Our hotel is situated in the new part of Constantine which is about 10 km from the old city. The so-called ‘new’ city was built well outside Constantine’s original boundary in an attempt to reduce the level of population congestion occurring in Constantine.
Constantine, ‘the city of bridges’ is a dramatic city of precipitous cliffs and deep gorges, the lofty setting for one of Algeria’s most labyrinthine casbahs.
We entered the old city of Constantine and our first significant encounter with its historical past was the section of aqueduct constructed by the Romans in the 1st century AD. All that remains is about fifty metres of aqueduct including five arches of the supporting structure which is about ten metres high.
Section of aqueduct constructed by the Romans, Constantine
A little further along the road leading into Constantine, we stopped at the statue of Emperor Constantine I (or Constantine the Great) who was Roman Emperor from 306 – 307 AD. The statue is made from white marble and shows the emperor with his right hand lifted high and one assumes he’s offering strength and encouragement to his people. The site for the statue was chosen as it was here that in 1837 a battle commenced which saw the city of Constantine eventually fall and come under the control of the French.
Statue of Emperor Constantine I (or Constantine the Great)
Statue of Emperor Constantine I (or Constantine the Great)
Our next stop was the ‘Monument aux Morts’, a large stone arch set on a high cliff top offering sweeping views across the city.
Monument aux Morts, Constantine
The twenty one metre high arched monument was built in 1918 as a memorial to honour the Algerian soldiers killed in World War I. On the very top of the monument is a golden angel with wings held high as if in flight. The initial impression is that the angel is an eagle.
Golden angel on top of Monument aux Morts, Constantine
The view from this high cliff top is magnificent as there is a precipitous cliff edge leading down into a very deep gorge, formed by the Rhummel River.
View from Monument aux Morts, Constantine
We commenced a spectacular walk following the cliff edge and heading down towards the Sidi M’Cid Bridge. This is a 164 m long suspension bridge across the Rhummel River designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin and it links the Casbah to Sidi M’Cid hill.
View of Sidi M’Cid Bridge from cliff edge, Constantine
The bridge was opened to traffic in 1912 and until 1929 it was the highest bridge in the world at 175 m above the Rhummel River gorge below.
We walked across this dizzying span and the views in every direction, especially downwards were breathtaking.
Jak walking across Sidi M’Cid Bridge from cliff edge, Constantine
Rhummel River gorge below Sidi M’Cid Bridge from cliff edge, Constantine
Rhummel River gorge below Sidi M’Cid Bridge, Constantine
Rock arch below Sidi M’Cid Bridge, Constantine
Having crossed the bridge, we were now in the old city casbah and surrounded firstly by souks selling fruit and vegetables and then clothing and kitchen items.
Marketplace in Old City, Constantine
Marketplace in Old City, Constantine
Amongst this network of alleyways we eventually turned a corner and found ourselves at the National Museum of National Arts, Expression and Culture. This building is the former Palace of Ahmed Bey, the last Ottoman governor of Constantine.
The Palace was commissioned in 1825 during the rule of Ahmed Bey (ben Mohamed Cherif) and completed in 1835. Ahmed’s enjoyment of this magnificent palace was short lived as he was forced to flee in 1837 when the French took control of the city.
Garden in National Museum of National Arts, Expression and Culture, Constantine
The palace had two gardens and numerous elegantly tiled rooms on two levels. The rooms were to accommodate his one wife, three children and his harem. The upper sections of the ground floor walls show paintings of the trip the Bey had taken when he travelled from Constantine to Mecca. His daughter, Princess Fatima had an upstairs room with peep-hole windows and colourful stained-glass windows.
Paintings of the Bey's trip from Constantine to Mecca, National Museum of National Arts, Expression and Culture
Our wandering through the Medina continued and we viewed the National Theatre (Opera), an impressive building with both classical and renaissance architectural styles.
National Theatre (Opera), Constantine
The National Museum Cirta was our next exposure to Algerian treasures. This museum has a fantastic collection of artefacts extending from Phoenician times at around 1000 years BC right through to the French occupation in the 1840s. The Roman influence during the first and second centuries gains most prominence in terms of the museum’s displays. The numerous marble statues on display were extraordinarily beautiful, especially Faustine, the wife of Emperor Antonin the Pius and the statue of Bacchus the God of Wine. Bacchus seems to crop up quite frequently! There were some very large and superb paintings on display too. One showed starving Constantine people suffering from deprivation following the French invasion in 1837.
Statue of Faustine, National Museum Cirta, Constantine
Statue of Bacchus, National Museum Cirta, Constantine
Painting showing starving Constantine people suffering from deprivation following the French invasion in 1837
There were hundreds of Phoenician grave headstones on display and one in particular celebrated the reign of King Massinissa from the 2nd century BC. Three Phoenician amphoras from that same period were most impressive too.
We had a brief stop at a side street community where craftsmen who specialised in the production of fine and high-quality copper and brassware were located.
Copper and brassware artisan's shop, Constantine
We then drove northwest from Constantine for 35 km to the remains of the Roman city of Tiddis which hovers on a barren mountain slope. The town dates back about 2500 years and was a native Berber town of the Numidia Kingdom prior to coming under Roman control.
Roman city of Tiddis
Roman city of Tiddis and surrounding countryside
We spent an hour viewing the remains that were not in particularly good condition. There are two, well preserved arches and the forum deserves a mention as it’s claimed to be the smallest Roman forum known to exist. Amongst things that caught our interest were the arched gate, the troglodyte caves, the carved sacrificial bulls, a wheat grinding mill and the 4th century baptistery. The Romans devised very clever hydrological methods for collecting and holding water using aqueducts and cisterns.
We returned to Constantine and photographed the new Sidi M’Cid Bridge built in 2016.
Sidi M’Cid Bridge, Constantine
We then moved to the famous Pont Sidi Rached where we spent time walking on the bridge. At 447 m length it is amongst the longest stone bridges in the world and was built in the period 1908 – 1912. The bridge bears the markings of both Roman and French architectural style. It rises to a height of 102 m above the Rhummel River and is composed of 27 arches, the largest of which has a span of 70 m. This bridge is unlike anything we’ve seen before; it is quite stunning and a remarkable engineering feat.
Pont Sidi Rached bridge, Constantine
The new Salah Bey Bridge, Constantine
To complete a very long day of activities we made a very quick stop at the Emir Abdelkader Mosque. This beautiful architectural masterpiece is visible from many parts of the city due to its enormous size and its extraordinarily tall minarets.
Emir Abdelkader Mosque, Constantine
We returned to our hotel at 18:40 and prepared for another busy day tomorrow with an early start when we move on and visit Biskra.