Constantine

An ancient city perched on the cliffs of the Rhumel gorge, spanned by a series of dramatic bridges, with the World Heritage Roman ruins of Djémila nearby.

Constantine stands on an inland plateau in northeastern Algeria at about 650 m and is the country's third-largest city and the political and cultural centre of the east. The old town sits on a rocky plateau enclosed on three sides by the gorge of the Rhumel River. More than 2,000 years ago it was Cirta, capital of the Kingdom of Numidia; in Roman times it was renamed after Emperor Constantine the Great, and it later passed under Byzantine, Arab, Ottoman and French rule. The city's biggest draw is the seven or eight bridges spanning the gorge: the 1912 Sidi M'Cid suspension bridge, the stone-arched Sidi Rached Bridge, the long, narrow Mellah Slimane footbridge and the 2014 Salah Bey cable-stayed bridge — hence its nickname, "City of Bridges". Sightseeing falls into three areas: first, the gorge and its bridges, which you can take in from the Monument aux Morts before following the tourist path down into the gorge; second, the old town on the plateau, home to the Palace of Ahmed Bey, the Great Mosque and the old lanes of Souika; and third, the Emir Abdelkader Mosque in the south of the city and the Cirta Museum on Coudiat hill. The top day trip is to the World Heritage Roman city of Djémila, about 80 km west; closer to town are Tiddis, the "red city", and the Tomb of Massinissa. The climate is continental Mediterranean: April–May and September–October are the most pleasant, summer days often exceed 35°C, and winters are cold, damp and rainy, with occasional snow. Mohamed Boudiaf International Airport has flights to Algiers and several French cities, and the train from Algiers takes about 7 hours. Plan on 2–3 days. Note: Algeria requires a visa arranged in advance, and Chinese travellers often need an invitation letter; Arabic and French are the main languages and English is not widely spoken; explore the old town's lanes and the gorge paths in daylight; hire a driver for outlying sites; and expect to pay mostly in cash (dinars).

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