Thursday, August 4, 2011

ALGERIA

ALGIERS
Sights & Sites
Notre Dame d’Afrique – 3 Avenue Ali Ourak (Bologhine, off Rue de Zighara); 011-213-23-154-019; notre-dame-afrique.org; on north side of Algiers, on 407' cliff overlooking Algiers Bay; formerly could be reached from city center by cable car; can be considered to be counter-piece to Notre-Dame de la Garde in Marseille; contains 46 stained glass windows installed in 19th Century, blown out during April 1943 bombing & restored twice since WWII’s end; basilica damaged by 2003 Boumerdès earthquake.



DJANET
Sights & Sites
Tassili n'Ajjer - whc.unesco.org/en/list/179; national park, Biosphere Reserve (cypresses) and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Sahara desert, located on vast plateau in southeastern Algeria; dramatic landscape includes among most important prehistoric cave art groupings; covers area of more than K28 square miles.



GHARDAIA
Sights & Sites
Rainbow Sediment Stratum – Oued Metlili (Metlili lies at 1.6K' elevation in valley running from northwest to southeast between arid, rocky hills; amazing geological strata that are literally rainbow colored.



TLEMCEN
Sights & Sites
Chambre de l’Artisanat et des Métiers – Mechouar; 011-213-43-263-224; noted for textiles.
Great Mosque – Place Amir Abdel Kader; built in 1082; among best preserved Almoravid architecture examples; built under sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin; substantially enlarged and reconstructed by his son, Ali ibn Yusuf (in 1136); Sultan Yaghmoracen, Tlemcen’s Abdalwadid Dynasty founder, added dome and minaret section in 13th Century.
Kissaria Market – off of Place Amir Abdel Kader.
Mosque and Museum of Sidi Bel Hassen – 20DA Place Amir Abdel Kader; built in 1297 and, since independence, museum.
Sidi Boumediene Tomb – El Eubbad district (town’s outskirts); complex of mosque and tomb.

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