Buy blow Setif

__________________________

📍 Verified store!

📍 Guarantees! Quality! Reviews!

__________________________

▼▼ ▼▼ ▼▼ ▼▼ ▼▼ ▼▼ ▼▼

▲▲ ▲▲ ▲▲ ▲▲ ▲▲ ▲▲ ▲▲

Buy blow Setif

Next, it was time to explore the Roman ruins of Djemila, and it far surpassed our expectations. From the incredible mosaics the museum mosaics are not to be missed to the amphitheater set in a gorgeous valley, it still baffles us that we were the only tourists at this world class site. Thanks to a phenomenal local guide Salim Fligha , we explored every nook and cranny of this well preserved Roman city, and emerged with a greater understanding of how the Romans constructed their cities. Afterwards, it was onward to Constantine, which wins hands down as quite possibly the prettiest city in Algeria. The view from the bridges is an unforgettable highlight, and we met some of the friendliest Algerians here who showed us their beautiful city. After tearing ourselves away from Constantine, we made a brief stop at Madracen where the Tomb of the Numidian Kings can be found. We were surprised at how good most of the roads in Algeria are Becky laughs as the ride gets progressively more dangerous at the Setif amusement park you can easily hit the nearby trees with your outstretched legs or arms if not careful and the ride feels like it goes on forever! A zoo caretaker employs a unique feeding technique with a hungry camel; Setif. Carved column depicting theatre masks a happy and sad face ; Djemila museum grounds. Detail of a mosaic; Djemila Museum the mosaics inside the museum are absolutely mind blowing, but sadly, photography is not allowed. Pretty Djemila should absolutely be one of the top 10 sites to see in Algeria. Baptistery in the Christian Quarter View of the waiting hall in the Baptistery one side for ladies and the other side for men ; Djemila. It's obvious why the Romans chose this location to build the city of Djemila because as its name suggests in Arabic it is truly 'beautiful'. Djemila was largely empty of tourists, but we excitedly spied three locals wandering the empty ruins. The Romans sure knew how to build cities to last! Just wander through Djemila to admire the sturdy columns and structures. The Romans were very advanced for their time as they developed a unique weights and measures system with this table grain would be measured and poured in from the top openings and gathered in a bag below ; Market of Cosinius. At the Market of Cosinius in Djemila, nearly all the merchant's tables had beautiful carvings on their legs. Djemila is in a nice state of preservation, and we felt safe wandering around through all the ruins. Our guide, Salim Fligha, demonstrates how orators would address the crowd at the Forum; Djemila. A public fountain the Romans used water pressure to cause the water to spout ; Djemila. Group photo in front of Mellah Slimane bridge with some local guys that wanted to show us around their city; Constantine. The Rhumel Gorge cuts a deep chasm between Constantine and the rest of the surrounding countryside. Constantine is a beautiful city built on an outcrop of rock next to a deep gorge. It commands lovely views all around. A boisterous teenage proudly shows us his 'pet' which looks like a cross between a worm and a snake; Constantine. Posing with our new friends from Constantine thanks Yousef for a fantastic tour of your city! Becky standing in the Harem's section of Achmed Bey's Palace the Bey had a notoriously difficult time procreating, taking numerous wives but fathering only one child, a daughter ; Constantine. Robby admiring the original paintings inside the Palace of Achmed Bey; Constantine. The Mosque of Amir Abdel Kader is one of the world's largest capable of hosting 10, worshippers in the prayer hall and is dominated by twin m high minarets; Constantine. This structure is the oldest Numidian building in the world, standing at 58m in diameter, 19m tall and supported by 60 columns. Check out the wall in the town outside Timgad for nice murals of the surrounding area. Grave markers used to come complete with carvings of food, eating utensils and condiments to be used in the afterlife; Timgad. Cisterns used to grind olives or grains with Trajan's Arch in the background ; Timgad. It's fairly evident to see that Timgad was built as a Roman military colony as a reward for those soldiers who served and survived their lengthy service to the Emperor. Robby playing a Roman game he's trying to get as many of his pebbles to land inside the divots ; Timgad. All that remains of the capitol are two solitary columns from the Temple of Jupiter, a site of pagan worship; Timgad. Becky is wowed by the sheer size of the top of a Corinthian column at the Temple of Jupiter; Timgad. Wood to fuel the fire for the public baths would be thrown into this furnace; Timgad. A large, two toned checkerboard for games in the center of Sertius Market; Timgad. Carvings on each vendor's stall would indicate what goods were sold wine, grains, etc ; Sertius Market. View of Timgad's Cardo Maximus note: The Romans adhered to a strict planning code and as a result, Timgad is a fine example of a military colony built in a laid out manner. Sheer cliffs rise on either side of us as we make our way towards Ghoufi Gorge. Staircase leading to a lookout point of Ghoufi, the 'grand canyon of Algeria'. Lunch consisted of sharwarma at the excellent and brand new, open only for a week La Grotte Restaurant, which is on the road of restaurant opposite the amusement park. The owners did a fabulous job on the design of the restaurant, sparing no detail. For the first time since we had been in Algeria, we heard fluent English our waiter lived in London for 5 years , and a small group of Australian-Algerians entered shortly afterwards, and we were happy to have even more people to speak to in English. Salim had visited Setif before, so he knew his way around the compact city. We wandered around for a bit before heading to the amusement park where we rode some ride the flying swings. Salim was not interested in riding, but Yousef grabbed a ticket and joined us. These looked a bit like a kids ride, but it certainly makes you feel queasy after flying around in circles at a fairly high speed for about five minutes. Next we walked over to the artificial lake with paddle boats. He obviously felt comfortable with the lions, but what an unnecessary risk! The other enclosures were a bit sad, but we were able to see the cat-like Fennec Fox and various vultures the Egyptian Vulture is especially hideously fascinating to see. One young boy begged the zookeeper to let him in with the anaconda, and to our immense surprise, the cage was opened, and the boy rushed in and laid his head down on the snake like it was a pillow! Only in Algeria…I highly doubt that we would ever see that happen in the states!!! Afterwards, we headed back to the amusement park and rode the Ferris wheel, which had really nice views over Setif. Today was a pretty easy day, and our last sight was the picturesque Ain Fouara the most famous fountain and symbol of Setif. The fountain was sculpted in , and it seemed surreal that locals were lining up to take photos with a naked lady cavorting atop a fountain spewing water that they happily sipped. Especially since Setif seems like a conservative town on the whole! We had about two hours to kill before dinner, so we headed towards our hotel for a siesta, and met up with Yousef and Salim around 7 for another go at our favorite restaurant in Setif. Dinner consisted of a steak grilled to perfection and we enjoyed our conversation with our friendly waiter, who spoke English, Arabic and French fluently. After bidding our drive and guide goodnight, we crashed for an early morning ride to Djemila tomorrow. The concierge helpfully suggested that he would watch our bags, signaling that he would shoot anyone that came near them. And we believed him! After breakfast, Robby tried calling Salim on his cell phone, but the call never rang through and now we knew why he had been checking out every single cell phone store while we were in Algiers. About 35 minutes after our agreed upon departure time, Salim and Yousef came sauntering up and wanted to perform preventative maintenance on the vehicle…so we went with the flow and loaded up the truck to wait patiently for everyone to be ready to go. The drive to Djemila was smooth, and despite never having been there before, Salim was able to guide Yousef to the historical site with ease. Finding a W. We were able to admire but no photographs were allowed some of the most amazing Roman mosaics that either of us has ever seen. The exquisite detail blew us away, and the sheer amount of mosaics that were able to be preserved in the museum was jaw dropping. A friendly site guide, Salim Fligha, who speaks impeccable Arabic and French and passable English gave us excellent explanations of the site, referring to the scale model to show us the route he intended to take us on. Our next stop was the stunningly beautiful theater, which can seat up to spectators, who were divided into three social sections the prime seats for the senators or nobility, Roman citizens in the next tier, and everyone else in the nose bleed seats. Afterwards, we headed down to the Temple of the Severan Family Le temple Septimien, named after Emperor Septimus Severus , and learned that the massive marble heads of the emperor and his wife, Julia Domna, on display at the museum, were excavated from this family temple. The Old Forum was our next stop, which is a large square meter area flanked by the Temple of Jupiter and the Capitol to the north , the curia, a basilica that functioned as the town hall to the north east , the Temple of Venus to the south , the Judiciary Basilica to the west and the municipal prison and the market of Cosinius to the north west. The diminutive Market of Cosinius was probably our favorite section of Djemila, with its stone tables where merchants would lay down their merchandise for sale many with intricately carved legs , and its unique weights and measures carved stone very advanced for its time , and its overall quaint atmosphere. We spent some time admiring this section, before checking out the nearby prison, built under the market itself. Walking back up the cardo maximus, we passed by a house marked by a phallus symbol. Salim explained that it either stood for one of two things, a brothel which is unlikely due to its close proximity to the Place des Severes, or a symbol to bring the family fertility. A large phallic looking fountain was our next stop, and Salim showed us how good old fashioned water pressure created a spouting fountain. Since it was almost noon, we accepted and enjoyed a tasty steak and chickpea dish before bidding Salim farewell. Since neither Salim nor Yousef had ever visited this city before, we stopped to ask the friendly inhabitants for directions to the recommended hotels first for gorgeous Hotel Cirta which unfortunately for us was fully booked, followed by the Hotel Panorama, also fully booked. It was looking dismal as we considered our limited hotel options, but the Hotel Des Princes on 29 Rue Abane Ramdane came to the rescue, offering a clean room with hot water and air conditioning at an affordable price. Plus, its location was great, only a few minutes walk away from Place des Martyrs and the Cirta Museum. After scoping out some potential sites to check out in the afternoon, we headed down to the lobby to await Salim and Yousef, who had to go park the truck and get settled in to their own room. We had forgotten to factor in prayer time. Once that was complete, we all set out to the Cirta Museum. Greeting us at the staircase to the museum were three boisterous teenage boys wanting to practice their English. We greeted them briefly, and entered the museum only to find out that we had missed its opening hours by mere minutes it closes at daily. On our way back out of the museum, the boys were helpful in pointing out highlights of their city and eventually, they even offered to show us around town! The view from the bridge down into the gorge was spectacular. As we walked farther across the bridge, the views of the gorge became more and more impressive. We made our way around the corner and prepared to tackle another bridge. The second bridge was even more amazing, a pedestrian only suspension bridge named Mellah Slimane or Le Passerelle Perreguax, which swayed slightly as we crossed it. Even though both of our guide books had advised us that we would be blown away by the views, nothing prepared us for how beautiful the city of Constantine is, especially seen from its famous bridges. The guide books seem to focus on the beauty of the bridges, but the actual beauty is found looking down the dramatic gorge with the city perched up on along its upper edges. Yousef pointed out a cable car in the distance that crosses the gorge between the hospital area and the city center. After crossing the suspension bridge, we had the option of taking the lift or getting a work-out from climbing a few flights of stairs. We opted for the latter, which actually was good because there were a couple of nice view points from the stairwell for taking photos. Once we made it to street level of the city, we were greeted by a big mosque just next to the exit of the stairs. Yousef asked us if we were interested in seeing another bridge but said we should hurry as the sun was setting soon and it would be getting dark. Our teenage guides were doing a fine job showing us around, and we thoroughly enjoyed their company as well as helping Yousef practice his English. For his English to be self taught, he obviously is a gifted boy who has a talent for languages. Robby not much of a sports fan started making small talk about football just to help Yousef further practice his English. Little did Robby know that Yousef is a huge football fan and his confidence in the English language quickly increased as he discussed the topic. There were several small tunnels etched out of the stone for vehicle traffic and lookout points built along the way for pedestrians. After the tunnels the road becomes Rue Sidi Abdul Bouhroum. Views of the gorge below just continued to be more amazing. It was getting late, so the boys escorted us to a road full of restaurants, but refused our offer for dinner, stating that their parents would beat them if they skipped dinner at home. Thankfully, Hotel Des Princes had hot water, so after a warm shower, neither of us had problems falling sound asleep. It was a two story building packed full of interesting artifacts and art. Unfortunately, we asked several vendors if it was OK to take photos, but none allowed us. We even bought a kilo of dates from one of the vendors and he still would not allow a photo. Since there were no photos allowed at the market, we made our way to the famed theater as it was supposed to be one of the most beautiful buildings left by the French. The inside is said to be spectacular. To our disappointment it was closed and there were no visible signs indicating opening hours. The windows and doors even had security bars over them making it impossible to get close enough to sneak a peek inside. Yesterday when we went to the Sidi Rachid Bridge, we noticed a building being restored in an old style and Salim asked if it was possible to enter. The workers said to try in the morning. So, we stopped by and a young female architect in charge of the project allowed us to enter for a few quick look around. The building was formerly a single house with a typical central courtyard. It has been renovated and modified into 4 apartments. There was also another building connecting to this one that was undergoing the same restoration. It was nice to see efforts to get the city a bit of a face lift and still maintain the traditional look. We walked back across to the center of town to the Mosque Souk El Ghozal and found it a little difficult to take good photos as there are other building and trees surrounding it. The mosque was converted to a church by the French, but is currently a mosque again. Next door is the Palace of Ahmed Bey. Both of our guide books mentioned that it was under restoration and may be closed as has been the case with many other sites that the same was written. Lucky for us, it opened to the public earlier this year and they even had a local English speaking guide that gave us a private tour of the palace. The palace was huge and they have done a great job with the restoration. Unfortunately for Ahmed Bey, he was only able to use the palace for 2 years before the French arrived and took it from him. Non Muslim visitors are not allowed to enter during prayer times. We walked around the exterior of the mosque to get a few photos and take in exactly how massive this structure is. After only about five minutes Salim came and told us that we could come in. They have a reception with guides that show visitors around and give some information about the mosque. The guide gave Becky a proper robe to wear and we took a few photos of her new attire. The inside of the mosque is very decorative and spacious. We were happy that the guide also allowed us to take photos inside. The dome is completely painted with all the names of Allah. We finished our tour and took a few photos of Salim outside so we could email them to him as he was quite happy that he visited. After arriving at the tomb, we found the gate to be locked so Salim and Yousef sat and relaxed by the truck while we made our way around the fence to take a few photos. When we came back towards the parking area, there were three local guys from Kabylie that were excited to talk to foreigners. One of the three knew a little English and was struggling to practice with us and Salim assisted with translating when he had too much trouble. The guys were trying to tell us a little history about the tomb with a bit of English, French, Arabic and lots of laughing. After talking for a while we took some photos together and gave them our card so they could check out our website. We drove onwards to Batna and started our search for a hotel. It seemed that all the hotels in city were full. We even had local guys driving in front of us to show us the way to hotels. Finally we stopped at a roundabout and asked a police if he knew of another hotel and he recommended the Hotel Guetaffi. Lucky for us, they did have a room, but at a steep dinar price tag. Salim said they had to look for another hotel for them as this one was too expensive. Neither of us had an appetite, so we told Salim that we were tired and not hungry so dinner was not necessary. We wished him good luck in his hotel search. We expected up to an hour drive to Timgad, but there was no traffic and the roads were good so we arrived slightly earlier. Lonely Planet indicated the opening time to , but when we arrived, we found the opening time posted as Entrance fee to the site is 20 dinar. As our guide books mentioned, the museum is still closed due to a lack of funding. We were only able to take photos of some interesting carved stonework and marble columns around the outside of the building. We found it very interesting that there were not enough funds to keep the museum open. They could easily increase the entrance fee to something like dinar and it would still be a very reasonable price. We started our walk along the cardo maximus reading our guide book description of the building. Apparently is it typically difficult to find an English speaking guide on-site to tell you about everything. When we reached the forum, Salim said that a security guard told him we could take a photo of the amphitheatre, but we were not allowed to ascend it. Becky asked where was the best place to take a photo as the sun was directly behind it and nearly impossible to get more than a silhouette. Lucky for us, the security guard Hamid escorted us up through the amphitheatre so we could take that perfect photo. He informed us that he used to be a local guide and then began to show and explain everything in perfect English as if we had hired him for the grand tour. While our books were somewhat descriptive, Hamid gave us a clear understanding of the history, layout of the city, significant items and had answers for all of our questions. The site were once completely buried, but the French did an excellent job of excavating and renovating enough to give you a good feel of what the city was like during its heyday. After making a full loop of the site, we could tell that Hamid was an excellent guide that enjoyed showing people around. We wondered why his is now a security guard instead of a guide. Maybe, the lack of funding for the site meant that he had to change jobs. With this being one of the top tourist sites, we were surprised to have the whole site to ourselves. Interestingly, there was no mention of this village in the Lonely Planet. There is a primary road from Batna to Biskra, but the smaller, secondary route is way more scenic, taking us through eye-catching landscape from Timgad to Biskra. Along the way, there are thousands of picturesque date palms lining the bottom of the valley with the weathered mountains creating a contrasting backdrop. When we reached the village of Ghoufi, there was a turn off for the tourist circuit. This route is only about two or three miles long and took us right along the site of the gorge so that we could get some great views of the dramatic cliffs with old mud brick buildings perched atop. There are several viewpoints constructed and a couple of sets of stairs leading down to the river bed. But, around midday it is really hot and exhausting to attempt those stairs. We walked down part way at our first stop and opted to enjoy the views from the top at the stops there after. Once we were done snapping photos we headed out and looked for a place to have lunch. After about 20 minutes of discussion and the soldier gathering all of our details, we were allowed to pass. It seemed that we should have taken the primary route from Batna to Biskra as Ghoufi was not listed on our itinerary and we seemed to be far from any place listed on it. But, he let us continue and we stopped at the next village for a late lunch. We were going to have chicken again until we saw the lamb chops that Salim ordered and then quickly changed our order. After having chicken several times over the past few days, the lamb chops were an instant delight. Salim also suggested that we try the local bean soup dish, which has a tomato base with large brown beans having a tough skin similar to what we have eaten in Ecuador. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Skip to content. A giant gold flower monument in Setif. Roasted sheep's head, anyone? Rotisserie stand in Setif. A lioness at the Setif zoo. Robby feeds a hungry gazelle a carrot; Setif zoo. A four horned sheep; Setif zoo. Porcupine at the Setif Zoo. The elusive, cat-like Fennec Fox; Setif Zoo. Feeding hungry ostriches at the Setif zoo. An aggressive mouflon feral sheep ; Setif zoo. A face only a mother could love Young Algerian boy fearlessly lying down on an anaconda; Setif zoo. The rickety Ferris wheel offers nice panoramas of Setif. Nice vistas of Setif can be had from the Ferris wheel. The Ain Fouara fountain is popular with locals and tourists alike; Setif. Algerian flag colors painted on the side of a building. An elaborate gravestone marker; Djemila. Carved column pieces in the Djemila museum garden. Robby stands next to a massive marble bust; Djemila. Marble bust of Emperor Septimus Severus; Djemila museum. Rear view of the Temple of the Severan Family; Djemila. Becky sitting down on one of the old Roman toilets; Djemila. Entrance portal to the Grand Baths; Djemila. View of the Christian Quarter in the distance; Djemila. Columns in the Christian Quarter; Djemila. Mosaics lining the floor of the Baptistery; Christian Quarter of Djemila. Even more spectacular mosaics on the floor of the Baptistery; Djemila. The massive Arch of Caracalla; Djemila. The Grand Baths of Djemila. Intricate detail on the leg of a merchant's table; Market of Cosinius. Final view of the Market of Cosinius; Djemila. Walking up the Cardo Maximus in Djemila. Robby standing in front of an archway leading to Severan Forum; Djemila. Corinthian columns lining the old Forum of beautiful Djemila. View of the Severan Forum; Djemila. Djemila's gorgeous amphitheater. Becky standing in an archway; Djemila. A colorful teahouse; Constantine. Mural of the Casbah on a wall in Constantine. Tile art in Constantine. The Sidi Rached Bridge; Constantine. Becky on the Sidi Rached Bridge; Constantine. Aerial view of river that flows through Constantine. View of Constantine as seen from the Sidi Rached Bridge. Bird's eye view of Mellah Slimane Bridge; Constantine. Monument of the Dead perched on a cliff top; Constantine. The deep Rhumel Gorge is a mesmerizing sight in Constantine. Dusk view of Constantine. View of Constantine's downtown at dusk. Sunset over Constantine. We ended up having dinner here at Kentucky Chicken restaurant; Constantine. Salim and Yousef at Kentucky Chicken; Constantine. McCamella Restaurant those golden arches sure look familiar ; Constantine. Detail of the Constantine Theatre. Handsome building in Constantine. Posing in the garden of Achmed Bey's Palace; Constantine. View of the Grand Mosque; Constantine. Courtyard view of Amir Abdel Kader Mosque. The beautiful interior of Amir Abdel Kader Mosque. The beautiful dome of Amir Abdel Kader Mosque. Beautiful scenery on our drive from Constantine to Batna. An arch in the middle of the countryside; near Batna. Roman ruins just outside Batna. Remains of Roman ruins dot the countryside around Batna. Grave stone markers lining the wall outside Timgad's museum. Sarcophagus lining the main avenue leading towards Timgad's ruins. Marble tablet in front of Trajan's Arch; Timgad. Trajan's arch is located down a colonnaded street; Timgad. Posing in front of Trajan's Arch; Timgad. Trajan's Arch; Timgad. Chariot wheel markings etched in the road of Timgad. Sundial at Timgad. Public fountain; Timgad. Timgad's library complete with niches for scrolls. Hamid demonstrating the reading pose in the library; Timgad. The aqueduct of Timgad. Heading down underneath the public baths of Timgad. The underground tunnel system of Timgad's public baths. Timgad's Sertius Market. The outline of a camel is visible as we approached Timgad's amphitheater. View of Timgad's amphitheater. Robby enjoying the vista from Timgad's top row in the amphitheater. Becky reveling at the sight of Timgad's amphitheater. One of Timgad's public toilets. Lush palmeraies full of dates started appearing at the base of the valley. Fruit and vegetable vendors; side of road enroute to Ghoufi. Yousef buying us a bag of pomegranates from a road side vendor. The landscape started becoming more rugged as we neared Ghoufi Gorge. At last, we finally reached Ghoufi Gorge and it did not disappoint. Becky with our Tanezrouft 4x4 at the Ghoufi Gorge. Ghoufi Gorge is known as the 'Grand Canyon of Algeria'. Enjoying the fantastic views of pretty Ghoufi. Abandoned ksar; Ghoufi. Ruins above Ghoufi Gorge. A small village has sprung up near Ghoufi gorge. View just outside the Ghoufi Gorge. View of a run down town just outside Ghoufi. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.