27 chapters
7 hour read
Selected Chapters
27 chapters
I n t h e L a n d o f Mosques & Minarets
I n t h e L a n d o f Mosques & Minarets
B Y F R A N C I S M I L T O U N Officier du Nicham Iftikhar Author of “Castles and Chateaux of Old Touraine,” “Rambles in Normandy,” “Rambles in Brittany,” “Rambles on the Riviera,” “Castles and Chateaux of Old Navarre and the Basque Provinces,” etc. With Illustrations from paintings made on the spot B Y B L A N C H E M C M A N U S colophon Boston L. C. P A G E & C O M P A N Y 1 9 0 8 Copyright, 1908 By L. C. Page & Company (INCORPORATED) All rights reserved
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER I GOING AND COMING
CHAPTER I GOING AND COMING
“Say, dear friend, wouldst thou go to the land where pass the caravans beneath the shadow of the palm trees of the Oasis; where even in mid-winter all is in flower as in spring-time elsewhere.”— Villiers de l’Isle Adam . T HE taste for travel is an acquired accomplishment. Not every one likes to rough it. Some demand home comforts; others luxurious appointments; but you don’t get either of these in North Africa, save in the palace hotels of Algiers, Biskra and Tunis, and even there these things
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER II THE REAL NORTH AFRICA
CHAPTER II THE REAL NORTH AFRICA
Algeria and Tunisia are already the vogue, and Biskra, Hammam-R’hira and Mustapha are already names as familiar as Cairo, Amalfi or Teneriffe, even though the throng of “ colis vivants expédiés par Cook ,” as the French call them, have not as yet overrun the land. For the most part the travellers in these delightful lands, be they Americans, English or Germans (and the Germans are almost as numerous as the others), are strictly unlabelled, and each goes about his own affairs, one to Tlemcen to p
23 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER III ALGERIA OF TO-DAY
CHAPTER III ALGERIA OF TO-DAY
Algeria is by no means savage Africa, even though its population is mostly indigène . It forms a “ circonscription académique ” of France. It has a national observatory, a branch of that at Paris, founded in 1858; a school of medicine and pharmacy; a school of law; a faculty of letters and sciences, and three endowed chairs of Arabic, at Algiers (founded in 1836); Oran (1850) and Constantine (1858). Algeria has a great future in store, although it has cost France 8,593,000,000 francs since its o
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IV THE RÉGENCE OF TUNISIA AND THE TUNISIANS
CHAPTER IV THE RÉGENCE OF TUNISIA AND THE TUNISIANS
F OR twenty years France has been putting forth her best efforts and energies into the development of Tunisia, to make it a worthy and helpful sister to Algeria. From a French population of seven hundred at the time of the occupation in 1882, the number has risen to fifty thousand. Tunisia of to-day was the Lybia of the ancients; but whether it was peopled originally from Spain, from Egypt or from peoples from the south, history is silent, or at least is not convincingly loud-voiced. Lybian, Pun
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V THE RELIGION OF THE MUSSULMAN
CHAPTER V THE RELIGION OF THE MUSSULMAN
N O one unless he be a Mohammedan can hope to experience the sentiments and emotions born of the Mussulman religion, or explain the fundamental principles of the Koran. It is a thing apart from all other religions, and though we may recognize many of its principles as being good and worthy, only one of the faithful can really absorb them as a part of his daily life. The one underlying tenet which we all recognize as being something understood of all people, be they fanatics or not, is that of th
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI ARCHITECTURE OF THE MOSQUES
CHAPTER VI ARCHITECTURE OF THE MOSQUES
G OTHIC architecture is expressive of much that a mixed or transitory style lacks, but again the Roman, or Lombard, or the later architecture of the Renaissance, have their own particular cachet quite as recognizable and quite as well defined. Mohammedan architecture, so different in motif and treatment, is quite as expressive and, in many ways, quite as civilized as the architectural forms of Europe, and possesses in addition a certain feeling which baked clay and plaster suggests better than a
13 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VII POETRY, MUSIC, AND DANCING
CHAPTER VII POETRY, MUSIC, AND DANCING
T HE Arab is not wholly a silent, morose individual. He has his joys and sorrows, and his own proper means of expressing them like the rest of us. Here in Mediterranean Africa he has kept his traditions alight, and the darkness of the historic past is only relative, even though the Arab does belong to the unprogressive school. The Arab countries, as the French, the only real masters the Arab has ever had, know them, are a broad belt bordering upon the eastern and southern shores of the Mediterra
13 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VIII ARABS, TURKS, AND JEWS
CHAPTER VIII ARABS, TURKS, AND JEWS
T HROUGHOUT North Africa, from Oran to Tunis, one encounters everywhere, in the town as in the country, the distinct traits which mark the seven races which make up the native population: the Moors, the Berbers, the Arabs, the Negroes, the Jews, the Turks and the Koulouglis. One may see all these types, living their own distinct and characteristic lives, all within a radius of a half a dozen leagues of Algiers’ port and quais . The Moors and the Berbers are the oldest inhabitants of the region,
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IX SOME THINGS THAT MATTER—TO THE ARAB
CHAPTER IX SOME THINGS THAT MATTER—TO THE ARAB
T HERE are three kinds of noblesse among the Arabs: there is the aristocrat class, the noblesse de race , descended, so they think, from Fatma, the daughter of the Prophet; the noblesse militaire , descendants of the Arab conquerors, of which Mohammed and his family are also descended; and finally the noblesse réligieuse , a hereditary noblesse like the preceding, but a distinction that can only be acquired by meritorious performance of a religious duty. The tribes each have a head known as a Ca
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER X “THE ARAB SHOD WITH FIRE” (Horses, Donkeys, and Mules)
CHAPTER X “THE ARAB SHOD WITH FIRE” (Horses, Donkeys, and Mules)
A S a Kentucky colonel once said, the pure-bred Arabian horse is a fine thing in his native land; but there is more good horse-flesh, per head of population, in the United States than the first home of the ancestor of the blooded horse ever possessed. Everything points to the fact that the gentleman knew what he was talking about, as fine specimens of Arabian horse-flesh are rare to-day, even in Arabia and North Africa. They exist, of course, but the majority of horses one sees in Algeria and Tu
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XI THE SHIP OF THE DESERT AND HIS OCEAN OF SAND
CHAPTER XI THE SHIP OF THE DESERT AND HIS OCEAN OF SAND
A CAMEL may be a cumbersome, ungainly and unlovely creature, and may be destined to be succeeded by the automobile, to which he seems to have taken a violent dislike; but there is no underrating the great and valuable part which he has played in the development of the African provinces and protectorates of France. He has borne most of their burdens, literally; has ploughed their fields, pumped their water, and even exploited the tourists, to say nothing of having been the companion of the Mussul
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XII SOLDIERS SAVAGE AND CIVILIZED—LÉGIONNAIRES AND SPAHIS
CHAPTER XII SOLDIERS SAVAGE AND CIVILIZED—LÉGIONNAIRES AND SPAHIS
A LGERIA is guarded by an army of 60,000 men. But they keep the peace only, for there is no warfare in Algeria or Tunisia to-day. In the days of the Roman legions less than half that number of men fought for and held all North Africa. France recognizes that the development of a new country depends more upon the military than all else. The Spahis, the Chasseurs d’Afrique , and the Légionnaires have won most of France’s battles in Algeria; and for this reason these great colonial corps are given a
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIII FROM ORAN TO THE MOROCCO FRONTIER
CHAPTER XIII FROM ORAN TO THE MOROCCO FRONTIER
T HE western gateway to French Africa is through Oran, which, with its 88,000 inhabitants, is the second city of Algeria. Its chief attraction for the tourist who has seen, or is about to see, the rest of the country is its magnificent site and the recollection of the momentous history of its past. The most striking characteristic of its life and manners is the manifest Spanish influence which is over all, a relic of days gone by. Even the chief city gate, the Porte d’Espagne, still bears the or
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIV THE MITIDJA AND THE SAHEL
CHAPTER XIV THE MITIDJA AND THE SAHEL
T HE whole region just west of Algiers is very properly accounted the garden of North Africa. Wheat, the vine, the orange, and all the range of primeurs which go to grace the tables d’hôte at Paris are grown here to the profit of all and sundry, native and colonist alike, who possess a garden plot of virgin soil. Boufarik, in the midst of the great plain of the Mitidja, is a garden city if there ever was one. It is beautifully and geometrically laid out, like Philadelphia, though it doesn’t rese
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XV THE GREAT WHITE CITY—ALGIERS
CHAPTER XV THE GREAT WHITE CITY—ALGIERS
T HE first view of Algiers from the ship, as one enters the port, is a dream of fairyland, “ Alger la Blanche! ” “ El Djesair la molle! ” If it is in the morning, all is white and dazzling; if in the evening, a rosy violet haze is over all, with the background of the “Petit Atlas” and the Djurjura shutting off the littoral from the wide Sahara to the south. At twilight a thousand twinkling lights break out, from the Kasba on the height, from Mustapha, from the terrace boulevard which flanks the
13 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVI ALGIERS AND BEYOND
CHAPTER XVI ALGIERS AND BEYOND
T O get into the interior back of Algiers, you make your start from Maison Carrée. Here one gets his first glimpse of the real countryside of Algeria. These visions of the Arab life of olden times are quite the most interesting features of the country. Civilization has crept in and rubbed shoulders very hard here and there; but still the Arab trader, workman, and shopkeeper conducts his affairs much as he did before he carried a dollar watch and lighted his cigarettes with safety matches. The ka
13 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVII KABYLIE AND THE KABYLES
CHAPTER XVII KABYLIE AND THE KABYLES
K ABYLIE is a wild, strange land known to few and peopled by many, though indeed the population is mostly native. Colonization has not made great inroads into the mountains of Grande and Petite Kabylie. And though the tract is contiguous to Algiers itself, few stranger tourists know it as anything more than a name. Still less do they know its savage and undeveloped beauties. The Algerian government has pushed a great “Route Nationale” through the heart of the mountains, and Tizi-Ouzou and Fort N
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVIII CONSTANTINE AND THE GORGE DU RUMMEL
CHAPTER XVIII CONSTANTINE AND THE GORGE DU RUMMEL
C ONSTANTINE is one of the natural citadels of the world. Hitherto we had only known it by name, and that chiefly by the contemplation of Vernet’s “Siége de Constantine,” in that artistic graveyard, the Musée de Versailles. The bizarre splendour of the site now occupied by the bustling Algerian metropolis of Constantine struck us very forcibly as we rolled over its great gorge just at sundown on a ruddy autumn evening. It is all grandly theatrical, but it is very real nevertheless. A great deal
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIX BETWEEN THE DESERT AND THE SOWN
CHAPTER XIX BETWEEN THE DESERT AND THE SOWN
S OUTH from Constantine to Biskra at the desert’s edge is two hundred kilometres as the crow flies. As the humble apology of an express -train goes, the distance is covered in eight hours, and that’s almost fifteen miles an hour. Delightful, isn’t it? At the same time this snail’s-pace gives one a chance to observe things as he goes along, and there is much to observe. The high plateau on which sits Constantine, surrounded by its grain fields and its grazing-grounds, is a vastly productive regio
10 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XX BISKRA AND THE DESERT BEYOND
CHAPTER XX BISKRA AND THE DESERT BEYOND
Biskra, tout le monde descend! ouf! It might be Jersey City or Chicago; one experiences at last that sense of having reached a journey’s end. At least it will seem so to most who come to the desert’s edge by train from Constantine or Algiers, after two days of as rocky, uncomfortable railway travelling as one can imagine in these progressive days. Biskra is commonly reputed the ideal of a desert oasis, but indeed as an oasis it is no more delightful than that at El Kantara. Not every one will fi
13 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXI IN THE WAKE OF THE ROMAN
CHAPTER XXI IN THE WAKE OF THE ROMAN
T HE path of the Roman through North Africa was widely strewn with civic and military monuments as grand as any of the same class elsewhere in the Western Empire. One comes to associate the ancient Roman with Gaul, and is no longer surprised when he contemplates the wonderful arenas of Arles and Nîmes or the arch and the theatre at Orange. Pompeii and Herculaneum are classic memories of our school-time days, and we think it nothing strange that their ruins exist to-day. When, however, we view th
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXII TUNIS AND THE SOUKS
CHAPTER XXII TUNIS AND THE SOUKS
By sea one approaches Tunis through the canal which runs from La Goulette to the quais and docks in the new town of Tunis; and one pays the company which exploits the harbour works four francs for the privilege. It’s progress if you like, but it’s about the most expensive half a dozen miles of travel by water that exists in all the known world. By land one arrives by railway, and is mulcted a similar amount by some red-fezzed, nut-brown Arab for pointing out the way to your hotel. The porteurs ,
14 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXIII IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOSQUE
CHAPTER XXIII IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOSQUE
O LD Tunis fortunately remains old Tunis. It has not been spoiled, as has Algiers, in a way. Its crooked streets and culs-de-sac are still as they were when pachas kept their harems well filled as a matter of right, and not by the toleration of the French government. Surrounding the vast spider’s web of narrow streets of old Tunis is a circling line of tramway, within which is as Oriental an aspect as that of old (save the electric lights and the American sewing-machines, which are everywhere).
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXIV THE GLORY THAT ONCE WAS CARTHAGE
CHAPTER XXIV THE GLORY THAT ONCE WAS CARTHAGE
C ARTHAGE , redolent of the memories of Dido, of Æneas, of Hannibal, of Cato, of Scipio, and a thousand other classic souvenirs of history, is the chief sight for tourists in the neighbourhood of Tunis. All we have learned to expect is there, deformed ruins and relics of a grandeur long since past. The aqueduct which plays so grand a rôle in the opera of “Salambo” is there, but it is manifestly Roman and not Punic. Thus did Flaubert nod, as indeed did Homer before him. Carthage, as Carthage is t
10 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXV THE BARBARY COAST
CHAPTER XXV THE BARBARY COAST
T HE real Barbary coast of the romantic days of the corsairs was the whole North African littoral. Here the pirates and corsairs had their lairs, their inlet harbours known only to themselves and their confrères , who as often pillaged and murdered among themselves as they did among strangers. To-day all this is changed. It was the government of the United States and Decatur, as much as any other outside power, who drove the Barbary pirates from the seas. Under the reign of Louis XIV Duquesne wa
10 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXVI THE OASIS OF TOZEUR
CHAPTER XXVI THE OASIS OF TOZEUR
O NE arrives at Tozeur via Sfax and Gafsa and the light narrow-gauge railway belonging to the company exploiting the phosphate mines. Beyond Gafsa the line runs to Metlaoui, peopled only by six hundred phosphate workers of the mines, a mixed crew of Arabs, Sicilians, and Maltese, speaking a veritable jargon des ours , which nobody but themselves can understand. It is strange, this little industrial city of the desert, but it is unlovely, consisting only of little whitewashed cubes of houses, a s
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter