\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \fs24 The Arabic word from which the name Algiers is derived is ôEl Djazairö or ôthe islands,ö although these vanished centuries ago.
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In accounts of Arab travelers, the city was referred to as ôThe Sultanaö or ôThe Warrior,ö since it was considered an impregnable city.\par
The old center that overlooks the harbor took the name ô\b \cf2 \ATXht10304 casbah\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 ö at the
time of the \b \cf1 \ATXht11 Ottoman corsairs\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , from the Turkish word for fortress, \i qasr\i0 . The city was then a melting pot of peoples, inhabited by Berbers, Corsicans, Kabyles, Mozabites, Jews who had fled from Spain, and Christian
slaves.\par
A tortuous labyrinth, the casbah is a miraculous fusion of architecture and spontaneous construction, capable of erasing any form of hierarchy. Noble palaces, humble and overcrowded houses, stores, and Koranic schools are set one on top of
the other, creating a structure that resembles a pinnacle of stone. Celebrated in the past as a ôcosmopolitan city filled with commerce,ö the modern-day casbah is falling inexorably into decay.\par
