The Ottoman Era Houses in Biskra City, Algeria

Abstract

The historical development of the city of Biskra, located in the southeastern part of Algeria, was the result of different and various civilizations overtime that produced different urban fabrics and different housing typologies. The houses from the Ottoman period known as vernacular architecture is characterized by its emergence inside the palm grove where it is organized in the form of scattered groupings around the old city. The seven neighborhoods that emerged as villages in the form of compacted tissues at this period still exist today with most of their houses intact. A survey has been conducted at three of these seven neighborhoods during the summer of 2018 as part of the doctoral research. This paper will present the results of the survey of the fifteen houses conducted. The aim is to identify the main characteristics of the spaces in the houses and to interrogate the existence of a typology of Ottoman houses in Biskra city. The findings indicate that these houses consist of three main spaces: “sguifa” the entrance space, “wastedar” the central space for the daily use, and “bitt” the multifunctional room used for sleeping eating and receiving guests.