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Alleys of the Casbah

A high place of history and civilization, the Casbah has been and remains after centuries the concrete symbol of harmony between architectural art, a way of life and Muslim values. Founded during the second half of the 10th century by BOLOGHINE IBNOU ZIRI, Algiers was called EL-DJAZAIR because of the islets which were located offshore and which, connected to the mainland, today form the Admiralty pier. In the middle of the 11th century, one hundred thousand inhabitants lived in this city made up of several districts. Each district had its souk, its mosque, its fountains, its palaces and its very functional residences adapted to customs and the Mediterranean climate. Very beautiful mosques crisscross the city such as Djamaa El Djadid, Djamaa El Kebir, Sidi Abderrahmane, attesting to the attachment to Islamic values. A place of residence and center of activities, the Casbah was organized into relatively autonomous districts specialized in the production of goods and services necessary for the daily life of the inhabitants. Each professional corporation was placed under the patronage of a saint whose feast it celebrated with common festivities. This framework and this organization of social life gave the Casbah a unity of the human fabric in symbiosis with the economic, religious and cultural practices of the population. Pedestrian routes, public places, interior galleries, lighting of houses and terraces fit together in a coherent and pleasant way without offending man in this city where art and religion constituted the framework of society. During the war of national liberation, its architecture, its physical structure, the historical attachment of its sons to freedom and Muslim ethics made the Casbah a high place of struggle and resistance. Faced with this impregnable citadel and its material and human organization, the colonialist forces suffered stinging setbacks. Classified as universal heritage by UNESCO in 1991, the Casbah is the subject of studies and major restructuring and development programs to protect it from the wear and tear of time and deterioration. Renovation of its urban fabric, repair of its residences and historical and cultural sites are currently being carried out for the benefit of the Casbah by the public authorities with the dynamism of associations representing civil society. This vast plan will make it possible to safeguard this heritage of inestimable cultural and historical wealth and to promote the convincing testimony of the genius specific to the Algerian people.