Focus · Ancient city & scholarship
Constantine
“A city suspended between sky and stone.”
An ancient city built on cliffs, known for bridges, scholars and music.
Geography & meaning
A city built on a cliff above the Rhumel gorge, stitched together by suspended bridges that seem to float.
Cultural meaning
A city of scholars and of malouf, the refined Andalusian music that survived here long after Granada fell.
Historical significance
Ancient Cirta, capital of Numidia and Massinissa's stronghold; later renamed for the Roman emperor Constantine; later still the heart of Ahmed Bey's resistance and Ben Badis's reform.
Connected stories
The city of the rock
For two millennia, Constantine has defended itself simply by being itself, a fortress shaped by geology.
Curator's note
“A city you do not enter, you climb into.”
, Museum curator