Port of Algiers in 1830
Icosium (which would mean 'The Island of the Seagulls') a name later Latinized by the Romans and which would become 'Icosium' and subsequently, 'El Djazaïr' or 'Algiers' by attribution to the 'islets', three names for the same place in different times. This history of the name of the city spanned several centuries, in fact, it is to the Phoenicians who are attributed the construction of the first site around the 9th century before the Christian era.
The daring Phoenician navigators, specialized in long-distance trade, knew the dangers of the African coast of the Mediterranean Sea: It is in fact dotted with numerous reefs which made night navigation particularly difficult, and even the most daring of them avoided sailing at night. The need for these stops explains the creation of small ports along the coast every 40 to 50 km, a distance equivalent to a day of navigation. However, on the Algerian site, the Phoenicians installed a second trading post to allow them to make a stopover before Tipaza (in addition to the already existing regional trading post: that of Tamentfoust)
The daring Phoenician navigators, specialized in long-distance trade, knew the dangers of the African coast of the Mediterranean Sea: It is in fact dotted with numerous reefs which made night navigation particularly difficult, and even the most daring of them avoided sailing at night. The need for these stops explains the creation of small ports along the coast every 40 to 50 km, a distance equivalent to a day of navigation. However, on the Algerian site, the Phoenicians installed a second trading post to allow them to make a stopover before Tipaza (in addition to the already existing regional trading post: that of Tamentfoust)