Tebessa, Algeria: Sites to Visit in This Historic City

Arc de Caracalla

Tebessa or ‘Theveste‘ in Latin is a city located in northeastern Algeria. The city was used as a station post by the Carthaginians in the 7th century BC and it continued to be an important military Roman garrison town in 146 BC. Tebessa almost disappeared after the Arab invasion of the 7th century. Nowadays the city is the capital of the Tebessa Province and the home of a phosphate mine. Among some of the trades practiced are carpet weaving and is a great place to get an Algerian carpet.

Arc de Caracalla
Arc de Caracalla

In 146 CE, the city became part of the Roman Empire and later it became a Colonia under Emperor Trajan. It was under his ruling that the city flourished with around 30,000 inhabitants. Tebessa was an important center for Christianity in the early church in North Africa. In the 7th century, the Arabs almost destroyed the city. The Ottoman Empire claimed the city in the 16th century and established a small garrison.

Temple of Minerva
Temple of Minerva

Other Sites to Visit in Tebessa

Important sites to be visited while in Tebessa are:
•    The Roman theater and Amphitheater (built in the 4th Century AD)
•    The Temple of Minerva and its mosaics’ decorated walls
•    The Arch of Caracalla
•    The remains of the St Crispina basilica
•    The “Solomon’s Walls”
•    The Archeological Museum;
•    The Phosphate mines of el-Kouif

Visit Tebessa on a Private Algeria Tour

Our history tours in Algeria include a day and overnight in this historically rich city. Check out some of our popular Algeria tour packages or contact one of our Algeria travel experts to customize a tour itinerary of your own.

About the author

Kevin Dyck is the founder of Mosaic North Africa and has over 11 years experience living in North African countries. He is an Arabic speaker with a passion for travelers to encounter the diverse cultures and natural beauty found throughout the North Africa region. He currently lives in and works for MNA from Tunis, Tunisia.
2 Responses
  1. Valerie

    My mother’s birth place..she grew up in Tebessa until mid 50’s …she often told me about its desert near,the kindness of its people, the wild animals roaming bye(hyenas etc..) and how hot & sunny it was..until she moved to Grey Paris..hope to visit one day 😃

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