Photograph: Ali LaferPhotograph: Ali Lafer


Name of Monument:

Fahs (Algiers’s countryside)

Location:

Algiers, Algeria

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Description:

'Algier's surrounding landscape, for up to three kilometres, is dotted with country houses and gardens … the soil is fertile and the climate so favourable to vegetation that a number of different trees bear fruit twice a year' (Renaudot, quoted by M. Belhamissi in Alger par les eaux XVIe–XIXe). The Algerian fahs (countryside) has retained a number of these houses, such as the current 'People's Palace', which was the old summer residence of the dey Mustafa, with its out-buildings such as the Villa Yusuf or the Bardo (museum); or like the Villa Mahieddine, the Villa of the Galleries, Djenan Lakhdar and Djenan El Mufti in the valley of the Consuls at Bouzareah, and Djenan Qsab El Hind at Belcourt.
The same spaces that are found in the houses in the medinasqifa (entrance hall), wast ad-dar (patio), biout (rooms), hammam (baths), menzah – are also found in country houses. The constraints caused by lack of space no longer apply, so the spaces of these houses have been able to expand, to encompass a larger area. The kbou, which in town constitutes only a small reinforcement in the wall, becomes a veritable living room with windows on three sides looking out onto the exterior. The menzah no longer just takes the form of a terrace but is on the same level as the garden. One can also see the same architectural elements, for example the wooden or marble frames of the grill windows, the marble architrave of the exterior doorways, the faïence and marble cladding, the niches, the night-lamps. 'Water, which turned these djenaïn [sg. djenan, from djena, paradise] into real gardens of Eden, was brought via a system of bucket conveyors and was channelled through aqueducts (…) to the areas of the house where the kitchen and bath were located' (G. Marçais, L'architecture musulmane d'Occident).

View Short Description

The country around the Algiers medina has witnessed the construction of some magnificent residences, such as the summer palace, the Bardo villa and Djenan Lakhdar. They contain the same elements as houses in the medina, but without the spatial limitations. Architectural elements such as marble frames around apertures, earthenware cladding and niches are common. The abundant presence of water is suggested by the fountains and pools.

Selected bibliography:

Bardoux, “La vie d'un consul auprès de la régence d'Alger”, Revue africaine, 1924.
Belhamissi, M., Alger par les eaux XVIe–XIXe, Algiers, 2004.
Bronghton, (Mrs), Six Years Residence in Algiers, 1806–12, London, 1842.
Golvin, L., Palais et demeures d'Alger à la période ottomane, Algiers, 2003.
Marçais, G., L'architecture musulmane d'Occident, Paris, 1954.

Citation of this web page:

Ali Lafer "Fahs (Algiers’s countryside)" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;34;en

Prepared by: Ali LaferAli Lafer

Architecte diplômé de l'École nationale d'architecture et des beaux-arts d'Alger, stagiaire du Centre international pour la conservation et la restauration des biens culturels (ICCROM) à Rome, Ali Lafer a été architecte en chef des Monuments au ministère de la Culture pendant son service civil. Directeur de l'Atelier Casbah chargé des études d'aménagement de la médina d'Alger, il a également enseigné au cours de Tunis pour la formation d'architectes du patrimoine maghrébin. Membre fondateur de l'association “Les amis du Tassili”, il est aussi chercheur dans les domaines de la numérisation de la documentation graphique et du relevé photogrammétrique.

Copyedited by: Margot Cortez
Translation by: Maria Vlotides
Translation copyedited by: Monica Allen

MWNF Working Number: AL 43

RELATED CONTENT

 Artistic Introduction

 Timeline for this item

Islamic Dynasties / Period

Ottomans


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