If you dream of living in a place where you don’t smell a cigarette and don’t see anyone smoking a cigarette or a shisha, there is an ideal Kser called Beni Isguen (in Berber At isdjen, Arabic: بني دزقن) in the heart of the city of Ghardaïa (600 km south of Algeria). Its traditions prohibit smoking to any inhabitant and visitor regardless of social, political or religious status.
The region is experiencing a significant influx of tourists, even from the diplomatic corps accredited in Algeria, and despite their high status, the decision to ban smoking was not violated. The inhabitants of Beni Isguen, who today number about 20,000 people, cooperate together to respect this tradition inherited from the first scholars of the sect.
Beni Isguen, an Algerian city that has not known cigarettes for decades
Speaking to Top Destinations Algeria, Yahia Bouras, one of Beni Isguen’s sons and holding the position of deputy director of the local tourist office in Ghardaïa, said that the inhabitants of the region are attached to the teachings of the Islamic religion, and they see that smoking is prohibited and a dangerous scourge that must be fought, and for this reason, banners have been erected prohibiting smoking and other behaviors incompatible with the morals of society.
Mr. Boras goes on to say that if a person is caught smoking intentionally or by mistake, as is the case with tourists, he is advised and warned not to repeat the mistake, stressing that the inhabitants of Beni Isguen are very cooperative on the issue of abstaining from smoking, even from the category of tourists impressed by the ability of an entire society to fight smoking together, while governments are not able to underestimate its danger.
The speaker claims that smoking is prohibited not only on the streets, cafes and shops, but even in houses, where residents know that smoking is prohibited, and therefore do not allow themselves to smoke, even on the sly.
The list of other prohibitions in Beni Isguen includes wearing short clothes for women. It is also forbidden to take photos without the permission of the tour guide. As for the inhabitants of the area, begging is prohibited, given a system of social solidarity that encourages work and trade.
Other reasons to visit Beni Isguen
Lalla Achou Square
For those who wish to visit this beautiful Kser but are looking for an alternative flavor to cigarettes, there are many surprises that the Kser of Beni Isguen offers to tourists, as a visitor, as soon as he crosses the east-west gate (Bab Charki), one of the gates of the Kser of Beni Isguen, he can directly smell the smell of the early ages of Islam, through the market “Lalla Achou” which is in the middle of the Kser, where merchants gather from all sides and give way to sell goods by auction.
Various woolen and date clothes are sold on site, and the area is famous for the manufacture of the world-famous Beni Isguen carpet.
The Kser, which is synonymous with the Beni Isguen region and the Mzab region, is characterized by narrow alleys that resemble the Casbah district of Algiers.
The Boulila Tower
For those who like to take souvenir photos, there is a famous place at the top of the Kser and it is called the tower of “Boulila” that guards the city at night when its inhabitants sleep, and it is possible to climb to the top of the tower to see a charming and panoramic view of the city, which is surrounded by a wall, as if it were one of the castles of Andalusia.
Translated by Hope from : https://topdestinationsalgerie.com/beni-isguen-une-ville-algerienne-sans-cigarettes/
