The tour will head through the old city of Oran retracing the main historic development of the town (Andalusian, Arab-Islamic, Spanish, Ottoman, French and modern Oran), visiting the most famous landmarks. Delegates will head via the Port route which gives a view over the Port of Oran and the Bastos house with its famous Spanish military gates and picturesque views. The tour will then continue onto the Gardens of Letang, laid out in 1836 on the glaze of Rosalcazar by General Letang and on to Kléber square to Oran’s first hotel (Hôtel de la Paix) where Napoléon III stayed in 1865. Following the boulevard Oudinot and onto the hill side of the old city of Oran, you will find La Mosquée de la Perle, a stone’s throw away from L’Eglise Saint Louis (ex-cathedral until 1913); the historic place where three monotheist religions would follow each other. Delegates will have the opportunity to view the citadel called Castillo Viejo or Kasbah and bunkers from the second world war.

The city tour route will then take you to the Chapel of Notre Dame du Salut – where there was a large annual pilgrimage undertaken by the Catholics following the “rain miracle”, when a sudden epidemic of cholera in 1849 was overcome. The site will allow visitors to see the configuration of the defensive system put in place by the Spanish in order to protect the town. There are many other landmarks that will be included in the tour such as la “Meseta” with its magnificient views, the Fort of Santa Cruz: the Spanish fortification which dominates the town and port from 380 metres high, the wall of Rosalcazàr, le Théâtre de Verdure and many others. Throughout the trip our guide will provide information on the city, a brief history as well as some geographical and chronological facts.

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Additional Tours (Extra charges apply).

MOSTAGANEM - €60 per person

Duration: Half Day (19 April 2010)

Mostaganem is a port city in the northwest of Algeria founded in the 11th century which lies on the Gulf of Arzew. The tour will begin at a viewpoint overlooking the whole of Mostaganem. Delegates will see how the old city and the part of the city from the French era are separated by the ravine Ain Sefra. The visit will then lead to the Eastern Fortress overlooking the city built at the beginning of the 16th Century by the Turks. The tour will continue to the Museum of Traditional Arts which was once the house of a Turkish Sultan and to the Mosquée Mérinide built in the 14th Century. Delegates will have the opportunity to walk along the old alleyways for a trip back in time followed by lunch at a fish restaurant in the port.

TLEMCEN - €100 per person

Duration: One Day (20 April 2010)

The tour will begin with a welcome reception at Mansourah with entertainment from a traditional folklore group followed by a guided tour. The delegates will then be taken to Lalla Setti, situated at 900m altitude and with wonderful views of the city. Here they will visit the Wilaya V museum and the National Park House. Following this, there will be a tour of the Mosque and tomb of Sidi Boumediene, one of Algeria’s most beautiful complexes, restored by craftsmen from Fes in 1986. Abu Madyan Shu’ayb ibn al-Husayn al-Ansari, to give him his full name, was born near Seville around 1115 and studied with Islamic mystics in Morocco before settling in Bejaya on the north Algerian coast and creating his own Sufi circle. A mystic, poet and man of great integrity – he was called the Sheikh of Sheikhs and the Nurturer - Abu Madyan, or Sidi Boumediene, as the Algerians call him, died in Tlemcen in 1197, on his way back to Marrakech. His tomb has become a place of pilgrimage. After a traditional lunch participants will be taken to El Mechouar, the artisan centre of the old souk of Tlemcen. This enlightening tour will finish with a visit to the El-Ourit Chute waterfall and the Beni Add caves.