Ruins
3/5
Mansourah Citadel & Minaret
Standing dramatically on the outskirts of Tlemcen, the Mansourah Citadel and its iconic 38-meter-high half-minaret are the imposing remnants of a 14th-century fortified city built by the Marinid Sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf. Constructed during the protracted Marinid sieges of Zayyanid Tlemcen between 1299 and 1337, Mansourah ('The Victorious') was a massive royal city that was abruptly abandoned and partially dismantled when the siege failed. Shrouded in tragic legends of royal betrayals, mysterious architectural curses, phantom call-to-prayers, and ghostly warriors patrolling the towering mud-brick ramparts, Mansourah remains one of western Algeria's most haunting historic sites.