Some cities you just can't stop taking photos of. By the virtue of the canyons it spans and the layers of history nested on top of them, Constantine is one such city. Somewhat shy of half a million inhabitants, it's the third largest city in Algeria. It has graced us with its presence since antiquity, when it was known as Cirta. First as the capital of the Berber kingdom of Numidia, later as a Roman city. It was later rebuilt by Constantine the Great, who indeed seemed to consider himself so great, that a rebranding of the city was surely in order for his deeds.

My start in Constantine was not as great, as the hotel I had initially chosen had given me keys to the room in which I found the belongings of another guest. As the room was not that great to begin with and their approach to security unpromising, I ventured ahead. The Cirta Grand across the street was gorgeous, but a bit pricey. Taking the advice of the very friendly staff there, I continued to Protea paronamique, where this view from my room awaited me. To boot, the bar in the lobby even served cold beer, which might not sound that revolutionary, but was music to my ears after the more conservative cities in the south. My home in Constantine had been firmly established.

Next morning I visited the Cirta museum, full of Roman and other artifacts as well as a few more modern works of art. Then continued through the park and into the narrower market streets of the old town.

By now, the manner of transport between cities in Algeria was already quite familiar. Buses exist mainly in theory and the shared taxis are the default option in most cases. Which is not a bad thing. They’re very affordable, costing only a few euros for a hundred kilometres or more. what they lack in legroom, they make up for in efficiency. I rarely waited more than a few minutes for the remaining places to get filled up with passengers and for us to be on our merry way.

As I’m usually showing more picturesque scenes and sites to visit, I’ll start off with some photos from a random town where our shared taxi crew stopped for lunch. Just so you get a feel of how an average small roadside town in Algeria looks like. I thus present; Ben-S’Rour in all its glory.

My next stop was Batna, frankly a rather unremarkable city, full of the type of architecture we call "Balkan barok", where I come from. Like most Algerian cities, its centre also seems to exist in a state of semi-permanent traffic jam during the day. Batna, however, was not my final destination, more of a layover on the way to Timgad, about 40 km further east.

Timgad, or with it's full name; Marciana Traiana Thamugadi was a Roman city, built around 100 AD during the time of emperor Trajan. Its ruins are remarkably well preserved and well worth a visit. Having been built practically from scratch on a relatively large plain, it’s the quintessential Roman city built on a pre-planned square grid, incorporating a lot of the urban planning ideas typical for the Romans at the time. The ruins were excavated by the French during the time of their colonisation of Algeria and they also removed some of the later additions from the Byzantine era. Since 1982, it's also on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

It was built for Romans with full citizenship, normally soldiers who received it after 25 years of military service. Over time, it included more and more of the local Berber population who mixed with the Roman veterans. The economy of the city relied most heavily on two things: water and olives. As it’s located in a semi-arid area, practically at the gateway to the desert, being able to manage water supply was crucial. Thus, Roman technology and construction knowledge were key in making this a flourishing city. Aqueducts brought water from springs far further afield and there were systems in place to collect rainwater as well. Apart from providing water for the city itself, they also watered the olive groves from which olive oil, their most important export commodity was made. It was of course used not only for food and bathing, but also as fuel for lighting.

As a fairly rich city, it featured many monuments, detailed mosaics, bath houses and even a public library. Its well-off citizens sponsored such undertakings for the public good and in order to advance in the city’s social hierarchy. That Timgad offered its citizens far more than the basic means of survival is clear from the quote engraved on the steps of the forum; "Venare, lavari, ludere, ridere, occ est vivere" - "To hunt, to bathe, to play, to laugh, that is to live!".

Walking around this wonderful place also made me nostalgic about playing Caesar III, an older city-building game set in Roman times and in my opinion still one of the most enjoyable games of this type out there. In recent years, they’ve also made open-source version of it called Augustus, which I enthusiastically invite you to check out. Much like Timgad, Caesar still holds up remarkably well after all this time.

I’ve so far mostly been singing praises of Algeria as a travel destination, but it’s time to look at some of the darker sides of it as well. Namely, the respect for the environment and the lack thereof shown by many of its citizens. While this of course varies in intensity from place to place, heaps of trash on the streets, long abandoned plastic bottles, sacks, shoes and refuse of all kind are a common occurrence. It’s also not uncommon to see people simply opening their car window and jettisoning out of it, whatever packaging they no longer find useful.

Which brings me to Bou Saâda. It was recommended to me by a few Algerian acquaintances I met along the way as a sight of natural beauty. Perhaps my expectations were thus somewhat raised and the letdown even harsher. While I clearly see the potential for beauty there and it likely was a sight to behold hundred years ago, today, the age of plastic has buried it in heaps of garbage, obscuring its inherent beauty. A river runs through it - Oued Bou Saâda and the riverbed that it forms, caves, rock formations around it, are one of the main tourist attractions of the place. Too bad then, that it’s all covered in abandoned plastic. 

Alongside the river are apartment buildings, the inhabitants of which seem to just dump the garbage in heaps mixed with gravel alongside the buildings. Bou Saâda is just an example that irked me a bit more than usual with so many of egregious examples of dumping. It’s by no means the only place in Algeria where this is a problem. Dumping whatever used you have on you anywhere seems to be the modus operandi for many. Ironically, I’m sure that if I asked the people doing so if they love their country, they’d no doubt profess their love for it. However, I fail to see how such love for one’s country is compatible with polluting it on a daily basis and thus making it worse for your fellow citizens, as well as yourself. If this is what happens on this small-scale personal level, I shudder to think how industry operates, especially when large sums of money are involved.

By no means is this problem unique to Algeria. We all have to do better in this respect, as well as create less such refuse to begin with. Perhaps next time instead of only cheering for your country when the football World Cup comes around, cheer for your countrymen who do not litter, or better yet, pick up some of that litter yourself.

Next, I headed north toward Ghardaïa. Although the desert further south intrigues me quite a bit, the vast distances involved and other practical challenges call for a separate trip. Ghardaïa is the commonly used name for this place founded in the 11th century, although it's actually only a constituent part of 5 different villages that form this city built around the M'zab valley. The other 4 are; Melika, Beni Isguen, Bou Noura and El Atteuf. Its inhabitants are their own community not only ethnically, but also religiously. The Mozabite people primarily living here are a Berber ethnic group, with their own Berber language and practicing the Ibadi form of Islam, separate from the Sunni and Shi'a branches. As I've heard elsewhere, they're known as traders and tend not to intermarry much with other ethnic groups, much like other groups in the area that kept their distinctive character throughout the centuries.

The religious norms are even a bit more conservative than usual. Outside the house, women dress in completely white sheets that cover their head, then hold the two sides of the sheet together near their nose, so that only a small triangle in the centre or over one eye is open. While you do see women showing their whole face once in a while, these are usually teenage girls or possibly from a different ethnic group. As you can imagine, they're not terribly keen on taking photographs and when I did ask to take a photo up close, I was politely, but firmly denied permission. Out of respect, photos of people will be only from quite far away and/or in the back, or with their explicit permission.

It's almost a cliché to say how friendly people in a country you visited are. It's not that I expected anything different. I'm also well familiar with the extreme hospitality and generosity towards travellers in muslim countries especially. But despite all that, I'm still continuously amazed at how kind, honest and open Algerians are.

Having already had nothing but great encounters in Algiers, all this positive sentiment intensified even further upon my travels further south, in the Sahara. On the eve on my flight to El Menia, I realised that perhaps reserving a hotel room in advance might not be a bad idea, since I was going to a town in the middle of the desert and didn't really know what exactly to expect. Of the few lodging establishments I could find on the map in the town, only one had a representative that could speak French or English, was not completely full, or even picked up the phone at all. It was Hotel Tadmait, not even 200 m from the airpot gates, but what a stroke of luck that was.

The brothers that run the hotel immediately helped me settle, drove me to the centre of the town, to get some dinner and on the way started discussing the options to see the main sights around town the next day. Zakaria was all ready early next morning and after a quick coffee and a croissant, we started off at the Hassi El Gara lake, a hangout place of the flamingos. Next up was the old ksar - ruins of an old fortress overlooking the town, St. Joseph's church, his farm with a plethora of different animals and produce. Next, we waded into the desert with the 4x4 pickup and took a few exhilarating spins around the dunes. Just when I thought we were all done and that he'll drive me to the bus station next, so I could proceed to the next town, came the greatest surprise of them all.

As it was Friday - a work-free day for prayer and rest in Algeria - there was a gathering of friends and family at his brother's house. On the way, we picked up another friend at the baker's, Azzedine - an international trader in dates and olive oil and his son. At Abderrahmane's house, there were already quite a few people including the brothers from the hotel I hd met earlier Ilyes, Zaidoune and more friends. Ali, a policeman who for years worked further south in the desert, Ahmed, a young and well-travelled surgeon, originally from further up north. After introductions we proceeded to have some green tea - first round pure and strong, second with mint. Next up, a few large communal bowls of a dish, that if I'm not mistaken is called Berkoukes - similar to couscous, but with larger "pearls", with roasted chicken on top, all beautifully spiced and delicious, coupled with a few glasses of fresh goat milk. The debates were lively, entertaining and I still cannot believe how welcome they made me feel after having just met me. We proceeded to talk more later at the hotel and exchanged contacts. If you're ever in need of lodging or a guide in El Menia, don't hesitate to call.

The brothers helped me reserve a seat on the bus to Ghardaia later that night. A pickup picked me up early morning and we set forth north toward more adventures ahead.

Casbah is a citadel, an older, fortified part of town in the Islamic culture, with the term most commonly used in North Africa. In Algiers, the contrast of the casbah with the rest of the city is even more stark, as the lower-lying, coastal areas of the city were largely rebuilt during the period of French colonisation.

First thing I'd recommend when exploring the casbah of Algiers is to hire a guide. There are lots of historical references and hidden spots, you likely won't find when exploring on your own. I've had great luck, as my guide as Yakine was very knowledgeable, full of energy and an all round great guy. I recommend checking out his TikTok (where his phone number is also listed) and of course hiring him, if you ever find yourself in Algiers.

The tours usually start at the Place des Martyrs and then ascend up the quarter. I'd again warmly recommend (as would Yakine), watching the film The Battle of Algiers before visiting, as many historical references will become much more vivid.

En route. Blogging. It's been a while. I'm writing this from Algiers, a city that's a most peculiar mix of colonial French, Arab / Ottoman and post independence modernist architecture. The history of Algeria is very much worth looking deeper into, but I'm hardly an expert. So I'll just mention a few interesting tidbits and a few resources for further exploration.

Long before modern Algeria, the Barbary coast and its corsairs were the source of much piracy in the neighbouring seas. Aside from the many wars fought with European powers over the centuries, their attacks also led to the creation of the US Navy in 1794. After the US signed a peace treaty with the Regency of Algiers:

"the annual tribute paid to the Regency of Algiers amounted to 20% of United States federal government's annual expenditures."

The Algerian war of independence against France is a period especially interesting to me. Doubly so as Yugoslavia - of which my home country of Slovenia is one of the successors - was quite involved help to internationalise the Algerian issue at the time, helped with weapon supplies, as well as helped build quite a lot of the infrastructure in Algeria post independence. All facts still fondly remembered by the locals with some historical memory, over a few beers.

The French colonisation of Algeria lasted from 1830 up to their independence in 1962. The war of independence was long and bloody, but ultimately successful. It shook not only Algeria to its core, but also France. As hard right wing supporters of French colonialism from Algeria occupied Corsica, the French 4th Republic fell, brought Charles de Gaulle back into power and resulted in the 5th French Republic. However, the aspirations that the French imperialists put into Charles de Gaulle did not exactly go according to plan, to say the least. In the end, those same hard liners tried to assassinate de Gaulle, due to what they saw as his treachery of their cause.

Post-independence Algeria became a member of the non-aligned movement, experienced lots of ups and downs, including a civil war with Islamists after 1992, but is today a peaceful country and one of the most prosperous in Africa. It's also the largest country by surface area in Africa and 10th largest in the world (2,381,740 square kilometres).

Once again, this isn't a comprehensive anything, just a teaser to get you interested to explore.

Further resources aside from the wikis linked above:

• Algerian history in 4 parts from the French occupation in 1830 onwards by the Turning Tides podcast. Forgive them the inane pronunciations of French expressions though.
• The Battle of Algiers - a classic film made shortly after independence and featuring some actors that were the actual freedom fighters
• Zdravko Pečar - Alžirija v Plamenih - a testimonial by a Yugoslav reporter embedded with the Algerian fighters for independence. If you're in Slovenia or another ex-Yugoslav country, you can likely find it at your local library.
• Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudovic Reels - a film about Tito's cameraman and the non-aligned movement, but with an important chapter on Algeria.

Now, a few photos of Algiers, so you get a feel for the place. Mostly form the French-period quarters closer to the coast, the Moorish villa that houses the Bardo National Museum and Bab el Oued. Casbah to follow later.