DJEMILA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Coming to Algeria without visiting the archaeological site of Djemila would be a serious mistake. You will be absolutely stunned by the beauty of the site, its tranquility in the middle of the mountains and by the incredibly preserved remains. It is a visit that will remain engraved in your memory! And we do not exaggerate... The site is spread over a large area, so plan good walking shoes especially since it is sometimes relatively steep.

You also need time, plan on average 3 hours, if you want to see all the site and that you make the guided tour (You can also call upon the guide Salim Fligha, you will find his coordinates on this page.)

The tour starts at the museum at the beginning of the road that leads to the Place des Sévères or New Forum. From there, we take the Cardo Maximus lined with lines of columns that first run along the primitive city which we enter through a gate marked with military markers.

On the left, among the ruins, you can see a Christian basilica in front of an arch, the ancient forum recognizable by its regular paving, the house of Castor which sheltered private thermal baths, the temple of Venus and a temple surrounded by Corinthian columns.

To the north of the old forum, the Capitol was a colossal building where the cult of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva was celebrated on an altar reserved for sacrifices. Just next to it, the ancient thermal baths of the IInd century and the market of Cosinus where one can still guess the stores around the court. At the end of the Cardo, the house of Europe was a rich residence where was found a mosaic representing the kidnapping of the beautiful.

In the south-east of the forum, the Decumanus which allows to return to the Cardo Maximus in direction of the new forum. This vast esplanade dating from the 2nd and 3rd centuries is dominated in the south-west by the triumphal arch of Caracalla which opened the road to Setif on a more recent district, from the 4th century. In 1839, the arch was almost transferred to Paris, but in the end, the wish of the Duke of Orleans was never fulfilled. To the south of this part, built when Christianity had become official, the baptistery and the basilicas were at the center of public life.

South of the new forum, at the top of a wide staircase, the imposing Septimian temple was dedicated to Septimius Severus. By the street which leaves to the north-east of the temple, one reaches the theater, remarkably preserved, which could welcome up to 3 000 spectators.