EUROPE - ORAN

Flight to Oran, on a regular AirAlgeria flight.
Arrival in the morning. Reception at the airport, then transfer to the hotel and installation in the room.

Departure for the visit of the center of Oran which starts with the monumental Hôtel de Ville, built in 1886. Two good-natured lions, bronze work of the sculptor Caïn, flank the stairs. We will also visit the opera, a building built in 1905. Finally, in the center, we can see the obelisk of the battle of Sidi Brahim crowned by the bronze of the winged Victory. You will then discover the largest Spanish fortification of Oran (2 kilometers of wall), built during the Spanish presence which spanned nearly 3 centuries (1509-1792) almost without interruption. This fortification is part of the Spanish defensive system against the Ottomans who had extended their empire throughout the Algerian territory. After the departure of the Spaniards, Bey Mohamed El Kébir, who had the seat of the Beylicat of Mascara transferred to Oran, chose the place to build his palace there.

Lunch during visits.

Continuation to the Palais du Bey: Palace built by Mohamed El Kébir to make it the seat of his governorship. The palace consists of three buildings: The diwan where the governor gave audience, the harem which constitutes the residence of the bey and his wives and the building called "Pavilion of the favorite". The bey's palace underwent transformations during the French period (1831–1962). It served as the seat of the French military governor until independence. Near the entrance to the fortification stand, in the middle of slightly more recent constructions, three towers whose construction is attributed to the Merinids: a bellicose dynasty, coming from southern Morocco, contemporary with the Zianid dynasty to which it delivered a long war for the domination of the Maghreb. The Merinids experienced varying fortunes and were able to occupy even Tlemcen, the capital of the Zianids, for a certain time. They took Oran in 1347 and built the first fortifications there. Less than a stone's throw from the bey's palace, on the bend in rue Philippe, stands the Pasha mosque: built just after the departure of the Spaniards, by the bey Mohamed el Kébir who, for political reasons , dedicated it to his Pasha. The octagonal minaret bears witness to Turkish architecture. On the slope of the cliff which dominates the current port of Oran and below the wall, a long promenade was laid out in 1836. We owe its layout to General de l'Etang who said that a city was only not a set of constructions but also green spaces and gardens. There are rare species there. The promenade, nearly 500 meters long, leads to the Vallès ramp which joins the port to the center of the city.
At the junction of the boulevard Front de mer with the ramp Vallès, opens the door of Petit Vichy; pleasant green space. Below, the Green Theater continues to host, every year, at the beginning of August, the international Raï festivals.
Return to the hotel, and during the journey you will be told the drama of Mers el Kébir in 1940.

Dinner at the hotel or in town.
Night at the hotel in Oran.

ORAN SANIA

Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure for the visit of the Sidi Abdelkader el Djilani plateau (panorama of Oran and Mers el Kébir): 410 meters above sea level on the Murdjajo mountain. In this place stands a building dedicated to Sidi Abdelkader El Djilani (holy man who gave birth to the first Muslim religious brotherhood but who never came to Algeria). The space was converted during the 80s into a place of relaxation. A cable car brings people there from the city center.

Continuation to the Basilica of Our Lady of Salvation known as the Fort of Santa Cruz. It was here that the miracle of the rain took place on November 4, 1849. The water from this storm, which lasted 3 days, made it possible to fight against the cholera epidemic which ravaged the population of the city of Oran. Since and until the independence of the country (July 1962), the Catholics organize, each year, a pilgrimage on the spot. This pilgrimage takes place, since 1967-1968, in Nîmes where a replica of the basilica was built. The construction of the building on the site of the miracle lasted a little over a century. Four virgins have succeeded to watch over the site.

Passage through the Porte du Santon; one of the three gates which, in the Middle Ages, made it possible to enter or leave the fortified city. The gate has been filled in to make way for the road that leads to the Scaléra district. However, the surrounding wall and the guard turrets (works made in the 16th century by the Spaniards) still exist. Stop at the Church of Saint Louis: The church was the cathedral of Oran until 1913. Currently disused, the first level houses a cultural center. Passage to the Place de la Perle: a stop on this square allows you to read, on the facade of a shop, an inscription which dates from the Spanish presence. Opposite, stands the minaret of the pearl, in Arab-Andalusian style. All things considered, the architecture is reminiscent of the Giralda in Seville and the Koutoubia in Marrakech. From the square, runs a small sloping alley which serves, in the morning, as a daily market. There are seasonal fruits and vegetables and fish products. At the end of the market, there is another street. A hundred meters away, we discover the small mausoleum of Sidi El Houari, patron saint of the city and well diggers. This character, born near the city of Mostaganem, came to settle in Oran, towards the end of the 14th century. On the road that leads to the heights, a blind wall where a small door opens. Behind the wall stand the buildings of the first French military hospital, built at the start of colonization. Below, the Turkish baths, built by Bey Bouchlaghem during the first Ottoman presence (1708-1732). The French will install the laundry of the military hospital there. Continuation to Place Kléber: downtown until the end of the 19th century, the square boasted three monuments:
- The door of Canastel: Only medieval door which still remains upright and which gives on the ramp of Madrid,
- The former Hotel de la Paix: the first hotel in the city. Napoleon III stayed there during his visit to the city. Currently, the building houses the services of the building management office,
- The old prefecture: the building housed the services of the prefecture until 1958.

Continue to Place de la République: a large square from which you can see the sea and the port of Oran. There is a bandstand, the Aucour fountain (named after an architect who had a lasting impact on Oran town planning) and beautiful trees including ficus trees more than a hundred years old. Separated from the square by a street, stand the buildings of the Bastos house, the cigarette factory of the brand whose name it bears. The factory still produces, but under a different name, tobacco.

Lunch will be on site.

Afternoon free to enjoy the sights of the city and do some shopping.

Dinner at the hotel or in town.
Night at the hotel in Oran.