The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1901-07-11
THE SWIFT SPECIFIC CO., ATLANTA. GA.

The SWIFT SPECIFIC CO., ATLANTA. GA.
distinct from the others; and, again
like Algiers, it's Arabs live in narrow,
dirty, crowded alleys, its Jews little
more comfortable; while it's European
quarter is a flimsy and feeble imitation
of Paris.
Several Mosques within the walls of
Tlemcen are we'll worth visiting. The
largest, known as Djamaa- elk ebir, has
seventy-two square columns and a
great many horse shoe arches, decorat-
ed on the interior side with plaster
work, the outside round and plain. The
ceilings are of cedar, without trace
of ornament. The Mihrab of the
mosque is extremely beautiful, with
arabesques and round horseshoe arch,
and lighted from above. 1t bears the
date A. II. $50, corresponding to A. D.
der the Almoravides. But it is the
successor of a much more ancient
mosque, as walls in the rear will show,
founded A. d. 100. The courtyard is
paved with Algerian onyx, and the bas-
in of the fountain is of the same ma
terial. The brick minaret was built by
Ghamarasan, the first of the Abd-el-
| Ouadite Sultans, a. D. 124S) and the
great brass chandelier was the gift of
the same monarch, who is himself bur
! led here.
| The mosque of Sidi Ahmed Bel Has
san el-Shomari, now All Arab school,
stands close by, in the same park known
as the Place d Alger. 1t was supposed
to be ''restored' by the French, by the
application of Extensively modern tiles
to the exterior. Inside, however,
. some exquisite productions of Morish
art remain. whose richness, variety and
refinement are unsurpassed, even in
is supported by six columns of Algerian
onyx and all the walls and arches are
covered with arabesque decorations.
On the opposite side of the square was
the college, now destroyed, where the
celebrated Ibu khaldoun taught.
The destruction of the Mechour, or
citadel, is complete. Built in 1145, for
the governors residence it became the
palace of the Abd-el-O Qualities. Arab
writers tell of its splepdor, and the
brilliancy of the court held there: but
time, the Turks and the soldiers have
spared nothing but the outer walls and
the minaret of its mosque. The most
interesting sights of Tlemcen lie out
side of the present city limits. At
least three circles of ancient fortifca-
tions can be clearly traced. Little is
left of the innermost circle, as the
modern French wall follows it 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
rectangular, and must have made the
Tlemcen of the Almoahades almost
impregnable.
The mosque of Abou Abdulla esh-
Shoudi-commonly known as Sidi Ell
Kalawi, the Candy -maker-lies just out
side the walls. You leave the town by
the Abattoir gate, pass group of native
| huts inhabited by negroes, who have
their own mosque and minaret; follow
the angle of the wall-and presently see
far below you the holy place of Side ell
Kalawi, amid a clump of olive trees.
This Mohammedan Saint flourished
about the year 1926 Having been APP
pointed tutor to the several hundred
| children of the Sultan Abou-Zian, he
gave some offence to the grand War.
who accused him of sorcery and brought
about his death. Then followed a series
of miracles which astonished the Sultan,
who caused the wicked grand vizar to be
burned alive in mass of clay, and hon
ored the murdered Saint with the mos
que which bears his name and is also
his tomb. 1t is hardly worth while
climbing down to it under the broiling
African sun, though the mosaics of it's
minaret glitter like jewels and it's por-
tai and colonnades are said to be very
| beautiful.
Go straight on down the hill by an
easier path to the right, and in a few
minutes you will reach the minaret,
which is all that remains of the mosque
of ancient Aghadir, the cradle" of
Tlemcen. Only the minaret of a mos
que is standing, and walls, which by
their immense extent, bear witness to
the splendors of the vanished city
Its tower about $50 feet high, is of
square construction and in wonderful
state of preservation, though it has