Biskra

About

Hugging the northern boundaries of the Sahara Desert, Biskra was a popular spa town during Roman times, and underwent a cultural renaissance at the end of the 19th century. Oscar Wilde, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Karl Marx, and Henri Matisse are among the many artists and intellectuals who flocked here for inspiration. Biskra is the setting of key sections of André Gide's 1902 novel The Immoralist, and Matisse's Blue Nude (Souvenir de Biskra) was finished here in 1907. And thanks to its subtropical desert climate, Biskra remains a popular winter resort destination. Head to the city’s old town, where brick buildings, influenced by Roman, Arab, Turkish and French cultures, are interspersed with date palms and fruit trees.