CITADELLE

Built in 1516 by Baba Aroudj, a Turkish privateer who proclaimed himself King of El Djazaïr following the liberation of Algiers from Spanish rule, the Citadelle(Casbah in Arabic) covers no less than 9,000^m2 on the site of the palace of the Berber prince Bologhine Ibn Ziri, founder of El Djazaïr Beni Mezghana.

Construction of this fortress, 118 m above sea level and initially intended to house a garrison of janissaries, was not completed until 1591. It was not until 1818 that it became the seat of the Regency. Ali Khodja, penultimate dey of Algiers, threatened by the janissaries (soldiers of the Ottoman sultan's militia), left the Djenina, until then the seat of government and administration, to take refuge in the Haute Casbah. The Citadelle thus became the dey's palace, and dey Hussein completed the installations.
After the capture of Algiers, the palace was requisitioned by Marshal de Bourmont, who made it his residence, before handing it over to Clauzel, General-in-Chief of the Algerian troops, and other generals. The Orleans barracks were built in 1926, and the Franchet-d'Esperey colonial military museum was installed in the dey's palace in 1930 to mark the centenary of the French presence.

Successive occupations and developments have unfortunately caused considerable damage to the premises, which have been undergoing renovation for many years.

In particular, the boulevard Mohamed Taleb, built by the French on the site of the Citadelle gardens, has divided the site.
To the right of Boulevard Mohamed Taleb (as you go downhill), you'll see the powder magazine, Dar El Baroud, the old stables and the Beys' palace. Around these buildings and the courtyard, ramparts sheltered five batteries that aimed their cannons at the port, the coast and the hinterland.

On the left, you'll see the Janissary mosque and, behind it, the dey mosque, flanked by their octagonal minaret decorated with earthenware bands. The dey's palace is built around a patio and included the treasury, the hammam, the women's apartments, the dey's apartments and the Diwan (council chamber), where the famous "fanning" took place on April 30, 1827. The dey Hussein, angered by a debt owed by France to the Regency, is said to have used this offence against the French consul Deval as a pretext for the French takeover of Algiers.

Almost all the tiles have been ripped out by successive occupants - military and then squatters after Independence - and only a few colorful shreds and carved marble doorways hint at former splendor.

"A few minutes' uphill walk brings you to the Casbah, a vast, sumptuous palace once home to the dey, now converted into a fortress, containing a large garrison, the powder magazine and beautiful gardens in the middle of which stands the telegraph (now defunct, ed. note). The vast apartments of this palace are well worth a visit, both for their curious construction and for the historical memories they contain. But don't look for anything reminiscent of the luxury and elegance of the palaces of the Orient, everything has disappeared; even this architecture, so light in the past, has had to give way to massive constructions. Remnants of the Moorish style, so full of poetry, can still be found in the apartments and vast courtyards of this building, but they are so mutilated that they are a sight to behold. The galleries and rooms on the first floor are used as refectories; the smell of tobacco has replaced that of the perfumes of Mecca. The palace's beautiful mosque, with its elegant columns, mosaics and dome, serves as the artillerymen's dormitory. The harem, the voluptuous dwelling of the women, serves as a workshop for tailors and shoemakers. The Casbah powder magazine, when we visited this fortress in 1845, contained 6,482 shots, 3,000,000 cartridges and a large number of other projectiles

This description of the Citadelle was found in a tourist guide dated 1848, which can be consulted on gallica.bnf.fr, where many other old guides are available online.

Restoration of the Kasbah. While the janissary quarter, the hammam and bastion 5 have been restored, other parts of the citadel are still undergoing work. After several unsuccessful renovation projects, emergency work to safeguard the citadel began in 2005 on nine buildings on the site, before restoration work began in 2011. Indeed, due to numerous earthquakes, floods and fires triggered by dilapidated installations, the Casbah had lost its charm and the buildings were falling into disrepair.

After many years, the citadel partially reopened to the public in November 2020. In 2021 and 2022, several projects were handed over, including the dey's mosque, the powder magazine, Dar El-Baroud, the mausoleum of Sidi Abderrahmane Thaâlibi and historic buildings.

Other projects to restore historic buildings are currently underway, with work scheduled for completion by the end of 2024, including the reopening of the Palais des Beys and the Palais du Dey. Other palaces in the Casbah should also be renovated in the coming years. The process is a long one, made all the more difficult by the fact that the protected zone comprises 1,816 buildings, 80% of which are privately owned, 35% by unknown owners.