Santa Cruz fort crowns the summit of Jebel Murdjadjo, 400 metres above the bay, and is visible from almost everywhere in Oran. Built by the Spanish in 1577 during their first occupation of the city, expanded by the Ottomans, and remodelled by the French, the fort is a layered history of every power that has held Oran in the last 500 years.
A winding road climbs from the city through pine forest to the fort. Beside it is the 19th-century chapel of Notre-Dame de Santa Cruz, restored after independence and still visited by Algerians who climb up for the views rather than the religion. The panorama covers the entire bay — Mers-el-Kébir to the west, the port to the north, the city spread along the coast to the east.