Mohamed Belouizdad () is a quarter of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, Algeria in

Algiers Province Algiers Province (, ', ; ) is a Provinces of Algeria, province (wilayah) in Algeria, named after its capital, Algiers, which is also the national capital. It is adopted from the old Departments of France#Departments of Algeria (Départements d'Al ...

. The quarter was formerly known as Belcourt during the French colonisation period. It was renamed as Hamma-El Annasser () after Algerian independence, before the present name Belouizdad was adopted in 1992 in honour of the Algerian militant and nationalist Mohamed Belouizdad who lived in the quarter. Mohamed Belouizdad Street and Hassiba Ben Bouali Street are the two main arteries for the quarter that also has a seashore stretch on the Mediterranean coast. Important places in Belouizdad include the Hamma National Library, the Botanical Garden Hamma (, pronounced Hadiqat at Tajareb, or Jardin d'essai in French), the Hamoud Boualem soft drinks factory and headquarters, the August 20, 1955 Stadium (in French Stade 20 août 1955) as well as Hotel Sofitel. The quarter also has a famous cave known as Cave Cervantes where the Spanish writer

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

hid from the Turkish authorities but was recaptured when he famously attempted to flee back to Spain. Belouizdad is served by 4 stations of the Algiers Metro, namely Jardin d'essai Station, Hamma Station in Belouizdad itself and Aïssat Idir Station and 1er Mai Station in the nearby Sidi M'Hamed municipality. The area is also served by two

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...

systems, the Téléphérique d'El Madania, inaugurated in 1956, and Téléphérique du Mémorial inaugurated in 1987 linking it to the Botanical Garden and the

Martyrs' Memorial The Martyrs' Memorial is a stone monument positioned at the intersection of St Giles', Magdalen Street and Beaumont Street, to the west of Balliol College, Oxford, England. It commemorates the 16th-century Oxford Martyrs. History The mo ...

in Algiers that oversees the quarter. The intermodal Les Fusillés Station at the eastern border of Belouizdad connects to all points east on the Algiers tramway. The quarter is also home to two sports organisations,

CR Belouizdad Chabab Riadhi Belouizdad (); known as CR Belouizdad or simply CRB for short, is an Algerian professional football club based in Algiers, Algeria, that plays in the Ligue Professionnelle 1, the top flight of Algerian football. The club has com ...

(Chabab Riadhi Belouizdad or just Belouizdad) and OMR El Annasser (Olympic Mostakbel Ruisseau El Annasser)

Notable people

Known personalities from the area include: *

Sidi M'hamed Bou Qobrine Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Gashtuli al-Jurjuri al-Azhari Abu Qabrayn (; died in 1793/1794), mostly known as Sidi M'hamed Bou Qobrine () was a Berber ash'ari '' 'alim'', founder of the Rahmaniyya Sufi order and is one of the seven Patron Sain ...

, theologian and Sufi *

Mohamed Aïchaoui Mohamed Aïchaoui (29 January 1921 - 1959) was an Algerian journalist and militant in the nationalist movement against French Algeria. Aïchaoui wrote the ''Declaration of 1 November 1954'', the National Liberation Front's first appeal to the A ...

, journalist, militant activist, politician * Mohamed Belouizdad, militant activist, politician *

Hocine Yahi Hocine Yahi (born April 25, 1960) is a retired Algerian international footballer who played as a midfielder. He represented Algeria at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Club career At age 11, Yahi joined his hometown club of CR Belouizdad, where he would ...

, football player *

Biyouna Baya Bouzar (; born September 13, 1952), known by the stage name Biyouna (), is an Algerian singer, dancer, and actress born in Belcourt, now known as Belouizdad, Algiers, Algeria. Early life Having a very early passion for singing, she was ...

, comedian *

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

, writer

References

Communes of Algiers Province {{Algiers-geo-stub