Algiers is the capital city of Algeria, located on the Mediterranean Sea in the north-central portion of the country. In 2025, an estimated 4.325 million people resided within the urban area. Algiers is the largest city in Algeria, the third-largest city on the Mediterranean, the sixth-largest city in the Arab world, and the 29th-largest city in Africa by population. Algiers is the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many communes without having its own separate governing body. It extends along the Bay of Algiers surrounded by the Mitidja Plain and major mountain ranges. Its favorable location made it the center of Ottoman and French influences for the region, shaping it to be a diverse metropolis.
Algiers was formally founded in 972 AD by Buluggin ibn Ziri, though its history goes back to between 1200 and 250 BC as a trading settlement. Over time, it came under the control of several powers, including Numidia, the Roman Empire, and various Islamic caliphates. In 1516, it became the capital of the Ottoman Regency of Algiers, a status it held until the French invasion in 1830, after which it served as the capital of French Algeria. During World War II, it briefly functioned as the administrative center of Free France from 1942 to 1944 before returning to French colonial rule. It has remained the capital of the modern Algerian state since the Algerian War in 1962.
Algiers is the main tourist destination in Algeria, known for its numerous museums, art galleries, and cultural institutions. Most notable is the historic Casbah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring traditional Algerian, Ottoman, and Al-Andalus architecture. The city also contains a larger French-built section that showcases diverse architectural styles and trends. Commonly referred to as al bidha ("the white") for its whitewashed buildings, Algiers blends colonial and indigenous urban influences. It hosted the 1975 Mediterranean Games and various major international sporting events, and it serves as the seat of the Consultative Council of the Arab Maghreb Union. Numerous Algerian multinational companies and institutions are based in the city, such as Sonatrach Petroleum Corporation, Air Algérie, and Bank of Algeria.
In classical antiquity, the ancient Greeks knew the town as Ikósion (), which was Latinized as Icosium under Roman Republic. The Greeks folk etymology as coming from their word for "twenty" (εἴκοσι, eíkosi), supposedly because it had been founded by 20 companions of Hercules when he visited the Atlas Mountains during his labors.
Algiers is also known as (البهجة, "The Joyous") ("the good-guarded"), or "Algiers the White" () for its whitewashed buildings..The city possesses many surnames al-ʿāṣima signifies « the capital », al bahdja : « the joyous », al bidha : « the white ».Hocine Mezali, Alger, 32 siècles d'histoire, ENAG/Synergie Éd., Alger, 2000.
In 435 AD, the Vandal Kingdom took control of northern Africa along the coasts of today's Tunisia and Algeria. The Western Roman Empire that was ruling the area allowed the Vandals to settle when it became clear that they could not be defeated by Roman military forces. Though the city was damaged again due to the fighting between the two armies, the town was still slowly growing in population.
The present city was re-founded in 972 AD by Buluggin ibn Ziri, who was appointed by the Faṭimid caliph al-Muʿizz as governor of al-Qayrawān and any other territory his nation, the Zirid Dynasty might reclaim from its enemies, the Zenata tribesmen. His state accordingly expanded its boundaries westward. In approximately 1014 AD, under the reign of Badis ibn al-Mansur, the dynasty was divided between the Zirids at al-Qayrawan in the east, and the Hammadid dynasty at Qal'at Bani Hammad; "Jazaʾir Banī Mazghanna", commonly known as "Algiers" as the new name of Icosium was absorbed into the Hammadid dynasty who in 1067 AD relocated to Béjaïa and carried on a lively trade while most of North Africa was under a state of anarchy.
In 1079 AD, Ibn Tashfin, a Sanhaja leader of the Almoravid Empire sent an army of 20,000 men from Marrakesh to push towards what is now Tlemcen to attack the "Banu Ya'la", the Zenata tribe occupying the area. Led by Mazdali ibn Tilankan, the army defeated the Banu Ya'la in battle near the valley of the Moulouya River and executed their commander, the son of Tlemcen's ruler. However, Mazdali ibn Tilankan did not push to Tlemcen right away as the city of Oujda was too strong to capture. Instead, Ibn Tashfin himself returned with an army in 1081 AD that captured Oujda and then conquered Tlemcen, massacring the Maghrawa forces there and their leader; He pressed on and by 1082 AD he had captured "Jazaʾir Banī Mazghanna".
In 1151 AD, Abd al-Mu'min launched an expedition to the east, conquering Béjaïa in August 1152, the capital of the Hammadids; on their way, Beni Mezghanna did not succumb and was now under the Almohad Caliphate's control. The caliphate suffered from states breaking out of its rule, most notably, the Kingdom of Tlemcen in 1235 AD. The town once again came under the dominion of the Ziyanid sultans of the Kingdom but experienced a large measure of independence under Thaaliba amirs who settled the Mitidja plain at around 1200 AD.
Algiers from this time became the chief seat of the Barbary pirates. In October 1541 in the Algiers expedition, the King of Spain and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor sought to capture the city, but a storm destroyed a great number of his ships, and his army of some 30,000, chiefly made up of Spaniards, was defeated by the Algerians under their pasha, Hassan.
Formally part of the Ottoman Empire but essentially free from Ottoman control, starting in the 16th century Algiers turned to piracy and ransoming. Due to its location on the periphery of both the Ottoman and European economic spheres, and depending for its existence on a Mediterranean that was increasingly controlled by European shipping, backed by European navies, piracy became the primary economic activity. Repeated attempts were made by various nations to subdue the pirates that disturbed shipping in the western Mediterranean and engaged in slave raids as far north as Iceland. By the 17th century, up to 40% of the city's 100,000 inhabitants were enslaved Europeans. The United States fought two wars (the First and Second Barbary Wars) over Algiers' attacks on shipping.
Among the notable people held for ransom was the future Spanish novelist, Miguel de Cervantes, who was held captive in Algiers for almost five years, and wrote two plays set in Algiers of the period. The primary source for knowledge of Algiers of this period, since there are no contemporary local sources, is the Topografía e historia general de Argel (1612, but written earlier), published by Diego de Haedo, but whose authorship is disputed. Others have disputed Eisenberg's attribution of the work to Cervantes. This work describes in detail the city, the behavior of its inhabitants, and its military defenses, with the unsuccessful hope of facilitating an attack by Spain so as to end the piracy.
A significant number of renegades lived in Algiers at the time, Christians converted voluntarily to Islam, many fleeing the law or other problems at home. Once converted to Islam, they were safe in Algiers. Many occupied positions of authority, such as Samson Rowlie, an Englishman who became Treasurer of Algiers. The city under Ottoman control was enclosed by a wall on all sides, including along the seafront. In this wall, five gates allowed access to the city, with five roads from each gate dividing the city and meeting in front of the Ketchaoua Mosque. In 1556, a citadel, Palace of the Dey was constructed at the highest point in the wall. A major road running north to south divided the city in two: The upper city (al-Gabal, or 'the mountain') which consisted of about fifty small quarters of Andalusians, Algerian Jews, Moors and Kabyle people communities, and the lower city (al-Wata, or 'the plains') which was the administrative, military and commercial centre of the city, mostly inhabited by Kouloughlis and other upper-class families.Celik, Zeynep, Urban Forms and Colonial Confrontations: Algiers Under French Rule, University of California Press, 1997, pp. 13–14. On 27 August 1816, the Bombardment of Algiers took place city by a British squadron under Lord Exmouth (a descendant of Thomas Pellew, taken in an Algerian slave raid in 1715), assisted by men-of-war from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, destroying the corsair fleet harboured in Algiers.
France and the Regency of Algiers had a commercial–political conflict called the Bakri-Busnach affair which has been bothering both nations in the 19th century. On 29 April 1827, foreign consuls and diplomatic agents gathered in the Palace of the Dey for a conference with the Regency of Algiers ruler Hussein Dey. Tensions were high because of France's failure to pay outstanding debts. In a heated moment later referred to as "fly-whisk incident", the Dey struck the French consul in the face with the handle of a fly-whisk.
In an attempt by Charles X of France to increase his popularity amongst the French, he sought to bolster patriotic sentiment, and turn eyes away from his domestic policies, by treating the incident as a public insult and demanded an apology. Failure to respond was met by operations against the dey. A naval siege on the port of Algiers by the French Navy began the following days which lasted 3 years and impacted the French and Algerian economies due to their former extensive trade treaties.
Tensions only continued rising while the French Armed Forces were preparing for the 1830 invasion of Algiers. The naval fleet departed from Toulon on 25 May 1830, and successfully reached the western coast of the Regency near what is today Sidi Fredj on 14 June 1830. The Algerian forces met their French opponents in the Battle of Staouéli on 19 June 1830, to which the Dey's forces were defeated, this enabled the colonial army to advance into the city and made Hussein Dey surrender to French General de Bourmont on 5 July 1830.
Settlers of European descent marked a majority of the city's population,Albert Habib Hourani, Malise Ruthven (2002). " A history of the Arab peoples ". Harvard University Press. p.323. some constituted a minority of "Pieds-noirs" who were granted French citizenship and rights under the Crémieux Decree. On the other hand, Code de l'indigénat enforced inferiority of the "Arabs" and "Muslims" which were getting forcibly removed from their homes and were banned from entering various parts of "Alger" to segregate by race, religion and language.The Code d'Indigénat was promulgated by the French government for Algeria on 28 June 1881. It was officially abolished during 1946, but parts of it remained in force until independence during the early 1960s. The senatus consulte of 14 July 1865 implemented many of the elements of the future Code d'Indigénat in Algeria, and prior to 1887, other colonial subjects lived under similar conditions Added to that, were repurposed to churches, stables, or demolished/closed permanently, examples of this are Ketchoua Mosque and Ali Bitchin Mosque..
| + French casualties in Algeria (1830–1851)J. Ch. M. Boudin, Histoire statistique de la colonisation en Algérie (Paris, Bailliers, 1853), p. 53. |
| 55 |
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During the 1930s, the architect Le Corbusier drew up plans for a complete redesign of the colonial city. Le Corbusier was highly critical of the urban style of Algiers, describing the European district as "nothing but crumbling walls and devastated nature, the whole a sullied blot". He also criticised the difference in living standards he perceived between the European and African residents of the city, describing a situation in which "the 'civilised' live like rats in holes" whereas "the 'barbarians' live in solitude, in well-being".Celik, Zeynep, Urban Forms and Colonial Confrontations: Algiers Under French Rule, University of California Press, 1997, p. 5. However, these plans were ultimately ignored by the French administration.
During World War II, Algiers was the first city to be seized from the Axis by the Allies in Operation Terminal, a part of Operation Torch.
On 11 December 2007, two car bombs exploded in Algiers. One bomb targeted two United Nations office buildings and the other targeted a government building housing the Supreme Court of Algeria. The death toll was at least 62, with over two hundred injured in the attacks. However, only 26 remained hospitalized the following day. , it is speculated that the attack was carried out by the Al Qaeda cell within the city.
Indigenous terrorist groups have been actively operating in Algeria since around 2002.
Algiers is crossed by several rivers and waterways that are indifferently called Oued. All the rivers that cross it flow into the Mediterranean making it specific to its environment. The Bouzaréah massif, known for its rugged relief, has a very dense hydrographic network, drained by eight main waterways (Baranès, Sidi Medjber, Frais vallon, jaubert, Scotto Nadal, Chemin du Fort, Birtraria and Oued Koriche or Oued Atoun). Half of its waterways have been artificialized and channeled by buried collectors. To the west, one finds the Mazafran and Beni Messous Wadis. To the east, the El Harrach (the main Oued dividing the city into an eastern Urban area and historical side, and a western suburban side), El Hamiz and Réghaïa Wadis.
Considerable land reclamation along the waterfront allowed for developments such as "Marina Mall" in 2012, "Sablettes Promenade" in 2016, El kettani waterfront in 2025 and ongoing projects like the Algiers Medina, New bay of Algiers, Wadis new arrangements.
The city's downtown sits at an elevation of 2 m (at the Algiers Central Post Office), while it averages 45 m across the city's metropolitan area, and tops at 407 m on the Bouzaréah peak. Algiers Province, the administrative area that includes the city's urban and suburban centers covers 1,190 km2 (460 sq mi).
Snow is very rare; in 2012, the city received of snowfall, its first snowfall in eight years.
Moreover, according to the 2022 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Algiers is one of 12 major African cities (Abidjan, Alexandria, Algiers, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Durban, Lagos, Lomé, Luanda and Maputo) which would be the most severely affected by the future sea level rise. It estimates that they would collectively sustain cumulative damages of U$65 billion under RCP 4.5 and US$86.5 billion for the high-emission scenario RCP 8.5 by the year 2050. Additionally, RCP 8.5 combined with the hypothetical impact from marine ice sheet instability at high levels of warming would involve up to US$137.5 billion in damages, while the additional accounting for the "low-probability, high-damage events" may increase aggregate risks to $187 billion for the "moderate" RCP 4.5, $206 billion for RCP 8.5 and $397 billion under the high-end ice sheet instability scenario. Since sea level rise would continue for about 10,000 years under every scenario of climate change, future costs of sea level rise would only increase, especially without adaptation measures. The Casbah is on a list of 10 African World Heritage Site most threatened by sea level rise.Trisos, C.H., I.O. Adelekan, E. Totin, A. Ayanlade, J. Efitre, A. Gemeda, K. Kalaba, C. Lennard, C. Masao, Y. Mgaya, G. Ngaruiya, D. Olago, N.P. Simpson, and S. Zakieldeen 2022: Chapter 9: Africa . In Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability H.-O.. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, USA, pp. 2043–2121
Following this in 1835 was the creation of 14 additional communes around Algiers,The rural communes of Pointe Pescade, Bouzareah, Dely Ibrahim, Mustapha, El Biar, Birmandreis, Kadouss, Birkhadem, Kouba, Birtouta, Douera, Dechioumed and Mazafran were delimited by two decrees of the Governor General on 23 April and 23 May 1835 Lois Algeria's. the communes of El Biar and Mustapha (currently Sidi M'Hamed) were attached to it before being detached in 1870. In 1904, the commune of Mustapha was definitively integrated into the city of Algiers which was divided into for a total area of 15.64 km².
In 1959, Greater Algiers was created with the grouping of 9 municipalities (Algiers, Saint-Eugène, Bouzareah, El Biar, Dely Brahim, Birmendreis, Kouba, Hussein-Dey and Maison-Carrée). This area was divided into and a territory of 186 km², it was governed by a general administrator appointed by decree and a municipal council of , each district being governed by a deputy mayor.Décret du 24 février 1959 portant organisation de la commune d'Alger - Journal officiel de la République française. (Decree of 24 February 1959 on the organization of the commune of Algiers - Official Journal of the French Republic)Les textes officiels qui régissent l'organisation municipale d'Alger (The official texts which govern the municipal organization of Algiers)[6].
Following the administrative division of 1984, the city was once again reorganized in 1985, increasing to , but the area was divided by three, increasing to 58.5 km², by shedding the peripheral territories, to the east around El Harrach, to the west (Bouzareah) and to the south (Bir Mourad Raïs). It continued to be managed jointly by the communes and the CPVA, but the latter is placed under the supervision of the wilaya.Décret du 12 janvier 1985 portant organisation administrative de la ville d'Alger - Journal officiel de la République algérienne démocratique et populaire. (Decree of 12 January 1985 on the administrative organization of the city of Algiers - Official Journal of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria.)
Since the postponement of the municipal elections of 1989,Loi du 11 décembre 1989, J.O. du 11 décembre 1989, page , portant report des élections pour le renouvellement des assemblées populaires communales. (Law of 11 December 1989, J.O. of 11 December 1989, page , postponing the elections for the renewal of the communal popular assemblies.) the CPVA ceased to exist. It was first replaced by a Provisional Municipal Council of the Urban Agglomeration of Algiers (CCPAUA),Décret exécutif du 12 décembre 1989 fixant les modalités de désignation du conseil communal provisoire de l'agglomération urbaine d'Alger et déterminant ses prérogatives - Journal officiel de la République algérienne démocratique et populaire du 13 décembre 1989, pages et . (Executive Decree of 12 December 1989 setting out the terms of appointment of the Provisional Municipal Council of the Urban Agglomeration of Algiers and determining its prerogatives - Official Journal of the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria of 13 December 1989, pages and .) but a few a months later, in April 1990, two new laws relating to the commune and the wilaya were adopted,Loi du 7 avril 1990 Ministère de l'Intérieur, J.O. du 11 avril 1990, page 420, relative à la commune. (Law of 7 April 1990 Ministry of the Interior, J.O. of 11 April 1990, page 420, relating to the commune.) and the Urban Coordination Councils of the Wilaya of Algiers (CUC) was created,Décret exécutif du 14 juillet 1990, Ministère de l'Intérieur, J.O. du 18 juillet 1990, page 823, portant organisation et fonctionnement des conseils urbains de coordination de la wilaya d'Alger. (Executive Decree of 14 July 1990, Ministry of the Interior, J.O. of 18 July 1990, page 823, relating to the organization and operation of the urban coordination councils of the wilaya of Algiers.) the former municipalities forming the city of Algiers having been grouped under the name "Intercommunal Council of Algiers". From that moment on, the administration of the wilaya definitively replaced that of the city. Thus, the technical departments and services linked to the CPVA were placed under the supervision of the Wilaya before becoming Public Industrial and Commercial Establishment in Algeria (EPIC).
In 1997, after expanding to include 24 new municipalities, the Wilaya of Algiers was granted a special status and became the "Governorate of Greater Algiers" (GGA), headed by a minister-governor, in this case Cherif Rahmani. It would be organized into , called urban districts, and into .Ordonnance du 31 mai 1997 fixant le statut particulier du Grand Gouvernorat d'Alger - Journal officiel de la République algérienne démocratique et populaire du 4 juin 1997, page 5. (Ordinance of 31 May 1997 establishing the special status of the Grand Governorate of Algiers - Official Journal of the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria of 4 June 1997, page 5.) This new status did not last long, since in 2000, the GGA was dissolved, having been deemed unconstitutional.Ordonnance du 1 mars 2000 Présidence de la République, J.O. du 2 mars 2000, page 3, relative à l'administration de la wilaya d'Alger et des communes qui en dépendent consécutivement à la décision du conseil constitutionnel /do/cc/2000 du 22 Dhou El Kaada 1420 correspondant au 27 février 2000 relative à la constitutionnalité de l'ordonnance -15 du 24 Moharram 1418 correspondant au 31 mai 1997 fixant le Statut particulier du gouvernorat du Grand-Alger. (Order of 1 March 2000 Presidency of the Republic, J.O. of 2 March 2000, page 3, relating to the administration of the wilaya of Algiers and the municipalities which depend on it following the decision of the Constitutional Council /do/cc/2000 of 22 Dhou El Kaada 1420 corresponding to 27 February 2000 relating to the constitutionality of Ordinance -15 of 24 Moharram 1418 corresponding to 31 May 1997 establishing the Special Status of the governorate of Greater Algiers.)
]] The city of Algiers spans 10 of the 13 districts of the province, which are:
The district is serviced by various modes of Transport, 3 commuter rail stations, one of which is the Algiers Central Train Station "Agha", 5 Algiers Metro stations, 2 Gondola lift lines are planned, Algiers' Maritime Terminal, and the Port of Algiers (among the biggest ports of the country). Algerian Television (EPTV), the Algerian Radio, the Bank of Algeria, Algiers Financial City (AFC) (construction haulted) are based in Sidi M'Hamed.
The district houses both chambers of the Algerian parliament, the Headquarters of the Presidency of the Republic, the Headquarters of the Republican Guard, and ministries of Foreign Affairs, Culture, Environment and Quality of Life, Youth and Sports, "Knowledge Economy, Startups And Micro Entreprises", "Interior, Local Authorities and Regional Planning"; As well as the Atomic Energy Commission. As well as housing the Province's House.
Bab El Oued, located on the northern part of downtown facing the Mediterranean, it is a district associated with modest living and lively streets, and is widely seen as lower to middle-class. The historic center of the city, Casbah is a primary representation of its vibes, from Square Port-Saïd and Martyrs' Square that lead to Algiers' biggest markets and museums, which reflect the region's rich history and culture, as well as old religious diversity of Judaism, Islam and Catholic Christianity, to Landmarks that include the Roman ruins near the Algiers metro Station and Rais' Palace, Dar Hassan Pacha, Palace of the Dey, and "Climat de France", a housing project developed by the French; the Great Synagogue of Algiers, Basilica of Our Lady of Africa, and Ketchaoua Mosque; which affirms the architectural diversity of Algiers. The district finds Chaabi and Algerian pop culture to be an integrated part of its identity and culture; Added to that are its immense contributions to the war for independance and resistance against the colonial regime that included the events of the Battle of Algiers.
This district is serviced by 2 Metro stations with 3 additional ones under construction, it also has 3 Gondola lift lines (The "Our Lady Africa" line is out of service) with an additional one planned, and access to the Port of Algiers in its historic side.
The district is also home to the MND, "DGSN", and the Public Treasury.
Hussein Dey is located east of Oued El Harrach, it administers 5 major neighbourhoods from Belouizdad to Kouba, it is the hub of the MC Alger and CR Belouizdad football clubs, the most popular ones in the country. Belouizdad, Tripoli, and El Magharia are regarded as lower to middle-class neighbourhoods and have largely contributed to Algerian pop culture and Chaabi while Kouba, Jolie Vue, and Garidi 1/2 are more middle to upper-middle class neighbourhoods.
The district is home to the Botanical Garden Hamma, the Sablettes Promenade, National Library, Abdul Latif House, a section of El Harrach Urban Park (under construction), The Great African Museum of Algiers (Planned), the Liberty Trail (under construction), Urban Skate Park Hamma (under construction).
Hussein Dey has the main Inter-wilaya/Inter-city bus and Inter-wilaya/Inter-city taxi terminals of Algier (Kherrouba), and is serviced by 4 commuter rail stations, 6 Metro stations (1 transfer station, 8 Algiers tramway stations (Additional station is planned according to the extension plans for Algiers Tram), 3 Gondola lift lines (One in service, a new line is planned, modifications are planned for the out-of service line), and Sablettes' Marina and Tourism Port.
The district houses the Algiers Provincial Court, ANAAT, sonelgaz, SEAAL, Algiers Matro Expoitation Society (SEMA), and International Press Center headquarters, the Faculty of Islamic Sciences - Algiers 1, Ministries of "Religious Affairs and Endowments", "Water Resources and Water Security (Hydraulics)". The new Algerian Parliament buildings will be based here according to plans.
The main building in the Kasbah was begun in 1516 on the site of an older building, and served as the palace of the deys until the French conquest. A road has been cut through the centre of the building, the mosque turned into barracks, and the hall of audience allowed to fall into ruin. There still remains a minaret and some marble arches and columns. Traces exist of the vaults in which were stored the treasures of the dey.
Djamaa el Kebir ( Jamaa-el-Kebir الجامع الكبير) is the oldest mosque in Algiers. It was first built by Yusuf ibn Tashfin, but reconstructed many times. The pulpit ( minbar منبر) bears an inscription showing that the building existed in 1097. The minaret was built by the sultan of Tlemcen, in 1324. The interior of the mosque is square and is divided into aisles by columns joined by Moors arches.
The New Mosque ( Jamaa-el-Jedid الجامع الجديد), dating from the 17th century, is in the form of a Greek cross, surmounted by a large white cupola, with four small cupolas at the corners. The minaret is high. The interior resembles that of the Grand Mosque.
The church of the Holy Trinity (built in 1870) stands at the southern end of the rue d'Isly near the site of the demolished Fort Bab Azoun باب عزون. The interior is richly decorated with various coloured marbles. Many of these marbles contain memorial inscriptions relating to the British residents (voluntary and involuntary) of Algiers from the time of John Tipton, the first English consul, in 1580 (NB Some sources give 1585). One tablet records that in 1631 two Algerine pirate crews landed in Ireland, sacked Baltimore, and enslaved its inhabitants.
The Ketchaoua Mosque ( Djamaa Ketchaoua جامع كتشاوة), at the foot of the Casbah, was before independence in 1962 the cathedral of St Philippe, itself made in 1845 from a mosque dating from 1612. The principal entrance, reached by a flight of 23 steps, is ornamented with a portico supported by four black-veined marble columns. The roof of the nave is of Moorish Empire plaster work. It rests on a series of arcades supported by white marble columns. Several of these columns belonged to the original mosque. In one of the chapels was a tomb containing the bones of Geronimo. The building seems a curious blend of Moorish and Byzantine Empire styles.
Algiers possesses a college with schools of law, medicine, science and letters. The college buildings are large and handsome. The Bardo Museum holds some of the ancient sculptures and mosaics discovered in Algeria, together with medals and Algerian money.
The port of Algiers is sheltered from all winds. There are two harbours, both artificial—the old or northern harbour and the southern or Agha harbour. The northern harbour covers an area of . An opening in the south jetty affords an entrance into Agha harbour, constructed in Agha Bay. Agha harbour has also an independent entrance on its southern side. The inner harbour was begun in 1518 by Khair-ad-Din Barbarossa (see History, below), who, to accommodated his pirate vessels, caused the island on which was Fort Penon to be connected with the mainland by a mole. The lighthouse which occupies the site of Fort Penon was built in 1544.
Algiers was a walled city from the time of the deys until the close of the 19th century. The French, after their occupation of the city (1830), built a Defensive wall, parapet and ditch, with two terminal forts, Bab Azoun باب عزون to the south and Bab-el-Oued اد to the north. The forts and part of the ramparts were demolished at the beginning of the 20th century, when a line of forts occupying the heights of Bouzaréah بوزريعة (at an elevation of above the sea) took their place.
Notre Dame d'Afrique, a church built (1858–1872) in a mixture of the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire styles, is conspicuously situated overlooking the sea, on the shoulder of the Bouzaréah hills, to the north of the city. Above the altar is a statue of the Virgin depicted as a black woman. The church also contains a solid silver statue of the archangel Michael, belonging to the confraternity of Naples fishermen.
Villa Abd-el-Tif, former residence of the dey, was used during the French period, to accommodate French artists, chiefly painters, and winners of the Abd-el-Tif prize, among whom Maurice Boitel, for a while of two years. Nowadays, Algerian artists are back in the villa's studios.
| 1,523,000 |
| 1,507,241 |
| 2,086,212 |
| 2,364,230 |
As of 2012, Algiers has a population of about 3,335,418.
The ethnic distribution is 53% from an Arabic-speaking background, 44% from a Berber-speaking background and 3% foreign-born.
Mohamed Ben Ali El Abbar, president of the Council of Administration of the Emirate Group EMAAR, presented five "megaprojects" to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, during a ceremony which took place Saturday, 15 July, in the People's Palace of Algiers. These projects will transform the city of Algiers and its surroundings by equipping them with a retail area and restoration and leisure facilities.
The first project will concentrate on the reorganization and the development of the infrastructures of the railway station "Aga" located in the downtown area. The ultramodern station intended to accommodate more than 80.000 passengers per day, will become a centre of circulation in the heart of the grid system, surrounded by commercial offices and buildings and hotels intended for travellers in transit. A shopping centre and three high-rise office buildings rising with the top of the commercial zone will accompany the project.
The second project will not relate to the bay of Algiers and aims to revitalize the sea front. The development of the sea front will include marinas, channels, luxury hotels, offices, apartments of great standing, luxury stores and leisure amenities. A crescent-shaped peninsula will be set up on the open sea. The project of the bay of Algiers will also comprise six small islands, of which four of round form, connected to each other by bridges and marinas and will include tourist and residential complexes. The third project will relate to restructuring an area of Algiers, qualified by the originators of the project of "city of wellness". El Abbar indicated to the journalists that the complex would be "agreeable for all those which will want to combine tourism and well-being or tourism and relaxation". The complex will include a university, a research center and a medical centre. It should also include a hospital complex, a care centre, a hotel zone, an urban centre and a thermal spa with villas and apartments. The university will include a medical school and a school for care male nurses which will be able to accommodate 500 students. The university campus will have the possibility of seeing setting up broad ranges of buildings of research laboratories and residences.
Another project relates to technological implantation of a campus in Sidi Abdellah, south-east from Algiers. This site will include shopping centres, residential zones with high standard apartments and a golf course surrounded by villas and hotels. Two other residential zones, including 1.800 apartments and 40 high standard villas, will be built on the surrounding hills.
The fifth project is that of the tourist complex Colonel Abbès, which will be located west from Algiers. This complex will include several retail zones, meeting places, and residential zones composed of apartments and villas with views of the sea.
There is another project under construction, by the name of Algiers Medina. The first step of the project is nearly complete.
A Hewlett-Packard office for French-speaking countries in Africa is in Algiers.
Some to the west of Algiers are such seaside resorts as Sidi-Ferruch (ex-Sidi Ferruch), Palm Beach, Douaouda, Zéralda, and the Club of the Pines (residence of State); there are tourist complexes, Algerian and other restaurants, souvenir shops, supervised beaches, and other amenities. The city is also equipped with important hotel complexes such as the hotel Hilton, El-Aurassi or El Djazair. Algiers also has the first water park in the country. The tourism of Algiers is growing but is not as developed as that of the larger cities in Morocco or Tunisia.
There was formerly the École japonaise d'Alger (アルジェ日本人学校 Aruje Nihonjin Gakkō), a Nihonjin gakko.Kobori, Iwao (Conseiller aupres del'Universite des Nations Unies). " L'Algerie et moi" ( ). Japan-Algeria Center. Retrieved on 16 January 2015." 過去に指定・認定していた在外教育施設" ( ). Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Retrieved on 15 January 2015.
The city is serviced by a large network of expressways, highways, trunk roads, and even
4 urban beltways:
In addition, many of the wards and cities within Algiers maintain sister-city relationships with other foreign cities.
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