, agricultural produce, and timber are the
chief exports.
From the harbour-station the chief promenade of the town leads
past the Cathedral (left) and the new Municipal Casino (right)
to the Lighthouse at the E. end of the promontory. In the Piaţa
Independenţei (Independence Square), at the narrowest part of the
peninsula, rises a monument to Ovid, who died in exile at the
neighbouring Tomi (afterwards Constantiana) in 17 A.D.
In summer there is a train-service to (½ hr.) Mamaia, with a large
bathing-establishment.
The sailings (Sun. & Thurs.) and arrivals (Sun. & Wed.) of the Rumanian
mail-boats are in connection with the arrivals and departures
(at and from the harbour-station) of the Ostende-Vienna Express, the
Berlin Rapide, and the Bukarest Express.
397 M. Steamboats (agents at Constantinople, see pp. 538, 539; at
Odessa, p. 565). 1.North German Lloyd (Mediterranean & Levant Service,
RR. 23, 24, 77, 80), to Odessa (and Batum) every other Sun. evening in
1½ days (48 or 32 marks).—2.Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co.:
(a) by the direct Alexandria line (p. 491) from Constantinople Mon. (from
Odessa Thurs.) foren., in 29 hrs. (80 or 50 fr.); (b) Two circular lines to
Syria and Egypt (p. 466), each every other Thurs. or Frid. aft. (from Odessa
Sat.), in ca. 1½ days (same fares); (c) Anatolian Line (p. 571) from Constantinople
every other Sat. (from Odessa Mon.) aft., in ca. 1½ days (68
or 42 fr., without food).—3.Austrian Lloyd (Odessa and Nikolayev Line)
from Constantinople every other Sat. aft. viâ Burgas (p. 562) and Constantza
(see above), in 2½ days (fares, 1st class 78 fr., 2nd class, without
meals, 30 fr.). On the return trips (3¼ days) the boats leave Odessa on
Wed. aft. and call at Constantza and Varna (p. 562).—4.Società Nazionale,
564Lines X & XI (Genoa to Odessa), from Constantinople Thurs. aft. (from
Odessa Frid. even.), sometimes calling at Burgas or Constantza, in ca.
1½ days (fare 60 or 47 fr.).—5.Messageries Maritimes (Marseilles to
Odessa), from Constantinople Mon. (from Odessa Wed.) in 3 days (60 or 40 fr.).
For Russian money, see p. 565.—Russian time is that of E. Europe
(p. 537).
For Constantinople and the voyage through the Bosporus,
see p. 536 and pp. 557–560.
The direct boats steer to the N.N.E. across the Black Sea
(p. 561) all the way to the Gulf of Odessa (p. xxxiv). Opposite
the mouths of the Danube and about 26 M. from the coast-town
of Kilia we sight, on the left, the Isle of Serpents (Ruman. Ins.
Serpilor, Greek Fidonisi), a bare islet of limestone rock, with a
lighthouse, belonging to Rumania.
The flat coast of Bessarabia, with its numerous lagoons (Russ.
Liman); is visible only in clear weather.
On the Dniester Liman, or great lagoon of the Dniester, lie
the towns of Akkerman (the ancient Tyras) and Ovidiopol and
the lighthouse at the mouth of the Zaregrad, beyond which we
approach the abrupt edge of the great steppe of S. Russia, which
is intersected by deep defiles known as Ovrági or Bálki. Important
landmarks are the Kovalevski Tower, once the water-tower at
Lustdorf (p. 568), and the lighthouses on the promontory of
Bolshoi Fontan, at the Great Fountain (p. 568).
Nearing the Harbour of Odessa we have a good view of the
whole sea-front of the city and of the series of villas (datshas) between
the Great Fountain and Cape Lansheron. The steamer passes
the Vorontsóv Lighthouse on the outer mole (p. 566) and then
anchors in the ‘quarantine harbour’.
Odessa.—Arrival by Sea. The examination of passports and
luggage, which not even the passenger bound for more distant places
escapes, occupies a considerable time. If the steamer is not berthed at
the quay passengers are landed by small boat (40 copecks, with baggage
50 cop.; in stormy weather 60–75 cop.) at the Platonovsky Mole (Pl. E,
4, 5). Passengers going straight on by railway should take a cab direct to
the main railway-station (70 cop., with pair 1 roub. 40 cop., incl. luggage;
see p. 565).
The Main Railway Station (Grande Gare; Pl. D, 7, 8) is the terminus
of through Express Trains from Berlin viâ Oderberg, Cracow,
Lemberg, Podvoloczyska, and Shmerinka (41 hrs.; fare 130 or 82 marks)
and viâ Alexandrovo, Warsaw, Brest, Rovno, Kasatin, and Shmerinka
(42 hrs.; fare 122 marks 95 or 75 marks 90 pfennige), and from Vienna viâ
Oderberg and Podvoloczyska (35½ hrs.).
Hotels. *London (Pl. b; D, 5), Nikoláyevsky Boul. 11, with sea-view,
R. from 2½ roub., B. 60 cop., déj. (11–3) 1, D. (3–8) 2 roub.; *St. Petersburg
(Pl. c; D, 4), corner of Yekateríninskaya and Nikoláyevsky Boul.,
also with sea-view, R. from 2½, B. ½, déj. (11–1) ¾, D. (1–7) 1¼ roub.;
*Bristol (Pl. i; D, 5), corner of Púshkinskaya and Kondratenko Sts., R.
1½–15 roub., B. 60 cop., déj. (11–2) ¾, D. (1–8) 1–2 roub.; *Yevropéiskaya
(Pl. d; D, 5), Púshkinskaya 4, commercial, R. from 1½, B. ½, déj. (11–1) ¾,
D. (1–7) 1¼ roub.—Hôt. de Paris (Paríshskaya; Pl. f, D 5), Púshkinskaya 8;
Hôt. Passage, cor. of Deribássovskaya and Preobrashénskaya (Pl. C, 5), etc.
565Restaurants at the *London, *Yevropéiskaya, *Bristol, and St.
Petersburg hotels; also Alexander Park (p. 568), in summer only, with
beautiful view; Nikoláyevsky Boulevard (p. 566; in summer), déj. 60 cop.,
D. ¾–1 roub.; Exchange (p. 568), D. 60 cop.; Bruhns (luncheon rooms),
Deribássovskaya 16 (in the court).
Cafés.Fanconi, corner of Yekateríninskaya and Deribássovskaya (Pl.
D, 5; newspapers); Robinat, Yekateríninskaya, near Nikoláyevsky Boul.
(Pl. D, 5); Liebmann, corner of Preobrashénskaya and Deribássovskaya
(Pl. C, D, 5); Palais Royal, Lansherónovskaya (Pl. D, 5), café-restaurant,
D. 50 cop.
Cabs (Isvóshtshik). To the Main Railway Station, with luggage,
35 cop.; to or from the Quarantine Harbour, with luggage, 70 cop.; drive
in the town 20, per hour 50, each addit. ½ hr. 25 cop.; to Lansherón
30 cop.; to the Small, to the Middle, and to the Great Fountains 75 cop.,
1 roub. 10, 1 roub. 50 cop.—Carriage and Pair (‘phaeton’) cost double
the above mentioned fares.
Tramways (horse) from the Main Railway Station (Pl. D, 7) through
Rishelyévskaya, Lansherónovskaya, and Khersónskaya to the Hospital
(Pl. B, C, 3); from the Old Churchyard (Pl. C, 8) to a point below the
Voyénny-Spusk (Pl. D, 4), every 5 min.; from corner of Preobrashénskaya
and Malaya Arnaútskaya (Pl. C, 7) to the Little Fountain (p. 568),
every 10 min. in ¾ hr. (with branch to Arkadia); from corner of
Kanátnaya and Skóbelevskaya (Pl. E, 6) to Lansherón (p. 568), every
10 minutes.—Electric Tramway from the Greek Bazaar (Pl. 2; D, 5)
to Lansherón (p. 568), every 3 minutes.—Steam Tramway from
Kulikóvo Póle (Pl. D, 8) to the Great Fountain (p. 568), every 25 min.,
in ¾ hr. (15 cop. to the Middle Fountain, 20 cop. to the Great).
General Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. 24; C, 4, 5), Sadóvaya 8
(poste restante upstairs, to the left). Foreign letters 10, post-cards 4 cop.
Banks.Imperial (Pl. 1; D, 6), Shúkovskaya 9 (open 9.30–3); Chayés,
Rishelyévskaya; Crédit Lyonnais, corner of Rishelyévskaya and Lansherónovskaya
(Pl. D, 5; 10–4).—Money. The Russian roubel, divided
into 100 copecks, is worth about 2s. 2d.—Money Changer.Gruber,
Deribássovskaya (Pl. D, 5).—Booksellers.Becker & Wedde, Berndt,
both in Deribássovskaya.
Sea Baths at Lansherón (stony), the Fountains, Arkadia, Lustdorf
(more open sea), and other places.
Consuls. British Consul-General, Ch. S. Smith, Kanatnaya 31.—U.
S. Consul, J. H. Grout, same street, No. 33; vice-consul, A. W. Smith.
Police Headquarters, Preobrashénskaya 38 (Pl. 23; C, 5).
Steamboat Agents.North German Lloyd and German Levant Line,
McNabb, Rougier, & Co.; Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co.,
Lansherónowskaya 5; Austrian Lloyd, Regir; Società Nazionale, Vitale
& Gallian; Messageries Maritimes, C. Muntz.
Theatres.Town Theatre (Pl. 29; D, 5), Theatre Square, operas and
dramas; Sibiryakóv Theatre (‘Theatre’; Pl. C, 4), corner of Khersónskaya
and Kónnaya, for operas and plays.—Pleasure Resorts.Hôt. du Nord;
Alexander Park (p. 568); Arkadia (p. 568); Little Fountain (p. 568).—Circus
Truzzi (Pl. 4; C, 4), also a theatre of varieties.—English Club
(Pl. 6; D, 5).
English Church, Remeslennaya 15 (Pl. D, 6, 7).
Sights (one day or less). Nikoláyevsky Boulevard and Monument
of Catharine (p. 567); drive through Yekateríninskaya, Preobrashénskaya,
Deribássovskaya. and Púshkinskaya (as far as the Exchange); Alexander
Park (p. 568) and Lansherón (p. 568).
Odessa (154 ft.), in the province of Khersón, is the chief
commercial and industrial place on the Black Sea and the fourth-largest
town of the Russian Empire (pop. 500,000, including at
least 175,000 Jews). It is the seat of an archbishop of the Greek
566church and of a modern Russian University, and it is the headquarters
of the 8th army-corps. It lies in 46°28′ N. lat. and 30°45′
E. long, and extends for a distance of about 4 M. over the elevated
and treeless steppe. The winter climate is consequently very severe
(mean temperature in Jan. 25° Fahr., July 73°, annual mean 49°).
Its wide and well-paved streets, crossing each other at right angles
and generally planted with trees, make it one of the most regularly
laid out and most handsome cities in Russia. Attractive parks have
been as it were wrested from the barren soil by dint of untiring
perseverance and unstinted care.
The rescript in which Catharine II. ordered the foundation of the
town was dated May, 1794, and its foundation-stone was laid by Admiral
J. de Ribas in August of the same year. The new city, which sprang
up on the site of the small Tartar and Turkish village of Chadshibéy,
was probably named after the Sarmatian harbour of Odessos which is said
to have lain in this neighbourhood. From 1817 to 1859 Odessa was a
free harbour. It was greatly improved by the efforts of two of its governors,
the Duc de Richelieu (1803–14) and Prince Vorontsóv (1823–54). During
the Crimean war the town was attacked unsuccessfully by the British
and French fleets in 1854, and the blockade by Turkish war-ships in 1876–7
was equally fruitless. The excesses of the revolution of 1905 were nowhere
more ghastly than at Odessa.
The Harbour (347 acres in area), which in winter has sometimes
to be kept open by ice-breakers, consists of an outer harbour
(154 acres) and five inner basins. Effective protection against
all sea-winds is afforded by a breakwater (1334 yds. long), the
quarantine mole (1120 yds. long), and the so-called roadstead mole
(710 yds. long), forming a continuation of the last. The so-called
Quarantine Harbour (Pl. E, F, 5) is for foreign vessels; the New
Harbour (Pl. E, 4), between the Platonovsky and New moles,
and the Coal Harbour (Pl. D, E, 4) are for Russian traders; the
Practical Harbour (Pl. D, 3, 4) is for coasting vessels. To the N.
of the town, opposite the suburb of Peressyp, where a second breakwater
and new docks are projected, lies the Petroleum Harbour.
Opposite the New Mole (Pl. E, 4) is a massive Flight of Granite
Steps (193 in number) ascending to the level of the town. It is
adjoined by a wire-rope elevator (3 or 2 cop.).
The finest feature of this part of the town is the *Nikoláyevsky
Boulevard (Pl. D, E, 4, 5), a broad street ¼ M. in
length, which stretches along the margin of the plateau above the
harbour, commanding an unimpeded view of the sea. It is bounded
on one side by a series of handsome buildings, on the other by
four rows of trees and pleasant grounds. In spring this is the
rendezvous of the fashionable world, just as the Deribássovskaya
(p. 567) is in winter. Towards the N. the houses end with the
Vorontsóv Palace. The Imperial Palace (Pl. D, 5) is also the
residence of the general in command of the Odessa Military District.
At the entrance to the Yekateríninskaya a bronze statue of
the Duc de Richelieu (Pl. 32; see above) was erected in 1826.
567A little to the S.W., in Catharine Square, rises the Monument
of Empress Catharine II. (Pl. 31; D, 4), by Dmítrenko and Popóv
(1900). Round the pedestal bearing the bronze statue of the empress
are figures of Prince Potémkin (in front), Count Súbov (on the right),
Col. de Volant (left), and Admiral J. de Ribas (at the back). The
monument is 35 ft. high.
From this point the Yekateríninskaya, one of the main streets
of the city, leads towards the S. Just beyond the Theatre Square
(see below) we turn to the right and follow the Deribássovskaya
(Pl. C, D, 5), a short street with the finest shops in Odessa, skirting
the Deribássov Garden, to the—
Sobórnaya Square (Pl. C, 5), with its pleasure-grounds and
fountain. On the W. side of the square rises the Cathedral of the
Transfiguration (Pl. 13), founded in 1794, in length 114, in breadth
46 yds., and 164 ft. high. It has a dome, rising over the centre,
and a tower 266 ft. high. In the interior, to the right of the main
entrance, is the tomb of Prince Vorontsóv (d. 1856; see below).—In
the grounds to the N. of the church is a bronze statue of Prince
Vorontsóv (Pl. 22; p. 566), by Brugger (1863).—On its E. side
the square is skirted by the Preobrashénskaya (Pl. C, D, 7–4), the
longest street in the town.
To the N. of the Sobórnaya Square diverges from the last-named
street to the N.W. the Khersónskaya, with the building of the New
Russian University (Pl. 30; C, 4), which was opened in 1865 and
contains archæological, natural history, and other collections (open
on Sun. 12–2).—At the N. end of the Torgóvaya (Pl. B, C, 4, 5) is
the Rússov Picture Gallery, with modern Russian paintings (shown
on application).
At the end of the Sadóvaya is the New Bazaar Square (Pl.
C, 4), where a market is held daily. The Market Hall is overshadowed
by a massive building of 1847, the large Sryétenskaya
or Novobasárnaya Church (Pl. 18), with five domes.
We return by Deribássovskaya to the Theatre Square. The
handsome Town Theatre (Pl. 29; D, 5) was erected by the
Viennese architects Fellner and Hellmer (1887).
A few paces to the W. of Theatre Square, at the S. end of the
Nikoláyevsky Boulevard (p. 566), rises the Town Hall (Dúma;
Pl. 7, D, E, 5), an edifice in the Greek style, with a portico of twelve
columns. Adjacent are a fountain with a bronze bust of the poet
Alexander Púshkin (1799–1837; p. 570) and a cannon from the
British man-of-war ‘Tiger’, sunk in 1854.
In the square in front of the Dúma is the Museum of Antiquities
(Pl. 3; D, 5), with objects found at the Greek colonies on
the Black Sea.
From the Dúma the Púshkinskaya leads to the Main Railway
Station (p. 564). To the left, at the corner of the Kondratenko
568Street, is the Exchange (Pl. 5; D, 6), a tasteful erection by Bernadazzi
(1899).
To the E. of the E. end of the Kondratenko Street, above the
Quarantine Harbour (p. 566), lies the Alexander Park (Pl. E,
5, 6; restaurant, see p. 565), a popular resort where open-air concerts
take place in summer in favourable weather. The Monument
of Alexander II., a tall column of labradorite, commemorates a
visit of that monarch in 1875. About ½ M. farther out is Lansherón,
a sea-bathing place (tramway, see p. 565).
From Lansherón a series of villas (datshas) and private gardens
extends along the sea to the Little Fountain (tramway), with
a garden-restaurant (band) and good sea-bathing, Arkadia (tramway;
band), the Middle Fountain (steam-tramway, see p. 565; excellent
beach), and the Great Fountain (reached from the terminus of the
steam-tramway by cab, 20–30 cop.), a village with the extensive Uspénskiy
Monastery, the goal of an annual pilgrimage. These three
villages take their name from a spring which once supplied Odessa
with water.
Still farther to the S. is the German colony of Lustdorf or Olgino,
with vineyards and frequented sea-baths (tramway from the
Great Fountain in 20 min., fare 20 cop.; cab 1½–2 roub.).
See also Baedeker’s Russland or Baedeker’s Russie (not yet published
in English).
723 M. Steamship Lines (agents at Odessa, see p. 565; at Batum,
see p. 570). 1.North German Lloyd (Mediterranean & Levant Service;
p. 563), from Odessa to Batum (and Constantinople) every fourth Monday.
Passengers between the two Russian ports are not carried. Fares from
Constantinople as at p. 571.—2.Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co.
(direct Crimea and Caucasus Line) from Odessa to Batum every Mon. aft.
or even. (from Batum every Sun. night), viâ Sebastopol, Yalta, Feodóssiya,
and Novorossysk, in 4 days (1st cl. 41¾ roub.).
Odessa, see p. 564. The Lloyd Steamers pursue a S.E. course,
straight towards Cape Chersonese (see p. 569).
The flat Cape Tarkhankut (lighthouse), the W. extremity of the
Crimea (p. xxxiv) or Tauric Peninsula (the ancient Chersonesus
Taurica), remains out of sight. On the S.E. the Yaila Mts., extending
to the Chatyr-Dagh (4990 ft.), gradually come into view,
along with the hilly district in front of them sloping thence to the
rolling steppes in the N. part of the Crimea.
In clear weather we may descry to the E. Cape Constantine,
the N. horn of the Bay of Sebastopol (Russ. Sevastópol), the best
natural harbour of the Black Sea, measuring about 4½ M. from
side to side. The higher parts of the town of Sebastopol, the chief
naval harbour of S. Russia, famous for its siege (1854–5) during the
Crimean War, also are visible.
569As soon as we have rounded the flat Cape Chersonese (lighthouse),
the S.W. extremity of the Crimea, we see before us the S. coast of
the peninsula, rising gradually to the precipices of Cape Aiya.
To the left rises Cape Fiolente, the Parthenium of the ancients,
the supposed site of the sanctuary of Artemis in which Iphigenia
served as priestess. Beyond it, above the steep and wooded shore,
is St. George’s Monastery, founded in 988.
In the distance, between bare rocks on either hand, is the
narrow entrance to the Bay of Balaclava, supposed to correspond
with Homer’s description of the Læstrygonian Bay (Odyss. X, 86–94).
The picturesque little town of Balaclava, the ancient Symbolon
Portus and the seat in the middle ages of the Genoese colony
of Cémbalo, was the chief base of the British army in the
Crimean war, famed for the gallant charge of the Light Brigade
(25th Oct., 1854), commemorated by Tennyson.
Beyond Cape Aiya (1919 ft.), which in clear weather is visible
for some 68 M., opens the Bay of Laspi, enclosed by the W. spurs
of the Yaila Mts.
When abreast of Cape Sarýtsh (lighthouse), the S. point of the
Crimea, below the Church of Foros and the Baidar Gate (1634 ft.;
celebrated for its view), the Lloyd vessels pursue an E.S.E. course
direct for Batum. The picturesque and exuberantly fertile coast
of the so-called Russian Riviera lies to our left, but all that we
can descry are the precipitous Cape Kikeneïs, the range of the
Ai-Petri (4046 ft.), and the distant Cape Ai-Todór (see below).
The Russian Steamer calls first at Sebastopol (p. 568) and beyond
Cape Sarýtsh steers near the coast. The chief points visible are Mshátka,
Miláss (recognizable by its four towers), Cape Kikeneïs (see above), and the
lofty and abrupt cliff of Divo, below Lemény. We soon sight the superb
château of Alúpka (p. 570), with Mt. Ai-Petri, the white Moorish château
of Julber, and Cape Ai-Todór, with the villa of Schwalbennest.
Beyond the headland Yálta is disclosed to view. In the distance to
the N.E. rises Ayu-Dagh (‘bear hill’; 1854 ft.). We pass Oreánda and
Livadia (p. 570) and land at the mole of—
Yálta.—Hotels. *Rossíya (Pl. a), R. from 2–3, B. ¾, D. 1¼ roub.;
Fránziya (Pl. c). rather cheaper; Hôt. de Yalta (Pl. d), in a high site, good,
R. from 1½ roub., D. from 80 cop. to 1 roub.; Márino (Pl. i); Oreánda;
Métropole; Grand-Hôtel (Pl. f), etc.—Restaurant in the public gardens
D. ½–1 roub.
Cabs (good ‘phaetons’ and pair). Drive in the town (also to or from
harbour) 20–50 cop. (luggage 10 cop.); hour 70, each addit. ½ hr. 30 cop.—Post
& Telegraph Office, at the Oreánda Hotel (see above).—Sea
Baths (10–15 cop.), on the Nábereshnaya (stony beach).—The Yalta section
of the Club Alpin de Crimée arranges, from April to Oct., drives (fare
1½ roub.) and walks in the environs. In the club-house (Pl. 3; with museum
and meteorological station), beside the police-bridge, the programme
for the week may be consulted.
Yálta or Jálta, the capital of a district, with 20,000 inhab., most picturesquely
situated in a bay formed by the spurs of the abrupt Yaila Mts.
(p. 568), is the most fashionable watering-place in the Crimea (mean
annual temperature 57° Fahr.). The Nábereshnaya or Marine Esplanade
and the adjacent shady town-garden (20 cop.) are the chief promenades.
570To the E. of Yalta, and reached in 1 hr. by the upper road to Gursuff
(see below), is the (3 M.) beautiful park of *Lower Massándra (carr. there
and back 1 roub. 60 cop.; adm. by season-tickets which are issued free
of charge at the director’s office on week-days, 9–12 and 2–5). Adjacent,
on the N.E., is Upper Massándra, with a small imperial château.—To the
E. of Lower Massándra are the vineyards of Maharátsh and (4½ M. from
Yalta) Nikíta, with an interesting acclimatization-garden, founded in 1812.
In beautiful grounds about 2 M. to the S.W. of Yalta are the two
imperial palaces of Livádia. Adm. on week-days, 9–12 and 2–5, on showing
one’s passport at the director’s office. From the park of Livadia we may
next go by the ‘Lower Road’ to the adjoining park of Oreánda (carr. from
Yalta 3 roub. 20 cop.), which likewise is imperial property. Since it was
burned in 1882 the castle has remained a ruin. A good view is obtained
from the Krestóvaya Gorá (614 ft.) or ‘Hill of the Holy Cross’.
About 11 M. to the S.W. of Yalta (carr. 3 roub. 20 cop.; also local
steamers), on the coast, lies Alúpka, with a beautiful park and a château
in the Gothic-Moorish style, built by Blore in 1837 for Prince Vorontsóv
(p. 566).—About 9 M. to the N.E. of Yalta is Gursuff (carr. 5 roub. 60 cop.;
also local steamers), in a charming situation, with good sea-baths. In
the former château of the Duc de Richelieu Púshkin (p. 567) lived in 1820.
Beyond Yalta the direct Russian steamers continue their voyage along
the coast, which farther on becomes increasingly level, to Feodossiya or
Theodosia (p. xxxiv), the chief commercial port of the Crimea. Hence
they steer to the S.E., leaving the Straits of Kertch (see below) to the
left, to the beautifully situated seaport of Novorossysk. From the last
port to Batum the steamers follow a similar course to that of the Lloyd
Steamers described below.
See also Baedeker’s Russland or Russie (no English edition).
The Lloyd Steamer now makes for the open sea, leaving the
Straits of Kertch or Yeníkale (the ancient Cimmerian Bosporus),
the entrance to the Sea of Azov (p. 561), far to port (left).
The S.W. slope of the Great Caucasus, the mighty frontier-wall
between Europe and Asia, which has been almost uninhabited
since the emigration of the Circassians in 1865, does not become
visible until we are abreast of Gagry. When we are nearly opposite
the mouth of the Ingúr we may descry in clear weather the two
snowy domes of the volcanic Elbruz, or, as it is sometimes called,
Elburz (18,468 ft.), the chief height of the Central Caucasus.
As the boat holds its course in the direction of Batum the
Ajara Mts. (Lazistan, p. 571), belonging to the Little Caucasus
(‘Armenian Highlands’) rise to the E., separated from the Great
Caucasus by the ancient land of Colchis, the marshy plain of the
Rion (the ancient Phasis). The Harbour of Batum, opening to the
N., is inadequately sheltered from the W. and S.W. storms of winter
by Cape Batum (lighthouse).
Batum.—Arrival. All the steamers are moored alongside the quay;
hand baggage 5 cop., heavy luggage 10 cop. each package.
Hotels.Fránziya, Micháilovskaya; Impérial, Kutaïskaya, R. 1½–10, B.
½ roub.; Oriental, Nábereshnaya.—Post & Telegraph Office, Maríinsky
Prospekt.—Cab from harbour or station to town 40, drive 25, hour 60 cop.
Consuls. British, P. W. J. Stevens.—United States, A. Heingartner;
vice-consul, E. Mattievich.
Steamboat Agents.North German Lloyd, Schutz & Zimmermann;
Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co., Arkadaksky; Austrian Lloyd,
571Marcetich; Messageries Maritimes, De Cortenze; Società Nazionale, Valazzi;
N. Paquet & Co., Victor d’Arnaud.
Batum, a town of ca. 30,000 inhab., was the ancient Bathys,
a place of little importance. In modern times, under the name of
Bathumi, it was a Turkish frontier-fortress down to 1878. By the
terms of the Berlin Congress of that year it passed to Russia (along
with Kars), and it is now the strongly-fortified capital of the
Russian province of its own name. The town, which has the most
important harbour on the E. coast of the Black Sea, owes its present
prosperity to the construction of the railway to Bakú, on the
Caspian Sea. The staples of its trade are petroleum products (annual
exports 1¼ million tons), manganese ore, liquorice, silk-cocoons,
and wool. Along the beach runs the Boulevard, above
which to the S. rises the Alexander Névsky Cathedral, built in
1903. About ¾ M. to the S. lies the Railway Station, and near
by is a Roman Catholic Church. In the W. part of the town, on
Lake Nurie, is the Alexander Park, with subtropical vegetation.
To the S.W. of the town, beyond Cape Batum, is the marshy and
fever-stricken Delta of the Chorokh.
See also Baedeker’s Russland or Russie (no English edition).
726 M. Steamship Lines (agents at Batum, see p. 570; at Constantinople,
see pp. 538, 539). 1.North German Lloyd (Mediterranean & Levant
Service; p. 563), from Batum every alternate Sat., in 4 days, viâ Trebizond,
Samsun, and (if required) Ineboli (fare 80 or 56 marks).—2.Russian
Steam Navigation & Trading Co. (Anatolian line), from Batum every other
Thurs. night (from Constantinople Frid. aft.) viâ Rizeh, Trebizond, Kerasun,
Ordu, Samsun, Sinope, and Ineboli, in 6½ days (fare 112 or 84 fr., food
extra).—3.Austrian Lloyd, from Batum Frid. midnight (from Constantinople
Sat. aft.) viâ Rizeh, Trebizond, Kerasun, Samsun, and Ineboli, in
5½ days (fare 130; 2nd class, food extra, 48 fr.).—4.Messageries Maritimes,
from Batum every second Wed. evening (from Constantinople Mon.)
viâ Trebizond and Samsun, in 5 days (fare 100 or 60 fr.).—5.N. Paquet
& Co., from Batum every second Thurs. (from Constantinople Tues.) viâ
Trebizond and Samsun, in 5 days (fare 100 or 60 fr.).—6.Società Nazionale
(Line IX), from Batum every other Tues. even, (from Constantinople
Thurs. aft.) viâ Trebizond, Kerasun, Samsun, and Ineboli, in 4½–5 days
(fares 93 fr. 70, 62 fr. 50 c.).
Most of the Austrian, French, and Italian vessels are small old cargo-boats.
The S. coast of the Black Sea is often visited by dangerous tempests,
especially in winter.—For Turkish money, see p. 536.
Batum, see p. 570. Long after starting we continue to enjoy,
in clear weather, a grand *View of the snow-clad central chain
of the Great Caucasus (p. 570). The rugged mountains of the
Lazistan, covered with snow in winter, become visible as far as
the Kolat Dagh (about 7540 ft.) and are equally impressive. There
are numerous small towns on the coast, but the only one called at
by the steamers is Rizeh (the ancient Rhizūs), the first seaport
572beyond the Turkish frontier, which is almost hidden by a forest of
fruit-trees.
We next pass the headland Erekli Burnu. As we near Trebizond
we see the delta of the brook Piksit Su or Matshka (the
ancient Pyxites), where, according to a vague tradition, the ten
thousand Greeks under Xenophon encamped in 400 B.C. on their
retreat from Persia (comp. pp. 574, 576).
Trebizond.—Arrival. The landing, which takes place at the
pier adjoining the custom-house (Pl. C, 1), is often attended by vexatious
delays and also, if there is a strong wind blowing from the sea, by
considerable difficulty.
Hotels.Pens. Marengo (Pl. b; B, 1), on the E. hill, with fine views,
well spoken of; Hôt. Suisse (Pl. a; B, 1), on the Hurriyet Meïdan; pens.
in both 6–10 fr.
Austrian Post Office (Pl. B, 1), near the Hurriyet Meïdan.—Steamboat
Agents, at the harbour.—Banks.Banque Ottomane (p. 539); Banque
d’Athènes.
Consulates. British (Pl. 15; B, 2): consul, H. Z. Longworth.—United
States (Pl. 16; B, 2): consul, M. A. Jewett; vice-consul, I. Montesanto.
Trebizond, the Turkish Tirabson or Tarábosan, the seat of
the governor-general of the viláyet of the same name and of a
Greek and an Armenian archbishop, is, next to Samsun, the most
important seaport on the N. coast of Asia Minor. It contains
35,000 inhab., including Greeks, Turks, Armenians, Persians, and
Lazis, who speak a dialect resembling the languages of the S. Caucasus.
Trapezūs, founded by Milesians from Sinope (7th cent.
B.C.?), was named after the ‘table’-shaped (‘trápeza’) castle-hill
(p. 573). Next to the mother-city it was the most important Greek
colony in what afterwards became the kingdom of Pontus (p. 575),
and was the seat of a governor in the Byzantine period. After the
conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders (p. 542) it became
the capital of the small Greek empire of the Comneni, the last of
whom, David Comnenus, was overthrown by Mohammed II. (p. 542)
in 1461.
Trebizond is picturesquely situated on three low ridges at the
N. base of Boz Tepeh (800 ft.), an outlier of the mountains extending
thence to the S. to the Kolat Dagh (p. 571). The small
harbour facilitates trade with the towns of the hinterland (e. g.
Gümüshkhaneh), but it is only partly protected against sea-winds
by the pier at Kalmek Point and a new breakwater at the headland
of Eleusa. Notwithstanding the competition of Batum and
the Trans-Caucasian railway Trebizond still carries on a considerable
camel-caravan traffic with the Armenian highlands (Erzerum)
and N. Persia (Tabriz).
The trade and industry of Trebizond are concentrated in the
new town on the East Hill, above the harbour. Beyond Kalmek
573Point, on which are a battery, a lighthouse, and the Güzel Seraï
(Pl. B, C, 1; now artillery-barracks), lies the Greek quarter, which
encloses the Frank quarter, the seat of the European wholesale
merchants. On a small promontory projecting from the N. shore
rises the Greek Cathedral (Pl. 6; B, 1).
A little to the N. of the Hurriyet Meïdan, with its pleasure-grounds
(Pl. 12; B, 1), runs one of the main streets leading to the
W. to the Bazaars (Pl. A, B, 1), or market quarter, which presents
a lively scene, especially in the early morning. The most interesting
stalls are those of the coppersmiths and of the native goldsmiths,
whose works in gold and silver filigree are sold by weight.
Key to Numbers.Cemeteries (all C, 2): 1. Armenian-Catholic; 2. Greek;
3. Latin (see p. 475); 4. Protestant.—Mosques and Churches: 5. Aï Yaneh,
B 1; 6. Greek Cathedral, B 1; 7. Great Mosque, A, B 1; 8. Kathunieh
Mosque, A 1; 9. Orta Hissar Jamissi, A 1; 10. St. Basilius, B 1.—11. Yeni
Juma Jamissi (St. Eugenius), A 2; 12. Grounds in the Hurriyet Meïdan,
B 1.—13. Seraï, A 1.—14. Zendan Kapusí, A 1.—15. British Consulate, B 2.—16.
United States Consulate, B 2.
Near the Aï Yaneh Church (Pl. 5; B, 1), to the S. of the Bazaars,
we leave behind us the Usun Sokak and pass over a Viaduct
(fine view) leading to the old Castle Hill, rising between the two
ravines of the Kuzgun Deresí and the Iskeleboz Deresí. This is
now occupied by the Turkish town proper and contains the ruins
of the Byzantine Town Walls.
574The chief artery of traffic leads through the Orta Hissar (Pl. A,
1, 2) or older and central part of the castle. It passes (left) the
Seraï (Pl. 13; A, 1), the seat of the governor-general, and (right)
the mosque of Orta Hissar Jamissi (Pl. 9; A, 1), once the church
of Panagia Chrysokephalos, said to have been founded by Justinian.
At the Seraï a street diverging to the left leads to the Yokari
Hissar (Pl. A, 2), or old upper castle, with the ruins of the imperial
palace of the Comneni.—On the N. side of the Seraï various crooked
lanes descend through the Ashagi Hissar (Pl. A, 1), or lower castle,
the wall of which projects over the W. ravine, to the Fishing Harbour,
the ancient harbour of Trapezūs, where remains of an almost
semicircular quay are still visible under water The appearance
of the fishing-boats is very quaint.
Through the Zendan Kapusí (Pl. 14; A, 1), or W. gate, we pass
from the Seraï over a second viaduct to the West Hill. Here lie (on
the left) the picturesque Turkish Cemetery and a suburb occupied
by Turks and Greeks. Beyond the infantry-barracks, at the W. end
of this suburb, rises the old Aya Sóphia Church, now a mosque.
Beautiful *Views are obtained from the caves of Kirk Batal (Pl. B,
C, 2), on the slope of Boz Tepeh (p. 572), above the Greek cemetery, and
from the high-lying Greek nunnery of Panaya Theoskepastos (Turk.
Kizlar Monastir; Pl. B, 2).
A pleasant Drive (or walk or ride) may be taken to the hill of
Suk-Su in the S.W. with the summer-residences of the wealthier Greeks;
or to the W. along the coast to (1 hr.) Platana (see below; motor-omn.
15 pias.; carr. there and back 40–50 pias.); or to the S., through the
Pyxites Valley (p. 572), following a road traversed by many camel-caravans,
and ascending steeply to (4 hrs.) Jevislik (carr. there and back
80 pias.; provisions should be taken).
Beyond Trebizond the Steamer passes the little port of Platana,
the ancient Hermonassa, with a good roadstead, protected against
the W. and N.W. winds. The lofty Cape Yoros or Ieros (ancient
Hieron; lighthouse), is visible for some 65 M. and is locally
regarded as an infallible barometer.
Tireboli, the Tripolis of the Greeks, the next seaport, now a
quiet little town with 5000 inhab., lies, like Kerasun, amid the
magnificent rocky scenery of the spurs of the Sis Dagh (9220 ft.)
and the Chal Dagh (6450 ft.), the summits of which are often
covered with snow. Roads lead thence inland to the towns of
Gümüshkhaneh and Karahissar.
Farther on, beyond Cape Zephyros (Turk. Zefireh Burnu)
we reach the seaport of Kerasun or Kerasund (Turk. Kiresün,
Greek Kireson), founded under the name of Kerasūs by the Milesians
of Sinope and now a town of about 18,000 inhabitants. Like
Trebizond it was one of the resting-places of the Ten Thousand
under Xenophon (p. 572). Its situation on and behind a small peninsula
575(about 425 ft.; lighthouse), which used to be fortified, and
backed by superb mountains is very picturesque. The poor anchorage
of the steamers is on the W. side of the peninsula, near the
pier and the custom-house. Owing to the want of good communication
with the hinterland its maritime commerce is insignificant.
The steamers seldom call at Ordu, the ancient Kotyora, but
steer across the Bay of Vona, the winter quarters of most of the
sailing-vessels on this coast, which is admirably sheltered by Cape
Vona (Boōna Promontorium; lighthouse).
Beyond Yasun Burnu (Jasonium Promontorium), the name
of which commemorates the legendary voyage of Jason and the
Argonauts (see p. 560), the coast recedes far to the S.
Without touching at the little seaport of Üniyeh or Unia (once
Œnoē), the steamer passes the Chiva or Chalti Burnu (Heracleum
Promontorium) and the large delta of the Yeshil Irmak (formerly
Iris; beacon), which is navigable for small vessels in winter only,
and steers direct towards the broad Bay of Samsun (landing or
embarkation 7½ pias.), which is enclosed by low hills clad with
plantations of tobacco and maize.
Samsun.—Hotel.Mantika, near the Banque Ottomane, R. 2–5,
pens. 15 fr. (bargain advisable).— Restaurant Yanni, near the tobacco-factory.
Banks.Banque Ottomane, Banque d’Athènes, Banque de Salonique.—Post
Offices.Turkish, French, and others, near the custom-house.
Consuls. British, B. Ch. Papadopulos.—United States Consular Agent,
William Peter.
Samsun, a town with about 30,000 inhab., was in antiquity an
important Greek colony under the name of Amisus and is now the
chief trading-place on the N. coast of Asia Minor. The chief exports
are tobacco, flour, grain, and linseed. The manufactured goods
it imports are forwarded mainly by trains of wagons or camels to
such inland places as Mersifun, Amasia (once Amasea, the home of
Strabo), Tokat (Comana), Sivas (Sebastia), and Kaisarieh (Cæsarea).
From the custom-house we turn to the left to the Market Place
with its clock-tower. A well-paved street leads thence to the
Banque Ottomane. Farther to the E., on the shore, are the Seraï
(see p. 483) and several Consulates. The attractive Villa Quarter,
occupied by Armenian and Greek merchants, conveys an impression
of great prosperity.
Beyond Samsun the sandy coast juts out far towards the N.W.
We pass the strip of land separating the sea from the large lagoon
Ak Göl, the vicinity of which is infested by fever. Cape Bafra
(beacon), a little farther on, is near the delta of the Kizil Irmak
(Halys), which in B.C. 301–183 formed the boundary between the
kingdom of Pontus and Paphlagonia. Though the largest river
in Asia Minor the Kizil Irmak is not navigable.
576Beyond the month of the Halys we come to a broad semicircular
bay. On its N. shore, beyond the peninsula of Boz Tepeh Burnu
(about 650 ft.; beacon), is a tongue of land on which stands Sinōpe
(Turk. Sinob), the oldest of the colonies established on the coast
of the Black Sea by the Greeks of Miletus (p. 491) and long the
most powerful. Sinope was the home of Diogenes the Cynic (about
B. C. 412–323). Here Xenophon’s Ten Thousand (p. 574) took ship
on their way back to Byzantium (p. 541) at the conclusion of the
toilsome Anabasis. It was also the residence of Mithridates VI.
(B. C. 120–63; comp. p. 507), the last king of Pontus, who was famous
both for his linguistic accomplishments and his military powers.
He extended his sway over the whole of Asia Minor and the Crimea
(p. 568), but was finally subdued by the Romans in three hardfought
campaigns. Sinope, formerly the starting-point of an important
caravan-route to Cappadocia and the lands of the Euphrates,
now possesses, notwithstanding its excellent harbour, little more
than the shadow of its former greatness. The poor little town,
inhabited by about 8000 Greeks and Turks, entirely lacks roads to
the interior. The barracks at the W. end of the headland serve as
a quarantine lazaretto.
We next steam past Injeh Burun (Syrias Promontorium;
beacon), the northmost point of Asia Minor, and skirt a hilly,
well-wooded, but thinly peopled stretch of the shore.
Ineboli (Ionopolis), the chief seaport of this part of the coast,
situated on the little river of that same name, is a poor little town
with Turkish timber-built houses (p. 542) and a ruined castle.
The roads, with their breakwater in ruins, are exposed to every
wind and are often inaccessible in winter for days together. A
road leads hence to (ca. 50 M.) Kastamuni, the present capital of
the ancient Paphlagonia.
The small ports beyond Cape Kerembe (Carambis Promontorium;
lights), where the coast again turns to the S.W., are not
touched at by the large steamers.
Farther on, in the ancient Bithynia, appear the prominent
Cape Baba (Acherusia Promontorium; beacon) and Cape Kirpe
or Kerpe, with the small island of Kirpe (Thynias; beacon). Near
Cape Baba lay the important Greek colony of Heraclea Pontica,
now called Erekli or Bender Eregli.
Farther on is the Yum Burnu (p. 560), which is visible at a
distance of 17 M. and marks the N. entrance to the Bosporus.
For the passage of the Bosporus and the arrival in Constantinople,
see pp. 560–558 and p. 536.