Ksar of Kenadsa

Kenadsa is an old town located some 20 kilometers west of Béchar. It is known by its very old ksar. Some accounts report that it was built more than eight centuries ago by “El Hadj Ben Ahmed”. The thousand-year-old mosque as well as the casbah are the first core of this building which has undergone significant development, moving from demographic homogeneity to ethnographic variety and from Sufism to cultural and civilizational diversity. In the 17th century, an important event would change the status of Kenadsa. It was the arrival of Sheikh Ben Bouziane who gave new impetus to the development of the Casbah so that it became a true Ksourian city and seat of Zaouia Ziania, the latter subsequently becoming a spiritual, cultural and commercial center which radiated throughout the Maghreb and a good part of Africa. However, it was during the time of Sidi Boumediene Ibn Sidi Mhammed El Aâradj, grandson of Sheikh Ben Bouziane, that the simple architecture was transformed into a style of construction very rich in ornaments and sculptures. And it was during this same period that the Sheikh Ben Bouziane mosque saw its extension as well as the construction of its famous quadrilateral lighthouse. Given the historical and religious monuments it contains (the old mosque, the tomb of Sidi Abderrahmane, that of Lala Oum Kelthoum, mosque of Sheikh Ben Bouziane, the Douiria of Sidi Abderrahmane, etc.) the ksar of Kenadsa was classified as a national heritage site and is currently undergoing a major restoration campaign.