Oran is a port city in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the cradle of raï music. Santa Cruz Fort, an Ottoman citadel rebuilt by the Spanish, sits atop Mount Murdjadjo; it offers a view of the bay below. The Notre-Dame de Santa Cruz chapel, with whitewashed walls, is nearby. It was erected in honor of its namesake after a cholera epidemic. In La Blanca, the old Turkish town, is the Hassan Pasha mosque. The latter has an octagonal minaret