Casbah of
Algiers
The Casbah (Arabic: قصبة, qaṣba, meaning
citadel (fortress) is specifically the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the
traditional quarter clustered around it. In 1992, the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed Kasbah of
Algiers a World Cultural Heritage site, as "There are the remains of the
citadel, old mosques and Ottoman-style palaces as well as the remains of a
traditional urban structure associated with a deep-rooted sense of community
History
The Casbah of
Algiers is founded on the ruins of old Icosium in the 10th century. It was a
city built on a hill, goes down towards the sea, divided in two: the High city
and the Low city. One finds there masonries and mosques of the 17th century;
Ketchaoua Mosque (built in 1794 by the Dey Baba Hassan) flanked of two
minarets, Djama’a al-Djedid (1660, at the time of the ottomans) with its large
finished ovoid cupola points some and its four coupolettes, Djamaâ el Kebir
(oldest of the mosques, it was built by Almoravid ruler Yusuf ibn Tashfin), Ali
Bitchin Mosque (Raïs, 1623). The casbah also contained several palaces,
including Dar Aziza, Dar Mustapha Pacha, Palace of the Dey, and Dar Hassan
Pacha which was built in 1791 to house the Pasha, who lived there for eight years.
In 1839, shortly
after the French conquest, the French governor moved into Dar Hassan Pacha. In
1860, Napoleon III and Eugénie de Montijo visited.[4] Before French rule, the
casbah contained around 13 Jama Masjids, 109 mosques, 32 mausoleums and 12 Zawiyas,
total of 166 religious-related buildings. However, the majority of these
religious buildings were destroyed during the occupation. In 1862, there were
only nine Jama Masjids, 19 mosques, 15 mausoleums and five Zawiyas left. Many
mosques such as Ketchauoua Mosque and Berrani Mosque were converted into
building with non-Islamic purposes, such as military barracks and churches.
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