Oran’s Caravanserai Gate rehabilitated

The national office of the cultural property management and operation conducted Saturday in Ibn Badis Garden (eg Promenade Letang) in Oran, a rehabilitation operation of the Caravanserai Gate, a portion of which collapsed following the 2001storm, the Annex to the office said. This operation, aiming at enhancing archaeological monuments in Oran, like this historical piece abandoned for than one decade, consists of ranging stones and cleaning them so to protect this monument. Specialists in archeology under that Annex take part in the operation alongside the "Imam El Houari" association and historians and heritage enthusiasts. An information day on the Caravanserai also known as the "Hotel of caravan men" was organized to raise awareness of this historic national heritage building, as well as two conferences on historical and architectural aspects of the gate. The monument is distinguished by an Arab-Muslim architectural style. Built in 1848, it was the gate of the hotel caravan men which was transformed into Saint Lazare Hospital. The Gate was moved to "Ibn Badis" garden in 1955 after its destruction in 1883.