Antiquities of Roman Algeria
"The buzzing cities are brushed in French colonial architecture, the cafes are filled with people who refuse to let me pay for my own tea, and everywhere I go, there’s always that sense of excitement of never knowing quite what would be found around the next corner. But it’s the history of Algeria’s Roman conquistadors that really leave the strongest mark on me", enthuses Stuart Butler, writing for Lonely Planet.Below you will find a sample itinerary of just one of Expert Algeria’s Roman Algeria circuits, which embraces the very best of Algeria’s archaeological sites. For comprehensive details and photos of Algeria’s major Roman remains, please click here.
Virtually all of Expert Algeria’s holidays and circuits are made-to-measure and are accompanied by qualified guides. Tours last from three days to three weeks and can be designed for between two and thirty participants. Please contact us for further details of all our Algeria tours and itineraries.
Our tour of Roman Algeria begins in Tipasa, nestling undisturbed amongst palm trees on the shores of the Mediterranean and once a source of inspiration to Albert Camus. Phoenician, Roman, palaeo-Christian and Byzantine ruins will vie for our attention alongside the nearby Mauritanian mausoleum.
The Roman remains in eastern Algeria, unheralded and unvisited, delight even the most worldly traveller. South of Constantine, on the northern slopes of the Aurès, lies Timgad, the “Pompeii of Africa”: constructed under Trajan as a bulwark against the unruly Berbers, Timgad represents the very epitome of Roman urban planning.
Tebessa’s elegant, beautifully-preserved 3rd century AD Temple of Minerva is bettered by its ancient basilica, whilst praetorian Lambaesis is one of the most imposing legionary camps in the whole of North Africa.
The wheel-rutted streets of Djemila – ancient Cuicul – are lined with two forums and a clutch of elaborate houses, churches and temples whilst Tiddis, clinging to the summit of an ochre-red hill, lies just outside Constantine, “City of Bridges”.
Expert Algeria’s Roman Algeria programme also includes a whole-day excursion through some of Algeria’s most breath-taking scenery to the oasis town of Biskra, where we will enjoy a taste of the northern fringes of the Sahara.
Leaving the Mediterranean far behind us, we will venture across the Aurès mountains and through the canyon of El Abiod to Biskra, gateway to the desert. En route we will visit the troglodyte village of Rhouffi and El Kantara, once known as Calceus Herculis (“Hercules’ Boot”).