Kalâa of Ait Abbas

The Kalâa of the Aït Abbas or Kalâa of the Beni Abbes (Berber: ⵇⴰⵍⵄⴰ ⵍⴰⵉⵜ ⵄⴰⴱⴰⵙ [Qalεa nāt εabbas]; Arabic: قلعة بني عباس), sometimes spelled Qal'a or Guelaa, was a citadel and the capital of the kingdom of Ait Abbas, which was founded in the sixteenth century in the Bibans and almost totally destroyed during the revolt of Cheikh Mokrani in 1871.

Situation
The Kalâa of Aït Abbas is an important village of Kabylie in Algeria and an ancient fortress and capital of a local kingdom from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, as evidenced by its many vestiges. It is attached to the current Algerian commune of Ighil Ali (wilaya of Béjaïa). The site is located 11 km southeast of Ighil Ali, 7 km north of Teniet En Nasr, about 30 km northwest of Bordj Bou Arreridj and about 60 km southwest of Bejaia.

The Kalâa, following the heart-shaped relief, is built on a rocky plateau with an area of 400 ha in the Biban range, at nearly 1000 m above sea level.