Part 29

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).

a. The Harbour and the Old Town.

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.

From 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, including 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.

b. The New Town.

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 Militaire_ (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_, Pl. 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.

c. Environs.

(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).

The 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.

TO 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.

Excursion to _Misserghin_, see p. 185.

29. From Oran to Tlemcen.

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).