Part 42

191½ M. =Sétif.=—_Rail. Restaurant._—HOTELS (comp. p. 174), all in the Rue de Constantine: _Hôt, de France_, R. 3½–4, B. 1½, déj. 3½, D. 4, omn. 1 fr., well spoken of; _Hôt. de Paris_, R. from 2, déj. or D. 2 fr., plain but quite good; _Hôt. d’Orient_, similar charges.—_Brasserie Gambrinus_, in the Hôt. de France.—MOTOR OMNIBUS viâ Kerrata to _Bougie_ (comp. p. 265).—DILIGENCES to _Bougie_, to _Hammam-Guergour_ (p. 269) viâ Aïn-Roua, and to _Périgotville_ (p. 269).

_Sétif_ (3596 ft.; pop. 21,790, incl. 7800 Mohammedans and 1800 Jews), on one of the highest sites in Algeria, stands on a slight eminence to the N.W. of the station. It was the _Sitifis_ of the Romans, which became the capital of the new province of _Mauretania Sitifensis_ in 297 (comp. p. 244), but after the irruption of the Arabs it lost all importance. Horse-breeding is one of the chief resources of the natives, and the horse-races are famous.

From the suburb near the station we enter the town through the Porte de Constantine. Near the Porte d’Alger, in the Place Nationale, adorned with a fountain, rise the _Hôtel de Ville_ and the new _Mosque_. In the _Jardin d’Orléans_, outside the Porte d’Alger, are a few Roman antiquities (altars, tombstones, etc.). The old Byzantine fortress with its eleven towers, to the N. of the town, has been converted into the _Quartier Militaire_. Outside the Porte de Biskra, where the Marché Arabe is held daily, lies a large _Berber Village_ with thatched houses.

On the old Roman road to Saldæ (Bougie), which runs past the E. side of the Jardin d’Orléans (see above), about 1 M. to the N.W. of the town, rises the _Mausolée de Sétif_ (popularly called Tombeau de Scipion), a rectangular edifice, 10 by 8 yds., on a basement with two steps, one of the best-preserved Roman tombs in Algeria.

From Sétif through the _Chabet el-Akra_ to _Bougie_, see R. 42.

The region between Sétif and El-Guerrah is one of the dreariest in Algeria. 200 M. _Chasseloup-Laubat_ (3445 ft.).

210½ M. _St. Arnaud_ (3117 ft.; Hôt, de la Gare, poor), a small town of 2100 inhab., on the N. border of the barren _Plaine des Eulmas_, with its small salt-lakes, continued to the N.E. by the _Plateau des Sbakh_ (p. 274).

The EXCURSION TO DJEMILA, 19 M. to the N. of St. Arnaud, toilsome but very repaying, is best made in one day, as there are no good night-quarters on the route. We start very early, by mule, carrying a supply of food. We follow the highroad to _Sillègue_ (diligence in the aft.) as far as the (12 M.) crossing of the bridle-path from Sétif, and ride thence to the N.E. in about 2 hrs. to =Djemila=, a poor Berber village on a narrow and lofty plateau amid barren mountains. This was once the Roman _Cuicul_, whose ruins, partially excavated of late, are the finest memorials in Algeria of the late-Roman epoch. The W. entrance to the forum was the _Arch of Caracalla_, a single gateway 40 ft. high, of the year 216, recently marred by a buttress for its support. On the S.E. side of the forum is a _Temple_, of which part of the peribolos (55 by 37 yds.) and the walls of the cella alone survive. To the N.W. of the forum are remains of a _Fountain_. In the S.W. part of the ancient town are the ruins of _Thermae_. The *_Theatre_, which originally had 24 tiers of seats, is remarkable for its well-preserved stage, 37 by 8 yds., and still 19 ft. in height, the front-wall being similar to that of Timgad (p. 293) or of Khamissa, etc.

220 M. _Navarin_ (3170 ft.; Arabic _Bîr el-Arkh_); 228 M. _St. Donat_ (2812 ft.), on the _Rhumel_ (p. 297).

239 M. _Mechta-Châteaudun_, station for _Châteaudun-du-Rhumel_ (2625 ft.), a small town 5½ M. to the N., on the Sétif and Constantine road, with a great Thursday cattle-market. Near it are extensive pastures, enlivened in summer by thousands of Sahara nomads with their herds of camels.

250½ M. _Oued-Séguin-Télergma_ (2480 ft.), in the _Plaine de Télergma_, where the neighbouring garrisons have their summer training. It is the station for (5½ M.) the little town of _Oued-Séguin_ (2474 ft.), on the river of that name, a tributary of the Rhumel, and for _Oued-Athménia_, with the splendid thermæ of the Roman villa of Pompeianus, and _Aïn-Smara_, with its marble quarries, two villages on the Sétif and Constantine road.

265½ M. =El-Guerrah= (2412 ft.; Rail. Restaurant; Hôt. de la Gare, R. 3, D. 3½ fr., quite good), junction of the line from Constantine to Batna and Biskra (R. 44), lies on the _Garah_ or _Guerrah_, one of the sources of the Oued Bou Merzoug (see below). The station occupies an isolated site on a steppe enclosed by barren mountains. Extensive view to the S.W. towards Batna.

The Constantine train descends to the N.E. into the _Oued Bou Merzoug_ valley.

271½ M. _Ouled-Rahmoun_ (2264 ft.; Rail. Restaurant, plain), around which are many megalithic tombs.

FROM OULED-RAHMOUN TO AÏN-BEÏDA AND KHENCHELA, 91½ M., narrow-gauge line in 5¾–6¼ hrs.; fares 15 fr. 80, 11 fr. 75, 8 fr. 85 c. (change at Aïn-Beïda). The line traverses a hilly steppe, ascending to the S.E. along the Oued Bou Merzoug, the main stream of which is called _Oued Kleb_ farther up. 7½ M. _Sigus_ (2523 ft.), on the site of the Roman town of that name, with scanty relics of a forum-basilica with three halls. Near it are a Roman and a contemporaneous Berber burial-ground, the latter containing many dolmens (p. 324) and also remains of old quarries. Beyond (20½ M.) _Aïn-Fakroun_ (3032 ft.) we ascend rapidly to the _Col d’Ourkis_ (about 3480 ft.), which crosses one of the offshoots of the _Plateau des Sbakh_ (p. 274). 41 M. _Canrobert_ (3041 ft.; Arabic _Um el-Buaghi_), at the S. base of _Jebel Sidi R’gheïss_ (5341 ft.; with argentiferous lead-mines). The line runs to the E., across an upland plain where ruins abound.

58 M. =Aïn-Beïda= (3307 ft.; Hôt. d’Orient, Hôt. de Paris, both rustic; pop. 2400), in the territory of the _Haractas_, a large Berber tribe differing but slightly from Arabs, is the starting-point of a road (diligence in 11 hrs.; railway under construction) viâ (20 M.) _Meskiana_ to (52½ M.) _Tebessa_ (p. 315). The _Jardin Public_ contains several Roman inscriptions.

From Aïn-Beïda the line turns to the S.W. towards the spurs of the _Aurès Mts._ (p. 278). Stations unimportant. 72½ M. _Tarf_, near the salt-works of the great salt-lake _Garaet et-Tarf_ (2723 ft.). Far to the left rises _Jebel Tafrent_, rich in phosphates. 83 M. _Baghaï_ (2914 ft.), on the _Oued Baghaï_, formerly _Bagai_, was one of the chief towns of the Donatists in the 4th cent. (Thamugadi being the other, p. 289), where in 394 a council of 310 Donatist bishops was held, but after the 12th cent. it fell to decay. The only memorial of its ancient importance is the ruinous _Ksar Baghaï_, a Byzantine fortress (built in the time of Justinian, after 539), 360 by 335 yds., with 25 towers. On the N.W. side is a castle dominated by a keep 84 ft. high.—The line then winds up to—

91½ M. =Khenchela= (3730 ft.; Hôt. de France, Hôt. du Square, both poor), a little town of 2900 inhab., once the Roman _Mascula_, the key of the E. Aurès passes, and still the starting-point of important caravan-routes to the Sahara. It carries on a thriving art-industry (manufacture of trinkets, etc.) and holds a busy Tuesday market. The Roman ruins were swept away when the present town was founded about 1860; but there is a small collection of antiquities (conservator M. Catalogne).

Road to Timgad, Lambèse, and Batna, see p. 286. From that road another diverges to the left to (4½ M.) _Aïn-el-Hammam_ (about 3940 ft.), prettily situated in the wooded valley of the brook of that name, with a hot chalybeate spring (158° Fahr.). This was the _Aquae Flavianae_ of the Romans, whose *_Thermae_, probably erected under Vespasian, and restored under Septimius Severus in 208, the best-preserved in Barbary, are now again in use. We note specially the round hall, once domed, with its circular piscina 26 ft. in diameter, and the large open piscina, 45 by 33 ft., with two vaulted lateral passages, flanked with side-rooms and basins.—A bridle-path leads to the S.W. from Aïn-el-Hammam to (12½ M.) the forester’s house of _Aïn-Mimoun_ (4413 ft.), amidst fine cedar-woods (p. 210), whence we may descend to the N.E. to _Foum-Tizourit_ on the Batna road.

278½ M. =Le Khroub= (2051 ft.; Rail. Restaurant; Hôt. Victoria, near the station; Hôt. d’Orient; pop. 9700, all Mohammedans but 500), the next station on the Constantine railway, has an important cattle-market. On a stony hill to the E. of the town (2527 ft.), about 1 hr. from the railway, rises the _Mausolée du Khroub_, called by the natives _Sauma_ (tower), the tomb of a Berber prince of pre-Roman times, built of huge blocks of stone in the Græco-Punic style. The square pedestal, resting on a basement in three steps, and part of the groundfloor adorned with round shields still exist. The upper story, which consisted of a hall resting on eight Doric columns with a grooved cornice, and the conical (?) summit were probably destroyed by an earthquake.

From (Constantine) Le Khroub to _Bona_, see R. 48; to _Souk-Ahras_ (_Tebessa_, _Tunis_), see R. 49.

Near (281½ M.) _Oued-Hamimin_ we sight the suburbs of Constantine to the left. To the left rises also _Jebel Chettaba_ (p. 297). 286 M. _Hippodrome_, station for the Constantine race-course.

287 M. _Sidi-Mabrouk_, a villa-suburb of Constantine. To the left, on the Batna road, are five arches of the *_Roman Aqueduct_, once extending from Ras el-Aïn Bou Merzoug (near Ouled-Rahmoun, p. 272) to the Coudiat-Aty (p. 297), a distance of 23 M.

At the foot of the _Plateau de Mansoura_ (2303 ft.) the train enters the _Rhumel Valley_. On the left are the blue-washed houses of the native quarter of (288½ M.) _Constantine_ (p. 297).

44. From Constantine to Biskra viâ El-Guerrah and Batna.

149 M. RAILWAY. Through-train, including a 1st class saloon carriage (10 fr. extra) with ‘wagon-restaurant’ in winter, in 7 hrs.; ordinary train in 8¾ hrs. (fares 26 fr. 85, 19 fr. 20, 14 fr. 40 c.). Views to the right as far as Fontaine des Gazelles. Railway Restaurants at El-Guerrah, Batna, and El-Kantara.

Among the intermediate stations _Batna_ is important only as the starting-point for Lambèse and Timgad (R. 45). _El-Kantara_ deserves a stay of some days for the sake of its own scenery and as a base for excursions to Tilatou, the Maâfa valley, etc.

From Constantine to (23 M.) _El-Guerrah_, see above and pp. 273, 272. Passing (31 M.) _Aïn-M’Lila_ (2527 ft.), we reach the _Plateau des Sbakh_, the great steppe of E. Algeria, with its numerous salt-lakes, ‘dreary in the extreme, yet grand in its motionless repose, with tufts of grey-green alfa growing here and there on the salt soil, backed by the bold precipices and pinnacles of bare rocky mountains’. Appropriate accessories are, however, furnished now and then by the huts or tents of nomadic tribes with their herds.

On the right rises the bare _Jebel Nif-Ensser_. Farther on we obtain, especially by morning light, a fine view of the salt-lake of _Tinsilt_, backed by the spurs of the Sahara Atlas (p. 170).

42½ M. _Les Lacs_ (2592 ft.), on the neck of land between Lake Tinsilt and (on the left) _Chott Mzouri_. We now traverse a long embankment crossing Lake Tinsilt, which is often enlivened by flamingoes and wild-duck. 53 M. _Aïn-Yagout_ (2891 ft.).

58 M. _Fontaine-Chaude_ (about 2790 ft.), with a few tents of nomads, near the small _Oued Mader_.

Just before the station we observe on the left the =Medracen= (Arabic _Madghasen_), a pre-Roman royal tomb (of Masinissa?), the finest of the kind in Algeria after the Tombeau de la Chrétienne (p. 238). The huge monument (reached by a field-road from the station in 1¼ hr.) stands in an ancient Berber burial-ground on the flat saddle between two low, bare ranges of hills, about halfway between Fontaine-Chaude and the (6 M.) _Sebkha Djendeli_, the ancient _Lacus Regius_. The Medracen, one of the few existing tumulus-tombs in the Græco-Punic style, consists of a massive cylindrical basement, 64 yds. in diameter and only 14½ ft. high, on which rises a conical pyramid in twenty-four steps, crowned with a platform of 12½ yds. in diameter (the total height being 60 ft.). The sixty unfluted Doric half-columns recall the oldest Greek temples of Sicily, while the concave moulding above the architrave is Egyptian in character. The rude engravings on the basement, as well as the Libyan and late-Punic inscriptions, are ancient. Of the vestibule, 26 by 16 yds., but few vestiges are left. The straight passage leading to the two small tomb-chambers in the centre of the building collapsed in 1865. The two other shafts were bored by treasure-hunting natives.

In the lofty valley of the Oued Mader we now reach the N. fringe of the Sahara Atlas, between the spurs of the _Bellezma Mts._ on the W. and _Jebel Bou Arif_ (5728 ft.), a range parallel on the N. with the Aurès Mts. (p. 278).

62½ M. _El-Mader-Pasteur_ (2851 ft.) is the station for _El-Mader_, the Roman _Casae_, a village with a little Byzantine fortress, situated 5 M. to the S.E., at the foot of Jebel Bou Arif. A road leads from this station also to (8 M.) _Pasteur_ and (19 M.) _Zana_.

The village of _Pasteur_ (two inns), on the _Oued Seriana_, was the ancient _Lamiggiga_. In the market are Roman and early-Christian relics.

=Zana= (no inn), the Roman _Diana Veteranorum_, a considerable colony of veterans, has several interesting ancient buildings. A triumphal arch of 165 A. D. is well preserved with the exception of the attica. An arch of Macrinus (217 A. D.) formed afterwards part of a small Byzantine fortress. The portal of a temple is still standing. The ruined Byzantine church in the forum was built chiefly of materials from Roman ruins.

The train mounts a steep gradient to (66½ M.) _Fesdis_ (3032 ft.), in a defile scantily overgrown with bushes, between _Jebel Azeb_ (4485 ft.; on the left) and the Bellezma Mts.

73 M. =Batna.=—_Rail. Restaurant_, déj. 3, D. 3½ fr., good.—HOTELS (sometimes crowded in the season): _Hôt. des Etrangers_, Rue de Sétif. R. 3–4, B. 1½, déj. 3–3½, D. 3½–4, omn. ¾–1 fr.; _Hôt. de Paris_, Rue de Constantine, next the town-hall, R. 2½, B. 1¼, déj. 2½, D. 3, omn. ½ fr., plain but good; _St. Georges_, Rue de Sétif, unpretending (attentive host).

_Batna_ (3412 ft.; pop. 7500, incl. 2400 Mohammedans and 700 Jews), founded in 1844 as a military base for the advance upon Biskra, and now the chief military station in S. Constantine and the key to the important Sahara pass of El-Kantara, is a peaceful country-town with regularly-built streets, and offers no attraction save perhaps the ‘_Village-Nègre_’ (comp. p. 181), to the S.E. of the Quartier Militaire. It lies near the sources of the Oued Mader in a broad valley, often very cold in winter, between the wooded Bellezma Mts. on the W., Jebel Azeb (see above) on the N.E., and the spurs of the Aurès Mts. (p. 278) on the S.

Tho finest point of view is =Jebel Touggour= or _Pic des Cèdres_ (6870 ft.), to the W. of tho town, a grand pyramid belonging to the Bellezma group. A rough road (mule 4–5 fr.), leading close past the station, ascends the valley to the W. and then the _Ravin des Gardes_, between Jebel Touggour and _Jebel Bou Merzoug_ (5840 ft.), to (7½ M.) the _Maison Forestière Oued Hamla_. Thence a bridle-path on the richly wooded S. slope of Jebel Touggour; lastly a climb, towards the N.E., through ancient but neglected cedar-forest (p. 210), to the (4 hrs.) summit. The immense panorama embraces tho Bellezma group and the distant Hodna Mts. (p. 270) to the W., the Plateau des Sbakh and the Tell Atlas near Constantine to the N.E., the long range of the Aurès Mts. to the S.E. and S., and part of the Sahara to the S.W.

From Batna to _Lambèse_ and _Timgad_, see R. 45.

Beyond Batna the train crosses the watershed (3543 ft.) between the Plateau des Sbakh and the Sahara. Far away to the S.W. are seen Jebel Metlili and the depression of the pass of El-Kantara (see below). 80 M. _Lambiridi_ (3527 ft.), near the scanty ruins of the Roman town of that name.

We descend the broad valley of the _Oued el-Ksour_ or _Oued Aïn Touta_, one of the sources of the Oued Biskra (p. 279), to (94 M.) _Mac-Mahon_ (3002 ft.; Arabic _Aïn-Tuta_), a poplar-shaded oasis and alfa station (p. 171), originally founded by Alsatians. The next part of the line, through a steppe furrowed by the brook and the winter rains, is curious and interesting.

99 M. _Les Tamarins_ (about 2460 ft.) is not far from the famous gorge of the stream, here called _Oued Tilatou_ (comp. p. 277).

The train next threads tunnels and cuttings through the saddle between the Tilatou valley and that of the _Oued Fedhala_ or _Guebli_, the second feeder of the Oued Biskra, whence we descend in a wide bend to the E. to (103 M.) _Maâfa_ (about 2130 ft.), at the influx of the brook _Maâfa_ into the Fedhala (excursion to the Maâfa valley, see pp. 277, 278).

In the foreground we again sight the bold rocky slopes of El-Kantara. We recross the Oued Guebli, which, below the mouth of the Tilatou (see above), is named _Oued el-Kantara_, skirt the S.E. base of the Metlili (p. 277), and cross the stream to—

114 M. =El-Kantara.=—_Rail. Restaurant._—HOTEL (comp. p. 174). *_Hôt. Bertrand_, with view, R. 3–3½, B. 1, déj. 3–3½, pens. 10, omn. ½ fr.—POST OFFICE, opposite the hotel.—CARRIAGE 2½ fr. per hour.—MULE with English saddle, per day 5 fr., with Arabian saddle 3½ fr. (in the villages of the oasis 2½ fr., when not ordered through a guide).

_El-Kántara_ (1772 ft.; ‘the bridge’, so named from its Roman bridge), the Roman _Calceus Herculis_, one of the most important caravan-stations in E. Algeria prior to the opening of the railway, owes its fame to the grand gorge of the Oued el-Kantara, called by the natives _Fumm es-Sahara_ (‘mouth of the desert’). The river here suddenly emerges from a wild Alpine region, flanked by the red limestone rocks of _Jebel Gaous_ and _Jebel Essor_, into a highly picturesque palm-oasis, below which it skirts the spurs of the _Aurès Mts._ (p. 278) and careers rapidly down to the Sahara.

From the station the road on the left bank, overlooking the river-bed, with its profusion of wild oleanders, and the charming orchards on the floor of the valley, descends in 10 min. to the _Hôtel Bertrand_, situated at the finest and wildest point of the ravine, in a basin almost entirely shut in by grey rocky slopes. A few hundred paces farther, just before the mouth of the *Gorge (here barely 45 yds. wide), is the _Roman Bridge_, which was too thoroughly restored in 1862 under Napoleon III., carrying the old road, now partly destroyed by a landslip, from the right bank of the river to the left. From the bridge we enjoy a peculiar and striking view across the palm-oasis to the red weather-worn rocks of the Montagne d’Albâtre (p. 278). A similar view is offered by the _Iron Bridge_, 8 min. lower down, whence we may look back also into the ravine with Jebel Metlili rising behind it.

The neighbouring *OASIS (pop. 3500), with its three mud-built villages, inhabited exclusively by natives of Berber descent, is, next to Bou Saâda (p. 270), the northmost palm-oasis in Barbary. From the iron bridge the road leads past a kubba and cactus-gardens to (12 min.) _Dahraouïa_, the only village at the foot of the red rocks of the right bank of the stream, named also _Village Rouge_ from the red mud-walls of the houses at its W. end, below the old burial-ground. The flat roof of the lower mosque, situated on the steep bank of the stream, affords a splendid view of the village and of the oasis as far as the Village Noir (see below).

We now descend through luxuriant gardens to the right bank of the El-Kantara, above which the village extends picturesquely, cross the stream 10 min. lower down (by mule, or wading, or carried by a native), and then, from the generally dry bed of the _Rivière Blanche_ (p. 278), mount to the right to _Bourabès_ or _Village Noir_. From the N. end of this village we ascend the valley in 8 min. to _Gueraguère_ or _Khrekar_, known also as the _Village Blanc_, the largest village in the oasis. We may walk through it and regain the hotel in 20–25 minutes.

If the El-Kantara is swollen we must return from Dahraouïa to the iron bridge and visit Gueraguère and Bourabès from the left bank. By carriage (7½ M., in 1½ hr.) we drive viâ Dahraouïa to the S. end of the oasis, and return on the left bank viâ Bourabès and Gueraguère. In the villages themselves we alight that we may better appreciate the novelty of the scene.

The *=Jebel Metlili= (4900 ft.), a range of hills to the N.W. of El-Kantara, scantily overgrown with scrub and alfa-grass (p. 171), commands a splendid view of the steppe of El-Outaya (p. 278) and the Sahara, as well as of the fringes of the Sahara Atlas as far as Jebel Ahmar-Khaddou (p. 284). The clearness of the air and the wonderful effects of light and shade enhance the fascination of the scene. The mule-track (2½–3 hrs.) leads to the W. through the valley of the generally dry _Oued Chebba_ and then winds up through a gorge and over the hill-side to the summit. On the way are sometimes seen gazelles and aoudads or maned sheep (Ovis tragelaphus, Arabic arwi; occasionally even at El-Kantara).

The excursion to the *=Gorges de Tilatou= takes a whole day, or about 5–6 hrs. only if we go by train to _Les Tamarins_ (p. 276), sending mules thither beforehand (provisions should be taken). Travellers from Biskra should go by the morning train to El-Kantara and proceed thence on mule-back to Les Tamarins, where they arrive in time for the afternoon train to Constantine.—The very picturesque entrance to the Tilatou valley is about 3 M. to the N.W. of El-Kantara. The grandest part of the gorge is at the Berber village (dasbera) of _Tilatou_, with its curious, still partly inhabited rock-dwellings. The village lies about halfway between the mouth of the river and the station of _Les Tamarins_.

A visit to the _Maâfa Valley_ takes a whole day from El-Kantara, or from the _Maâfa_ station (p. 276), with the ride back to El-Kantara, 6–7 hrs. at least. The mule-track leads past the S. base of _Jebel Groun_ (3905 ft.) and the small mosque of _Sidi Yahia_ to the rock-villages of _Fetatcha_ and _Ameradsa_, inhabited by the Chaouïa (see below), at the entrance to the wildest parts of the ravine. Good riders may return to El-Kantara viâ _Beni-Ferah_ (see below).