Homme de Towne
Google
First of the pluses Instead of the minus, this Palace is rich in history and was originally constructed as a private residence for the daughter of the Dey of Algiers and her private retinue. It fell in hard times but the Algerian government has renovated it largely. They're using it as offices for various ministries, but they do keep the ground floor and courtyard open for tourism. I'm simply grateful that they are preserving this bit of their historical heritage, the architecture is a great example of the classic style Riyad or Dar courtyard house of the Maghrebi North African Medina.
The minus is that it's a bit inconceivable that such splendid historical architecture is being used as Government ministries and offices, but I'm just grateful that they are not demolishing it as many countries in the region seem to have a penchant for letting their historical heritage architecture decay so it's preserved, you can view the ground floor for free, and sometimes an employee might even give you a tour. Then the etiquette is that you pay him 400 dzd, which is like 40 euros or something. It's worth it if he gives you a truly nice tour. In fact you can be generous and give a little bit more, they won't ask for it, but it is what do you call it a tip? Yes. I guess it's an unofficial way people supplementing their income but the people who work here do have an immense amount of knowledge of the casbah and the history of its architecture.
