Constantine
Known As The City Of Bridges, Built On A Rock Plateau Nearly Surrounded By The Rhumel Gorge; The Sidi M'Cid Suspension Bridge, Opened In 1912, Was Among The Highest Bridges In The World At The Time, And The Gorge And Bridges Skyline Is The Single Most Recognisable Urban Image In Algeria · Constantine, Constantine
Constantine is built on a rock plateau that the Rhumel river has carved almost into an island, and the city's answer to that gorge is a set of bridges unlike anywhere else in Algeria - the Sidi M'Cid suspension bridge, opened in 1912 and among the highest in the world at the time, spans the gap on slender cables with the river far below. Several more bridges, old and new, cross the same gorge at different points, and the combination of plunging rock walls and suspended steel has made Constantine's skyline the most recognisable urban image most people outside Algeria have actually seen, even without knowing the city's name. Below the bridges the old town holds Ottoman-era mosques and houses, and the Ahmed Bey Palace gives a sense of the city's nineteenth-century wealth as a regional capital. Walking the gorge rim at different times of day changes the whole feel of the place as light moves across the rock walls and the bridges above them.
A city built on a rock plateau split by the Rhumel gorge, crossed by several suspension and arch bridges including the Sidi M'Cid and Mellah Slimane bridges, Constantine, Constantine, Algeria
Constantine has no single visiting schedule - the gorge, the bridges and the old town streets can be walked at any daylight hour, and the bridges themselves are lit after dark, which is worth seeing once. The Ahmed Bey Palace and the city's museums keep daytime hours with a weekly rest day; confirm the current pattern locally. Mosques in the old town are open to visitors outside prayer times. The gorge-rim paths are best walked in daylight for footing and views rather than after dark. Constantine is linked to Algiers and the coast by rail and road, and the city's own airport has domestic connections.