Algeria is not a conventional holiday destination especially for xmas and new year but I thought what better time to visit than when they are celebrating their 50th anniversary of independence. The flags and posters are everywhere as they have been celebrating since June. As I walked through arrivals at Algiers airport I spotted my guide waiting for me which is always a relief to me. He asked me to wait for 2 more people so I walked to the end of the walkway only to see someone I recognised and as I said it out loud to him, it suddenly came to me when I spotted the Explore sign that the person telling me he recognises me as well that it was James Connery. He was my guide from the Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan trip from many moons ago. Also he was one of my favourite guides for all the wrong reasons. How gutted was I that I was not on the Explore tour. He even opened up his folder to cross me off his list when I told him that I was not in his group and walked away to meet my guide.
My first day in Algeria was not in any way memorable except for my room which was on the 6th floor in a hotel with no elevators. I nearly died getting to my room. The buildings in Algiers are from the French colonial times, very grandiose from the outside but falling apart when you get inside, well this hotel was like it. It did have a beautiful spiral staircase, I know because I climbed it all the way to the top. It seems all these buildings are the same, beautiful façade until you get inside and it’s small and quaint inside with loud pipes and thin walls and lots and lots of stairs. I loved it.
I almost forgot Christmas day and went on an excursion to Tipaza and Cherchell, small roman towns which still had its ruins. It was a long day of museums and archaeological sites which I was already bored of. We got back late in the evening and I decided to go wandering the town before my curfew kicked in. I was told by my guide that when I see that there are no women and children in the street then that was the time to head back to my hotel. It was nearing that time and I started heading back when a guy in a van approached me and asked me to get in. I said in a friendly way no thanks and walked past while he decided to follow me. Luckily my hotel was a few metres away as I tried to cross over the road. He got out of his van and gestured to me again to get in. I walked away quickly and got to the hotel without looking back. That was my Christmas day.
The next day was my birthday, happy 38th birthday Shazza I said to myself. The day started off on a very long drive to Constantine with a stop in Djamila. Before that we stopped for lunch just outside, I had a chip butty which I was quite chuffed about. It’s been years since I’ve had one of those. When we got to Djamila we went straight to a museum. Boring…I had already started yawning, but as I walked into the museum I saw the most amazing mosaics. They were in such beautiful state with its vivid colours and designs. So many countries I visit have so called mosaics and frescoes but Algeria and Libya and the only places with them in such excellent condition. Then we headed to the archaeological site and were blown away by the stunning ruins. My fellow traveller, a Japanese lady was my photographer as I was hers. We had fun taking the silliest pictures all day. The weather was cold and the sun refused to come out but the ruins were still beautiful. I even managed a birthday plank on one of the sites, which really tickled my guide when he caught us. After that it was another long drive to get to Constantine. We arrived late evening and I checked into my room and chilled out for the rest of my birthday.
The next morning we took a tour of Constantine. This town is like a mini Grand Canyon with a town built around the beautiful gorges. Unfortunately the buildings in and around the gorges have been left unattended and rubbish has built up behind each of the buildings over the past 20 years. From afar you can see the lovely golden brown yellow buildings on top of huge gorges but as you look closer you can see the tons of rubbish lining a path from their windows to the bottom of the gorge. This is such a shame because with the right light the place is lovely and with its quaint little bridges makes a beautiful back drop. The rest of the day was spent walking around the town sampling local street food and looking into the souks and then finishing off the trip with a ride on the cable car. We then headed for the town of Batna with a stop at a mausoleum for one of their Berber Kings.
The next morning I was all ruined out and was not looking forward to Timgad. Another roman town in ruins but well preserved. Then we drove through beautiful mountainous roads to Balcon Rhoufi where the old Berber villages and oasis are. It is a beautiful valley with their homes built into the rocks. Then we headed to Biskra for one night.
Biskra was a just a town on the way to Ghardaia, nothing interesting to see or do. It was a very long drive to the Saharan town of Ghardaia. On the way we saw some villages and deserted towns. We also saw some lovely sand dunes and finally got to the old town of Ghardaia just after dusk. Ghardaia is celebrating its 1000th birthday this year with a big party planned for the end of the year. This is why I am here.
The next morning we explored the Mozabite Valley which consists of 5 towns and Ghardaia is the largest and oldest. To get inside the walled city you must have a guide as foreigners are not allowed to enter on their own. Also they are not allowed to take photos of people and they must dress conservatively but at least the ladies do not need to cover their hair. As you walk around the Kasbah it’s hard not to get lost especially as you are looking around and taking photos of alley ways and stairwells. You turn around and the guide and the group are not there and you run around turning left then right then back again like you’re in a maze and finally someone comes to look for you. Also while taking photos of archways and buildings it is very easy to take photos of the ladies in the background. As long as you don’t single them out or the men don’t see it you’re ok. But as it’s me it was obvious I was going to get into trouble at some point on this trip. I took a photo of a lovely archway but there happened to be a woman bending down near her door. You only could see her back in the distance but this guy went berserk and kept demanding to see my photos and to delete it. I tried to get my way out of it but he still insisted and went to the guide and complained about me. The guide asked me to show the photo and said he wants me to delete it. So I did but as he was looking through my other photos he saw pictures of other women he demanded I delete them as well. That’s when it got a little more heated as I refused and luckily the guide calmed him down and told him to go on his way. But I was a little more careful about where I point my camera.
The reason for all the trouble is because the women in this part of Algeria are very much more conservatively dressed and behaved or perceived to behave in the eyes of the men in the area. They are covered more and single women cover their whole body even the head with a white sheet but their face is shown. When they get married they have to cover their whole body and head and only 1 eye is shown. I can’t explain it but basically they look like ghosts wearing a white sheet and the fact that you can only see the one eye makes it even more eerie. So taking a photo of these women is an opportunity to show people outside this valley what they look like, how different they are to other Muslim women in other Islamic countries. So when I take my photos I try not to point it at them but take it from a distance as part of the background or take the back of them. So far none of the women in my photos have protested or raised their concern only the one man in the street. I really think the women don’t care or the ones who do, hide near a door or stairwell until the tourists are out of the way. The ones who don’t care just walk into the path where the photos are being taken. If the woman in question had a problem with me taking a photo of her back I would have deleted it and apologised but because it was some random man who demanded I do it I was reluctant to do as I was told. But to keep peace with my guide I obeyed the man like a good little woman so it annoyed me that he won.
We celebrated new years by slaughtering 2 goats. The place we stayed at brought in a butcher and he killed the goats at the property and then proceeded to skin them and hang them to drain their blood in the courtyard. Let’s say I had chicken for dinner. The celebratory meal was somewhat a bust as even with the barbequed goats the food was still awful. But with the live traditional music and the locals dancing the night away it made for a memorable evening. I didn’t stay till midnight as it was an early morning start the next day for a flight back to Algiers. I heard the rest of them bring in the new year and then woke up at 6am to get to the airport.
As soon as we arrived in Algiers we toured the city, our last excursion for this trip. We visited the Kasbah which was really run down and to me was an equivalent to the favelas in south America only not so shanty or full of drug dealers. The French architecture is gorgeous but it’s left to ruins and even with the unesco money coming in to restore the buildings, nothing is being accomplished quickly enough. Not sure where all the money is going but the place really needs it. As you enter from the bottom of the Kasbah, it is very safe then you go up to the middle bit and things get a little more adventurous. We didn’t get any further up as the Algerians require foreigners an escort to enter here and no police will enter the Kasbah. It is the only place in Algeria without a police presence and outside the Kasbah the police and gendarme are everywhere. So this is very strange. The rule of thumb is you are allowed to enter the Kasbah and explore at your own risk but as soon as you stop seeing women and children, you have to get out of town.
Then we stopped at the oldest mosque and then the martyr’s memorial. Then we went to the Notre Dame of Africa which is beautiful but I got into trouble…again, and it wasn’t even my fault. My guide and I were in the church talking at the pews when a group of young men approached us and talked in French to my guide. What they wanted was a photo of us with them. The guide said it was ok but just as one of the guys was about to take the photo, the priest arrived and yelled at us. The guide translated and told me he’s not yelling at us for taking photos in the church but is yelling at the boys for taking a photo of a girl. I laughed and was promptly shouted at to leave. The guide apologised and all was well. The young men also apologised to us for getting us in trouble. Again even without doing anything I still get into trouble.
