Chapter XXIV: Two Excursions

Before setting out on the long journey through Algeria, two short excursions from Algiers seem worthy of mention. The first is an afternoon drive to the easterly point of the bay of Algiers. The distance is barely twenty miles, and though there is nothing in particular to see there, the drive along the coast from Maison Carrée is delightful, and the view from Cape Matifou of Algiers, shimmering white in the distance, is enchanting. Practically no tourists ever go there, and though in the summer the little fishing-village of Laperouse is inhabited by Algerian families who can not holiday in France, in the winter it is deserted.

It is recommended to drive out via Maison Carrée, Fort de l’Eau (the Algerian ape of Deauville in the summer) and the village of Cape Matifou. A mile farther on a sharp turn is taken to the left, and in a few minutes one reaches Laperouse. Passing through the village a rough road leads one to the point on which stands the lazaret used for the quarantine confinement of pilgrims returning from Mecca.

If there is a storm in the Mediterranean, the sea dashing itself against the cliffs is a magnificent sight, and the view of the spray bursting over the rocks to the east makes one realize how restless is this inland sea. From the cape one should return to Laperouse, take a look at the little fishing-port, very quiet during the winter months, and then, asking the way to the ruins, picnic in the old Roman bath which overlooks the miniature bay, so blue and calm even when the breakers are roaring against the point.

The ruins are those of Rusgunium, originally a Phœnician center, and later converted by the Romans into a summer watering-place. Unfortunately, with the exception of the baths, practically all vestige of the houses has disappeared; this is not modern neglect, as the stones and mosaics were taken by the Turks to build Algiers of that day.

If the weather is fine it is strongly recommended that one stay until the sunset, as the spectacle of the sun disappearing behind the hills of Algiers, making of it a great brazier of flame, compensates one for the drive back in the dusk. But really to appreciate Laperouse it must be visited on a summer day. The heavy atmosphere of Algiers is left behind, and one finds oneself in a sea of light and freshness. The water lazily laps the cliffs and ripples up on the golden sand. It is never too hot, as the breeze comes from over the sea and, bathing on the hottest day, one can not stay in the water for more than half an hour. The nights are cool, and the twinkling lights of Algiers across the bay, while the summer moon flashes in the tranquil sea, equal a vision from the _Arabian Nights_.

The second excursion is to the west of Algiers to Tipaza and, if time permits, as far as Cherchell. It is advised to do it in two days, as there is much to be seen and little time to appreciate all in a short winter’s day. If, however, time is pressing, Cherchell can be omitted and Tipaza alone visited.

The actual distance is some fifty miles, and the road runs delightfully along the coast all the time. The way is bordered by endless vegetable gardens, for it is along this part of the coast that all the _primeurs_ are grown for the Paris markets.

Castiglione is a pretty little village on the sea coast, as is also Berard, but as in the case of Laperouse they must be imagined in the summer full of holiday-making Algerians. A little beyond Berard can be seen a strange-looking object on the top of the hill, resembling a very large beehive. It is in reality a mausoleum known as the _Tombeau de la Chrétienne_. To visit this it will be necessary to leave the car and climb up a steep path some six hundred feet above the sea. On reaching the pyramid one is struck with a certain similarity with its cousins in Egypt and, in fact, there is reason in this resemblance. One hundred and twenty feet high, with a diameter of one hundred and eighty feet, it is composed of great blocks of stone rising in tiers, and is said to have been built by Juba II. Juba II, it will be remembered, was the son of Juba I, defeated by Cæsar at Thapsus in 46 B. C. The boy was taken to Rome and brought up most carefully by Octavia, Cæsar’s sister, and was ultimately married to Cleopatra Selene, the daughter of Antony and Cleopatra. In 43 B. C., when the Roman Empire was finally established and the second triumvirate had divided the territory among its members, Octavius restored the old kingdom of Numidia, and in 30 B. C. appointed Juba II as its king.

Cæsarea, now Cherchell, became his capital, and for fifty years was the most magnificent city of North Africa. The _Tombeau de la Chrétienne_ was constructed as the mausoleum for his wife.

There is no real evidence for this story, and many will say that the tomb is much before the time of the Romans. However, the fact remains that this edifice is quite close to the capital of Juba’s kingdom, and that there is another monument practically identical in construction near Batna, in the department of Constantine, which is known as the tomb of Syphax, another Numidian king, and that they both have a certain resemblance to the Pyramid of Cheops.

The road continues along the seacoast, delighting the eye by the contrast of the sapphire blue of the Mediterranean lapping the deep red rocks fringed with brilliant green scrub. Eucalyptus woods are passed until the road runs down to the little fishing-village of Tipaza. The Hotel du Rivage is an excellent inn nestling against the red cliffs, while the garden runs down to the miniature port, little changed since the days of the Phœnician traders.

If time is not of importance, a few days spent here in peace and quiet will not be regretted. Originally a Phœnician settlement, Tipaza became in the first century of our era a Roman summer resort for the rich settlers in Cæsarea (Cherchell). All that could be done to make it a center of luxury and pleasure was carried out with infinite care. The temples, the forum, the villas were designed to harmonize with the beauties of nature.

Thanks to private enterprise much of the ruins has been unearthed and one is able to reconstruct this town as it was. Sarcophagi of great beauty have been found, and mosaics in a very good state of preservation have been placed in a small museum by the hotel.

The joy of the place is not so much the actual finds, but being able to realize again the pleasant atmosphere which must have reigned among the wealthy Romans as they walked up and down the forum, which dominates the bay, or dined merrily in the villas looking down on the rippling sea.

Later, when Christianity appeared, there must have been a very fine church to the west of the original town, whence one gets a delightful view of the sandy shore which runs along toward the towering heights of the Chenoua Mountains. Here, too, the heat-oppressed Algerians come in summer to escape from the damp atmosphere of the white city, and the bathing is wonderful.

Cherchell is some twenty miles farther along the coast. The drive itself is not very interesting, and the town, after Tipaza, is disappointing. There is, however, a very excellent museum, and to those interested in the statues of Rome of that period the visit is worth while. Otherwise the return journey from Tipaza can either be made by the same way in the golden glory of the African sunset, or else inland through the vine-clad hills via Marengo and Kolea.

These are the two excursions, but this chapter can not be closed without reference to the Trappist monastery at Staoueli. This is only twenty minutes in a car from Algiers and is worthy of a visit. The Trappist monks have been expelled, but their monastery, with the great vats in which they made the still famous wine, remains. The monastery is in the hands of Monsieur Lucien Borgeaud, a gentleman of Swiss origin who has continued pressing the grapes as did his holy predecessors, only on a much larger scale.

A visit is welcomed, and in addition to seeing the old building founded by the Trappists at the time of the French conquest, it will be interesting to see how wine is made and the modern improvements put in by this enterprising Algerian.

There are, of course, many pretty drives involving part of the day, such as the Gorges of Palestro and the entrance to the Kabyle country, the Ruisseau des Singes, beyond Blida, Dellys, and the Phœnician city of Tigzirt, on the coast, but as they form part of the greater journey to be dealt with in the next chapters their description is purposely omitted. Suffice it to say that all the neighborhood of Algiers is enchanting, and that life in Algiers itself, lived in one of its old Moorish villas surrounded by a lovely garden, would be as delightful if it were not for the relaxing climate.

But if we are to appreciate the real charm of the country do not let us tarry too long near the white city.