Algeria – 23 – Sean P Drysdale

Dear Reader (2025-12-02 – posted simultaneously to FB),
Many weeks ago you and I began this Algerian walkabout. Now it is time to return to Algiers for four or so posts. There are still places to see. As I mentioned I was on two back to back tours in Algeria. They both started and ended in Algiers, and it was only there that there was a little bit of overlap in content. I was grateful for that overlap, as I had the opportunity to visit places that were closed on the first visit. As well I experienced the perspectives of two different guides on walks through the Casbah.

On the first guided walk through the Casbah we had a minder who like our police escorts was there to make sure we didn’t tarry too long in a single place, stray from the path, or inadvertently photograph something or someone we should not. We had no minder on the second walk. Our guide on that walk was a charming and very well informed young woman. She was also kind enough to ask a group of veiled women if we could photograph them. The woman in image 01 smiled with her eyes and said yes.

The word casbah means citadel or fortress. “The Casbah of Algiers, corresponds to the old town or medina of Algiers. It is a historic district that has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.” (1)

“Likely inhabited since the Neolithic period, as were various sites in the Algiers Sahel, the first mentions of the city date back to Antiquity, when it was initially a Phoenician port, later becoming Berber and eventually Roman. The current urban framework was designed in the 10th century by the Berbers under the Zirid dynasty, later enriched by contributions from other Berber dynasties that successively ruled the central Maghreb. The Casbah reached its peak during the period of the Regency of Algiers, serving as the seat of political power.” (1)

“During the Algerian War, the Casbah played a crucial role, as a stronghold for FLN independence fighters. After Algeria gained independence in 1962, the Casbah did not reclaim its former central role and remains a marginalized city area.” (1) In some places there are still bullet holes in the walls, and I expect some of the collapsed buildings are the result of explosions. Like so much of Algeria, the Casbah presents an example of the difficult relationship Algeria has with its French past. There is both memory of once was and it is also where many people including a large contingent of artisans still live.

Footnotes
~ (1) – Adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casbah_of_Algiers