Annaba: where Saint Augustine wrote the Confessions

On the site of ancient Hippo, Annaba houses the ruins of the city where Saint Augustine was bishop and wrote some of his most celebrated works.

The center, where Saint Augustine wrote his Confessions, is comfortably explored by taxi or local bus.

The Ruins of Hippo Regius, an ancient Roman city and then Saint Augustine's episcopal seat, preserve baths, a theater, and early Christian basilicas among North Africa's best-preserved remains.

Steps away, the Basilica of Saint Augustine, built by the French in colonial times, houses a relic of the philosopher saint's arm.

Heading toward the center, you visit the Cours de la Révolution, the old city's main avenue with French colonial-style buildings.

Toward evening, Annaba's beaches along the Mediterranean offer a peaceful sunset before dinner.

Augustine served as bishop of Hippo for over thirty-four years, penning such foundational works as the 'Confessions' and 'The City of God', texts that profoundly shaped Western Christian thought.

Hippo was destroyed by the Vandals in 431 CE just as Augustine lay dying, an event that marked the symbolic end of Roman dominion in North Africa after centuries of glory.