Ain El Fouara Fountain

Ain El Fouara stands where the main avenues of Setif meet, a marble statue of a seated woman over a basin fed by a spring, carved by the French sculptor Francis de Saint-Vidal and installed in 1898. It has been the emblem of the city ever since, appearing on everything from shop signs to the local football club, and people still fill bottles from the spouts below it. The statue has been attacked and damaged on more than one occasion and restored each time, and the restorations themselves have become part of the story locals tell about it. The square around it is the centre of the city, busy at every hour, with cafes and the covered market nearby.

What you actually see

• The 1898 marble figure - the statue over the spring basin.
• Water still drawn from the spouts - people filling bottles below it.
• The city's emblem - the image used across Setif.
• The square around it - the busiest meeting point in the city.

When to go

April to October; Setif sits at over a thousand metres and winters are cold. One hour. It is at its liveliest in the early evening.

Honest expectations

It is a fountain in a traffic-heavy square and the visit is brief. The statue has been damaged and repaired, and the repairs show. The square is crowded and pickpocketing happens. There is no interpretation.

Nearby

Djemila is north-east; the Setif museum is nearby in the city.