The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-07-22

| lHe sea, cut them up into a series VI
basins each of which is generally oc-
cupied by small salt lake. Alterna-
tons os intense cold and extreme heat
prevail here. Instead of sea breezes
only the hot blasts of the desert blow
over this inferno. There are no trees
and no vegetation but stunted SCRUB
and weeds, on which the sheep and
| canels browse, which form the wealth
of the wandering Arab. 1t is said to
be rich in minerals and valuable mar
| bles however, and in seasons of unu-
sual rains considerable alta is grown,
for it's fibre. If my lot had to be cast
permanently in either place-which
heaven forbid,-I should infinitely pre-
fer the honest desert.
OF course we have not space in the
columns of the Journal and Courier to
speak Of half the excursions we have
actually made in Algeria, nor hun
dredth part of those within easy reach
of the traveller. A little jaunt of last
week. which shows as we'll as any the
sharp contrasts of African scenery, led
us through Mansurah and Hannah
| Bou- Ghara, along the Tafna river.
! Leaving Tlemcen by the Bou- Medina
gate, we journeyed southwark couple
| Of miles to mean little Arab village
! with one tall minaret, Struggled close
up under a HILL which shelters it from
the dreaded siroccc, This Is Ell Ebbad,
the once celebrated home Of science and
religion, in the golden days of long ago
when Tlemcen was inhabited by war
riors and statesmen. Not trace of its
| former glory remains; but LITTLE far
! Their on we came to the ruined palace OF
Abou el-Hassan Ali, the BLACK sui
TAM" whose name and ancestry is
written over the entrance gate as our
Lord the Sultan Abdula ALI son of our
Lord the Sultan Abb Saeed Gilman,
son of our Lord the Sultan Abb Goosuf,
son of Yacoob Abd-el-H Hulk" His
reign began A. D. 1887, and continued
eleven years, but here it is inscribed
over the door as A, H. 790 On tablets
at the main entrance to the mosque
his name Is also written, "Our Lord the
Sultan Abou-el Hassan Abdulla Ali"
This was his favorite abode among
scores of palaces, as one may easily be-
lieve from the traces of exquisite dec
orations, beautiful gardens and the
Nluc ptItl VI pam anu iiiouiiet'i'
to be viewed from it's terraces.
Close by is the Koubba (tomb) of
Sldi Bou- Medin, the patron Saint of
Elemcen. His correct name was Shaol
bibn Hoosain el-Andalousi Abou Me-
| dian-and no wonder his followers
shortened it for everyday use into
Bou- Medn. He was born in Seville,
nine or ten centuries ago. Coming to
Fee when a young man, he devoted
himself to theology, and after doing
missionary work all over Spain, Alge-
ria and even in far off Baghdad, he
died near Tlemcen at a ripe old age.
To the Mohammedans his tomb is the
most sacred Of shrines and therefore
all foreign visitors should remember
the injunction, Take thy shoes from
off thy feet, for the place wherein thou
standest is holy ground" To be sure,
it seems to US a senseless custom, and
so to them would be the removal of
mems hats in our sanctuaries. If we
must invade the holy places of other
people, we should conform as far as
possible to their ideas of what is prop
er. 1t is not much to do to slip off
ones dusty boots at the uuter door of
the courtyard; and one will have his
reward in the increased attention paid
to him by the guardians of the place.
A short staircase descends into an anti
chamber, lined with tombs; to the right
is the entrance to the sacred Koubba.
which contained two tonbs-that of
the saint himself and Of his friend and
disciple, Sidi abb es-Selam, of Tunis.
r,l, ri ra1 yataiJ1 all THAR fine
old arabesque work the main feature
of which is the infinite repetition of a
cartouch containing the inscription Ell
Mulk Lillah-"The kingdom Is Gods"
The whole quaint interior Is crowded
with banners of brocaded silk vootice
candles, ostrich eggs and the usual
paraphernalia of Arab tombs, The
mosque itself is a glorious building,
regular pocket edition of the Alhambra,
in the best style of Moorish art and
sparkling all over with the most beau-
tiful tile -mosaics.
Mansouri, a mile or so farther on, is
hardly less remarkable. It's history is
worthy its time. After Abou Yakoub
had besieged Tlemcen four years he
turned his camp into a city and sur
rounded IL WIFI HlBH WdilS anu toWCi7,
of which a large portion now remains
They enclose a nearly perfect square of
two hundred and fifty acres. The his
torian Ibn Kaaldoun says: 1T was
filed with large houses, immense
buildings, sumptuous palaces and lrri-
gated gardens. 1t was in the year 1902
that the king built it's walls and that
he created splendid city, famous both
for it's vast population, its extensive
trade and it's massive walls. He in
cluded in Il public baths, caravanse-
rails. a hospital and a mosque with
lordly ninaret In short time it took
the first place among the cities of
Barbary However, Mansouri was
evacuated for a quarter of a century;
until the second siege of Tlemcen,
when the "Black Sultan" after captur-
ing the capital, built a palace at Man
souri, and prepared to enjoy life with a
few hundred of his wives. But the
misfortunes of war soon drove him
away, and ever since it's empty mosques
and palaces have been crumbling to de-
cav, The minaret of Abou Yakoub,
one hundred and twenty five feet high,
built of hewn stone and by far the
most beautiful architectural monument
of Moorish times in Algeria, still re-
mains, having been recently strength
ened and repaired The Arabs of the |
V,ly hat,