French touch in the Cashbah

The French went to work on the Cashbah, the main part of Algiers in the 19th Century, trying to clear out outlaws and terrorists -- ie Algerians unhappy about being invaded by the French.

The cut open the labyrinth quarter and carved long straight roads through the center , all the better to march an army through in case of revolt. The Algerians revolted a lot.

The French also ringed the old Moorish Cashbah with modern buildings, that still, as you see, are heavily used. Dozens of people live in some of these rooms while squatters and vagrants find places in crumbling and abandoned buildings.