Tlemcen is a medium-size city of 140000 inhabitants, located in the Atlas mountains at 800m of altitude, 160km southwest of Oran and 60km inland from the coast. Due to its long and rich history Tlemcen has a multitude of ancient buildings and mosques, making it a very interesting place to visit. Founded by the Romans in the 2nd century AD as the military outpost of Pomaria, Tlemcen grew over the years and became the capital of the Tlemcen kingdom in the 13th century. At the peak of its power, in the first half of the fourteenth century, Tlemcen had 40000 inhabitants and was a wealthy regional trading centre. Nowadays Tlemcen is a pleasant, laid back city with a beautiful historic core centered around the El Mechouar palace and the Grand Mosque, with tree lined boulevards and cafes and shops. The Mansourah minaret is located slightly out of the city centre and is a very photogenic spot.
How to get to Tlemcen
Tlemcen is two hours by car or bus from Oran and has its own airport with connections to Algiers and Paris. It also has a train station with trains to Oran.
Accommodation
Tlemcen has several hotels, some of them bookable via online booking portals.
01 Grand bassin 02 Grand bassin gardens 03 Cablecar to Lalla Setti plateau 04 Hotel Grand Bassin
05 Pavement north of Grand Bassin 06 Dates 07 Medersa 08 Independence street
09 Cafeteria Beka 10 1st November boulevard 11 1st November boulevard
12 El Mechouar museum 13 El Mechouar museum 14 El Mechouar palace
15 El Mechouar palace 16 El Mechouar palace 17 El Mechouar palace 18 El Mechouar palace 19 El Mechouar palace tower
20 El Mechouar palace tower 21 Feet cleaning pool 22 El Mechouar mosque 23 Grand mosque square 24 Grand mosque square
25 Grand mosque square 26 Grand mosque minaret 27 White nougat 28 Orange seller
29 Market hall 30 Market hall 31 Dates for sale in market hall 32 Market hall 33 Orange stall in market hall
34 Orange stall in market hall 35 Grand marche 36 Grand mosque 37 Grand mosque prayer hall 38 Grand mosque inner court
39 Grand mosque minaret 40 Grand mosque door 41 Grand mosque inner court 42 Grand mosque inner court 43 Grand mosque prayer hall
44 Grand mosque prayer hall 45 Grand mosque prayer hall 46 Grand mosque prayer hall 47 Grand mosque prayer hall 48 Grand mosque square
49 Mansourah minaret 50 Mansourah minaret 51 Mansourah minaret 52 Mansourah minaret 53 Mansourah minaret
54 Ruins of the Mansourah mosque 55 Ruins of the Mansourah mosque 56 Olive trees and fields 57 Mansourah minaret
58 Grand mosque square at dusk 59 Ferradj avenue at dusk 60 Grand mosque square at dusk 61 Grand mosque
62 El Mechouar castle walls 63 El Mechouar gate at night 64 Mr Belhassen mosque 65 Fountain in Lalla Setti plateau
66 Tlemcen skyline 67 Lalla Setti plateau
68 Mosque 69 Ancient city walls of Tlemcen
70 Monument square 71 Lalla Setti observatory 72 Lalla Setti observatory
73 Lalla Setti cable car station 74 Lalla Setti cable car 75 Minaret of Sidi Boumediene mosque 76 Sidi Boumediene palace ruins
77 Sidi Boumediene mosque 78 Sidi Boumediene mosque courtyard 79 Sidi Boumediene mosque courtyard 80 Main entrance to Sidi Boumediene mosque
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