Talamali Brother Martyrs S.

S_Zemmouri_Boumerdes

Task two: Read the text then say if the statements below are true or false. Correct the false ones.

a) Algeria has as little access to the Mediterranean and the Sahara as the other North African countries.
b) The Tassili N'adjer is the most prestigious of all prehistoric Saharan sites.
c) The city of Algiers was founded by the Carthaginians and the Romans.
d) The amount of merchandise transited through the port of Algiers used to be huge.
e) The Casbah was built in the Ottoman style.

ALGERIA AT THE CROSSROADS OF CIVILIZATIONS

No country in North Africa has as much access to the Mediterranean and the Sahara as Algeria. Its privileged
geographic position has made it open to many of the ancient civilizations that flourished in the Mediterranean
basin and those that prospered in Africa south to the Sahara. Today few countries in the region can boast of as
many World Heritage Sites as our country, Tipaza, Djemila, Tassili n'Adjer, Timgad, the M zab Valley, the Qalaa
of Banu Hammad, and the Casbah of Algiers are standing witness both to its civilizational genius and to its
enriching contacts with other civilizations. (§1)

Of all the sites of Southern Algeria, the Tassili n'Adjer has the most prestige. It has more rock paintings and
engravings than any prehistoric Saharan sites, and it contains the most beautiful remains of the prehistoric
civilizations of the Sahara. These remains have brought in as much information as we need in order for us to
have a clear picture of what life used to be like in that era. The rock paintings and engravings revealed that the
Tassili n'Adjer has the most prestige. It has more rock paintings and engravings than any prehistoric Saharan
sites, and it contains the most beautiful remains of the prehistoric civilizations of the Sahara. These remains
have brought in as much information as we need (§2)

In the North Part of Algeria, The Casbah of Algiers undoubtedly holds the most important position among
the prehistoric sites. Its history is closely linked with the history of the city of Algiers. Indeed, there is little
knowledge about the earliest times of Algiers when it was founded by the Phoenicians as one of their trading
posts. It was known to the Carthaginians and the Romans as Icosium. The Vandals destroyed lcosium in the 5
A.D. Five centuries later Emir Bulughin rebuilt the town into an important Mediterranean port called Al-Jaza 'ir.
Despite the fact that Algiers was considered an important trading post, only the least amount of merchandise
was transited through it. This is was due to the fact that the city had less influence on international commerce
than other Algerian maritime cities. ($3)

After the Turkish Baba Aruj had regained control of the city in 1516, Algiers thrived as a relatively
independent city under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Later, The Ottomans transformed the architectural
character of the city by constructing mosques and palaces similar to those in Asia minor and erecting the
famous white-washed military fortification known as the Casbah. In spite of the fact that the Casbah underwent
some changes during the French colonial rule, it still remains the throbbing cultural heart of the city of Algiers.
(S4)

(Adapted from African: 69. Cited in 3SE Textbook p-p 22-23)