A village on the N coast of Algeria, standing on the ruins of the ancient city of Tipasa; a world heritage site. The original settlement, founded in the 5th-c BC, passed through many hands, from Phoenician to Roman, before it was abandoned in the 5th-c.
Tipasa (Arabic: تيبازة) Tibaza, older Tefessedt, Chenoua Bazar) is a town on the coast of Algeria, capital of the Tipasa wilaya.
The modern town, founded in 1857, is remarkable chiefly for its sandy beach.
History
Tipasa was founded by the Phoenicians.
It was made a Roman military colony by the emperor Claudius, and afterwards became a municipium. but there are ruins of three churches — the Great Basilica and the Basilica Alexander on the western hill, and the Basilica of St Salsa on the eastern hill, two cemeteries, the baths, theatre, amphitheatre and nymphaeum.
Commercially it was of considerable importance, but it was not distinguished in art or learning. The body, miraculously recovered from the sea, was buried, on the hill above the harbour, in a small chapel which gave place subsequently to the stately basilica.
Another Roman town of the same name
Another town which in Roman times was called Tipasa is in the wilaya of Constantine, Algeria, 88 km (55 mi) due south of Annaba, 957 m above the sea;
Modern era
Near Tipaza, there is Tipaza longwave transmitter, a facility for broadcasting a French speaking program on the longwave frequency 252 kHz, which can be well received in many parts of Europe.
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
World Heritage Sites in AlgeriaAl Qal'a of Beni Hammad | Tipasa
Coordinates: 36°35′N 2°26′E
In 1961, while working for "Studios Africa" in Algiers, owned by Mr. Georges Derocles, our then young group of filmmakers, just graduated from IDHEC in Paris (Instutut des Hautes Etudes Cinematographiques), a small group from various countries in Europe and the USA, we were assigned, along with important feature films like "The Olive Trees of Justice" - Prix de la Critique de Cinema et Television - 1962 - Cannes International Film Festival, for which I was the Cinematographer, we were assigned the production of short educational and instructional films. However, the magnificent Roman ruins of Tipasa still held the magic of history and the spell of mistery. One could freely walk among the ruins and contemplate and imagine the life of the ancient times, especially when meeting some colleagues as Mr. Ouakil Boubekeur - from Kabilia, with blond, curly hair, blue eyes and eagle-hawk nose, just like some Romans had. The Kabyls were Romans who crossed the sea and settled in the high mountains of Kabylia where they remained for centuries, until modern times. Today at Tipasa one could almost imbibe the moods, which the ancient experienced while they were living in that wondrous place, breathe the air they breathed, look at the spectacular blue waters of the sea, hear the murmur of the waves just as they did, smell the pine trees' aromas - nothing ever has changed from the old times and one had an unmistakable frisson thinking of all this, feeling it...
Julius Rascheff Professor of Art Cinematography UIUC jrascheff@yahoo.com October 25, 2006
User Comments Add a comment…