The Kasbah of Algiers is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In English we evidently tend to spell it with a C, not a K, but it's pronounced the same. UNESCO lists it as Kasbah.
The word Casbah itself seems to denote either a fortified house of a town ruler or the area within the old city walls, depending on location and era. In North Africa, it seems to be related more to the old city than a particular building. Certainly the Casbah of Algiers refers to the old city within the old city walls; while people know where it is, they wouldn't agree on a metes and bounds description. Within the walls of the Casbah, however, there was both a palace and a fortress.
The Casbah is to a large extent the original location of Algiers, first as a Phoenician trading post, then as part of the Roman-satellite Mauretanian Kingdom under Juba II. (Refer to Tipasa posts). It remained a Roman city until destroyed by Vandals, and the site apparently remained uninhabited until the 10th Century, when it was "re-founded" by Berbers. For the next 500 years Algiers was governed by various North African rulers, kingdoms, until the early 16th Century when it became part of the Ottoman Empire; for the next 300 years Algiers' main interaction with the Europeans (and then Americans as well) was due to the fact that it was the home of the Barbary Pirates, who operated from modern day Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
The Casbah was pivotal in the Algerian war for independence; because of the narrow and winding streets and interconnected houses, FLN partisans could (and did) carry out partisan strikes against the French, and then disappear into the Casbah. During the "trouble" of the '90s, Islamic radicals tried to use the Casbah in the same way as the FLN had against the French, but because both sides were Algerians, they had more trouble doing so.
For our tour, we had six Americans, one guide, one policeman in uniform, and eight plainclothes men belonging to who-knows-what agency. The Casbah is off-limits for embassy personnel; to gain admittance, the trip has to be cleared by the embassy security staff and then the embassy sends a diplomatic note to the Algerian government, we're taken to a checkpoint by the motor pool, and our tour begins. Cindy felt pretty constricted, but I didn't really. The only things I didn't get to see were closed for restoration.
As you'll notice from the pictures below, the Casbah is not only old, but it's falling down. Several houses have collapsed, and you can see the outlines of rooms on the walls still standing. Many outside walls are braced with heavy beams. The whole area is slated for renovation, but no one seems to know when or where the money will come from. Being designated a UNESCO site doesn't bring any money, and while I saw some evidence of restoration, not a lot seems to be going on, except for the major structures (cathedral/mosque and castle). Our guide (who was the same man who was at Tipasa) said that one of the problems was that the French made penetrations in the exterior walls for water/sewer/electrical, and the moisture seepage had deteriorated the masonry. I don't know to what extent that is a valid claim; if so, however, it would seem important to be keeping the stucco and paint in good repair, which is not the case. And certainly the jumble of satellite dishes and wires and pipes anchored to the walls cannot be blamed on the French.
This first street is actually a fairly wide main street, by Casbah standards. Note the bracing between the two exterior walls.
These room braces are a rougher version of the ornate Turkish ones. These are poles which extend out and support an added-on room addition. Additions couldn't be too big because the streets were so narrow, and sometimes the additions would almost abut in the middle of the street, and in some cases meet, forming a sort of tunnel. And in some cases these abutted room additions were connected to each other, thus making it possible to wander around a good bit in the Casbah without ever touching the street.
This is the Mediterranean Sea from the roof of one of the houses. Until the fall of French rule it had always been the rule that one couldn't build a house or addition that would block his neighbor's view. That rule was reinstated, but in between the time the French left and the new government gained administrative control, several additions were made, which seem to be a point of contention.
The corrugated tin roof is over such an addition. Directly in the middle of the picture are two towers on either side of a dome; this was the Cathedral until after the war of independence; it is now a mosque, and under renovation so we couldn't go in.
The fortress, also under renovation. I'm not sure to what extent it is being renovated; at this point, I think it is just an intervention to keep it from falling down.
Street scenes.
You may think this is an open street, but only because the houses on one side have collapsed.
One of the public fountains. Before running water, people got water from these fountains. Also, most houses had cisterns to catch rain water, so the fountains were not necessarily the only source of a family's water supply.
Another street.
In front of the mosque.
Steps, steps, steps.
This house is in pretty good condition. During early Ottoman times it was a rule that all houses in Algiers had to be painted white, and the roofs red. This uniformity was felt to keep everyone equal and not given to ostentatious shows of wealth. Inside, of course, whatever one wanted and could afford was okay.
Another street.
More bracing holding up a facade. Some places the facade is the only thing that is still standing, held up by the braces.
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