A peculiarity of the Air Algerie schedule is that all flights seem to have to go through Algiers, and ususally with a terrible schedule! So when we left the desert in Ghardaia, we had to fly back to Algiers before continuing on to Constantine the following day. That did give us the chance to visit the sights of Cherchell and Tipasa though.
The modern Cherchell (formerly Iol and then the Roman Caesarea) pretty much covers the old city, but there is an outstanding museum with a huge collection of sculptures and mosaics fro the entire area. Definitely worth the stop there.
The actual town of Tipasa is a small and well preserved Phoenician, then Punic, then Roman, then Vandal, then Byzantine, then Arabian port with a beautiful setting on the Mediterranean. The natural port was, of course, the reason that so many conquerors came and went. The Arabians had no use for a port so destroyed Tipasa and it slowly was buried over the next 1,000 years. When uncovered (by the French) there were some great theatres, stellae, and Roman villas to be seen.
Leaving Tipasa on the drive back to Algiers, we stopped at one of the oddest tourist sights anywhere we’ve ever been. (Right up there with the Plain of Jars in Laos.) The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania. It has nothing to do with the current country of Mauritania. It was probably constructed by Juba II, last king of Numidia and then king of Mauretania Caesariensis (which was a Roman province). Despite building it, Juba II may not be buried there, in fact there is no evidence that anyone was ever buried there! There’s no inscriptions, stellae, nor a single other building for miles around. It’s just a partially ruined pile of rocks, but it’s a huge pile at 35 m high and 60 m in diameter. We walked around it with somewhat puzzled expressions, then returned to Algiers for the night. The mausoleum is part of the whole UNESCO site called “Tipasa in Mauretania“, but it’s a bit of an oddball UNESCO site for sure!
Off to Constantine in the morning!
See the photo album directly on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/100countries/albums/72177720325970006/
