International Journal of Human Settlements Vol. 1 . Nr. 2 . 2017 Characteristics of the medina of Walid HAMMA Received: 15 June 2017 • Revised: 22 July 2017 • Accepted: 24 August 2017

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEDINA OF TLEMCEN

Walid HAMMA Lecturer, Dr, Arch, Abu Backr Belkaid Tlemcen University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Architecture, email: [email protected]

Abstract: The ancient vernacular city of Tlemcen is called Islamic Medina. Through this study we want to confirm that its name is not fortuitous. It has characteristics of an Islamic city. To confirm this hypothesis, we analyzed its urban tissues using a typo-morphological and functional approach, also studying the following elements: urban frame and spatial organization, urban roads, squares, souks, gardens, fountains and the large pond, the ramparts and gates, symbolic elements, arches and skifas, , medersas, zawiyas, palaces, fondouks, ferrane, , mausoleums, tanneries and mills, houses.

Key words: Medina, architecture, urbansim, , Tlemcen

Introduction The medina is a Muslim city whose functions, organization (urban and society) and architecture obey the precepts of Islam, it presents the apogee of the Islamic civilization. UNESCO defined it in 1995 through a detailed study of this urban entity: "The medina, in , was the integrated and integral city, a social unit of reference, exclusive habitat to the consolidation of sedentary lifestyle. Nucleus permeable space rural areas that feed it and the commercial activities that support it despite the ramparts that close it and protect it from the threat of the invaders. Inside of his walls germinates to a living social fabric with his passions of love and war capable of building the history of his own identity, and his own identity signs and the translation of lifestyles to the literary and artistic creation, and the architectural expression and craft" (UNESCO, 1995). In the fourteenth century to be civilized (moutahadir), you must live in the city (Madina) according to Ibn Khaldoun, as he confirmed in this passage" Where the concentration of urbanization is stronger, civilization is also brighter (famatâ kâna -l- umrân akthar, kânat al-hadâr akmal) "(Chabane, 2003). He also described the urbanization (tamadoune) which is according to the absorption of the countryside by cities (el moudoune)

From the point of view of urban planning, the medina has realistic and spiritual characters because the needs materials of the Muslim population are satisfied in a religious setting, that is to say that Islam configures and organizes this city. This is not the case in Western cities that do not have a unifying spirit in their design because the different needs of man are dissociated. The medina is surrounded by walls pierced with urban doors, it generally presents a radioconcentric urban plot (vernacular and organic), the spaces are hierarchical and organized around a center that groups the functions religious, editorial and economic. It is composed of many winding paths and pedestrian street on which atrium houses abut each side of these latest. Equipment is integrated into the urban fabric of the city whose size is calculated according to the needs of the population.

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The structuring urban elements of the Islamic Medina are: • The neighborhoods are a set of urban entities that make up the city, they present many hierarchical routes and local amenities that come to organize around a plot. These neighborhoods are generally inhabited by a population that has relationship. • The places are places of meeting, exchange and rest, they can also shelter festivities or weekly markets. Places are usually ranked according to their importance and position; there is a large central square and neighborhood squares. • The tracks are the connecting elements of the different elements that constitute the city. They are hierarchical streets (main road called Echariêe), lanes (secondary road called • Derb) and dead ends. • The cemeteries are located in extramures next to an urban gate and whose path leads to the big . • The fortifications are all the defensive walls, the building material differs from one medina to another according to their availability. Large urban gates come to pierce these ramparts • The mosques are the places of worship where the Islamic religion is practiced. These buildings are from the grand mosque (located in the center of the city) to the mossala through the neighborhood mosques. • The hammams (baths), are hygienic equipments (the cleanliness is paramount at • Muslims), they usually take a stand next to the mosques. • The palaces are the residences of khalifes, kings or princes, the latter take position at the center or near the main urban gates. • The souks, are either hard (set of shops) or free space, they have a character specialized economy and are located on the main streets • The fondouks are buildings intended for the lodging but also with the trade since the ground floor is materialized in the storage of goods. These equipments are located near the souks. • The houses are introverted dwellings with a central patio where the others come spaces get organized. • The medersas are places of knowledge and learning not only of the Koran and the precepts of Islam but also other sciences. A l’instar des médinas musulmanes, Tlemcen porte cette appellation. Nous voulions à travers cette recherche confirmer ou infirmer la construction de la ville suivant les préceptes de l’islam. Pour cela, nous avons opté pour une analyse typo-morphologique et fonctionnelle. Ceci nous a amené à étudier les éléments suivant : • Urban frame and spatial organization • Urban roads • Places • Souks • Gardens, fountains and the large pond • The ramparts and gates • Symbolic elements, arcs and skifas • Mosques • Medersas • Zawiyas • Palaces • Fondouks

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• Ferrane • Hammams • Mausoleums • Tanneries and mills • Habitations Characteristics of the medina

Urban frame and spatial organization The present medina of Tlemcen represents the second core of the city after Agadir which was destroyed by wars, this original nucleus of the Almoravid city Tagrart, reflects the identity Culture, history, lifestyle (traditions and customs) and religion of the local population that are materialized spatially and concentrated in this millennial city. So it has a symbolic value in the eyes of the inhabitants Tlemceniens. The stratification of this city has produces many monuments that are architectural gems but alas many factors intrinsic and extrinsic have negatively influenced this city such as colonization, wars between dynasties, the population explosion, suburban sprawl, concentration and displacement of the centrality. These have metamorphosed and transformed its original structure functions and its traditional architecture. Subsequently, they decontextualized this entity which has caused a malfunction compared to the rest of the Groupement Tlemcen, Chetouane and Mansura.

From an organizational point of view, the medina of Tlemcen presents a mode of organization urbanistic of these spaces identical to that of the medinas or Arab-Muslim cities usually dictated by the Chariâa El Islamia. Some urban writers or historians have qualified him agglomeration "without plan". But after analyzing its organization we find it very well organized so it is reflected before. Its frame or its morphological structure is of shape radio- concentric and organic which adapts and integrates perfectly with the natural site which makes it a true vernacular city. It is surrounded by solid walls and very high but unfortunately most have disappeared through time. The medina of Tlemcen is composed of homogeneous spaces and hierarchies organized around three important poles forming a central core. The latter are El Mechouar (editorial pole), El Kissaria (economic pole) and the great mosque (religious pole).

These poles are added to a main road that develops from East to West of Bâb El Akaba (Agadir) to the gate of Fes (western limit of Tagrart). The latter represents the axis urban stratification where streets and alleys originate and serve the residential areas. An open central space brings together these three poles which is materialized by a big place called El Blasse. At the level of this urbanistic heart of the city we find shops and craftsmen especially to side of the big mosque. These activities are divided and prioritized according to their importance and nuisance (noise or pollution) they provide. This organization is part of a big urban system where the homogeneity of the latter also derives from the elements of composition full urban and empty (construction, street, square ...) whether from morphological point of view or stylistic and the interweaving and joining of these urban elements.

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As for the residential spaces, they surround the central core (so they take a stand at the the periphery of the city) and are composed of several neighborhoods commonly known as "El Houma ". These are at the same time economic areas given the organization of the markets weekly, social where residents weave family ties and friendly, cultural. In these space also the inhabitants share traditions and customs. These neighborhoods have their own infrastructures (public facilities of proximity) according to their size which are the ferranes, the moçalas, the hammams. These residential areas are generally built away from major markets given the noise they provide. This houma consists of a group of houses whose size does not exceed the R + 1 where several households or extended families reside In these neighborhoods, there are usually people who are related (it is not essentially the same name) and belonging that will form alliances. The spaces in the neighborhood are hierarchical even the passage from the derb to the house does not escape this rule.

We find at the level of the urban fabric of the medina, a social segregation in terms of the occupation of the space because the neighborhoods were divided according to the ethnic origins of the residents, we distinguish then the quarters of the Hadars (descendants of Arabs and Berbers also called Andalusians who abandoned the Iberian Peninsula in the 14th and 15th centuries came to settle in the capital of banou ziane) 1 which are located to the east and north-east of the city. Neighborhoods Kouloughlis (crossing of the Turks with the natives, carried out during the three centuries of occupation 1555 - 1830) located in the southwest of the city. Jewish neighborhoods (migrant population who settled in Tlemcen and its adjoining areas since the period of Roman occupation, , a second wave of this migration which is very important came after the fall of Andalusia and a third wave landed during the French occupation) which take a central position in the medina. These ethnic groups were at that time the economic and cultural prosperity of this millennial city. This occupation of the space remained until the beginning of the 19th century as Arthur De Claparede confirms it "from the North-East to the South-East extend the Arab districts. In the North-West a French city with character, south Mechouar former palace of the emirs, today and barracks, west of the Mechouar and the center of the city Jewish neighborhoods "(De Claparede, 1896).

Like all Muslim cities, the spaces are hierarchical in the urban fabric of Tlemcen's medina of the public, semi-public, semi private to private this is materialized by the following urban spaces; the street, the derb, the dead end and the house. "This order is characterized by the narrowness of the streets, their punctuation by angles, the movement of traffic is channeled and directed to the door of the house. The streets stand out by their defined character; by their harmonious relationship between the height of the building, the width of the track, the human scale and probably the passage of the beasts "(Boukerche, 1989). We also find significant and symbolic elements of appropriation of spaces such as arches, skifas and beveling angles of buildings with a carved pattern (they are also elements of reference) that guide passers-by through the medina.

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After a precise reading of the plan of this old city, we distinguish an urban organization strict that is to say we find the three great principles of the foundation of cities uniqueness, the hierarchy and centrality. With regard to uniqueness, we find there first through the components built space / social space and enclosed space / open space that express a true dialectical relationship where spatial arrangements are established according to social needs and of the population, that is, the way of life and family, tribal and ethnic relations. As D. Chevalier testifies in his writings "but the origin is the social structure, determined in every act of the individual. The social man has defined the outline of space in the Arab city the spiritual man finding him and continuing him, renewing him " (Chevalier, 1979). Roberto Berardi adds for its part that "beyond the relations it has with its rural and nomadic it constitutes the market, each city becomes a stage of a vast network of communication that animate the commercial and matrimonial exchanges and unify the religious exchanges " (Berardi, 1982). The Medina presents an exceptional coherence , through the use of materials, templates, architectural style and urban layout in imposed by local conditions that reflects a city culture whose planning and systemic. The repetitiveness and order of architectural and urban elements are also principles that reinforce the homogeneity of this Islamic city.

The second urban planning principle which is the hierarchy is materialized by the separation of private spaces (closed cellular structure materialized by residences) and public spaces (spaces religious and economic such as the souks, mosques, etc) with intermediate zones allow the passage between the two because according Boukerche Djamel "We never find in the Islamic city the relationship between shops and houses, there is radical opposition between the fabric residential houses and the fabric of public buildings. The separation remains clear between the zones commercial and productive and housing areas. The traditional conception of the family indeed defines public and professional life happening on the street, as the domain of the man, while the family life inside the house, remains the domain of the woman. Enter space of the city reserved for women and the field of action of the man, exist many interferences such as fountains, ovens, mosques and souks ". At the level of the medina, first types of spaces mentioned above are usually grafted into the tertiary network (dead ends reserved for residents of the zone), as for the second category (commercial activities industry and crafts), it takes a position at the primary network level, given their need for communication, supply and exchange. In the traditional city the entrances of homes never take position in a primary network given the intimacy and calm they have need.

The third principle is the centrality that is materialized by the grouping of activities in the middle of the city and the positioning of the great mosque (spiritual center) with its high , which represents a landmark for the whole city hence the name of city Islamic, which derives its name from this religion, which organizes not only the city but all life of believers. And finally, this medina is the result of a continuous development and a harmonious stratification of which the principle of organization and of its urban configuration do not have changed despite the succession of several Islamic dynasties (Idrisid, Almoravid, Almohad,

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Zianide, Mérinide and Ottoman) who added their know-how without shaking their urban fabric.

Urban roads The paths at the level of the medina are generally careful rarely we find straight paths to avoid prying eyes (ghado El Bassar in Arabic, this passage is mentioned in the Holy Quran). So the look is broken by winding streets each time. This basic urban unit includes a number of houses that generally do not exceed twenty dwellings in each neighborhood. These terraced residences are aligned on both sides of the tracks to form a solidary body where the doors of the latter are interposed to avoid vis-à-vis. This space can be used for passage, trade or outright as a weekly market. The way also weaves even extra-familial relationships that are friendship and neighborhood because our prophet Mohamed, whom salvation is upon him, insists on this type of relationship where residents feel they are part of the same family and live in joy and safety. This is reinforced by the narrowness of the tracks. On the other hand, this narrowness is explained otherwise by ADAM A. "The narrowness of public roads has hitherto assumed a different meaning than in traditional medinas. In the old days, she was simply translating indifference to the outside from houses that were entirely turned inwards, toward the patio, from where they received air and light, and blind from outside” (Adam, 1972) .

There is a hierarchy in the layout of the lanes with respect to the urban structure medina where according to Kasmi Mohammed El Amine, there are three types of are (Kasmi, 2009) : • chariêe: road which is a main street open at both ends, lively, noisy and full of intense activities. • Derb: lane which is a secondary street grafted on a main street, it presents some proximity equipment. • zenka: road that is dead-end, dead-end, of variable shape, calm, empty, privatized and often no business is implanted there. It is a road serving and access to housing. This hierarchy of ways is not only of a practical nature, but it responds to social needs in terms of intimacy and tranquility because as we said before everything urbanistic act in the medina reflects the practices of the local population. These routes go from public domain to private where their width decreases as and when (street to the impasse). "The Gauge ways take on a special meaning in the city. All the neighborhood lanes have almost the same width rarely exceeding two meters, without any specific architectural treatment. We note in particular in the blind walls or holes of rare embrasures, some lintels of doors with an excellent decorative treatment highlighting the wealth of the home. The different city courses are systematically recognizable on the basis of these characteristics. The spatial configuration of these pathways allows us to some extent to determine the definition and the organization of space ».

Places The square can be defined as a free space that is surrounded by the walls of buildings that constitute a full grouping. These places are classified according to their dimensions and morphologies that affect the importance or not of this space and their scale of belonging. We start with the largest scale it is the city where we distinguish two places of large dimensions These are the caravan and fondouk places economic activities (grand souk) and religious

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(prayer and preaching or meeting of the faithful coming out of the big mosque). We also distinguish four other middle places, it is El mechouar, El Maoukef, Rhiba and El Medresse, which host weekly markets. We also find two in extra-muros that no longer exist. On the other hand, at the neighborhood scale, the plot commonly known as tahtaha in Arabic is a space free inside the housing area and living space and meeting for residents. The tahtaha can include an oven, a bath, a moçalla, a small mosque and a or sometimes includes all types of buildings (proximity equipment) listed at the same time. In regards to the tahtahas of the medina of Tlemcen, they are in number of thirteen.

The typology of these places of morphological point of view differs according to their scales. For the first category, these urban spaces take an almost regular shape that approaches the rectangle or the square so the simplicity allows us to read the configuration of this type of places. They are traversed by major main roads (they can be the result of the intersection of these). And for the second category, that is to say, at the neighborhood scale, these tahtahas have an irregular, complicated, organic and any form that is inspired by nature. They result from the intersection of alleys.

Souks The souk is an Arabic name used to designate a market. It is an open space (free) where trade is practiced, it can be permanent or weekly. This place is also a place of meeting between the different members of the Tlemcènien population so it participates not only in the economic life but also social. This free space can be a crossroads a square or a whole street. The souk creates a friendly and warm atmosphere where a mass of passerby buys, watches and negotiates merchandise exhibited with a deafening noise of vendors screaming to attract the crowd and sell their product. It does not only have the sound atmosphere but also the olfactory atmosphere where the smell of vegetables and fresh fruits as well as spices make you want to buy. The souk can also be formed of a group of shops that is to say hard constructions, it is especially the retail shops and the craftsmen who activate in these stores. These have shapes whose depth and greater than the width to have a maximum of trade in the street on the one hand and other parts to have a large storage space (back shop). These businesses are located on both sides of the main streets of the medina where they are arranged linearly and openly. These shopping streets are generally for the sale of the same product because they are classified according to the type of activities in order to create a competition.

In Tlemcen, the historical axis of urban development was a souk that was developing from the door of Sidi Boumediene at the gate of Fez crossing the economic pole of the city which is materialized by El Kissaria. This main street full of life is the backbone of the medina where The shops of the tradesmen and craftsmen are added. According to Boukerche "When the souk, linear by definition, provides almost all the retail trade, a study of sale by block makes little sense. Rather, it is the measure of commercial linear densities by street that will capture the implementation of activities. This linear organization is achieved through the implementation The parallel of two series of cells produces a direction in space, which can be indicated by doors at the ends. Performed in the same direction, it produces by linear repetition the succession of the souks. This operation produces a central area of traffic and traffic at two senses the course. "

The medina of Tlemcen counted many shops during the Ottoman period whose number did not diminish much at the time colonial especially during the end of the 19th century as we

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) 56 International Journal of Human Settlements Vol. 1 . Nr. 2 . 2017 Characteristics of the medina of Tlemcen Walid HAMMA Received: 15 June 2017 • Revised: 22 July 2017 • Accepted: 24 August 2017 testify Brunnel and Lalou "this city is essentially commercial, because the Moors come there once a week to trade and sell their products. This one has a street called goldsmiths in which there are more than 150 stores. There are at least 250 grocery stores in the two neighborhoods where there are still a large number of other stores selling all sorts of things. As for the shops of leather embroiderers, saddlers, druggists, they are innumerable” (Brunnel and Lalou, 1992). The souks at Tlemcen organized themselves linearly. These commercial spaces are located mainly near the heart of socio-economic exchange El Kissaria and the great mosque. Thus we note near these spaces, six shopping streets which are those of Beni Zeiyane, Mascara, Khaldoun, the oil mill, Idriss and the street of the goldsmiths. The intersections of these streets give us six souks it is about Souk El Beradïne, Souk El Kherazine (Manchar El Djild), Souk El ghzel, Souk El Medresse, Souika Ismail and Bensalah (Agadir). The medina also had a souk extra-muros reserved for livestock (Souk El Fouki) which was near the door Sidi Boudjemâa.

The kessaria is a commercial district of five hectares which represents the center of economic life of the city of Tlemcen. The latter is surrounded by walls and pierced with two doors that protect him from thieves. Inside, it consists of covered galleries in the upper part which carried the trade of bad weather in winter and the heat of the sun of summer lead. They are open laterally thus giving directly to the stores. according to Piesse and Canal, it included not only shops, but also prayers, individual dwellings, public baths, churches, convents, warehouses as well as fondouks. The kissaria housed two thousand craftsmen and traders alike but also foreign merchants from Africa and Europe especially the countries of the Mediterranean basin (Piesse and Canal, 1889). It was a place of intense commercial exchange of international rank par excellence especially during the period of the Middle Ages. Merchants used during this period a cubit long of 47cm for measured merchandise such as fabrics.

Brunnel describes this true city within the city "This city has a alcayceria () large and rich whose walls are solid and the rail doors as well as many shops. This alcayceria is built in the manner of that of Grenada, although the arcaded streets are covered and wider. As for the other places in the city, they are numerous, but not spacious. ". This vast space is the result of a commercial pact between Spanish and Zianides. It was built on the style of but while increasing its because it was gaining momentum with the arrival of traders from all over the world. world. At that time it was a cosmopolitan place where religious and racial tolerance was the currency of the occupants. This place was turned into a military barracks in the days of the Ottomans and French then shaved towards the beginning of the 20th century before the colonial administration decides to establish a large covered market.

Gardens, fountains and the large pond Tlemcen was known by its gardens intended to be places of pleasure for the families royal. We distinguish the presence of several of them at the levels of the citadel of El Mechouar and the complex of Sidi Boumediene such as Riat El Attar, Arsat Ouled Belleula, Bouchâour and Ouled Ben Moussa. Their development is favored by the presence of water from which the not given to the Talamsen city which is composed of two parts Tala m sen which means in Amazigh fountain with two sources. This name is not fortuitous because the medina of Tlemcen presents numerous fountains (inside palaces and houses) and public fountains, the latter were powered by a conduct that comes from lala setti, according to Boukerche "the water pipes had 1610 meters long and had a daily flow of 1441368 liters " but

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) 57 International Journal of Human Settlements Vol. 1 . Nr. 2 . 2017 Characteristics of the medina of Tlemcen Walid HAMMA Received: 15 June 2017 • Revised: 22 July 2017 • Accepted: 24 August 2017 unfortunately the most have disappeared or are no longer flowing for a variety of reasons. Such as Sakiet Esbâa (lion), Sakiet Derb Messoufa, Sakiet Sidi El Haloui, Sakiet El Mechouar, Sakiet Ouled Sidi El Imam, Sakiet El Moudljadala, Sakiet Sidi Lahcen, Sakiet El Blasse, Sakiet Idriss, Sakiet sidi hamed and Sakiet Debaghine ... .etc. The historic district of Sidi Boumediene also has several fountains that are Beni Add, Sakiet Lalla Zouaouia, El Hora, El Ouinet, Sidi Boubekeur, Ben Moussa, El Fornaq, Sidi Eubbed, El Djazouli, Dar Soltane and Riat El Attar.

Regarding the basins, we find several of the most important are those of dar Esoltane, the palace of El Mechouar, Ain El Houtz and the large basin which was built at the beginning of the 14th century extra-muros to the north -Out of the medina of Tlemcen and near the door of Fez, by the emir Zianide Abu Tachfine. He restored by the French military genius. The plan of July 16th, 1861, in appendix of the report of concession to the Ponts et Chaussées, gives us a representation and information on the big basin.

It is mentioned in this report that "The large basin of the city of Tlemcen with an area of 3 ha 8m l4ca. On the east side of this basin on which the new fortification stands at 274.72m long, the Opposite side 274.35m, the north side 140.2 and the south side 140.24m. Its shape is substantially rectangular. Its depth is 3.10m in the north and 2.54m in the south. The bottom basin is set at an average slope of 0, 00879. The basin is surrounded by a lift of land planted with walnut forming a beautiful walk between the door of Fes and the door of Oran. The water is abundant on the edges of the basin, an irrigation canal could easily be dumped in this basin to fill it and maintain a continuous current. The overflow would return to irrigation remains the water tightness of the bottom of the basin. On 80m from the south, the bottom of the basin is completely filled with old Arab concrete and requires almost no sealing work, as a result on 90m the concrete exists only in part, in the lower part the concrete no longer exists. It is proposed to to make sleepers to maintain the clay water and thus fill the cracks, the big basin is not not essential to the defense of the place but it is of historical and archaeological interest certain. 16. The above report granted enjoyment to the Ponts et Chaussées then it was used for market gardening after having passed into the hands of the private sector. At the time, French soldiers wanted to put it back in water but its run-down condition was not possible. Currently it is converted into public garden where civil services have established a cable car station to enhance it.

The ramparts and gates The ramparts of the medina have a double function; the first is defensive (insurance of a security) and the second is the delimitation of the city (circumference). These walls are pierced by urban doors that ensure the exchanges and the communication between the intra and the extra-muros all by controlling these passages. Tlemcen has seen the construction of several ramparts numerous gates and made up of several Bordj, who have seen their denomination with the reign of the dynasties. But unfortunately the majority has disappeared because of wars between the latter. The ramparts witnessing these clashes are those of Mansourah, who have seen the Merinids and Zianides kill each other. Most of these Muslim fortifications have been built of rammed earth, a quick and efficient technique that allowed walls to be built using climbing formwork. Regarding, the Roman walls were made of stone as we see it at the base of the ramparts of Agadir.

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A set of reports annexed to statements described the Muslim walls as concrete evidence of the existence of these. They are established by the military genius. Most of the walls and doors that survived until 1836 were razed by the French and replaced by a new stone enclosure that is pointing to the plan. It's about, Bab El Akaba, Bab Edjiad, Bab Sidi Boumediene, Bab zir, Bab Zaouia, Bab Sidi El Beradei, Bab Ilane, Bab Souk (El ), Bab Eraja, Bab El Malaib, Bab El Hadid, Bab Sidi Boudjemâa and Bab Ghechout (Djoughlila). Its forget the partial destruction of the ramparts North, East (Agadir) and south (2nd enclosure El Hartoune side) as well as all the East, West and South walls of Tagrart.

Currently, there are some doors, it is Bab El Khamis, Bab El Kermadine, Bab Errouah and Bab Touita. Regarding the ramparts and the bordjs we distinguish some fragments on the side of Agadir (North, South and East), Bab El Hadid (bordj), Mansourah, Methkana, El Hartoune (Bith Eriche, cemetery and garden), Faculty of Medicine (East and South Bordj), High School Ben Sghir, El Eubed Esoufli, the wilaya, Sidi El haloui and finally Bâb Wahran (North and West).

Symbolic elements, arcs and skifas In the Holy Qur'an, God forbids entering a dwelling to any person without requiring a prior authorization from the owners, that is why the Muslim builders have planned to build an arch at the entrance of the derb which means that of the latter the zone is prohibited to foreigners which also induces that all types of trade or even non-fledgling activity are not tolerated. The builders of that time have even planned the location of lamps for public lighting. We find this type of arc in the old town and more precisely in the derbs of Sensla, Ennaidja, Baba Ali and Beni Djmila, who represent the first Tagrart urban fabrics made by the Almoravids. On the other hand, arches of larger dimensions but this time they mean that in the place where they take instead, there is a very important activity, usually religious.

We also find in the medina of Tlemcen covered passages generally overhung a living room attached to a house. This opening which makes it possible to transit is called in Skifa Arabic language that comes from the word Sakf which means ceiling. Its role differs according to the position take it because in the plan of occupation of the grounds of the medina of Tlemcen, the National Agency Territorial Development of Tlemcen distinguishes three types17 which are first, the Skifa de middle non-arched quarter, its minimum height is 2.50 m (Sidi El Yeddoun, Sidi El Djebbar rue des Almohades ... etc). Then the Arched Skifa which means there is a private area (Derb Messoufa, der Sensla, Naidja, rue des Almohades ... etc). And finally, the Skifa is located at the bottom of a derb used to determine a private area specific to a house (derb Sensla, Kechairi, Sidi Abdeli, Sidi Amrane, rue des Almohades ... etc). The constructive mode of these skifas is made of logs supporting the reed is a filling of clay .

The alleys of the medina of Tlemcen also present codes that we can read in the angles of the buildings with a treatment either in mokarnasse or by whistling a part of this angle. This whistle is present in many mosques that we will see by the after. In semiotics, this means that the area presents a place of worship whether it be a mosque, a moçalla where a zaouia with his marabout.

Mosques The equivalent of the Roman forum and the Agora among the Greeks is the Great Mosque (bayt Allah) among Muslims is a public place par excellence because it plays a very

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) 59 International Journal of Human Settlements Vol. 1 . Nr. 2 . 2017 Characteristics of the medina of Tlemcen Walid HAMMA Received: 15 June 2017 • Revised: 22 July 2017 • Accepted: 24 August 2017 important role in the daily life of Muslim society, whether religiously (prayer), educational (school) cultural (library) and legal (court). From an urban point of view, the Grand Mosque Tlemcen takes a central position in the city is the heart of the city to which the others spaces will be organized (the most important especially). A big place is arranged next to this place of worship crossed by a main road which is the axis of development of the Tlemcen city.

From an architectural point of view, this important building is characterized by the presence of a large minaret that acts as a calling element and benchmark at the scale of the city also surmounted by a succession of inclined roofs covered with tiles. This mosque presents from a spatial point of view a prayer room (with arched naves), a maksourah, a , a , ablution rooms and a patio. Other spaces are annexed to the mosque which is the mausoleum of Sidi Merzouk and wakfs (sort of court and religious administration). Other mosques are present in the neighborhoods (small scale and size) but they do not welcome the prayers on Friday and the two holidays of the Eid. Some others-they do not have a minaret but their protruding mihrab or the hissing of the corner walls allow them to be recognized. Some moçalas are devoid of both architectural elements but are recognizable by skifas arched like the moçala of Moulay Sidi Yakoub.

The city of zenets Berbers is ranked among the Muslim cities that have the largest number of mosques and place of worship that constitute wealth and leaders works of which can be proud. Most are classified by the Ministry of Culture as historical monuments but a few are waiting for classification .. This high number of type of building is justified by the attachment of the Tlemcenians to Islam. Most of these constructions were raised during the period of the Zianid reign. There were some restorations in Turkish times but touched only the most important ones. These mosques continued to decay the collapse, where 62 buildings remained from the inventory of French services in 1846. Even the French occupiers participated in the disappearance of the latter with its destruction and change of assignment in barn and deposit. From that date on, there was also the establishment of some restorations by the French military engineers. Subsequently, the French administration authorized the prayer that in only 13 mosques in 1851 also dates from the creation of the service of historical monuments in Tlemcen.

Currently, there are 29 mosques in and outside the walls, 28 of them are classified historical monuments. It is that the mosque of Sidi El Ouzane which is not classified, although it has values of aesthetics, antiquity, history, art, usage, culture, pedagogy, consistency, landmark, sociology and spirituality. They were classified according to Boukerche Djamel "According to the importance of mosques in relation to the city and according to the funds of which they benefited, these mosques were divided into categories or classes. There were five classes in total, which broke down as follows: a first-class mosque, the great mosque; two second class mosques, Sidi Boumediene and Sidi Brahim; two third-class mosques, Sidi el Halloui and Sidi el Benna; two of the fourth class, Si Mohamed Essnoussi and Sidi el Yedoun and finally seven of the fifth class, Sidi el Ouazan, Sidi el Guerba, Sidi el Fouki, Ouled el Imam, El gheriba, Bab el Djiad and Sidi Said. Depending on the category or class to which they belong, they had a more or less numerous staff. "

According to Lachachi's reading of the writings of Ibn Meriem, many mosques have disappeared destroyed during the wars between the dynasties and during the French occupation, these are mosques Sidi El Chaâr, Sidi El Brad'ey, El Hofra, El Aakiba, Sidi

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Ahmed B'el Hassen, B'el Ahcen, Sidi Amran, Sidi Tabdji, Sidi Salah, el M'kalkin, Sabbanine, El K'wane, El Metrahine, El Carasounet, Bâb Fez, Bab Hanaïn, Sidi Kalaïdjii, El 'Mehazi, Sidi Benaïssa, Es'sen'aâ, Mancher El Djeld, Ennour, El Qaçaba, Ilan, Derb Ben Mami, Sidi Bouzar, Sidi El N'raghi, Sidi Abd Essalam, El'madrassa, Es'Semmat, En'assassine, El 'Aaddadine, El' Ghriba, Bab'el'hadjar, Sidi-N'asre, Sidi Anour, Sidi'chouâïb, Sidi Mohamed, Sabbanne, Sidi Abde'slam, Sidi El'm'raghi, El'karchoula, El'nour, Sidi El'brarda, El Mezouar, Sidi El Habbak, El Haddine, El Sammat, Sidi Mahmaz, Derb Djamaïr, Derb Sidi Kammed, El Maïda, El Ksour (El Mounya: Extra-Muros), Setti, El Kherrazine, Halfawine, El Eubed Esoufli and El Rahba.

Medersas The Medersa at Muslims is not only a religious school but it provides teaching in other scientific and literary fields. Introduced in Maghreb after Arab conquest by constituting one of the sources of development in this region of Africa. North where many scholars have rubbed shoulders with this type of institution. From an architectural point of view, medersas have very richly decorated portals but their exterior facades are stripped of decoration (simple). They consist spatially of a patio, classrooms, a library, a small prayer room, a mihrab, a washroom and rooms for host the students.

In Tlemcen most of its medersas were built at the zianid time except for one that was built in the Marinid era, it is the El Eubed annexed to the mosque of Sidi Boumèdienne. The other medersas are built by Abu Tachfine (1318-1337 destroyed by the French in 1872), the Yaakoubia near Sidi Brahim (1363), El Kadima Medersa near Ouled Sidi El Imam (built by Abu Hamou Moussa I in the 14th century), the Sanoussia near the Beni Djemila district (15th century), Sidi El Kaléi, Sidi ElHabbak, Sidi El Hassen Ben Khlouf and Menchar El Djild.

All these medersas disappeared razed by French colonialism (who wanted to propagate illiteracy among the Tlemcenian population in particular and Algerian in general) except those of Ketaba and Khaldounia, which still exists. The second is classified national heritage but the second not yet, despite having values of antiquity, history, art, use, culture, pedagogy, consistency, reference, sociology and spirituality. The biggest party of these medersas were annexed or close to the mosques as mentioned by Ibn Khaldoune in his book the history of the Berbers or Ibn Meriem in his book El Boustane. There have also been rooms for the recitation of the Qur'an at Merabat Street souika) which dates from the 14th century according to the POS of the Medina of Tlemcen.

Zawiyas The zawiya is a religious building of Sufi current, it is managed by a Sheikh. She welcomes functions of prayer and learning of the holy Koran, fikh and suna according to a tarika, that is to say a method proper to a scholar or wali. He is, according to the Sufis, the spiritual guide of their brotherhood. The construction of this type of building has seen its generalization from the arrival of the Ottomans. Generally, the zawiya has one of the talabas accommodation religion) prayer room, ablution room, classrooms and a Wali mausoleum. Tlemcen presents many zawiyas such as those of Moulay Yaâkoub, El Alwiyine, Tidjania, Boudilmi (or Sidi El Kadour), Moulay Tyab, Nmamcha, El Habibia, El Issaouia, Sidi Benamar, and Moulay Abdel Kader.

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Fondouks The fondouk among Muslims is the equivalent of the hotel among Westerners. It's a economic establishment that is used to accommodate travelers, stoker, shelter the craft function and the marketing of its products. Almost all of these buildings are concentrate around the economic zone of El Kissaria and close to traditional markets. Of architectural point of view, the fondouk develops in 1 level and has a very broad entry that gives on a patio sometimes surrounded by porticoes or galleries. The ground floor includes stables, deposits and businesses. As for the floor is reserved for accommodation with a presence of many bedrooms.

Palaces The Tlemcenian Palace is a residence of kings and princes who ruled the city of Tlemcen. It usually consists of a , rooms, a courtroom, fountains, garden. Short all the luxury that will allow the first governor of the city to feel comfortable. According to Lachachi in his book Tlemcen with the prestigious past many palaces were built by the different Muslim dynasties that are; first of all the palace of El Mechouar, El Bali (royal residential area) and the palace of El Dardacha which were built by the Almoravids. Then the palaces inside El Mechouar, Ksar E'Souroure (location of the Pacha house), Ksar Aziz or Maazuz (Victory Square), Dar Diaf (Riat Ben Fares district), El Hartone Palace, Ksar Chankar Bab Erouah (Kassarine), Ksar Chouaraâ E'chams (Agadir), Ksar Soultane Abd Al Djalil (Agadir), Ksar Hanoun, Benth'Soltan Abla Palace (Oued Metchkana), palace of El Djnane (el Kalâa), Ksar Chouara (Imama), palace of joy, Abu Fikhr palace and palace Benth'Soltan that were built by the zianides. At the same time other palaces were bred by merinids, it is dar Esoltane at the complex of sidi boumediene and the other victory in the mansourah zone. And finally Ksar el beylik, Ksarel Djlissa and Ksar Ghers El Bey who were built by the Ottomans.

Malheureusement tous ces édifices ont été rasés à cause des guerres entre dynasties musulmanes et le colonialisme français. Comme l’atteste certain relevés du génie militaire, la plupart de ces edifice existaient encore jusqu’à la fin du XIXème siècle. Actuellement, il reste que Dar Soltane (sidi boumediene), deux fragments de palais à Saf Saf et Mansourah ainsi qu’El Mechouar qui contient deux palais à l’intérieur dont un a été reconstruit. Cette dernière citadelle à fait l’objet de plusieurs restauration dont celle de 1854 par le génie militaire français où plusieurs description et un plan de ces travaux attestent ces dires.

Ferranes The traditional oven commonly known by the El Gransen elemceniens is a place that allows families from the lighthouse city of zianides to bake their breads and cakes daily on a fire wood. This space is present in every neighborhood (El Houma). Currently, there are still some ferranes open despite the modernization of the means of cooking. The medina of Tlemcen had Fourteen ovens (Table 24) which are Ferrane el Abde, Tahtaha, Dar E'Diaf, Zounou, Tayaâ, Derb El Hadjamine, Ben Selka, Bab Ali, Derb Messoufa, Lala Reya, Khriss, Sidi el Mazouni, Aissa, sidi el yeddoun and ferrane Sidi Chakar.

Hammams Baths commonly called in Westerners were created by civilization Roman. Composed of several spaces that are, the vestibule, undressing rooms, rest, warm, warm and the boiler room. In addition to these spaces, the gym and massage rooms that did not exist at the level of

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) 62 International Journal of Human Settlements Vol. 1 . Nr. 2 . 2017 Characteristics of the medina of Tlemcen Walid HAMMA Received: 15 June 2017 • Revised: 22 July 2017 • Accepted: 24 August 2017 the Moorish baths, except the Ottoman baths which had massage rooms. The hammams are generally positioned in the medina near the mosques and allow Muslims to do their ablutions (el woudoe el akbar). Public equipment par excellence, it not only to satisfy the hygienic function but also the meeting and the relaxation. In As regards the distribution of working hours, the morning and evening hours are reserved for men and the afternoon to women. The hammams of the medina are hammam Moulay sidi Yaakoub (almoravide), El Mâmi (Ottoman period), Ben Slimane, Bettouaf, Ben Nouis or Sidi Chaar (Almoravid), Bâb Ali (Almoravid period), Ismail, Salah, Bab Zir, El Hofra, Ouled Sidi El Imam (13th century), Sabbaghine (12th century), El ghoula (idrissid period). Azzouni, Sidi El Yedoune, Briksi, Benkelfat and Sidi Boumedienne (13th century Marinid).

Mausoleums The mausoleums are funerary monuments, they are related to and the veneration of marabouts. At the historic town of Tlemcen, we find many of these tombs where religious, scholars and imams are buried. Most mosques and medersas shelter the remains of these walis, these buildings are named after them. There are also isolated mausoleums. Of these except 21 which are classified it is Sidi Bou Ishaq Tayar, Sidi Belhassen Rachidi, Sidi Braham, Sidi El Wahab, the Sultane, Sidi Yacoub, two marabouts of the El Eubbad cemetery Essefli, Sidi El Habak, Sidi Abdellah in Mansour, Sidi Ben Ali, Sidi Boumedienne, Lala Roya, Sidi Mohammed Benyoucef Esnouci, Sheikh Snouci, Sidi Saad, Sidi Zekri, Sidi Brahim El Masmoudi, Sidi El Haloui, Ibn Marzouk and Sidi Daoudi.

There are 30 tombs that are unclassified, these are two marabouts of El Kalaa, Lalla Setti, Sidi Boudjemaa, Sidi Ahmed, Sidi Boultebag, Sidi Maamar Benaliya, Sidi El Abed, Sidi Chaker, Sidi Cherif, Sidi El Gourariau, Sidi Bemsaib, Sidi Benmsehel, Sidi Ali Ben Naquime, Sidi El Hassi, Sidi Attar, Sidi Said, Sidi El Kiffane, Lalla Mira, Sidi Tahar El Behri, Sidi Mhamed El Kemad, Sidi Ameur, Sidi El Khaldi, Sidi El Ouadah, Sidi Mimoune Ben Habara, Sidi Berahma Eradae, Sidi Abi Elhassen Ghomari, Sidi el Ouezane Baba Safir and the tomb of Rab.

Tanneries and mills There were several tanneries during the pre-colonial period at the site of Agadir many of them were in motion after the colonization of the city, but currently only one takes position in the same neighborhood. She is not ranked despite her presentation of values of seniority, history, use, culture and economy. Regarding, the mills there existed at the level of El Kalaa which was converted into prison by the French military engineers in 1847

Habitations The Muslim medina is a systemic organization where the house takes a primordial position in this system as it houses the family that is the core of society. All the houses are grouped together in neighborhoods that produce the city. So this organization is also hierarchical. As Denis Grandet confirms in his book architectural and urban planning where he talks about the organized and hierarchical proliferation of the medina. The hierarchy of the latter is noted by the elements of composition of residential spaces that starts from the patio in going through the house to the configuration and organization of the city. The houses of the medina are looks like they have the same style (arabo-moresque) a patio and a template of R + 1 which creates uniqueness and urban harmony. House alignment is not respected (organic

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Access from the outside to the inside is via a front door or Bab dar which presents a threshold (el ataba) and an awning called El Kbou. This door is richly decorated with nails and two oratories (tabtaba) that give different sounds (for residents can recognize whether it is a stranger at home or not) who have a shape of a hand (khamsa) of a lemon tree or an orange. It consists of two doors one included in the other. After having crossing the front door we find a hall decorated with faience and el kirate and arranged (skifa) of seats (dakana) so that the guest can rest. This space is illuminated by stained glass windows (elkatae wa el maktoue). At the bottom of this hall we find a wall blind that plays the role of a splitter screen between the outside and the inside of the house for preserve the intimacy of the inhabitants of the latter.

After crossing this skifa we find the patio which is the heart of the house (vital central space) called in Arabic ouast edar around which the other spaces are organized. He welcomes all family activities. It is an authorizing, regulating and unifying space, despite it is closed to the city (entrenched last the walls) but it is open to the sky because according to Berardi "it is to have been able to affirm that this organization of the space exceeds the perimeter of the home and becomes the organization of the space of the city: so that the juxtaposition of the houses can be seen as the reasoned construction of a strongly organized space, instead of having a simple, an inertia repetition of the same type of building. "This court also allowed to illuminate, to brighten and ventilate the vital spaces that surround it. Square in shape, its volume and its Geometric proportions and surface area vary depending on the configuration and plot area, but the patio area is usually variable from one-sixth to one-tenth of the land area implantation. The middle of this space usually has mineral fountain, a pond, and a well or plant with trees such as orange, fig, lemon, pomegranate and vine.

Accessible from an angle and surrounded by galleries covered (peristyle of arcuate ( type) called in Arabic derbouz (space between patio and rooms). Always at this intersection are the stairs and sanitary facilities for technical reasons because they are close to the sewerage network (esloukia) for a possible connection to the latter. We can find two stairs at the level of some houses, the first lead to the floor and the terrace (estah) and the second lead to the parents' room for privacy reasons. The ground floor is also converted into rooms, living room (el masriya reserved for guests), kitchen and the makhzen (deposit). As for the floor we find bouyoutes or ghorafs (chambers) where the landlord (usually five to ten meters) exceeds the width (usually three meters) two to three times.

Conclusion The study of the architectural and urban elements of the pre-colonial city of Tlemcen allowed us to confirm our initial hypothesis. Indeed, this ancient city is an Islamic medina built according to the precepts of Islam.

Références Adam A. (1972), Bibliographie critique de sociologie, d'ethnologie et de géographie humaine du Maroc , édition Centre de recherches anthropologiques, préhistoriques et ethnographiques, Alger,1972, Berardi R. (1982), signification du plan ancien de la ville arabe, in la ville arabe dans l'islam, édition CERES Tunis et C.N.R.S. Paris. Brunel G., Lalou E. (1992), Sources d'histoire médiévale (IXe-milieu du XIVe siècle), édition Larousse, Paris. Chaabane D. (2003)., La Théorie du Omran chez LBN KHALDOUN, édition OPU, Alger.

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Chevalier D. (1979), L'espace social de la ville arabe , édition Université Province, Paris. De Claparede A. (1896), En Algérie, édition Fiscbacher Paris. UNESCO (1995), Médinas: sauvegarde sélective de l’habitat traditionnel , édition du centre du patrimoine mondial, n°9, Paris .

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