El Kasbah

Probably the most interesting neighborhood in Algiers is the Kasbah. It dates back to the Phonecian times, when the city was still called Ikosim. It has been rebuilt multiple times, most recently by the Turks around 1700. The French despised the place (what else is new) and razed portions of it for better troop movement through the area. If you have ever seen "Battle of Algiers," most of the movie is filmed on location in the Kasbah.

The Kasbah has suffered terribly from neglect over the past 20 years. The civil war in Algeria meant that the Kasbah was a no go zone. It has been a haven for pirates, freedom fighters, terrorists, theives and more throughout its entire history. Anyone can get lost in its alleyways. It is like New York in that sense, and in the sense that there is refuse strewn over most of the streets.

About half of the Kasbah is in working order. Renovation is made difficult because if one house is damaged, it could take down all the houses around it. Also, recent earthquakes have taken their toll. Government intervention has fallen off, and so has funding, since the "Mayor" of Algiers started his post in 2003. So it goes...

But what is left is beautiful. I poked my head in a free clinic (that, ironically, wanted to charge for taking photos) and saw an amazing courtyard with a two story loggia from the late Ottoman period. There are many of these but they are hard to stumble upon since they are all privately owned (at least most of them). What is public is an intricate series of alleys and steps and tunnels and streets and such.

An analysis of such a place is impossible; you can only live there. Walking through is a poor substitute. One of the most interesting aspects of El Kasbah is the way it records history. Cracks in the stucco. Passageways sealed shut. Every alley has a story to tell, if you'll listen. The halmark of the Kabah is the extension of the houses into the alleys. These "bays" extend maybe 4, 5 feet past the floor below, supported by a series of substantial wooden poles (once I know how, photos will be posted). They secure into the floor above and the bearing wall below. Almost every famous picture of the Kasbah will include this element.

I hope to visit again before I leave, and perhaps meet a few of the preservationists living in the neighborhood. Many people are still optimistic about rehabilitating the place. My uncle Cheikh is not one of them. He says every few years, the French, Italians, and Egyptians come to fix a small portion, but any large scale renovation would not get off the ground. I hope he is wrong.