Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/354

 was one of the most fiercely contested towns in Algeria during the first period of the conquest. Here is a remarkable two-arched aqueduct; but few other remains have been found of the Roman city which has been replaced by the modern town. The district yields excellent corn, wine, and vegetables.

After receiving the streams flowing from the Medea and Jendel hills, the Shelif sweeps by the eminence occupied by Amura, the "Fortunate," successor of the Roman Sufasar. Beyond this point it trends westwards, and near Lavarande enters the broud low-lying plain traversed by the railway between Algiers and Oran. North-east of Lavarande the nearly horizontal terrace of Zakkar-el-Gharbi is

occupied by the town of Miliana, at an altitude of 2,460 feet. From this commanding position a view is afforded of the vast amphitheatre of blue hills stretching beyond the sharp peaks of the Warsenis. The present town, rebuilt by the French, preserves no remains of the Roman Malliana, and very few of the more recent Arab buildings. The neighbouring vineyards yield a highly esteemed wine.

West of Affreville and Lavarande in the Shelif Valley follow several populous villages, such as Duperré and Saint-Cyprien des Attaf, the latter noteworthy as the only Arab community converted to Catholicism. Its members, however, are exclusively orphans or foundlings rescued during the famine of 1867, and brought