CHAOUCHAOUA STUD FARM

For equestrian enthusiasts, this is Algeria's most important stud farm, which has seen the birth of thoroughbred Arab stallions and barbs that have given rise to famous equine bloodlines. The stud was originally founded in 1877 as the "Jumenterie de Tiaret" to select and produce stallions for the colonial army.

Today, it is one of the country's leading breeding and equestrian training centers. It also aims to preserve local equine breeds, in particular the Barbe horse, a saddle horse originating from the Maghreb region and already ridden in antiquity, and the Arabe-Barbe, a cross between purebred Arabians and barbes. For several years now, however, the establishment has been struggling with a number of problems, including the increasing deterioration of its buildings, the absence of government subsidies and a decline in business. In the face of mechanization, the need for horses is steadily diminishing, and horse racing with locally-born horses is virtually non-existent. While up to 22,000 foals were born at the stud at the beginning of the ^20th century, today it is home to just 208 horses, half of them thoroughbred Arabians.

If you love horses, don't hesitate to take a stroll through the Jumenterie. Not far from the stud farm, a few barely identifiable ruins bear witness to the existence of Tahert, destroyed in 908, which was the first capital of the Ibadites, orthodox Muslims led by the Persian Ibn Rostom, founder of the Rostomid dynasty.