Sidi Boumedienne Mosque of Tlemcen before 1830
Before 1830, Algeria was a state with an organization and an infrastructure which gave it the character of an economic and maritime power in the Mediterranean Basin.
Due to its belonging to the Arab-Islamic world and its geographical position within the African continent, the Algerian state had a historical, political, economic and cultural dimension which had made it a partner of choice in the region.
A crucible of several civilizations, Algeria was also a receptacle of great cultural diversity where modes of thought and forms of expression merged in a rich harmony of which the creative genius of the Algerian people was the binder, the source and the leaven.
Thus, collective infrastructures, ports, mosques, military citadels have spread across the Algerian landscape throughout history. The cultural heritage bequeathed by time and history shows how the Algerian State symbolized the reflection of a strong and prosperous nation which was essentially based on Muslim values and ethics, the specificity of Maghreb thought and its commercial and economic dynamism.
Social life was based on an original organization perfectly adapted to the material and cultural conditions of the time. Functional architecture adapted to the climate, morals and customs gave the city's inhabitants a comfortable living environment.
Orderly life around the mosque, the only gathering place, sheltered the artisans, each corporation of which obeyed strict rules. This is how we find the names of trades in the neighborhoods of our old towns: dyers, coppersmiths, potters, weavers, saddlers, etc.
From Tlemcen to Algiers, from Béjaïa to Ouargla, from Médéa to the Kalaâ des Béni Hammad, from Constantine to Oran, art, culture, history and prosperity amply demonstrate the vigor and reality of the Algerian State before 1830 in its symbiosis of civilizations, the personality of its people and its national identity.
Due to its belonging to the Arab-Islamic world and its geographical position within the African continent, the Algerian state had a historical, political, economic and cultural dimension which had made it a partner of choice in the region.
A crucible of several civilizations, Algeria was also a receptacle of great cultural diversity where modes of thought and forms of expression merged in a rich harmony of which the creative genius of the Algerian people was the binder, the source and the leaven.
Thus, collective infrastructures, ports, mosques, military citadels have spread across the Algerian landscape throughout history. The cultural heritage bequeathed by time and history shows how the Algerian State symbolized the reflection of a strong and prosperous nation which was essentially based on Muslim values and ethics, the specificity of Maghreb thought and its commercial and economic dynamism.
Social life was based on an original organization perfectly adapted to the material and cultural conditions of the time. Functional architecture adapted to the climate, morals and customs gave the city's inhabitants a comfortable living environment.
Orderly life around the mosque, the only gathering place, sheltered the artisans, each corporation of which obeyed strict rules. This is how we find the names of trades in the neighborhoods of our old towns: dyers, coppersmiths, potters, weavers, saddlers, etc.
From Tlemcen to Algiers, from Béjaïa to Ouargla, from Médéa to the Kalaâ des Béni Hammad, from Constantine to Oran, art, culture, history and prosperity amply demonstrate the vigor and reality of the Algerian State before 1830 in its symbiosis of civilizations, the personality of its people and its national identity.