Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;31;ar
Library Location
Hanin / Tlemcen, Algeria
Notes
Hunayn was a small, very active city and an important port. Al-Bakri (5th century AH / 11th century AD) spoke of it as “a good anchorage visited by many ships.” During the reign of the Banu Zayan, Hunayn became the port of Tlemcen, where the gold road that made the glory and influence of their dynasty ended. The city of Hunayn extended over an area of approximately 7 hectares, and was protected by walls and towers of rammed earth; The largest part of the perimeter of the walls of the wall is still standing. The city consisted of two sections that were very distinct from each other in terms of topography: the lower section at beach level, and the upper section where the “Casbah” overlooked an inland port. This rectangular port (about 50 x 85 metres) was connected to the sea by a canal, and was protected by barricades and two towers of which no trace remains. In the north-eastern corner, the access to the port was controlled by “a large arch eight and a half meters wide”, Bab el-Bahr: “similar to the now demolished arch which once formed the entrance to the Tunisian port of Mahdia, writes J. Marcy, and similar to Bab al-Mreisseh in Salé and Bab. Sarazin in Bejaia (and Bab al-Bahr in Hunayn), (which are all gates of the sea).” Among the remains of the “Casbah” we also distinguish some traces of a front wall and towers, one of which protected the “Saqifa” (the crooked entrance). In the city itself, everything remained left to discovery, buried under modern buildings.
Sample Text
Ali Lafer “Hunnin (Archaeological Site)” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;31;ar
