Tamentvost Tower is a fortress located in the Tamentvost region between the municipalities of La Marsa and Bordj el Bahri of the Algerian state, 20 km east of the city of Algiers, and directly overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Its construction dates back to the year 1661 AD by “Ramadan Agha” under the authority of “Ismail Agha” during the Aghawat period in what is known as the province of Algiers and Ottoman Algeria, with the aim of repelling the repeated French attacks on the Algerian coasts. Indeed, the tower repelled two French naval attacks on the city of Algiers. The first was led by Dey Hussein Mizumurto in 1682 AD, and the second was led by Abraham Dukasne in 1683 AD. The “Tamentvost Tower” clashed with most of the European naval campaigns on the Kasbah of Algiers during the rule of the Governorate of Algiers and Ottoman Algeria, because of its strategic location, as the direct sea distance between the “Tamentvost Tower” and the nearest Algerian artillery tower (Ammar Tower) is only 15 km, which makes it possible to target foreign ships at a distance of 7.5 km from the two towers at sea.
The architecture of the “Tamentvost Tower” building from the outside is represented by a stone structure whose foundation is in the shape of an octagon and its size is in the form of a parallelepiped. This fort, with its special shape, is considered the only one of its kind in the entire Maghreb region. This Turkish tower is surrounded by a trench 3 meters deep, over which one can cross from the southeastern side via a moving bridge to enter the fort. The length of this moving bridge is 5 meters and its width is 1.5 meters and allows communication between the back door and the depth of the trench. The main building facade of this fort consists of a corner located behind walls that rise to a height of 9 meters, and in the middle of these walls, at the top, are a group of small, sharp-angled, covered towers consisting of niches. The outer upper courtyard of this fort is distinguished by its wide circular gallery, while inside the fort it consists of a ground floor and an inner lower courtyard. The hall or shed of this ground floor leads, in the form of a maze, to a central courtyard through a vestibule with colonnaded arches, to which opens a kitchen, a prayer hall, a prison, a bathroom, and a weapons store. Stairs are located to the right of the vestibule with colonnaded arches, allowing access to the upper outdoor courtyard, which offers a panoramic view of the Gulf of Algiers. This outer upper courtyard contains 22 cannons arranged around it to confront hostile foreign naval fleets and to protect the ships of the Algerian naval fleet. The “Tamantvost Tower” was classified as an Algerian cultural property in the year 1967 AD, and was included in the program for the restoration of historical buildings by the Algerian Ministry of Culture between the years 2002 AD and 2005 AD, with a restoration budget amounting to 8 million Algerian dinars at the time, and since then the fort has been fenced and used for various cultural events.
