Roman Algeria the oases of the Erg Occidental Oran and the M'zab

Arrival in Algiers, formalities and transfer directly to the hotel. Dinner in the city centre of Algiers. Overnight stay.

Visit of the Casbah, the old Medina of Algiers, nicknamed "Al Bahdja" (The Radiant) or "The White" by both Algerians and French. Algiers is the capital of Algeria and the largest city in the country, with nearly five million inhabitants. The agglomeration of Greater Algiers accounts for 10% of the Algerian population and ranks first among the most populated cities in the Maghreb.

The Casbah was built in the 10th century. We will begin our visit with the Citadel (the palace of the Dey) or Dar El Soltane. Starting with this citadel and the century-old house (by architect Léon Claro), we will cross the Casbah through its alleyways to discover the best panoramic viewpoints over Algiers bay.

On the program: visit of the Dey Mosque, the Janissaries Club and meeting with craftspeople (ceramicist, cabinetmaker, etc.). We will also walk through the alleyways where Gillo Pontecorvo's film The Battle of Algiers was shot, released in 1966. The visit will continue with the mosque and fountain of Sidi Mohammed Chérif, the Ali la Pointe museum, the market of the Synagogue Mosque, the outskirts of the Ketchaoua Mosque, and finally the Mustapha Pacha museum. The duration of the visit is 3 to 4 hours maximum, depending on the group's pace.

Lunch with a traditional meal at a guesthouse table in the Casbah.

Continuation of our visit in the afternoon through Martyrs Square. Visit of the Palace of the Raïs "Bastion 23" (Cultural Arts Center), the only testament to the extension of the Casbah to the sea. Then, we will gain height (vehicle transfer) to visit the Basilica of Notre-Dame d'Afrique. If the sky is clear, we will probably be able to witness a magnificent sunset.

Return to downtown. Dinner at leisure and overnight at the guesthouse.

We dedicate our day to the discovery of Timimoun and its surroundings. Timimoun, called the red oasis for the red ochre color of the earth and houses with neo-Sudanese architectural style with African reminiscence, is a place of fascination in the Sahara. Discovery of the city of Timimoun, the old Ksar, its palm grove.

Timimoun stands out for its contrasting urban planning : on one side, the ksar, the palm grove and the Foggaras, witnesses to tradition; on the other, the colonial city and modern extensions, marked by neo-Sudanese style. The ksar is a fortified village that still houses an active and dynamic population.

In the afternoon visit to the dried salt lake "Sebkha". Passage through Ksour with defensive architectural character such as Ighzer, Ouled Saïd and Aghlad. The palm grove is famous for its date palms, which produce tasty and varied fruits. The Foggaras irrigation system is an ingenious system that allows underground water to be conveyed by drainage over long distances, through wells and tunnels. They ensure the irrigation of food crops and orchards, and are essential to the life of the oasis. The Foggaras are so important that they bear the names of eminent religious figures, who have granted them their blessing.

El Ménia offers an immersion in Saharan history. Its Ksar, an example of traditional architecture, includes the caravanserai at the foot of the hill, the village on the slope and the watchtowers. They evoke the communal life of the desert, blending commerce and security.

The Saint Joseph church from the 1930s and the tomb of Charles de Foucauld from 1929 are important landmarks. A guide accompanies visits, revealing the authenticity of this oasis steeped in Saharan tradition. Every corner, building and monument tells a story rich in resilience and culture in this oasis.

Discovery of the city of Ghardaïa, the marketplace, guided tour of the holy city of Beni Izguen. Admirable architecture, an unparalleled culture, a society that is viscerally and deliberately commercial, a weaving that is a vibrant and colorful feminine symbol expressing the unmatched civilization of the Mozabite pentapolis.

We discover the fascinating M'Zab region, where the plateau served as a refuge for Ibadite Berbers about a millennium ago. They built ksours of singular beauty there. In this system of valleys organized around the M'Zab wadi, comprising Ghardaïa, Beni Izguen, El Atteuf, Bou Noura, and others. All these cities perched on hills are distinguished by their sober and charming Mozabite architecture.

The palm groves in the region are true garden-cities, offering refuge during intense heat. Their survival depends on an ingenious system using deep wells and dams along the wadis to maximize the use of rare rainfall. Branching canals then ensure equitable distribution of water within the oases.

Morning departure on an excursion for the discovery of the ancient city of Timgad, located south of Constantine. Timgad, also known as Thamugadi, is an ancient Roman city located in northeastern Algérie. Founded by Emperor Trajan in 100 AD, Timgad is an example of Roman urban planning. The city was built as a colony for veterans of the Roman army, and its layout is based on a typical orthogonal scheme of Roman urbanism.

One of the most remarkable features of Timgad is its checkerboard layout, with rectilinear streets that intersect at right angles. The city was equipped with numerous impressive structures, including a triumphal arch dedicated to Trajan, a theater, a forum, baths, temples and richly decorated houses. The entire architectural complex was designed to reflect the grandeur and power of Rome.

Timgad flourished for several centuries as an administrative, commercial and cultural center of the region. However, over the centuries, the city was abandoned. It was rediscovered in the 19th century, making it one of the best-preserved Roman archaeological sites in the world.

Today, Timgad is listed as UNESCO World Heritage. We wander through its well-preserved ruins which offer a fascinating glimpse into life in a flourishing Roman city, with streets, buildings and sculptures that bear witness to Roman engineering and art.

Djémila, which means "the beautiful" in Arabic, is an exceptional archaeological site that bears witness to the splendor of Roman civilization in North Africa. Perched at 900 meters above sea level, in a mountainous region, it overlooks a magnificent landscape, where the green of olive trees mingles with the red of the earth. It was the inhabitants who gave the name Djémila to the ancient Roman city of Cuicul, its original name, founded in the 1st century after Christ and prosperous until the 5th century.

The archaeological site of Djémila possesses remarkable monuments, which illustrate the adaptation of Roman architecture to a particular environment. There you can admire a theater, two forums, temples, basilicas, triumphal arches, paved streets and houses decorated with mosaics. You can also discover remains from the Christian period, such as a basilica and a baptistery. Djémila is a place steeped in history and culture, which reflects the diversity and richness of Algérie's heritage.

Djémila has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, for its unique character and exceptional preservation.

Early morning departure from Oran Senia airport flight to Algiers. Arrival in Algiers, hotel check-in.

Visit to the Bardo Museum in the morning. The villa built on the heights of Algiers, whose patron was a wealthy exiled Tunisian, Mustapha Ben Omar, at the end of the 18th century to serve as a summer residence for welcoming notables of the time. In turn, the property passed through several owners, including Admiral Maurice Exelmans in 1830, General Valentin Auguste Lichtlin in 1846, officer and landscape painter artist Prosper Baccuet in 1851, Monsieur Grauby in 1868, and Madame Aziza Fao, daughter of Jewish merchant Joseph Cohen-Bacri in 1874. In 1875, the villa became the property of Ali Bey Bouakkaz, Agha of Biskra, then he resold it in 1879 to Monsieur Pierre Joret, the last occupant of the villa.

Upon his death, his sister, Madame Frémont, ceded the Bardo villa to the French state in 1926, which transformed it into a Museum of Ethnography and Indigenous Art. Inaugurated in 1930, on the occasion of the centenary of colonization, the museum became the Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography, whose founder and first curator was prehistorian Maurice Reygasse, then the National Bardo Museum in 1985, and classified the same year as a historical monument. Regarding the word Bardo, it would be a deformation derived from the Spanish name Prado, which means garden, place of pleasure. It would refer to the sumptuous palaces of the Hafsid sultans dating back to the 15th century, traces of which are found in the Tunisian suburbs.

Currently, the Bardo Museum houses an important collection of ethnography and African art.

Visit of the city center – unusual Algiers –, Didouche Mourad street, the market, craft shops up to the main post office, then Larbi Ben M'Hidi street - formerly Isly street - and Emir Abdelkader square.

Hiking walk along the waterfront.