Annaba III -- Basilica of St. Augustine, Roman ruins

Above, the Basilica of St. Augustine in Annaba.  Cornerstone laid in 1890, completed in 1914,  just three months before the outbreak of WWI.   Augustine died in Annaba in 430 while the city was under seige by the Vandals, who went on to conquer North Africa.  We'll cover that in an upcoming history post, which may be skipped by all but the most devoted of followers.  A French architect designed the building, incorporating many Moorish design features.  Note the blue tile work on the facade.

Below, same Basilica.  When we were there there was a group of students visiting. 

The view  from the front of the Basilica looking out toward the Mediterranean. 

The interior.  I don't know exactly what style they call this, officially, but it is 19th Century Moorish, to me, but with classical Christian church architecture overlaid.  The ceiling is Moorish, wood beam and lattice framework.  The stained glass windows are European.

The pulpit.

 Nave, with clerestory windows and Moorish design features.  If you've seen your quota of Gothic cathedrals, this is a welcome break -- the layout is the same, but the ornamentation is different.

Carved from one solid olive wood piece.  It is directly across from the pulpit.

The Basilica has several of these memorial tiles.  I am assuming that, as is traditionally done,  people bought and had placed these memorial plaques.  I noticed several from 1943, the year of the Allied invasion of North Africa.  American war dead in Algeria were moved to the American cemetery in Tunis after the war. 

Statue of St. Augustine, installed in June 1914, two months before the outbreak of World War I.

Sheep grazing, cows digging around in overflowing dumpsters, etc., are just part of life.  Shepherds will take their flock into town to graze.  In Albania, I've seen cows eating the grass around the soccer stadium; I've seen sheep eating the grass on the riverbanks -- it's just part of life.

The ruins of Hippo, or Hippone as it is in French.  Not a whole lot left, but the typical Roman layout.

This is what is left of a public water well, but I especially like the solid slabs of stone lining the back wall.

Taken from the window of our bus, our ubiquitous escorts.  They're actually quite friendly.  The Algerian government does not want anything untoward to happen to us.