El Kantara ( ar, القنطرة, al qantara, the bridge) is a town and commune in

Biskra Province Biskra ( ar, ولاية بسكرة) is a province ('' wilaya'') of Algeria. The capital city is Biskra. Tolga is one of the famous '' daïras'' of this wilaya. Other localities include Lichoua, Sidi Okba, Sidi Khaled, El-Kantara and Ouled D ...

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. The 1911

Baedeker Verlag Karl Baedeker, founded by Karl Baedeker on July 1, 1827, is a German publisher and pioneer in the business of worldwide travel guides. The guides, often referred to simply as " Baedekers" (a term sometimes used to refer to similar works fr ...

travel guide described it as "one of the most important caravan-stations in E. Algeria." The town is well known for the eponymous

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to c ...

nearby, described by locals as the "Mouth of the Desert". The area was named El Kantara by Arab conquerors. The gorge is narrow, at only wide, but the walls can be as high as .

History

Roman soldiers of the Third Augustan Legion dubbed the gorge ''Calceus Herculis'' (English: Hercules' Kick), in reference to the

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted th ...

' legendary strength. They also constructed an arched bridge over the river in the bottom of the gorge, in order to allow caravans and military supplies to pass through the town with ease. In the second century A.D., the town and bridge were guarded by

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indig ...

archers Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...

who are thought to have planted the first

date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle Ea ...

grove in the region.

Present infrastructure

A highway and railroad follow the same path as the ancient

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman R ...

through the town.

Notable people

Saïd Chengriha Saïd Chengriha ( ar, سعيد شنقريحة, links=, lit=, translit=Saʿīd Šinqriḥa; born 1 August 1945) is a senior official in the Algerian People's National Army. He was the commander of the ground forces and served as the army's interi ...

, senior military leader

Gallery

File:Le Pont romain.jpg, above the Roman bridge in Katara Gorge File:Pont Romain El Kantara (Biskra).jpg, below the bridge Image:El Kantara gorges 1899.jpg, El Kantara File:El Kantara Biskra Algerie.JPG

References

External Links

Images of El-Kantara
(including bridge and mosque) in Manar al-Athar digital heritage photo archive resource Les grandes Familles d'origine Arabe d'El Kantara sont : ABDELAZIZE, BELLAL, HOUFANI, KHIREDDINE, SAADLAOUD, SOURI, YOUB et ZEROUG. Le reste des familles sont d'origine Berbère. Communes of Biskra Province Biskra Province {{Biskra-geo-stub