Part 40

=17 M. Fort-National.=—HOTELS (comp. p. 174). _Hôtel des Touristes_, R. 3, déj. 3, D. 3½ fr., food tolerable; _Hôt. Bellevue_, humble.—CARRIAGES at the diligence-office, kept by _Aug. Passicos_.—Picture post-cards at _Boussuge’s_, photographer.

_Fort-National_ (3035 ft.; pop. 1000), in the territory of the _Beni Raten_ or _Iraten_ tribe, was built in 1857, to overawe the natives, on the site of a Kabyle village, and is now the capital of the Massif Kabyle, with a busy Wednesday market, and like Michelet (p. 258), is a favourite centre for excursions. It consists of little more than a single main street between the two town-gates. Several shops contain Kabylian pottery and wood-carvings. The trinkets sold here are often of Moroccan manufacture. The ‘cavalier’ or high bastion of the _Citadel_ (3153 ft.; adm. only by leave of the commandant) is a fine point of view, reached from the N.W. town-gate by the short Rue Maréchal. A similar distant view is obtained by walking round the _Town Walls_ on the N.E. side, and also from the Michelet road (p. 258).

EXCURSIONS. The best insight into the character of the people and their land is afforded by the interesting, but rather fatiguing walk or ride through the =Djemâa Valley= to _Michelet_ (5–6 hrs.; mule 4–6 fr.; path unfit for riding at places). We leave the road a few hundred paces outside the S.E. gate of Fort-National, pass the large village of _Taourirt-Amokran_ (2424 ft.), the capital of the _Aït Ousammeur_ tribe, a place noted for its quaint old-fashioned pottery, and then descend abruptly to the S. to the (1 hr.) _Djemâa Bridge_ (about 1300 ft.). On the left bank of the brook we ascend through the territory of the _Beni Yenni_, well known for their various art-industries, to the village of _Aït-Larbâa_ (2166 ft.; mission-house of the White Fathers in the vicinity; p. 247), and then to the S.E. to (9½ M.) _Taourirt-Mimoun_ (2435 ft.), whose white school-house is conspicuous from a distance. The main track now leads to the S.E. on the crest of the Beni Yenni Mts. viâ _Taourirt el-Hadjadj_ (2598 ft.) to _Tassaft ou Guemoun_ (2545 ft.), and thence down steep zigzags to _Souk el-Djemâa_ (1477 ft.), where we reach the steep road ascending to _Menguellet_ (3350 ft.) and _Hôpital Ste. Eugénie_ (p. 258). Shorter, but often impassable after rain, is the mule-track from Taourirt-Mimoun to the (¾ hr.) _Djemâa Ford_ (about 1395 ft.), and thence through a side-valley to (1¼ hr.) Menguellet.

To =Boghni= (8–9 hrs.; mule 8–10 fr.), a pleasant day’s excursion. From Fort-National we first follow, to the S.W., the fine open road to the village of _Aït-Atelli_ (2648 ft.), and then descend viâ _Aït-Frah_ (2126 ft.) to the _Lowest Djemâa Ford_ (about 900 ft.). Thence we follow the right bank of the _Oued Aïssi_ (p. 256) and go through the side-valley of the _Acif Djerra_ to _Souk el-Haad_ (about 1300 ft.), the chief market of the _Ouadhia_. We then skirt the S. slope of _Jebel Iril ou Moula_, crowned with the village of that name, and reach _Aïn-Sultan_ (1313 ft.), a copious spring shaded by huge nettle-trees (Celtis australis L.), 3¾ M. from _Boghni_ (p. 254).

Good climbers, properly equipped, may in the warmer season explore some of the fine passes among the *=Jurjura= or =Djurdjura Mts.=, the Roman _Mons Ferratus_, and ascend some of the higher peaks. Provisions and guides necessary; night-quarters are obtainable at the school-houses. =1.= To _Souk el-Haad_, see p. 257 and above; then viâ _Aït-Krelifa_ (2230 ft.), along the W. spurs of the _Chenacha Mts._, and through the wild valley of the _Beni Bou Addou_ to the _Lac de Tizi-Koulmin_, one of the few mountain-lakes in the Atlas. The lake lies at the foot of the pass (5813 ft.) of that name, which separates the _Râs Tachgagalt_ or _Pic Ficheur_ (p. 254) from the _Azerou-Ncennad_ or _Pic de Galland_ (7002 ft.), the westmost peak of _Jebel Akouker_. From the pass we descend to the S.W. through remains of a fine cedar-forest to _Bouïra_ (p. 250).—=2.= From Fort-National viâ _Taourirt-Amokran_ (p. 257) to _Aït-Lahssen_ (2851 ft.), the north-westmost village of the Beni Yenni (p. 257); then viâ _Souk el-Arba_ (1221 ft.), a market-village in the valley of the _Acif el-Arba_, to _Aït-Touddeurt_ (2271 ft.) and _Taguemoun_ (3852 ft.), on the S. slope of _Jebel Kouriet_ (5027 ft.), one of the Chenacha Mts. (see above); thence across three passes, the _Col de Taguemoun_ (3681 ft.), the _Tizi Guessig_, on the E. side of the _Azerou es-Guessig_, one of the Akouker group, and the _Tizi Boulma_ (5532 ft.), between the Azerou-Ncennad (see above) and the _Râs Timedouine_ (7563 ft.), the highest peak of Jebel Akouker; thence down to _Bouïra_.—=3.= Viâ _Souk el-Arba_ (see above) to the village of _Tiroual_ (2664 ft.), on the spurs of the _Azerou ou Gougane_ (7080 ft.) and _Azerou Thaltatt_; next across the _Tizi n-Assoual_ (5683 ft.) to _Ansor el-Akhal_ or _Ansor Lekhal_ (about 2950 ft.), and through the valley of the _Oued Beurd_ to _El-Adjiba_ (p. 251).

The ROAD TO MICHELET (29½ M.; diligence, see p. 256), starting from the S.E. gate of Fort-National, leads at first along the S.W. slope of the Massif de Fort-National, soon affording a superb *View of the Jurjura Mts., from Jebel Haïzer (p. 254), on the W., and from Jebel Akouker (see above) to the Lalla Khedidja (p. 259). To the right, in the valley, lies the village of Taourirt-Amokran (p. 257); opposite us, beyond the deep ravine of the Oued Djemâa (see p. 257), rise the Beni Yenni Mts. (p. 257).

About 4½ M. beyond Fort-National a rough road diverges to the left to (20 min.) the small hill-village of _Icherridêne_ (3494 ft.) and the _Monument d’Icherridêne_, erected by the French in memory of the decisive battles of 1857 and 1871. Near the pyramid we obtain a splendid distant *View. We may descend to the highroad on the other side.

For a short distance the road skirts the E. margin of the hills and overlooks the hill-country of the _Aït Yahia_. It then ascends in windings, passing near the villages of _Azerou-Kellat_ and _Taskenfout_ on the right, to a height where the road to (20 min.) _Hôpital Ste. Eugénie_ and _Menguellet_ (p. 257) branches off to the right.

29½ M. =Michelet= (3543 ft.; Hôt. des Touristes or Calanchini, R. 3–3½, B. 1–1½, déj. 3, D. 3½ fr., clean and quite good; mule to the Tirourda Pass 4–5, to Tazmalt 6 fr.; pop. 200, chiefly French), the capital of the _Canton du Djurdjura_, one of the most thickly peopled districts in Algeria, is prettily situated, on the partly vine-clad S.W. slope of the hills, with fine views all around.

From (½ hr.) the crest of the hill (4042 ft.), to which a path ascends to the left from the Hôtel des Touristes, we have an extensive *Panorama of the neighbouring Jurjura Mts., among which the Lalla Khedidja (see below) stands forth grandly, of the Massif Kabyle, the depression of the Sebaou Valley, and the distant coast hills. The view is peculiarly impressive in the early morning, when the snow-capped Jurjura and the green lower hills with their countless Kabylian villages protrude like islands from the sea of mist in the valleys.

The *=Lalla Khedidja= (7572 ft.), the highest of the Jurjura Mts., may be ascended from Michelet by one of two different routes. One route is viâ _Souk el-Djemâa_ (p. 257), the hill-villages of _Aït-Saada_ (3055 ft.) and _Darna_ (3314 ft.; night-quarters), and the passes _Tizi Tirkabin_ (4587 ft.) and _Tizi n-Kouïlal_ (5178 ft.), near the sources of the _Oued el-Hammam_. The other route is viâ the _Tirourda Pass_ (p. 260), the village of _Aït-Ouabane_ (about 3380 ft.), in the basin between the offshoots of the _Azerou Tidjer_ (see below) and the _Azerou Madène_ (6401 ft.), and across the Tizi n-Kouïlal, where the mules are left behind. The ascent is, however, easier and shorter from Maillot (p. 251). A bridle-path leads thence to the (4½ hrs.) village of _Tala Rana_ (4508 ft.; night-quarters). Then 1 hr. through cedar-forest (see p. 210), and lastly an ascent on foot, over loose stones, in 2 hrs. more to the top, where three ruinous stone huts afford some shelter. The imposing view embraces the whole mountain region of Great Kabylia, the main ranges of Little Kabylia (p. 266), the Sahel valley (p. 266), the Chaîne des Biban (p. 270), and the extensive Hauts-Plateaux (p. 169). Early in the morning in clear weather we may descry, with the aid of a telescope, the white houses of Algiers, while the sea is visible in the direction of Bougie. In the height of summer, on seven Thursdays, hundreds of the neighbouring Kabyles make this ascent.

Beyond Michelet begins the finest part of the road, which now rapidly nears the Jurjura range. After ½ hr. it skirts for a short time the E. slope of the range, where a path to the left diverges to the village of _Aït-Mellal_; then, returning to the W. slope, it passes close below the villages of _Tifferdout_ (3927 ft.) and _Tazerout_ (3884 ft.). The *View is particularly grand at a bend near the 53rd kilomètre-stone (33 M.), whence we observe a road-mender’s house in the foreground, at the foot of the bare _Azerou Tidjer_ (5745 ft.), which conceals the Lalla Khedidja. Opposite, on the hill beyond the head of the Oued Djemâa valley (p. 257), lie the three large villages of the _Beni Akbil_.

35 M. _Maison Cantonnière_ (4111 ft.; closed in winter). The road soon crosses (7 min.) the narrow saddle between the lower hills and the Azerou Tidjer, and is then carried along the abrupt E. slope of the latter by means of numerous embankments, galleries, and two short tunnels. On the left lies the deep-set _Tirourda Valley_, enlivened by herds of cattle in summer, with the village of _Tirourda_ (about 3870 ft.), viâ which the pass may sometimes be reached when the road is blocked with snow. Behind it rise the four bare peaks of _Jebel Tizibert_ (5754 ft.) and the pointed cone of the _Azerou n-Tohor_ (p. 260).

The road at length pierces the E. margin of the _Azerou n-Tirourda_ (6437 ft.) by means of a cutting called the _Porte Civili_ after its engineer, and ascends in a curve to the pass.

39½ M. =Col de Tirourda= (5775 ft.), the most frequented pass in the Jurjura, where we have a striking view of the hills of the Sahel valley, the Chaîne des Babors (p. 266), and Chaîne des Biban (p. 270).

Most travellers are satisfied with the ascent of the slight hill on the right of the road. The view is, however, much more extensive from the _Azerou n-Tirourda_ (see p. 259 and above), and still more so from the marabout on the _Azerou n-Tohor_ (6181 ft.), which may be scaled in ½ hr. from the _Piste de Chellata_, the road to the _Col de Chellata_ (4806 ft.; p. 251).

The road descends from the pass in many windings into the valley of the _Oued Aghbalou_, called _Oued Tixiriden_ lower down, and beyond the (44½ M.) _Maison Cantonnière d’Aïn-Zebda_ crosses to the right bank. The small villages of _Selloum_ (about 2630 ft.) and _Tixiriden_ (about 1970 ft.) lie a little to the right. Near the 94th kilomètre-stone (58½ M.) we reach the road in the valley, above the left bank of the Sahel, about halfway between (65 M.) _Maillot_ and (63½ M.) _Tazmalt_ (p. 251). The direct descent to Tazmalt by the bridle-path is preferable to the long drive round by the road.

40. From Fort-National viâ Azazga to Bougie.

77½ M. ROAD. From Fort-National to Azazga 22 M. (no diligence); from Azazga to Yakouren 7½ M. (diligence at 10.30 a.m., in 1½ hr.); from Yakouren vià Taourirt-Ighil to Bougie about 48 M. (no conveyances). Carr. from Hôt. Lagarde (p. 254), at Tizi-Ouzou, viâ Fort-National to Bougie 150–275 fr.; from Tizi-Ouzou to the Tirourda Pass (R. 39), returning viâ Fort-National to Bougie 175–300 fr.—Carr. hired from Aug. Passicos (comp. p. 257) and those also in the opposite direction, from Bougie (p. 262), when hired to Azazga or Fort-National only are rather cheaper.

The Azazga road between Fort-National and the Sebaou Valley is hardly less attractive, especially in the reverse direction, than that between Tizi-Ouzou and Fort-National, although lacking the mountain view. Between Azazga and Bougie our route leads partly through the forests of the Algerian Tell Atlas (cork-trees, evergreen oaks, etc.), now sadly thinned.

_Fort-National_, see p. 257. The AZAZGA ROAD branches to the left from the Michelet road (R. 39) a few hundred yards from the S.E. gate of the town, and leads through vineyards into the picturesque valley of the _Oued Bou Aïmeur_, the deep incision between the hills inhabited by the _Oumalou_, on the E., and the _Aït-Akerma Mts._ on the W., on the crest of which stand a series of five villages. Behind us is a fine view of Fort-National, which remains in sight as far as (6¼ M.) _Fontaine-Fraîche_.

The road now runs on the E. slope of the hill, through fig-gardens and olive-groves, soon in full view of the beautiful wooded valley of the _Oued Rabta_ to the right, and descends in short windings to the saddle between the Oumalou hills and the _Takorrabt Bou Achbatzene_ (981 ft.), crowned with a saint’s tomb. Sweeping round to the W. our road next enters the featureless _Sebaou Valley_ (p. 254), where it joins that on the left bank coming from Tizi-Ouzou. A branch to _Mékla_ diverges ½ M. farther on.

About 5½ M. farther we cross the Sebaou and then pass through a eucalyptus avenue to the Tizi-Ouzou and Azazga road on the right bank, where we ascend rapidly through underwood and fields to—

22 M. =Azazga= (1418 ft.; Hôt. Gebhardt, R. 3, B. 1½, déj. or D. 3 fr.; Hôt. Vayssières, plainer, good cuisine; pop. largely Alsatian), a large village on the N.W. spurs of the wooded _Jebel Bou Hini_ (3327 ft.).

The road ascends, soon affording a pleasant view as we look back to the Sebaou plain, through beautiful woods in the territory of the _Beni Ghobri_, to the saddle between Jebel Bou Hini on the right and _Jebel Zraïb_ (3061 ft.) on the left.

29½ M. _Yakouren_ (about 2460 ft.; tavern), a small French settlement, near the Kabyle village of that name. As we ascend to the (35 M.) _Col de Tagma_ (3094 ft.) we look back for the last time to a great part of the Massif Kabyle (p. 257) and the Jurjura Mts. Beyond the pass we enter the _Province of Constantine_ and descend through oak-forest and underwood, and then through fields and orchards, skirting for many miles the N. slope of the hills of the _Forêt de Tizi Oufellah_ (4285 ft.). The road runs high above the valley of the _Oued el-Hammam_, where many Kabylian villages are perched on hills or ensconced among rocks. These and the small baths of _Acif el-Hammam_ lie on the left.

Passing at some distance from the _Forêt d’Akfadou_, the most famous of the oak-forests of Great Kabylia, the road next skirts the N. slope of _Jebel Toukra_ (4806 ft.). Then, affording a distant view of the fine hill-region of the _Oued Dahs_ to the left, it passes close to the large village of _K’Bouch_ on a hill and approaches the neglected oak-woods of the _Forêt de Taourirt-Ighil_.

50½ M. _Chalet de Taourirt-Ighil_ (about 2950 ft.; rustic but good, R. 2, déj. 3–4 fr.), a resort of sportsmen.

Beyond the hamlet of _Taourirt-Ighil_ the old road descends to the S.E., in wide curves, overlooking on the right the valley of the _Fenaïa_ and the hills of the _Sahel Valley_ (p. 266), to the (54 M.) _Col de Talmetz_ (2703 ft.; road-mender’s house). A little below the pass we survey the upper valley of the _Oued el-Kseur_ (p. 262). In the distance rises _Jebel Arbalou_ (p. 262). Besides oak-forest we pass also through beautiful underwood, where the fragrant erica abounds, vying in spring with the macchia of Corsica.

Next to the forest-zone comes the fertile hill-region above the Sahel valley, beyond which are seen the mountains of Little Kabylia (p. 266). Passing several Kabylian villages, the road descends in many windings to (64½ M.) the village of _El-Kseur_ (295 ft.; Hôt. de l’Union, rustic).

65 M. _El-Kseur-Amizour_, and thence to (80 M.) _Bougie_, see p. 252.

The new Bougie road reaches, on the S. slope of _Jebel ou Chiouen_ (3289 ft.), the upper valley of the _Oued el-Kseur_, a dull, uninhabited forest region, and then nears the S. base of the bare _Jebel Arbalou_.

Farther on, in the vale of the _Oued Rhir_, we cross the La Réunion and Toudja road (p. 252).

=Toudja= (650–1000 ft.) is a group of Kabylian villages in the abundantly watered upper valley of the Oued Rhir and on the S.E. slope of _Jebel Toudja_ (1998 ft.), the E. spur of _Jebel Arbalou_ (4291 ft.), the latter of which may be scaled in 3–3½ hrs. Toudja is famed for its oranges. The modern Bougie, like the ancient Saldæ (p. 263), is supplied with water from the springs of Toudja. The _Roman Aqueduct_ was 13 M. long; remains of its pillars are still to be seen on the _Col d’El-Hanaïat_ (about 1475 ft.), ½ hr. to the N.E. of Toudja.

Lastly we descend into the vale of the _Oued Srir_ (p. 252) and reach (77½ M.) _Bougie_ (see below).

41. Bougie.

RAILWAY STATION (Pl. B, 3), in the plain, to the W. of the old town, not far from the Kasba hill.

ARRIVAL BY SEA. The steamers of the Comp. Générale Transatlantique (RR. 20, 22; office on the quay) anchor close to the Jetée Abd el-Kader (Pl. D, 3). Landing or embarkation 30, trunk 30–60 c.; small articles free.

HOTELS (comp. p. 174). _Hôt. de France & Royal_ (Pl. a; C, 2), Chemin de l’Hôpital, quiet, R. 4–6, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 12–14, omn. 1 fr.—_Hôt. d’Orient_ (Pl. b; C, 2), R. 3–6, B. 1, déj. 3, D. 3½, pens. 10½–13½, omn. ½ fr.; _Hôt. des Voyageurs_ (Pl. c; C, 2), poor; these two in Rue Trézel, with splendid view.

CAFÉ. _Richelieu_, with terrace, Rue Trézel.

POST & TELEGRAPH OFFICE (Pl. 3; B, 3), Place Gueydon, corner of Rue Trézel.—BANKS. _Banque de l’Algérie_, next to the post-office; _Comp. Algérienne_, etc.

CARRIAGES let out by _Spiteri_, _Pacce_, and _Ali ben Abdelkrim Frères_. Arrangements should be made personally with these or the drivers.—MOTOR CARS let out by _Vogelweith_, Rue Jeanne d’Arc.—MOTOR OMNIBUS, Messageries Automobiles Djidjelliennes.—DILIGENCE OFFICES, Place Gueydon and Rue Trézel.

SEA BATHS in the bay of Sidi Yahia (p. 264).

ONE DAY (when time is limited). In the morning, visit to Cape Carbon (p. 264); in the afternoon, walk round the town and the bay of Sidi Yahia. Photographing and sketching in or around Bougie are prohibited.

The quiet seaport-town of _Bougie_ (pop. 11,000, of whom 6000 are Mohammedans and 600 Jews), defended by several forts, rises in terraces on the W. shore of the bay of that name, at the S. base of the steep _Jebel Gouraya_ (p. 265). The _Anse de Bougie_ or _d’Abd el-Kader_, a small bay between two headlands, the _Kasba Hill_ to the W. and the _Bridja Hill_ to the E., forms the harbour. The so-called _Darsenâa_ (see p. 90), the ancient Roman and Moorish harbour adjoining the plain to the W. of the Kasba Hill, and near the industrial suburb close to the station, is now choked with the deposits of the Oued Sahel (p. 251). The upper part of the Kasba Hill to the N., above the new French quarters, is the _Ville Indigène_ or Kabylian quarter (Pl. A, B, 1, 2), whose red-tiled stone huts resemble those of the villages of Great Kabylia (p. 252). A second native quarter, the _Faubourg des Cinq-Fontaines_ (Pl. B, C, 1), lies in the upper part of the valley, between the two hills.

[Illustration: Port BOUGIE]

The environs of Bougie, owing to the copious winter rainfall (p. 170), are remarkable for their luxuriant vegetation and their splendid timber. The town is most beautiful in spring, when the gardens don their freshest verdure and the terraces and slopes are gorgeously carpeted with bougainvilleas. In winter the blue bay contrasts most picturesquely with the snow-clad mountains of Little Kabylia (p. 266).

Under the Carthaginians Bougie, like Igilgili (Djidjelli), was probably one of the chief seaports on this part of the coast, but its Punic name is unknown. In the Roman period, under the name of _Saldae_, it was the principal town on the bay. Its present name (Ital. and Span. _Bugia_) is derived from the Berber tribe of the _Bejaïa_ or _Bujaïa_, who settled in the vicinity in the 10th century. The town attained its brief prime in the middle ages, and was one of the most flourishing of the minor Moorish principalities when under the sway of the _Hammadites_ (1090–1152), fugitives from Kalàa des Beni-Hammad (p. 270). The Pisans, the Genoese, and the Venetians had their factories here. Wax being the chief export, the French still call their wax-candles _bougies_ (originally, in Ital., candele di Bugia). From the 15th cent. down to the French occupation, save during the Spanish period (1510–55), when it afforded an asylum to Emp. Charles V. on his retreat from Algeria (1541; comp. p. 221), it was a notorious haunt of the barbaresque pirates. The recent improvement of the harbour is expected to revive the ancient prosperity of the place.

The finest mediæval building in the town is the dilapidated =Porte Sarrasine= (Pl. C, 2; Arabic _Bâb el-Bahar_, sea-gate), probably a relic of the town-walls erected by the governor En-Nasr, in 1067, extending along the top of the two headlands, up to the Plateau des Ruines (p. 265).

Since the 16th cent. the bay has been commanded by the _Kasba_ (Pl. B, 3), a fortification of the Spanish period, and the ruinous (originally Turkish?) _Fort Abd el-Kader_ (Pl. D, 2, 3) on the rocky summit of the Bridja Hill. Both are now barracks (no adm.).

The =Harbour=, exposed to the infrequent N. and N.E. winds only, one of the ‘least bad’ in Algeria, and now 65 acres in area, was improved in 1905–9 by the extension of the _Jetée Abd el-Kader_ (Pl. D, 3; a fine point of view), by the formation of a quay at the Pointe de la Kasba, and by the construction of the _Jetée du Large_, an outer breakwater, 525 yds. long.

The town is entered from the harbour either by the Boul. des Cinq-Fontaines (Pl. C, 2, 1) or by the Rue de la Marine (Pl. C, 2) and Rue Duvivier, all ascending to the Rue Trézel. From the railway-station we ascend to the Place de l’Arsenal by the Rampe of that name (Pl. A, B, 2).

The RUE TRÉZEL (Pl. B, C, 2), which ascends to the S.W. from the lower ground to the Kasba Hill, is the only fairly animated street in the town. On the left is the _Hôtel de Ville_ (Pl. 2; C, 2), which contains a few antiquities, including a Roman mosaic (Oceanus and the Nereids) found near the hospital. The Fountain in front of the Hôtel de Ville has a hexagonal column with a Roman inscription in three parts recording the building of the aqueduct (p. 262).

The PLACE GUEYDON (Pl. B, 2, 3), the focus of traffic, named after Admiral Gueydon (governor of Algeria, 1870–3), and adorned with a _Monument_ (a genius in bronze), affords a splendid *View of the bay from the parapet.

From the Rue Trézel we cross the Place de l’Arsenal (Pl. B, 2) and ascend the Rue Fatima to the booths of the _Kabylian Market_ and to the Kabylian quarter, the chief boast of which is the pretty _Mosque_ (Pl. A, B, 2), completed in 1902. Close by is the _Porte Fouka_ (Pl. A, 2), the substructions of which are ancient.