View Over Casbah, Algiers

The ancient, narrow streets of the Casbah rise dramatically up over the port of Algiers, which was a Phoenician colony, a Carthaginian outpost, a Roman city, and then a Christian bishopric in late Roman North Africa. In Ottoman times, the rulers of Algiers, and other Maghreb states, turned to piracy and ransoming of prisoners as a major source of income. The United States fought its first wars as a newly independent nation with the Barbary states following attacks by Algiers on U.S. shipping and the enslavement of U.S. sailors. One of the salient features of the urban landscape when I served in Algiers (2008-2011), seen here, was the ubiquity of satellite television receivers, scattered like mushrooms across rooflines.

This painting is framed in ash with an off-white mat and museum glass glazing. Overall dimensions 21 x 17 x 1.25 inches. It is on exhibit through January 31, 2026 at the Thos. Moser gallery in Freeport ME. Email: [email protected]