The Ottoman heritage Bey's Palace in Algeria's northwestern province of Oran welcomes visitors as an important historical monument that has a place in the memory of Algerians.

The city of Oran, where the 19th Mediterranean Games were held this year, stands out with historical artifacts and structures from the Ottoman Empire. Located in the south of the Mediterranean, at the point where Algeria is closest to Spain, the city was once dominated by the Spanish. Ottoman Grand Adm. Piyale Pasha surrounded Oran between 1556 and 1563, and after a war with the Spanish, the Ottoman navy, under the command of Yusufoğlu Mustafa Bey, conquered the city in 1708.

Even though it was taken back by the Spanish in 1732, Oran was recaptured by the Ottomans on Sept. 12, 1792. Thus, Oran was once again ruled by the Muslims, as the most important city in the west of the Algerian Beylerbeliği (Governorship) of the Ottoman Empire. The city fell out of the dominance of the Ottoman Empire in the 1830s, when the French colonialism of Algeria began.

Muhammad Bin Osman al-Kabir, one of the Ottoman beys in Oran, commissioned the Bey's Palace in 1792 in the city on an area of 5.5 hectares, which housed works built by the Sultanate of Marinid and Spaniards. Located in the Seyyidi Huvvari, one of the ancient neighborhoods of Oran, the Bey's Palace complex includes the Red Bastion Fortress (Burc el-Ahmer, Rosalcazar), built during the Marinid period, and a barn from the Spaniards.

Features of Bey's Palace

The Bey's Palace was built in the shape of a ship that protected the vessels moored in the Mers El Kebir port from Frankish and Spanish invaders who yearned for this quiet town.

Muhammad bin Osman al-Kabir paid particular attention to the use of red bricks and very hard rocks in this palace, which he had ordered as the administrative center where he would receive military delegations and gave orders to all western vilayets (provinces).

The Bey's Palace consists of three main sections: the diwan (public room), the harem (domestic room) and the khalwa room (a solitary retreat or seclusion area). The diwan featured the Ottoman coat of arms with verses from the Quran on the ceiling but it was later replaced with inscriptions and coats of arms expressing devotion to French Emperor Napoleon III.

Although the floor of the palace was decorated with tiles bearing the characteristics of Turkish-Islamic architecture, they were also changed and turned into a wooden terrace during the colonial period.

The outside of the diwan is decorated with a wide sitting bench ornated with green and white mosaics and red roses across the garden that opens to the harem.

The harem part of the palace, on the other hand, opens to the garden through a large door and small windows. Inspired by the details of the Alhambra Palace in Andalusia, the architects shaped the hall of the harem with 16 arches and 17 columns, ornaments and mosaics adorned with colors.

The part called the khalwa room, or the favorite room, is another part of the palace that attracts attention. This room, which surrounds visitors with glorious memories and a spiritual atmosphere, is known as the place where the wise Muhammad bin Osman al-Kabir dedicated himself to contemplation and worship.

There is also a tunnel in the palace that allows the bey to access the Pasha Mosque, which was built in 1796 to commemorate the defeat of the Spanish by the Ottoman Empire.

Sublime work

Algerian university student Abdussemi Nuvi, one of the visitors to the Bey's Palace, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that he was very excited and proud while visiting the palace.

Nuvi said: "I live in Biskra, Algeria. I came to visit Oran with my friends and now we are touring its historical monuments. The Bey's Palace is one of the important historical monuments of Algeria, but unfortunately, we found it in a neglected state. This is really sad. I hope soon such a valuable structure will be restored. In any case, it is a proud historical monument."

Ismail Bin Ayyub, a lecturer at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Oran, stated that the Bey's Palace is an embodiment of important stages in the history of Algeria, especially the city of Oran.

Pointing out that the Marinid Sultanate's Red Bastion Fortress is located within the Bey's Palace, he added that this castle had also been built on the structures constructed by the Phoenicians.

Reiterating that the city of Oran was captured by the French colonialists in 1831, the lecturer stated that the French administration also seized the palace and named the area "Chateau Neuf."

Emphasizing that the Bey's Palace and the Pasha Mosque next to it are in serious need of restoration, Ismail Bin Ayyub stated that these works are a source of pride for the city of Oran.

Vice President Fuat Oktay, who attended the opening of the Mediterranean Games, also visited the Bey's Palace on June 26 and said: "It is a uniquely beautiful Ottoman heritage in Algeria."