Constantine
Constantine is spectacularly located on the edge of the Rhumel Gorge in the north east of Algeria. The river at the bottom of the gorge is not much more than a little stream though. The city was the place from where the Numidian king Massinissa launched attacks against the Carthaginians in the 2nd century BC. The city was known as Cirta Regina in Punic and Roman times. Nowadays it's known as the 'city of bridges', because numerous scenic bridges that the city's topography requires. The most important of these bridges are:
- Bab El Kantra Bridge, built in 1792.
- Sidi M'Cid Bridge, a suspension bridge from 1912.
- Also built in 1912, the Sidi Rached bridge, containing 27 arches.
- Falls bridge. It sits on a waterfall, as the name suggests. It was built in 1925.
- Mellah Slimane Bridge. A suspension bridge, lso built in 1925.
- The tiny Devil's bridge.
- Meddjez Dechiche Bridge.
- Salah Bey Bridge. Also known as trans-Rhummel viaduct. A cable-stayed bridge from 2014.
- El-Kantara Bridge.
Some of the most interesting sites in Constantine include:
- El Bey Mosque was built in 1703 and is also referred to as Souq El Ghezal Mosque.
- Great Mosque of Constantine dates from 1136.
- Abd al Hamid Ben Badis Mosque.
- Emir Abdelkader University and Mosque.
- Soumma Mausoleum.
- Massinissa's Mausoleum.
- Ahmed Bey Palace.
- Cirta Museum. It was previously known as Gustave Mercier Museum and has an exhibition on ancient and modern Algerian art.
- Municipal Library of Constantine.
- The Casbah, or Kasbah, which the locals refer to as 'Swika'
- The ruins of the Antonian Roman aqueduct.
- Ben Abdelmalek Stadium.
Not far from Constantine you can visit the Roman city of Tiddis and Djebel Mazala Salluste, where you can see megalithic monuments and burial grounds.
Accommodation is widely available and the best area to find restaurants is around the bottom end of Rue Hamloui.
There are 2 main squares in Constantine, in between them is the local bus station. For long distance transport you will have to go to the other bus station at the bottom of the gorge, a few kilometers south of the center.
; "Image 1 - Suspension bridge ©Ramzi Belaidi [121kB]")
; "Image 2 - Arch bridge ©Zenad Nabil [181kB]")
; "Image 3 - Constantine ©Zenad Nabil [153kB]")
; "Image 4 - Prince Abdel Kader Mosque ©Ali Aouf
[95kB]")