lala khedaouedj the blind
Princess Khadouj lived in a luxurious, elegant palace in the lower Kasbah, exactly in a neighborhood called “Souq Al-Jumaa,” with her mother and father, the ruler Hassan Khaznaji, along with her older sister Fatima. The life of the youngest girl, Khadawaj, was different from that of girls of her age in her time, and even from her older sister. She received enough pampering and enough fun to satisfy her, especially from her father, the ruler, who gave her exaggerated attention that made her, in his eyes, a rare jewel, which made her tend to To her father.
Hassan Al-Khaznaji traveled a lot due to his work as commander of the Algerian naval fleet, and on one of his outings, he brought his favorite daughter a precious mirror made of sparkling, diamond-like glass with decoration surrounding its edges. As the years passed, Khadwaj became more beautiful and beautiful, and due to her intense self-love and frequent contemplation in the mirror, it is said that she became blind. In another story, it says that the Dey of Algiers wanted to present to his visitors and the ambassadors who had gathered in his palace something that required admiration. He wanted his name to be known before the Europeans and to highlight his fine taste in choosing beauty, so he asked the women of his palace to decorate Khadawj and bring her out to the visitors, and after hours of work she became “ Khadawj is like the full moon on the night of its full moon. Women gasped at this beauty. Khadawj wanted to make sure of her appearance for herself, so she looked in the mirror and was shocked by her extreme beauty, which led to her becoming blind. Since then, she was nicknamed “Khadawj the Blind.”
Her father brought doctors and wise men to treat her, but all their attempts failed, and he is certain that his spoiled daughter will never see the light. Fearing for her fate, her father decided to gift her the palace in which they lived to ensure her future after his death.
“Khadawj” got used to her new life and lived in the palace with her sister’s children, “Omar” and “Nafisa,” who took care of her, which increased her love and attachment to life. After her death, it was called “Khadawj the Blind House.”
The palace was an urban design specific to the Ottomans, and its architecture captivated Napoleon. After the French invaders entered Algeria in 1830, its owners were compensated with a small amount of money to become the headquarters of the first French municipality in Algiers. But given its splendor and elegance, the King of France at the time, Napoleon III, and his wife could not hide their love for this edifice, so Napoleon took it. His residence starting in the year 1860, whenever he arrived in Algiers, he went directly to this palace, so that the King of France would spend the period of his visit to Algeria in the arms of the blind princess’s house, and in 1961 it would be transformed into a museum of popular arts, so that in 1987 it would become a national museum of popular arts and traditions that includes thousands of antiques. Traditional art.
Warning: A fictional image that does not belong to the author of the story
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