Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-07-20

I ton at this distance from the sea
! From 1880 10 36, possession OF the toNi
was disputed between the emperor on
Morocco and the Turkish troops, the
latter being IN the pay OF France ana
| Occupying the citadel This completed
! It's architectural ruin, with foreign sol.
ders uuartered In the MeChouar, ana
the whole army Of the emir clamoring
at the gates. Finally Tlemcen was
oeded TO Abd-el. Kader by the treaty
of Tafua, and In 1912 the French took
possession. Since then prosperity mas
in a measure returned Some special
manufacturer have been established,
such as brightly colOred blankets ana
the red shaWls called tahlila, worn by
.he Jewish women The neighborhood
h fertile and slngularly we'll supplied
with water. ana Tlemcen Is the chief
town Of an extensive district which
exports every years large quantities Of
olive oil, dried figs, corn, -four alfalfa
"a kind Of hay), wool, sheep horned
cattle. besides cloth, carpets and arti-
cles IN leather Of native manufacture.
But Il he sad 10 see that little remains
Of the Tlemcpn OF song and story, oX-
cept its romantic situation-on the
NlNIif VI Lam nfNAA lIiWNNkAltif ltNAAAA ~
three thousand feet above the sea, It's
remarkable climate, tfor Africa, us
olive trees. centuries old. and the ruins
Of ts once magnificent religious edl-
fees. All the palaces Of which history
and tradition tell US have vanished
from the face OF the earth and their
place Is mostly filled by low, mean
houses and sQualid novels, Like AL
giers, the town has its native quarter
It's Jewish quarter, and us European
quarter, each separate and distinct
from the Others and, again like ALI
glers. It's Arabs live IN narrow, dirty
crowded alleys, its Jews a little more
comfortably; while its European quar-
ter Is a hlmsy and feeble imitation OF
Paris.
Several mosques within the walls OF
Tlemcen are we'll worth visiting The
largest, known as Djamaa- el-kiber
has seyenty-two square columns and
great many horseshoe arches. decor
ated on the interior side with plaster
work, the outside round and plain the
ceilings are Of cedar. without a trace
OF Communication. The mihrab Of the
mosque Is extremely beautiful. with
arabesques and round horseshoe arch,
and lighted from above. u bears the
date A II. $50, corresponding TO a. ID.
1876, which shows that Il was built un-
der the Amoravides. But II Is the
successor OF a much mole ancient mos
que, as walls In the rear win show.
founded a. u. 100 The courtyard Is
paved with Algerian onyx, and the
basin OF the fountain is Of the same
material, The brick minaret was built
by Ghamarasan. the first Of the ADD
el-Ouadite sultans, a. ID. l2iS) and the
great brass chandelier was the gift of
the same monarch, who is himself
buried here
The mosque Of sld Ahmed Bel Has
san el-Shomari, now an Arab school
stands close by. IN the same park
known as the Place a. Alger II was
supposed TO be- restored" by the
French by the application Of offensive
~ modern tiles 10 the exterior Inside.
however, some exquisite productions Of
Moorish art remain. whose richness,
variety aud refinement are unsur-
passed, even in the Alhambra Of Grena-
da, The mosque IS supported by six coll
umns Of Algerian onyx and all the
walls aud arches are covered with
hihb'NIh' A''NldtlNNNt WI lilF RIilNNllt
side Of the square was the college, now
destroyed, whore the celebrated lbu
Khaldoun taught
The destruction Of the Mechouar, or
citadel, Is complete Built in ll4j, for
the governors residence, II became the
palace Of the Abd-ei-Ouadites. Arab
writer's tell Of its splendor ana the
brillaucy % the court held there: but
| time, the Turks and the soldiers have
spared nothing but the outer walls and
the mnaret Of It's mosque The most
interesting sights OF Tlemcen lie outside
OF the present city limits At least
\ three circles Of ancient fortlncati0ns
can be clearly traced, Little Is left Of
| the innermost circle. as the modern
| French wall follows Il closely; but Of
| the two outer circles. walls and towers
are standing in many places. They are
| built of enormous masses OF concrete
| which look like stone and are evidently
| as durable, The towers are rectangu-
! lar, and must have made the Temcen