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 the attractive name of Biskra, and into Biskra we are whirled two hours later.

ALMOST A DESERT

Biskra, the Mecca of both the Moslem and the Christian nomad—the Monte Carlo of the desert—in a word the Oasis of Pleasure and of Fashion! Biskra, above whose white-washed houses wave the feathery branches of a hundred thousand palm-trees. Biskra the beautiful!

BISKRA

Biskra was in 1894 the terminus of the Saharan railway, which, however, now penetrates far deeper into the dark continent. Biskra already boasted a European quarter, of which the shops, hotels, and public buildings seemed as strangely out of place in the desert as did the hideous railway station itself.

Upon our arrival we make all haste to the hotel, for crowds of tourists have come with us, and at the time of our visit Biskra was not prepared to house as many visitors as she is to-day. Reaching the caravansary we