THE OLD TOWN

Except for the Great Mosque (Djemaâ el-Kebir) which dates from the 12th century, in the Hafsid style, most of the important buildings were constructed during the Ottoman period. To taste the atmosphere of this district, it is necessary to go through it in the morning, at the time when the Constantinians crowd around the stalls of the souk. There, you take your time, you stroll, you sit on the terrace of a café to drink your espresso, while enjoying a pastry or a delicious salty dish typical of Algeria. Basically, we simply enjoy the place and the atmosphere!

Under its deeply degraded air, the district preserves very beautiful residences of the XVIth and XVIIth centuries which for the majority fall in ruin without the owners being able to do much about it. Don't miss a small detour to the workshop of Amine Driss, the last coppersmith in the neighborhood - the others are grouped together at the bottom of the city after the Hotel Cirta. A piece of history in the street Sallahi-Tahar..

On the edge of the old city, near the Mellah-Slimane (formerly Perrégaux) footbridge, the medersa on boulevard Larbi-Ben-M'Hidi, which is now part of the university, is interesting for its polychrome ceramic tiles. At the top of the old city, after the Jewish quarter, the kasbah has been partially renovated and is open to the public since 2015, the year Constantine was the capital of Islamic culture... The fortifications that surround Constantine and that can still be seen in places were built with Roman stones carved by the Arabs.