Mark Lanegan, Screaming Trees vocalist, and ravenous associate, bites the dust at 57

 Constantine (French: Constantine), is an Algerian city and the third largest of its cities after Algiers and Oran. It is called the city of the suspended bridges and is the capital of the Algerian East. Above, the city and Sirta its name is Numidian, the mother of metropolises, considering that Constantine is one of the oldest cities in the world and that several civilizations have succeeded each other. The old city is distinguished by the fact of being built on solid limestone, which has given it a unique panorama.

Constantine is an important city in the history of the Mediterranean because Cirta was the capital of Numidia from 300 BC to 46 BC. Then it came under Roman control after that. It got its current name since 313 after the emperor Constantine the Great.

To pass from one bank to the other, several bridges were built over the ages. Constantine today has more than 8 bridges, some of which were destroyed due to lack of restoration, and some of them are still struggling with time, so Constantine has been called the city of suspension bridges. The sand valley passes over the ancient city of Constantine and is topped by bridges at an altitude of over 200 meters.

The city of Constantine organized the Arab Capital of Culture 2015 event, which began in April 2015 and ended on April 16, 2016. The city was famous for organizing many festivals from the participating Arab delegations, all of which were organized in Ahmed Bey Hall. (Zenit ).

Location

The city of Constantine is located in the center of eastern Algeria, about 400 km from Algiers, and the old city rests on hard limestone rock and is divided by a deep valley.

 

geography

The city is located on a terrain characterized by a very uneven topography, characterized by an interweaving of plateaus, hills, depressions, and steep slopes, giving a heterogeneous site.

 

The city lies on a rocky plateau at an altitude of 649 m, isolated from the surrounding areas by deep corridors, where the sand valley flows, which isolates it. The choice of this site is above all a question of defensive strategy. In the surroundings, the region benefits from fertile lands.

 

Gates of Constantine

The city was fortified by a wall with seven gates, some say six, all closed in the evening, namely:

 

1. Bab El Hanansheh: It allows the exit from the north of the city through the valley of Rimal, and leads to the springs that flow into the pools of the pool of Sidi M'sid.
2. Bab Al-Rawah: It extends through Salim, which causes the traffic circle, and leads to the northern side of Wadi Al-Rimal, and this gate connects to the springs of Sidi Maimun, which flow into the washbasin.
3. Bab al-Qantara: It connects the city to the Roman theater, which people called (Al-Ghoula Palace), and east of it is a place of gathering and roaming, which is (Mars Field), from where a road runs to the roof of Mansoura and Jabal al-Wahsh.
4. Bab al-Jabiya: It opens on the road that leads to Sidi Rashid and is located at an altitude of 510 m.This gate is the place where the camel caravans from the desert enter, as well as the inhabitants, enter it to fetch water for washing. This name is the origin of the label. 
5. Bab Al-Jadeed: Located north of the 1st of November Square, it was demolished in 1925.
6. Bab al-Wad (or Bab Mila): It provides access to the Rawabi Kediyah Atti, and was located today at the place of the Palace of Justice.
7. Bab Cirta at the market of Pomzo. 

These doors were used as fortification of the city against the foreigners and started to disappear gradually until the French occupation erased them completely.

city bridges

Because of the city's rugged terrain and the deep groove of the sandy valley that runs through it, seven bridges were built to facilitate movement.

 

1. Bab al-Qantara Bridge: This is the oldest bridge built by the Romans and restored by the Turks in 1792. The French demolished it and built the existing bridge on its ruins in 1863.                                                                  
2. Sidi Rashid Bridge: Designed by the French engineer Aubin Aero, it has 27 arches, the largest of which is 70 m in diameter, 105 m high, 447 m long, and 12 m wide. Traffic started with it in 1912, and it is the highest and largest stone bridge in the world
3. Sidi M'Sid Bridge: Built and designed by the French engineer Ferdinand Arnodan in 1912, it is also called the suspension bridge. Its height is estimated at 175 m and its length is 168. It is the highest bridge in the city and the highest in Africa.
4. Mellah Suleiman Bridge: It is an iron corridor reserved for pedestrians, built between 1917 and 1925. Its length is 15 m and its width is 2.5 m, it connects the station street and the city center.
5. Majaz Al-Ghanam Bridge: It is an extension of Rahmani Ashour Street, which occupies the place of the Beys' stables. Due to the narrowness of the street, it is a one-way street.
6. Devil's Bridge: A small bridge that connects the two banks of Wadi Al-Rimal and is located at the bottom of the ravine or cliffs as it is called, from where the passage was to the Sidi Rashid Mosque, which can be seen from the top of the bridge.
7. Waterfalls Bridge: There is a bridge on the road leading to the pool and the waters of the sand valley passing under it, forming waterfalls, and it was built in 1928.
8. Jinan Al-Zaytoun Bridge: It connects with a transformer to the Mahmoud Montouri University and the residences surrounding it, and from it to the new neighborhoods, Mohamed Boudiaf airport, and the new city, Ali Mengele, on one side and on the other the double road connects to the famous neighborhood of Sidi Mabrouk and continues its extension to the neighborhood El-Qamas in the city of El-Kharroub
9. The Constantine Giant Bridge: Its length is about 1150 m and its width is 25 m. Two outward and two return trips at an altitude of over 100 m. The Ahmed Bey Bridge was named on the recommendation of the President of the Republic and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal.