Dar Hassan Pacha

Dar Hassan Pacha is the grandest surviving palace of the Algiers Casbah, a sumptuous Ottoman residence built at the very end of the eighteenth century by Hassan Pasha, one of the last deys to rule the city. It stands in the lower old town and long ranked among the most opulent houses in Algiers, a showcase of the corsair capital's wealth on the eve of the French conquest.

The interior is a feast of Ottoman-Algerois decoration. Rooms open off a tall central courtyard framed by twisted marble columns and multi-lobed arches, their walls sheathed in brilliant imported ceramic tiles, their ceilings painted and gilded. Fountains, carved plaster and inlaid marble complete an ensemble that conveys the refinement of the ruling class in the final decades of Ottoman Algiers.

Its later history is bound up with the colonial era. After 1830 the palace was taken over by the French authorities and served for a time as a residence for governors and distinguished visitors, which contributed to its preservation while so much of the Casbah was altered or lost. Restoration work has aimed to return its interiors to something of their original splendour.

The palace lies at the core of the historic Casbah, close to Dar Aziza and the Ketchaoua Mosque, so the cluster can be explored together on foot. Because opening arrangements depend on ongoing conservation, it is best approached with a local guide or as part of an organised visit to the old town. Come in daylight to appreciate the tilework and the columned courtyard, dress modestly, and take time to look up at the painted ceilings. As the finest of the Casbah's Ottoman palaces, Dar Hassan Pacha offers the clearest picture of how the rulers of old Algiers lived, and a fitting centrepiece for exploring the steep, storied quarter around it.