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.
Marty’s Monument commemorating fighters during the Algerian fight for independence
View from our El Aurassi Hotel in Algiers with remains of a Roman aqueduct on the right
Roman aqueduct ruins from 2nd century
Stork condo nests on a transmission tower - empty now because they’ve flown further south in Africa
Annaba - port city in northeast Algeria beautiful coast on the Mediterranean
Hippone’s museum site in Annaba - founded in Phoenician during the Numidian era, reaching the height of its’ fame in Roman times
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St. Augustine Basilica overlooking the Hippone’s archeological site
Our couscous shrimp lunch
Archeological site in Tiddis - Roman town on the side of a mountain - in the Constantine province
Scenic view from the site
Our stop for a delicious lunch
Ladies who make the home-made delicious food
Our Algerian/French new acquaintance & Rabah, our driver, joined us for lunch
Nice traffic circle
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Our cable car ride in Constantine
Constantine is known as the city of bridges
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Ancient city of Cuicil, now known as Djemila, founded by Emperor Trajan in the 1st century A.D.
Said, our guide, explaining the layout of the ancient city Cuicil, now Djemila, in the museum
Beautiful works of art made with tiny mosaic pieces
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Makes you wonder how long it would take to complete the art |
Mosaic of Venus
Various types of marble found in Algeria
Area where sacrifices to the gods were prepared
Altar
Table for preparing sacrifices
Theater Stage
Anne & Maddy enjoying the theater
Tombstone with a carved dish for offering to the deceased
Maddy spotted this manhole
| Toilet & urinal |
Mosaic of the original flip flop
Gladiator
Neptune
Algiers’ Grand Canyon
Goodbye Algeria!
10/17: The hour-long flight from Ghardaia to Algiers was uneventful. There were about 8 other Westerners on the flight. Rabah picked us up, and we had lunch at a nice restaurant with the cleanest public toilet we've seen here. We had lentil soup, rice, a stewed beef and bread. We could've shared a roasted lamb's head. Then we walked through a little bit of the casbah. We said thanks and goodbye to Rabah. His wife is having a baby Tuesday, and he won't be driving us for our last couple days. It's a lovely afternoon on our 7th floor balcony of the El Aurassi Hotel overlooking the Bay of Algiers. We leave here in the morning, but we'll return again in four days. I haven't mentioned the glorious colors of bougainvillea flowers we've seen all over this country. Anne was amazed at the vivid color and fullness of all the roses.
10/18: Our new driver is Rashid; he drives faster than Rabah but follows the same (non)rules of the road. Our first visit was at the Mausoleum of Mauritania, the original resting place of Queen Cleopatra and Mark Antony's daughter, Princess Cleopatra Selene II, and the King of Mauritania, Juba II. It's another short rotund building, and it is huge. It was damaged by soldiers and others trying to get in to loot the place. In Cherchell we see detailed marble statues and mosaics at the Archeology Museum. In Tipasa, we walk through a 5th C B.C. Punic trading post/port along the sea and see the ruins of two large villas, an amphitheater, a forum, houses. We continue further west, and we see more farmlands. Said reminds us that Algeria is the breadbasket of Africa. Vendors along the road sell colorful fruits and veggies. Our lunch in town was at a seaside restaurant serving a grilled swordfish and creamed spinach with a topping of a broiled cheese and egg. We enjoyed that meal. The Frenchman Albert Camus was born in Algeria and spent a large portion of his life here. We got back on the road with another 4-1/2 hours drive to Oran. We passed a point indicating the Greenwich Prime Meridian. The police called to check on us just before we arrived at the hotel. Said assured them we wouldn't be out walking around tonight. Anne and I wish we could spend a couple days here at the beautiful Royal Hotel. The staff is very welcoming.
10/19: I've told you that Said is an Algerian man, but I should also say he is a Berber man, meaning he a member of the indigenous people of Northern Africa. After 8 days of unescorted touring, we now have a police escort in Oran. It's just one car with 2 plainclothes men. We travel to a high point above the Cathedral of Santa Cruz for a panoramic view of the port and city, then we see Bey's Palace (Spanish Ottoman), the train station and Yves Saint Laurent's childhood home. There are probably 18 closed auto dealerships along the highway. Years ago it was decided only cars made in Algeria would be sold in Algeria. So the Chinese help them with their auto-making, and they are able to sell their own car brands. We've seen China's financial aid in many countries we've traveled. Here they build roads/highways, cars, trains/train lines, apartment buildings in exchange for Algerian oil/gas. We drive 2 hours southwest toward Tlemcen, near the Moroccan border. There have been no open border points to Morocco since 1994. We drive through more lovely, hilly farmlands. This afternoon we are in our hotel; it's chilly and rainy outside. Today's soup was lentil with tomato and some cilantro (yuck!). The skies have cleared. I'm wondering if I'm a bit paranoid about these police. I saw 2 men sitting at the reception desk earlier, and I wondered if they were the police keeping an eye on us. Then from our 5th floor room, we saw a car in the long driveway, parked with its lights on, pointing in our direction. We closed the drapes.
10/20: At breakfast today, we had ratatouille, some mushed-up dates rolled in sesame seeds, and peanuts rolled with a little honey and sesame seeds, among other foods. Anne hopes to find some of those peanuts today. This morning we had another driver. Rashid had to return home, so Raouf will be with us for our last day. He drove us when we first arrived in Algeria. We asked Said if he thought we were being watched. He said there was a large group in our hotel from the UK. He thought the cops might be watching them. We head out today with a police van and 3 plainclothes policemen. We're treated like VIP's. We're in Tlemcen, the town of cherries. But, of course, they're not in season. Our first visit is to the ruins of the Mansourah mosque site. The sky was so blue and clear, perfect for Anne's photos. We had a brief visit at the 12th C mausoleum of Sidi Boumediene. We invited the cops to join us for lunch, so we headed to a new place Said was not familiar with. We had just headed out when the cops stopped. They had seen a teenaged boy throw a stone at a girl. They grabbed him and put him in the back of their van. I said he was just trying to flirt with her. Anne was worried he'd be mistreated. Said said his parents would be called, then I said he'd probably be put in the military the next day. After 2 blocks, the cops pulled over and let him out. Said called to him saying 'see what happens just for flirting'. And we all were relieved and laughing. Our lunch was a buffet. We had the lentil soup again plus something like a baked pasty filled with mashed potatoes and meat, covered in sesame seeds. We split a plate of really meaty mousaka. They really eat a lot of meat here. We had a short day with a free afternoon. Tomorrow we fly to Algiers for one night before flying on to Tunis, Tunisia. The Algerians we've met and seen on the streets have all been welcoming, they smile at us. We have seen terrific sites, and the landscape has been beautiful. Thank you, Said, you've taken good care of us and taught us a lot. Talk to you all from Tunisa.
Hello Tunisia!
Wed 10/21: We said farewell to Said at the airport. He wants us to return so he can show us amazing rock art in the south. We had a tedious day with a delayed afternoon flight from Tlemcen to Algiers. We would prefer the long drive. But we're back at the El Aurassi in Algiers for one night.
10/22: The day is starting off well. We often buy a bottle of vodka on our trips. Instead of carrying a big bottle around, we fill empty water bottles with it. Yesterday we pulled water bottles from our luggage so we could make morning coffee. This morning one of us took a pill with our 'special' water, and one made a cup of coffee with it. We took a late afternoon flight to Tunis, Tunisia. Our 100-year old hotel is in the center of activity on a pretty boulevard with a view of the Lake of Tunis which opens to the Gulf of Tunis. In recent history, Tunisia was a colonial protectorate of France for 75 years, occupied by Nazi Germany and Italy during WWII, then gained independence in 1956.
10/23: The temperature high today will be 79°, and it is very sunny. Our guide Samir met us at the hotel for a walking tour of the Medina, which is just blocks away from our hotel. Samir lived in Russia years ago as a university student, and he should be a practicing economist. We stopped in the Cathedral of St. Vincent. A young nun came over to ask us to lower our voices; turns out she's from Virginia, and she's been here for 3 years. We walked for more than 4 hours, exploring the little streets and stores, historic hammams, former palaces in the Medina. Samir told us that education through university is free. Polygamy has been banned here since 1956, unusual for a Muslim country. We can purchase alcohol. Women are free to choose not to wear a veil, and they've had the right to vote since 1959. We definitely see more tourists here than in Algeria. Our hotel doesn't serve dinner, so we walked to the next block to share a chicken Sharma sandwich at an outdoor table, then we each had a scoop of coffee gelato while enjoying our people watching.
10/24: Today we're in a roomy van with our driver Gohsen. As in Algeria, there are gorgeous flowers on trees here. Our first stop is at the Bardo National Museum, which is located in an 18th C palace. The place is packed with mosaics, and Samir explains some details we've overlooked in them. A short drive away is the city of Carthage, which was a grand city in the Roman Empire. The huge Roman Theater was being readied for a concert tonight. We viewed the Punic harbor which served the large Mediterranean military fleets. With the mountains as a background, the site is beautiful. We walked around the Antonine Roman path ruins; it must've been spectacular in its time. Our lunch was a grilled dorat fish, rice, a salad of cucumbers, onions, cabbage, radishes with a bit of tuna on top. The lemon sorbet was served later; we all enjoyed it. A nap would've been perfect, but we walked the charming hilly streets of Sidi Bou Said with its white buildings with blue doors. There was a great view of the harbor up there. We saw so few tourists in Algeria. But Tunis/Tunisia has many. Today we saw the first Asian tour groups, a couple Polish groups, and a Russian group that was traveling without a guide. Samir's Russian is great, and they would've been very happy to get him to guide them. One of the guys had lived in Louisiana for about 6 months as a young man. We're traveling for the next 3 days, but we'll return to Tunis on Wednesday. A soccer game has just finished; there's some excitement in the streets.
Enjoying Tunisia
Sun 10/25: We've had a fun day today. No charley horses for either of us overnight; that's a relief. A couple days ago somewhere in an Algerian museum, we met an older woman from Wales. She made a point of talking to us. She was in Algeria with her Tunisian husband. They met on a plane to Djerba Island, Tunisia, about 50 years ago. Sitting in the seat next to him, she didn't want him to strike up a conversation, she wanted to read; but then he dazzled her with some poetry. It sounds like they've had an interesting life together. We would be in Tunis together for one night; maybe we could meet. Well, last night we were dragging so we didn't call their hotel. This morning they came in to the breakfast room as we were eating. They had decided to stay at our hotel. She had called the hotel 3 times asking for the American women; the hotel disclaimed any knowledge of us... We visited for about 20 minutes and had to leave. Hope we can stay in touch. Our first unscheduled stop was in Testour, a little town with a Pomegranate Festival. The fiesta wouldn't start for two days, but the vendors were all out, selling juices, jams, baked goods, a big variety of bonbons. Then we visited a wonderful 2nd C theater with great acoustics and beautiful setting. We walked for two hours through the ruins of Dougga an ancient Numidian-Roman city. Remarkable. The landscape is filled with farmlands and olive trees. Our guide and driver had chicken for lunch while we had boar. It was very tender and tasted like beef. Samir's wife is Russian; they met when he was teaching/studying in Russia. They speak Russian at home with their son, and the son is studying languages. We're spending the night at Hôtel La Kasbah in Kairouan, a beautiful place.
10/26: We see the Grand Mosque in Kairouan, then we visit the Mausoleum of the Barber, the burial place of a friend and barber of Mohammed. The 3rd C Roman Amphitheater was stunning, impressive; much more of it was preserved than other ones we've seen. I asked Samir about some odd holes in a roofed area, and he told me the damage was made by bombs in WWII. The structure exists for 17 centuries, and combatants go and disfigure it. There was widespread destruction in Tunisia between 1942-1943. About one hour later, we were in the big seaside city of Sousse, Samir's home. We'll spend two nights at the huge Mövenpick located on the shore of the Gulf of Hammamet. There are so many tourists in Tunisia, big tour busses everywhere we go. So glad we aren't on those buses.
10/27: We took a short drive to Monastir to visit the mausoleum of the first president of Tunisia, Habib Bourguiba, and a museum in an 8th C fortress with a great view of the gulf. The more we travel, the more we realize how little we know. Back in Sousse, we explore an archeological museum housed in an 11th C kasbah. After a walk in the Medina, we have lunch at a cozy former home. There's a very thin crispy folded crepe with an egg and tasty sauce inside; we enjoy that. Our couscous had chicken, chickpeas and raisins; our dessert was a clementine. Before sunset, Anne swam in the pool and then we walked the beach. It's lovely here. Back to Tunis tomorrow. The end is near.
10/28: We leave Sousse for Thuburbo Majus, a huge settlement built for military veterans around 27 BC and explore portions of the temples, forum, buildings. Our next stop is the recently-excavated ancient Oudna with its great amphitheater and temple. Our stop in Zaghouan, known for its fragrant roses, is to visit the Temple of Eaux and a portion of the 132 km aqueduct, one of the longest in the Roman empire. We've seen portions of this aqueduct all day. Driving through Tunisia, we're amazed how well traffic moves through traffic circles; almost no traffic signals. You may think we're just seeing a lot of rocks, but each site has some thing that differentiates it from the others. Back at the Carlton Hotel, we read and people watch at the outdoor cafe and then treat ourselves to a gelato.
10/29: This morning we drive two hours northeast from Tunis through mountains and valleys to seaside Kerkouane, in the Cap Bon region, with Carthaginian architectural 6th C BC ruins. We see unusual baths with advanced drainage systems and a different type of mosaic flooring. Their houses had the first 'closets' we've seen, and some houses actually were at the seaside. Later we were at ancient seaside sandstone quarries at Al Haouaria. Heading back, we stopped to see a 2,000-year old olive tree. It still produces fruit. A solemn visit was made at the North African American Cemetery in Carthage where 2,800 WWII soldiers, airmen and sailors rest. After a late lunch, we say a sincere thanks to Samir and our driver for sharing Tunisia with us. Through our travels we've taught one of our drivers the word 'jackass' when we were rudely cut off. It seems everywhere we went, we saw fantastic bougainvillea colors. The shepherds with their sheep, goats and cows always made us smile. Food here in Tunisia can be spicy. And sliced endive is quite enjoyable. We walked a lot. Algeria is beautiful and interesting, but Tunisia, with its laid-back life style, western toilets, scarfless women and alcohol bring so many more tourists. We've had a great time. Tomorrow we fly to Istanbul for one night. We'll take a couple walking tours before flying home on Halloween.
