The mill wheel
Big timber above the stream.
Lamiaikhlef — CC BY-SA 4.0 · habib kaki — CC BY 3.0 · Benali Noureddine — CC BY-SA 3.0 · BessenouciIslem — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zvarkove — CC BY-SA 3.0 · BessenouciIslem — CC BY-SA 4.0 · BessenouciIslem — CC BY-SA 4.0
Ferrero Mill is the remains of an old water mill in the Bou Saâda valley, near a small waterfall and a stream running between red rocks and palms. It is one of the best-known outings from the town, whose name means place of happiness, set between the northern mountains and the desert about 198 km south of Algiers. The Italian Antoine Ferrero built it after coming to Algeria around 1867, according to sources, and time has left only ruins. Bou Saâda is an old market for jewellery, metalwork, carpets and the bousaadi knife. The town has an old walled ksar with covered lanes, and a museum of the painter Nasreddine Dinet, who is buried here. Along the way you see a narrow stream between pink and red rocks, with palm trees, then the remains of the mill wall and its big wooden wheel. The waterfall drops between rocks into a small pool, where young people swim in hot weather, guides say. The old ksar has a mosque, wooden ceilings and terraces over the rooftops. The mill is 2.6 km in a straight line south-west of central Bou Saâda and reachable by road. Sources say the town draws domestic visitors in winter. Rocks are slippery near the water, so take care, and check the depth before swimming. You can finish at the museum and ksar in town. Dress modestly in the old quarter and ask before photographing people.
Big timber above the stream.
Water among red rocks.
Covered lanes and rooftops.
Oued Bou Saâda, south-west of the town
Some swim in the pool, but check the depth and rocks first.
The Dinet museum and the old ksar in the town centre.