Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/608

Rh 570 A L G A L H The other exports include grain, wool, tobacco, bones, skins, and anchovies. Porte Conte, 9 miles to the N.W., is the roadstead frequented by the largest vessels, and is a secure and fortified anchorage, capable of accommodating a large fleet. Population of commune (1865), 8419. ALGIERS (Fr. Alger, Arab. Al-Jezair, i.e., The Islands), a city and seaport of Northern Africa, and capital of Algeria, is situated on the west side of a bay of the same name in the Mediterranean. Lat. (of lighthouse), 36 47 20&quot; K, long. 3 4 32&quot; E. It is built, in the form of an amphitheatre, on the northern slope of a steep hill rising abruptly from the coast. It ascends the side of the hill in the form of an irregular triangle, the apex of which is occupied by the Casbah, or ancient fortress of the deys, which is about 500 feet above the level of the sea. As seen from a distance, the city presents a very imposing and picturesque appearance ; and the houses rising one above the other, and being all built of white stone, it has been compared to a ship under sail. It consists of two towns the new, which is entirely European in its character, and is built on the lower part of the slope and along the shore ; and the old town, which occupies the higher region, and is entirely Oriental in its character. The new town consists of hand some streets and squares, and contains the government houses, hotels, warehouses, barracks, &c. In the centre of the new town is the Place du Gouvernement, a large and handsome square in the European style, with a fountain, and planted with orange and lime trees. The streets are regular, spacious, and handsome, and adorned with arcades. In the Arab or old town the streets are narrow, winding, and dirty. The houses are square substantial-looking buildings, presenting to the street bare walls, with only a few slits protected by iron gratings in place of windows. Each house has a quadrangle in the centre, into which it looks, and which is entered by a low narrow doorway. Algiers is surrounded by walls and otherwise fortified, but its landward defences are weak and exposed, while the batteries which defend it towards the sea are very strong. It has two handsome suburbs, and numerous elegant villas are scattered over the vicinity. The town is the residence of the governor-general of Algeria, of the prefect of the department of Algiers, and of the chiefs of the different administrative services. It is also the seat of a bishop and of the supreme courts of justice, and has a chamber and tribunal of commerce, a royal college, various schools, a bank, public library, and museum. Among the principal buildings are a cathedral and several Roman Catholic churches, a Protestant church, several synagogues, and a number of mosques. The town is well supplied with water, and there are numerous public and private foun tains and baths. Various markets are held here, and horse-racing is a favourite amusement. Algiers has of late come to be noted as a winter residence for invalids. The French have spent large sums of money in the improve ment of the port of Algiers. It has an area of 220 acres, and it is calculated that when a rock near the centre, called Roche Sans Nom, is removed, it will be capable of accommodating 40 vessels of war and 300 trading vessels. It has two docks, capable of containing the largest vessels. The lighthouse has a revolving light visible at the distance of 15 miles. Population (1866), 52,614. (For the trade and climate of Algiers, see ALGERIA.) ALGOA BAY, an inlet in Cape Colony, on the S.E. coast of Africa, 425 miles east from the Cape of Good Hope. Lat. of Croix Island, in the bay, 30 47 N., and long. 25 46 . Algoa Bay lies between capes Recife and Padrone, on the former of which there is a lighthouse. It receives the rivers Sunday and Baasher. The best anchorage is on the west side of the inlet, near Port Elizabeth, which is the most important seaport on the south coast of Africa. Here the holding ground is good, and the anchorage is sheltered, except from the south-east winds. Fort Frederick stands on a hill overlooking Port Elizabeth. Algoa Bay was the first landing-place of the British emigrants to the eastern province of the Cape Colony, and as the harbour of that province it enjoys a rapidly increasing trade. ALHAMA, a city of Spain, in the province of Granada, 24 miles S.W. of Granada. It is very pictxiresquely situated on the edge of a gorge in the hills of the Sierra de Alhama, the streets rising in terraces one above another. The river Marchan flows through the chasm, and the mountains behind the town reach a height of 8000 feet. The name Alhama signifies in Arabic &quot; the bath,&quot; and is derived from the hot mineral springs in the neighbour hood. These springs, which have a temperature of 118 Fahr., are considered beneficial in cases of dyspepsia and rheumatism, and in former times had as many as 14,000 visitors annually. Alhama was a most important fortress while the Moors ruled in Granada, and its capture by the Marquis of Cadiz in 1482 was the most decisive step in the reduction of their power. Remains of the Moorish castle and walls are still to be seen, as well as an aqueduct of Roman or Moorish origin. Many of the houses are of Moorish architecture, and the antiquities of the town, the mineral springs, and the wild scenery of the environs attract numerous visitors. Population, about 7000. ALHAMA, a town in Spain, in the province of Murcia, 13 miles S.W. of the town of that name. It is celebrated for its sulphur springs, which have a temperature ranging from 91 to 113 Fahr., and attract numerous visitors. The town has a hospital and the ruins of an ancient castle. Population, about 6500. ALHAMBRA, the ancient fortress and residence of the Moorish monarchs of Granada, lies on a hill overlooking the city of Granada, on the north. The name, signifying in Arabic &quot; the red,&quot; is derived from the colour of the sun- dried tapia, or bricks made of fine gravel and clay, of which the outer walls are built. This famous Moorish palace was erected at various dates, chiefly between 1248 and 1354, under the reigns of Ibn-1-Ahmar and his suc cessors. The splendid decorations, and in particular the exquisite painting of the interior, are ascribed to Yusuf I., who died in 1354. Immediately after the expulsion of the Moors in 1492, their conquerors began, by innumer able acts of vandalism, to spoil the marvellous beauty of the Alhambra. The open work was filled up with white wash, the painting and gilding effaced, the furniture soiled, torn, or removed. Charles V. rebuilt portions in the modern style of the period, and destroyed the greater part of the Winter Palace to make room for a modern structure which has never been completed. Philip V. Italianised the rooms, and completed the degradation by running up partitions which blocked up whole apartments, gems of taste and patient ingenuity. In subsequent centuries the carelessness of the Spanish authorities permitted this pearl of Moorish art to be still further defaced; and in 1812 some of the towers were blown up by the French under Sebastiani, while the whole buildings narrowly escaped the same fate. In 1821 the ancient pile was shattered by an earthquake. Directions were given in 1862, by Isabella, then queen of Spain, for the restoration of the Alhambra to its original condition. The work has been carried on with considerable skill, but the sums devoted to it have been too small for its satisfactory accomplishment. The hilly terrace on which the Alhambra stands is about 2430 feet in length by 674 in breadth at the widest part. A strongly-fortified wall, flanked by thirteen square towers, encloses an area of 35 acres, within which the palace is built. Approaching from the city, the visitor passe*