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Most impressive and interesting

attractions and landmarks inAlgeria

Gatis Pāvils, 10 February 2013No.2. http://www.wondermondo.com/Algeria.htm

AlgeriaA lgeria is the largest country in Africa. Unstable political situation prevents development of

tourism – but rest assured that there is a lot to see in this diverse country. A huge lot of attractions still waits be discovered – occasional travellers report huge amount of prehistoric landmarks in remote parts of Sahara – and no scientists have seen them yet. Highlights of Algeria are:

· Prehistoric rock art in Tassili N'Ajjer – only Aboriginal rock art in Australia and the cave art in France and Spain can compete with the quality and diversity of rock art in Tassili N'Ajjer, and, most likely, no other place in the world has such a wealth of this art. Prehistoric people have created many narratives which are mysterious to us and, it is possible, their meaning will never be explained.

· Cliff formations in Tassili N'Ajjer – these mountains in the centre of Sahara are truly breathtaking. Hundreds of fantastic cliff formations – such as forests of rock stacks and countless natural arches – stimulate

imagination and, possibly, inspired the great rock art.

· Numidian and later Berber heritage – Algeria has its own indigenous culture and heritage. Very interesting are the tombs of the ancient Numidian kings – but even more amazing are the later urban planning traditions and architecture in the old cities and towns of Algeria.

Natural landmarks

Impact craters

Amguid crater – Tamanghasset. Very well pronounced impact crater, less than 100,000 years old. Diametre – 500 – 530 m, 65 m deep.

Ouarkziz crater – Tindouf. Exposed impact crater, 3.5 km in diameter and some 70 million years old.

Talemzane crater (Madna crater) – Laghouat. Exposed impact crater, 1.75 km in diameter, less than 3 million years old.

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Featured: Amguid crater

Amguid crater. Bertrand Devouard and Florence Devouard, Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0.

O ne of the best preserved impact craters on Earth – Amguid crater in Algeria – is also one of hardest to access. Some travellers report that this crater has been visited much less than the summit of Everest, at least in the modern times.

Wonder mondo is unique project: it aims to describe the most interesting man made and natural attractions / landmarks in the whole world.

Author of website www.wondermondo.com and each article in it is Gatis Pāvils.

Caves

Anou Ifflis – Tizi Ouzou. One of the deepest known caves in Africa, 1,170 m deep.

Rhar Bou Ma'za – Tissemsilt. 18.4 km long cave system.

Natural arches

Henri Lhote Arch – Illizi. Large natural arch with 22.1 m wide span.

El Mandar Arch – Illizi. Beautiful, 22 m wide and 7.2 m high natural arch.

Imestar Arch – Illizi. Group of three natural arches, the largest has a span of 21 m.

Rhummel Gorge and Constantine natural arches – Constantine. City of Constantine is crossed by a 1.8 km long and up to 200 m deep gorge, which is crossed by numerous bridges. Three natural arches cross the gorge, the largest is some 45 – 50 m tall, approximately 30 m wide.

Takouba Arch – Illizi. Weird, impressive natural arch, some 20 m high and 10 m wide.

Tikoubaouine Arch – Illizi. Large, 14.3 m wide and 16 m high natural arch with another, smaller

opening above it.

Waterfalls

El Ourit Falls – Tlemcen. Group of seven large waterfalls.

Kefrida Falls – Béjaïa. Approximately 50 m tall waterfall.

Ecosystems

Djebel Babor forest – Béjaïa. Montane forest with endemic species of plants and animals. The only place where Algerian fir (Abies numidica) grows, here lives a population of Berbery

Macaque and other rare animals.

Tamrit Valley of the Cypresses – Illizi. Group of very old and rare cypress trees (Cupressus dupreziana) which is endemic to Tassili n'Ajjer. It is believed that these trees are thousands of years old. Here are located approximately 100 cypresses – most of world's population.

Other natural landmarks

Hammam Meskoutine – Guelma. Group of hot springs which have formed giant travertine

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Constantine natural arches.Snapshots of the Past, Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

Hammam Meskoutine terraces.J. Garrigues, circa 1880, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

terraces. Output of the hottest spring (98 °C) is 1800 l/min. Used for bathing since the Roman times.

Tin Balalan cypress – Illizi, Wadi Amazar. The largest Cupressus dupreziana, 12 m circumference and some 22 m tall.

Titeras N'Elias – Illizi. „Stone forest” – large group of rock stacks. One can walk between these rock stacks and even get lost in this „forest”. Some very impressive natural arches.

Man made landmarks

Rock art in Tassili N'Ajjer

Aouenrhet rock paintings – Illizi. Group of prehistoric paintings of high artistic quality. Some paintings are truly unusual, such as the „masked god” and „white lady”.

Jabbaren rock paintings („Great Martian God”) – Illizi. Group of world famous prehistoric paintings, one shows enormous man-like figure, which by some researchers of paranormal activities is seen as a depiction of alien.

Sefar Wadi rock art – Illizi. One of world's largest prehistoric art galleries with many world renowned drawings. Most famous is the „Great God of Sefar”.

Tan Zumaïtak shelter – Illizi. Group of unique, well preserved prehistoric paintings, showing „aliens”.

Terarart rock panel („The Crying Cows”) – Illizi. Panel with prehistoric engravings of cattle with something like tears at their eyes. One of the highest achievements in such technique in Africa.

Wadi Djerat – Illizi. Eary example of rock art – thousands of rock engravings along 30 km long canyon.

Ruins of ancient cities

Beni Hammad Fort – M'Sila. Ruins of the first Hammadid capital. This mountain city was enclosed in 7 km long walls and had four residential complexes. Notable is the 20 m tall minaret of a mosque. City was built in 1007 and abandoned in 1090.

Djémila – Sétif. Well preserved ruins of Roman – Berberic town in the mountains. City was constructed in the 1st century AD and abandoned in the 5th – 6th centuries.

Hippo Regius – Annaba. Ruins of very old town, first established by Phoenicians in the 12th century BC, later – Roman town and important centre of early Christianity.

Khamissa (Thubursicu Numidarum) – Souk Ahras. Ruins of Roman town.

Lambaesis – Batna. Ruins of Roman town, founded between 123 and 129 AD, declined at the end of 4th century. Contains ruins of large public buildings – trimuphal arches, aqueducts,

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Great God of Sefar – cliff drawing in Tassili N'Ajjer.mitiemp.pe, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

amphitheatre and others.

Timgad – Batna. Extensive ruins of once important Roman town. Founded circa 100 AD as a Roman military outpost to protect Roman colonies from Berber attacks. Later became an important centre of Christianity, abandoned in the 7th century. Well preserved grid planning of street network. Important landmark – the 12 m high Trajan's Arch.

Tipaza – Tipaza. Ruins of Punic – Roman town, which later turned in to a centre of early Christianity. Contains ruins of three churches as well as amphitheater, baths and other structures.

Numidian tombs

Beni Rhenane Mausoleum – Aïn Témouchent. Numidian mausoleum, 15 m wide. Originally it was some 30 m tall, now much lower. Possibly built in the 2nd century BC.

Jebel Lakhdar jedars and Debel Araoui jedars – Tiaret. Two groups of funerary monuments of Numidian kings. First group has three of these round, pyramid like structures,

other – ten. Largest ones have a diameter of 46 m, height – up to 18 m. Oldest is from the 5th century AD, newest – from the 7th century AD.

Medracen (Madghacen) – Batna. Unusual stone structure – round, 18.5 m high pyramidal tomb of Numidian kings. Built in the 3rd century BC.

Royal Mauritanian mausoleum – Tipaza. Enormous stone mound, 60.9 m in diameter and 32.4 m high. Time of the construction is not known, monument is approximately 2000 years old.

Tomb of Massinissa in El Khroub – Constantine. Stone structure – a tomb of Numidian king Massinissa, built circa 148 BC.

Tomb of Tin Hinan – Tamanrasset. Unique funerary structure with eleven rooms, according to legends – a tomb of the legendary Tin Hinan. Rich tomb of a man was found here in 1925 – 1933. Possibly constructed in the 3rd century.

Other archaeological landmarks

Djorf Torba megalithic cemetery – Béchar. Megalithic necropolis, with stone slabs painted with horses and gazelles. It is possible that the most adorned grave was a grave of artist.

Fadnoun Idebni – Illizi. Largest group of idebni – hundreds of prehistoric solar tombs, formed as keyholes.

Roknia – Guelma. Large prehistoric necropolis with more than 3000 dolmens.

Senâm – M'sila. Large group of prehistoric monuments – stone circles from natural limestone. Diameter of circles varies from 7 to 10 meters.

Historical towns and cities

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Royal Mauritanian mausoleum.Yellès Arif, 2004, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

El-Ateuf village in M'Zab Valley.

Ghoufi – Batna. Historical village with many rock cut houses (balconies), built over the deep and picturesque Ghoufi canyon. Village inhabited since the 4th century AD.

Kasbah of Algiers – Algiers. Very well preserved old city with numerous valuable buildings and the characteristic urban network of small medieval passages and streets. Built mainly in 17th – 18th centuries in the site of ancient city.

Nedroma – Oran. Historical Berber town with medieval architecture.

M'Zab towns – Ghardaia, Bouboura, El-Ateuf, Beni Isguene, Melika – Ghardaïa. Unique monument of Berber urban planning and architecture – five closely located walled towns. Each of the towns is built in concentric rings around the mosque. The adobe structures often have unique architecture.

Timimoun – Adrar. Old desert town with characteristic planning and architecture. Most buildings are built of red clay.

Mosques

Great Mosque of Algiers – Algiers. Large mosque, construction started in 1097, well preserved example of Almoravid architecture. Minaret constructed in 1332.

Ketchaoua Mosque – Algiers. Large, ornate mosque, originally built in 1612. One of most ornate buildings in Algiers.

Sidi Boumediene Mosque – Tlemcen. Old mosque, constructed in 1339, with ornate details. Minaret is 23.7 m high.

Churches

Basilica Saint Reparatus in Orleansville – Chlef. Basilica was constructed in 324 AD and is the oldest church building in Africa. Here was located also the oldest known church labyrinth, now moved to Algiers.

Notre Dame d'Afrique – Algiers. Catholic basilica, constructed in 1872 in Neo-Byzantine style.

Other man made landmarks

Bardo National Museum – Algiers. Museum of history and art, located in an ornate Hafsid palace from 13th century. Contains fine collection of Roman mosaics.

Maqam Echahid (Martyr's Memorial) – Algiers. Iconic monument, built from concrete in 1982. 92 m high.

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El-Ateuf village in M'Zab Valley.

Notre Dame d'Afrique in Algiers. Yellès Arif, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.