Anne and Maddy - Our Travel Adventures

Algeria - October 9, 10, 11 & 12

Algerian Flag

Fri 10/9: Anne and I are sitting on our balcony this eveningat the lovely Hôtel El Aurassi in Algiers, overlooking the seafront and the Bay of Algiers. We left Detroit Wednesday night, spent 7+ hours in Istanbul Airport's very comfortable lounge, then took a 3-1/2 hour flight to Algiers, Algeria. We arrived at the madhouse Passport Control around 2230 and got through around midnight. Rough. Later that day we enjoyed pumpkin soup and sea bass for our late lunch. Algeria is the largest country in Africa; it's about 5 times the size of France. It finally gained its independence from France, its final occupier, in 1962.

10/10: This afternoon we visited the Martyrs' Memorial commemorating the fighters of Algeria's war of independence and a small museum built under the monument. We returned to the hotel and started packing a smaller bag for our 7 day trip with our guide, Said (Sigh Eed) Chitour, a very interesting Berber Algerian man. Said is a former international (BBC, CNN, NYT) reporter who was held in an Algerian jail for 14 months, accused of spying. With the intervention of the USA, Canada, France and Reporters Without Borders, he was finally freed. He was advised by his lawyer to change careers and warned the next time he was arrested as a journalist, he would likely be killed. His wife and 3 sons are in Canada. The four are Canadian citizens. Said is allowed into Algeria now since the election of a new president. You can count on Spiekermann Travel Services to get the best guides for their travelers. Said told us about a large Algerian community around Kansas City. Algeria has large exports of oil and liquefied natural gas. We have a very early flight tomorrow.

10/11: We took an 0530 flight along with Said to the port city of Annaba, Algeria's 3rd largest city, located in eastern Algeria. With Rabah driving us, we travel the mostly-undeveloped coast. We spotted many stork nests on power poles along the road. Said tells us the storks have already left for warmer lower regions of Africa. We visited a small museum of Roman mosaics and sculptures before seeing the Basilica of St. Augustine. Our lunch consisted of a shrimp couscous, french fries and fresh fruit. We continue along the coast toward Constantine, the City of Bridges, through a couple tunnels. One large tunnel opened 3 years ago was built by the Chinese, and it was more than a mile long. In town, our Marriot Hotel is located near a remaining portion of a Roman aqueduct. We tour Constantine tomorrow.

10/12: This morning we took a short drive through hilly farm country to Tiddis, the remains of a Roman town built on the side of a mountain, first founded in the 4th century BC. It's amazing to see cut stone blocks standing as level as when they were first placed there. We returned to Constantine to see Roman mosaics at the Cirta Museum. We visited the former home of an Ottoman ruler, Ahmad Bey Palace and Gardens. We took a short cable car ride above a scenic gorge in the middle of town. Our lunch of a vegetable soup, a type of fried spring roll filled with potato, small minced meat rolls and salads was in a quaint large room behind a street-side kitchen. Said struck up a conversation with an Algerian woman who fled to Marseilles, France, 45+ years ago. We invited her to join us. She's a brilliant woman, PhD in some medical science; she was back to see her remaining sister and to visit her parents' graves. Later we visited a monument honoring the victims of WWI. We donned a borrowed abaya and our head scarves to visit the town's large mosque. A couple hours later, Said and Rabah took us to dinner at a small restaurant serving us salad, soup, rice veggies, chicken while we listened to a 3-piece group play traditional Algerian music on violin, bouzouki guitar and darbuka drums. The singer/violin player was a polyglot Croatian man who spoke to us in English and in Polish to Anne. During our drive today, we learned Algeria grows wheat, barley, vegetables, dates, clementines, all kinds of fruit; but no cotton. We noticed very few traffic lights; traffic circles everywhere! And the drivers follow only some basic rule, like keeping 4 tires on the road. It's chaotic and kinda frightening, but you rarely hear a horn blown. They all are courteous toward each in a strange way. All public schooling and medical care are free. Migrant travelers come to Algeria from the south of Africa, but they only use Algeria to transit through to Europe. We had a great day today.