Notre Dame D'afrique
Follow the Mediterranean Sea north along the coastline and you will discover a beautiful basilica that stands on a 124 metre cliff that overlooks the Bay of Algiers. The highlight of a visit to Algiers is a cable car trip to the Notre Dame d’Afrique where you can wander around this beautiful structure and hear the stories of its architecture and origins. Built in the 1872, this sandcolored stone work of art has several domes of differing sizes at different elevations, which gives it a royal beauty. The famous architect Fromageau has created a structure that blends Roman and Byzantine styles to create this Roman Catholic Church.
The blue detail along the upper edge has been described as “appearing from a certain angle like a giant camel on its haunches, contemplating the Aleppo pine- and eucalyptus-covered hills”. Once you have absorbed the beauty from outside, the interior will add to the wonder and statue of the Virgin Mary in black stone has a story to tell. According to the tale, two women of Lyon placed a statue of the virgin in the hollow of an olive tree in a place to the north of the city. This became a shrine and now the walls are covered in small memorial plaques which were placed by people in need of the Virgin's help. This colourful story contrasts with the plain altar and wall-mounted cross. A solid silver statue of the archangel Michel contrasts with the choir that is situated on the southeast instead of the traditional side of a basilica.
The monument highlights the cultural background of the inhabitants where 99% of the population is Sunni Muslim, compared to the three hundred Roman Catholic Christians in the area who mainly worship at the basilica where mass is presented in English and French, The religious groups in Algiers share an amicable social relationship which led to religious freedom that is described on the inscription on the apse: Notre Dame d'Afrique priez pour nous et pour les Musulmans ("Our Lady of Africa, pray for us and for the Muslims").
