Ali Bitchin Mosque

The Ali Bitchin Mosque is one of the landmark Ottoman mosques of the Algiers Casbah, founded in the early seventeenth century, around 1622, in the lower old town near the harbour. It bears the name of its founder, Ali Bitchin, a European-born convert who rose to become one of the most powerful corsair admirals of Ottoman Algiers, and it stands as a monument to that colourful maritime age.

The mosque reflects the Ottoman style of the city. A square prayer hall is crowned by a large central dome carried on arches, with a tall minaret rising alongside, a composition typical of the great mosques built by the ruling class of the corsair republic. Its position on the slope of the Casbah, above the old waterfront, ties it to the seafaring world of its founder.

Its long history has seen many changes. Over the centuries the building was altered and, during the colonial period, put to other uses before being restored to worship, so its fabric carries the imprint of the city's turbulent past. Today it once again serves the surrounding neighbourhood as an active mosque.

The mosque forms part of the dense historic quarter that climbs from the port up the hillside, a UNESCO-listed labyrinth of stepped lanes, houses and palaces. It combines naturally with the nearby Ottoman residences and the restored Ketchaoua Mosque on a walk through the lower Casbah. As a working place of worship, the interior is generally reserved for Muslim visitors, so others admire the exterior and the minaret. Dress modestly, explore the surrounding lanes with a guide who can bring the corsair history to life, and take a moment to reflect on the extraordinary career of the renegade admiral whose name the mosque still carries, a vivid emblem of the cosmopolitan, piratical world of Ottoman Algiers.