Travel Guide El Kala

87 km east of Annaba, on the road to Tunisia, La Calle used to live off the coral harvest off its coast. The small town was in fact the first French settlement in North Africa since, in 1524, merchants from Marseille who had obtained the exclusive right to exploit coral created a trading post in the bay to compete with the Genoese and Venetians. After 1830, it was naturally part of the conquered territories.Today, La Calle or El-Kala is always so crowded in summer and one likes to stroll along the small port and its lively terraces near the pretty blonde stone church. Every year, in August, the coral is still celebrated, as it is almost never harvested anymore for ecological reasons. It is the occasion to gather fishermen, craftsmen and sellers of jewels, in particular those of Ath Yenni which were traditionally decorated with this coral with rich colors. You can also find objects made of heather wood, an ancient craft of the city.