Circuit The Roman Cities Of Algeria 12 days

Day 1 Algiers

Arrival and reception at Algiers airport.

Transfer to the hotel, stop at Riadh El Feth and the Balconies of Algiers.

Check-in at the hotel, followed by a walk through the city on the boulevards of Algiers: Michelet, d'Isly, la Grande Poste, the Forum and the Flower Clock.

Dinner and accommodation included.

Day 2 Cherchell - Tipasa - Royal Mausoleum of Mauritania (100 km, 1h30)

Departure for Cherchell, ancient Roman Caesarea (IOL Phoenician). Visit to the museum of exceptional ancient sculptures. followed by the Museum of ancient pieces and its mosaic garden, ending with the discovery of the Roman baths.

Lunch.

Direction Tipasa for a visit to the ancient city located on the western hill, the theater, the circus, the thermal baths (this site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Numerous Punic, Roman, Christian and African remains attest to the rich history of this region.

On the way back, a detour to visit the Royal Mausoleum of Mauritania, called the Tomb of the Christian.

Dinner and accommodation at the hotel.

Day 3 Algiers - Casbah

Departure to visit the Casbah, starting with the Citadel and the Centennial House (Architect Claro Léon).

Followed with a stroll through the small alleys of the Casbah, with stops to visit some traditional houses and terraces with panoramic views of the Bay of Algiers, tastings of traditional tea and cakes.

Then the visit will continue with the oldest mosque in the Casbah: Sidi Ramdane, the Bir Chebana Fountain, the Sidi Abderahmane Mausoleum, the Mustapha Pasha Palace (currently the Museum of Arabic Calligraphy).

Traditional lunch at the Casbah.

In the afternoon, seafront and visit to the national theater (1853), the popular district of Bâb El Oued, which is a group of districts (Guillemin, Trois Horloges, Baceta, Climat de France and Trioli).

Finally a walk through the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa (1872), an architectural jewel built on an exceptional site that dominates Algiers from east to west.

Dinner and accommodation at the hotel.

Day 4 Algiers - Setif (3 hours, 280 km)

Early departure to the archaeological park "Djemila", classified as a World Heritage site by UNESCO, in what was previously Cuicul.

It is known as one of the most beautiful sets of Roman ruins in the world. The archaeological remains, the well-integrated Roman urban planning and the environmental framework represent the values ​​attributed to the site (visit to the Arch of Caracalla, the Great Baths, the Christian Basilica, the museum and its magnificent mosaic paintings and the 4th century Baptistery).

Direction Sétif, check in at the hotel, then a stroll through the city, its wide shopping streets and its famous fountain "Ain El Fouara", symbol of the city.

Dinner and accommodation at the hotel.

Day 5 Setif - Tiddis - Constantine (2 hours, 180 km)

Departure for Tiddis: an authentic Berber site modified by the Roman civilization and conditioned according to its urbanization systems. Tiddis (or Castellum Tidditanorum), which once depended on Cirta, still preserves Libyan inscriptions and symbols on Berber pottery.

Direction Constantine, check in at the hotel, then lunch.

In the afternoon, visit the Cirta Museum, then walk through the alleys of the old town, giving real insights about the history of Constantine, the Rhummel gorges and the magnificent views offered by the ancient Monument to the Dead and the famous suspension bridges from the city.

Dinner and accommodation.

Day 6 Constantine - Batna (2 hours, 120 km)

Departure to Batna with a stop at the Salinas (great Chott where salt is produced). Visit of its production workshop. Then visit Médracen, which is a famous Berber tomb.

Lunch in Timgad. In the afternoon visit to the city of Timgad: The Roman city, which in ancient times was called Thamugadi (Martian Colony Traiana Thamugadi), founded by the emperor Trajan and endowed with the status of a colony. This is the last deduction colony in Roman Africa. Built with its temples, thermal baths, forum and great theater.

On the way back to the hotel, short tour of what remains of Lambese (Lambaesis), the heart of the Roman military presence in Africa and the former headquarters of the 3rd Legion of Augustus under Trajan. The small town of Tazoult is also well known for its penitentiary erected in 1850 that helped a lot in the discovery of the old city, but also a great obstacle to a thorough study of its remains, the gradual destruction due to the penitentiary, the colonial town so the current agglomeration has made it difficult to preserve the Lambèse site. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 7 Batna - Madaure - Souk Ahras

The road of M’Daourouche (Madauros), an ancient Numidian city of Syphax from the 3rd century BC. C. J.C and kingdom of Massinissa. It was then erected as an important Roman colony between 69 and 75 BC. C., under the emperor Vespasiano. Saint Augustine studied there until he was 15 years old. Visit of the ancient city.

Picnic. After that, visit of the Olivier de Saint-Augustin in Souk-Ahras.

Return to the guest house. Dinner and accommodation.

Day 8 Sedrata - Khemissa - Souk Ahras

Early departure for the visit of the Sedrata Rock Carvings. In the afternoon, we’re going to Khamissa, ancient city of Thubursicu Numidarum. Over the centuries, it grew towards the north and the northwest to form a 65 hectares city. Thubursicu Numidarum, is a place of prime strategic importance: it was located on a road that connected the port of Hippo Regius (near Annaba) with Theveste (Tebessa), the camp of the African legion. The excavations carried out in 1877 and then from 1903 to 1905 in this city of the Numidian tribe, allowed to exhume: the Platea vetus (the old square), the Forum novum, a theater, thermal baths, monumental doors, funeral monuments with numerous epitaphs, a Byzantine chapel, measuring tables and statues of divinities and notables.

Return to the guest house. Dinner and accommodation.

Day 9 Souk Ahras - Guelma

After breakfast, visit and discovery of the ancient city of Calama. The Roman Theater, built in 201. It sits on a plinth of embankments adorned with stoneware. It is due to the evergetism (charity) of one Annia Aelia Restituta, daughter of a rich and powerful family of the time, who spent a fortune for the pleasure of her fellow citizens. It was rebuilt between 1902 and 1918. The theater also houses the Roman Museum of the City of Guelma, which contains important collections of coins, bronze objects and statues. Lunch in Guelma.

Then we will go to Hammam Chellala or Debagh, or even Meskhoutine (according to legend). The water temperature of Hammam Meskhoutine is only exceeded on a planetary level by the geysers of Iceland. His therapeutic virtues were appreciated by the Romans who called this place Aqua Tibatanae. Possibility of bathing for whoever wishes.

Dinner and accommodation.

Day 10 Guelma - Thibilis - Annaba

After breakfast, next step will be Announa, a Roman site of approximately 10 ha. Followed by the discovery of the Arc de Triomphe, the Forum, the Capitol and the Basilicas. Thibilis is the birthplace of the mother of Saint Augustine.

Lunch before our next step: Annaba. Arrival, short visit to the city of Annaba.

Installation in the hotel. Dinner and accommodation.

Day 11 Annaba

Direction to the site of Hippo Regius (or Hippone), which was first a Carthaginian colony, then the residence of the Numidian kings and the Roman municipality under Augustus. It was then occupied by the Vandals, by the Byzantines and finally by the Arabs in the 10th century, until the end of the Fatimid period. The city had Saint Augustine as his bishop from 396 to 430 AD.

Hippo, episcopal seat of Augustine. Visit of the Basilica of Peace of Hippo, the baptistery, the theater, the forum, the thermal baths and the Museum, then the modern Basilica of San Agustín with its Arab-Moorish but also Byzantine and Roman style. Lunch then Ras El Hamra (Cap de Garde), the tip of the Annaba Corniche. Finally, the visit will lead us to the Seraïdi Mountain to visit the hotel complex of the French architect Fernand Pouillon.

Airport transport for Annaba’s flight 17h30 to Alger 18h50.

Special dinner at the end of the tour and accommodation at the hotel.

Day 12 Algiers

Return

Algiers airport transfer.

Departure and return flight assistance.