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Moorish Woman and Child on the Terrace, II, Algiers, Algeria

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Moorish Woman and Child on the Terrace, II, Algiers, Algeria
This photochrome print of a woman and child, most likely of Arab or Berber origin, in Algiers is part of “Views of People and Sites in Algeria” from the catalog of the Detroit Publishing Company (1905). The people in the photograph are identified as Moors, a term that refers to people of mixed Arab and Berber descent who inhabit the coastal regions of northwestern Africa, including Algeria. The terrace in the foreground of the print overlooks both the harbor and the Champ de Manoeuvres, the city’s racecourse and exercise ground for troops. The 1911 edition of Baedeker’s The Mediterranean, seaports and sea routes: Handbook for Travellers described the old city of Algiers as presenting “a highly attractive picture of Oriental life.” A place of diverse inhabitants for centuries, it was invaded or settled by Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, and pirates before the French conquest. The harbor of Algiers was both beautiful and strategically significant for the French navy.

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