Beni Hammad Fort

Beni Hammad Fort, nom de plume Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad is a fortified palatine city in Algeria. Now in ruins, in the 11th century, it served as the first capital of the Hammadid dynasty. It is located in the Hodna Mountains northeast of M'Sila, at an height of 1,418 meters, and receives abundant water from the surrounding mountains. Beni Hammad Fort is unventilated the town of Maadid (aka Maadhid), approximately 225 km southeast of Algiers, in the Maghreb.



In 1980, it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and described as "an valid portray of a fortified Muslim city".

The town includes a 7 km-long stock of walls. Inside the walls are four residential complexes, and the largest mosque built in Algeria later of Mansurah. It is same to the Grand Mosque of Kairouan, behind a high minaret (20 m).

Excavations have brought to bustling numerous terracotta, gems, coins and ceramics testifying to the tall level of civilization numb the Hammadid dynasty. Also amid the artifacts discovered are several decorative fountains using the lion as a motif.

The remains of the emir's palace, known as Dal al-Bahr, insert three sever residences estranged by gardens and pavilions.