Algeria is the second-largest country in Africa, after Sudan. Most of its land is desert, yet only a small fraction of the population lives in a scattering of oases. The cities in the northern part of the country, where the overwhelming majority of people live, are quite a contrast to the desert—they're almost European in character—and the only sand you'll find near the cities is along the 750-mi/1,200-km Mediterranean coastline, which also has rocky coves.
Cave paintings in eastern Algeria document human existence there as far back as 6,000 years ago. The artwork also portrays a landscape of grasslands rather than desert. Over the subsequent millennia, Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Ottoman Turks and Spaniards invaded and occupied parts of what is now Algeria. The Arab invasions (AD 800-1100), however, had the strongest and most lasting effect on the people whose descendants now populate the country. That influence, coupled with the effects of French colonization (1830-1962), explains much about modern Algeria.
During much of the 1990s, however, it was a culture at war with itself. After the government canceled the result of elections in 1991 that would have brought Islamic leaders to power, Islamic extremists and the Algerian government engaged in a civil conflict fought not on battlefields, but in city streets and rural markets and on buses and trains. Midnight massacres of entire villages were everyday events. This terrorist version of war spared no one—foreign journalists, tourists and ordinary Algerians were all caught in the crossfire—and thousands of people died.
Although the government and extremists have called a truce, some cases of political violence, and a very strong government reaction to it, still occur. More debilitating, though, is the economic aftermath of the political instability. The country is racked by unemployment, inflation, a burgeoning black market, enormous foreign debt and a crippling budget deficit. Additional pressures are caused by the fact that two-thirds of the country's population is under the age of 30. And with the population doubling every 30 years (one of the world's highest growth rates), the housing shortage is also critical.
Algeria's foremost attractions are desert oases, eerie mountain scenery, spas, skiing, archaeology, old fortresses (
ksour), culture and beaches.
If you think Algeria's recent violent past and current social problems may prevent you from having a relaxed, enjoyable time there, then you might want to consider a trip to Morocco or Tunisia instead.
Rai is a catchy Algerian pop music that incorporates traditional sounds with high-tech jazz, rock, funk, reggae and Latin elements. To sample the music, look for recent recordings by
Fadela & Saraoui,
Khaled or
Cheb Bilal.
Spain, France and Italy purchase approximately one-third of their natural gas from Algeria.
Algerian-born, Nobel Prize-winning author Albert Camus set his novel The Plague in Oran.
There is less bargaining in Algeria than in other North African countries, so check to see what the local residents are doing before offering less than a marked price.
The majority of Algerians are of Arab or mixed Arab-Berber ancestry. Ethnic Berbers make up 17% of the population and maintain a strong separate identity.
Berber? Actually, it's not that straightforward. There are several sub-groups, including the Kabylie and Chaouia, who refer to themselves as Amazigh (plural: Imazighen). The Tuareg, also known as the "blue people of the desert" because of their indigo blue head coverings and robes, are more nomadic and live mostly around the Hoggar region in southeastern Algeria. The Mozabites are a very small group of Berbers who live around Ghardaia.
Far from being monotonous, the desert scenery changes daily as you drive through it—one day flat and sandy, the next rocky, the next mountainous, the next filled with high sand dunes.
There are many forms of purdah (the coverings Muslim women wear) in Algeria. In the south, if you see women on the streets at all, you'll see them covered in white cloth folded so that only one eye shows. As you move farther north, you'll begin to see two eyes, then simply a veil. In the northern cities, women may have no covering on their faces at all and wear Western clothing.
Weekends begin Thursday afternoon and last through Friday.
