Tebessa. Vue de Marche.

Tebessa. Vue de Marche.
North Africa, Tunisia. Albert, Ph. D., the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. - 1 l. on Passepartout. Passepartout size: 30.5 x 25.2 cm; photo size: 26 x 20 cm. Foxings, spots; passepartout cut carelessly.

Professional photographer Charles Albert (North Africa, 1890-1937) is the author of a large number of rare photographs, from natural attractions and archaeological sites to the World Exhibition of 1900, since his studio was originally located in Paris. In the 1880s, Albert opened several branches in North Africa - in Tunisia and Algeria.

In the 1890s, he actively published photographs of Tunisian events in the famous magazine L'Illustration, including covering the murder of the Marquis de Mores by the Tuaregs in El Ouatia in 1896 and the opening of the port of Sfax in 1897. Not limited to cooperation with L'Illustration, he shoots and prints the most valuable ethnographic material while shooting in the most remote places of Tunisia and Algeria and publishes many postcards dedicated to North Africa under the name Collection Etoile-Photo Albert (EPA). A distinctive feature of Albert's works is the studio shooting in national costumes, which made up a rather rich collection.

[Tebessa (Arabic: 中بسة, Berber. Tébessa in Tifinagh. svg) is a city in north-eastern Algeria, 20 km from the border with Tunisia, the administrative center of the vilayet and district of the same name.

Tebessa originated in the VII century BC as a Carthaginian military outpost. In 146 BC, Tebessa came under the rule of the Roman Empire; the Romans called the city Teveste (Lat. Theveste). Under the Romans, the city developed; by the end of the reign of Emperor Trajan, the population of Teveste was about 30,000 people. Since the V century, a Roman fortress, surrounded by a wall, with 12 towers and 4 gates, as well as a Christian basilica (IV century) has come down to us.

In the V and VI centuries, Tebessa was attacked by barbarians, as a result of which it fell into decline; until, finally, it was almost completely destroyed during the era of Arab conquests in the VII century. The revival of Tebessa began only in the XVI century, when the Turkish conquerors placed a small military garrison here. The rule of the Turks continued until 1830, when Tebessa, as well as the rest of the territory of northern Algeria, were captured by France.]