Algeria – The Beautiful

I knew a lot about Algeria before I went but I was still amazed at the landscape of the country. It has mountains, lakes, green pastures, the sun, the sea and an immense desert. They even have snow in some parts. Also the history is incredible from roman ruins to ancient towns which are still virtually impact.
Most Algerians are Muslims which is where they get their generous nature from. Here, if you ask for directions you will get them with a guide and an invitation for coffee or cous cous at their house. They will even offer you a place to stay – all for free… for real, no strings attached. This is not a country that begs. We traveled through a large part of the country by public transportation and in the whole time I think I saw 3 beggers.
And yes it is true that Arabs seem to like big blondes – I have never been stared at by so many people in my whole life but not in a creepy way and they were very respectful when I was with my husband (next time I will go alone! hahhha).
We spent some time in a small town called Sedrata – women are still not permitted in the cafes. Now there are some that will read this and say “You are a woman and you think that is okay – we have rights blah, blah, blah” but I see it as no different from Quebec when women were not permitted in taverns…and it wasn’t that long ago. That didn’t bother me either – I would just go to another restaurant/bar that alllowed women.
I was the only tourist in that small town – people guessed that I was the wife of Abdel because he had moved to Canada. I was followed once when I went the market with my sister-in-law but I think he was just curious. I was never afraid when I was in Algeria even at night – there are always so many people in the streets.
We traveled to Alger the capital, and Ghardiai in the desert, Annaba and Constantine and many other wonderful places including Rouffi’s Balconies which is an ancient settlement built into the cliffs of a valley. Here we had a guide that was born there take us hiking through this valley to see the ancient structure. It takes your breath away as you walk through the oasis on the valley floor and marvel and how they could have built these houses so many years ago. And it cost nothing to visit …. another great thing Algeria is extremely cheap to travel in – food, lodging, attractions – everything is cheap. I mean really cheap – a whole day here will cost you less than a meal in Paris …
The bad things … Algerians are the worst drivers in the world basically because they are free to do what they want – passing on both sides is normal and they often make 3 lanes out of two. I felt safer driving in the buses than in a car but even then some of the bus drivers are dare devils too. The other thing that I hated was the turkish toilet – a bloody hole in the ground which takes awhile to get the hang of … believe me … the first day I thought I was going to explode when I finally gave in and went …. but later I found places that had English toilets and would literally go and visit those peole on a daily basis to use their toilets … yes they knew and thought it was quite funny but by the way I am pretty sure Turkish toilets is the reason that Arabs turn into terrorists…. hahhha…. just kidding …

Most Algerians speak French although Arabic is the main language but some will even break out some English when they meet a tourist. Learning a few key Arabic words will bring smiles to the Algerians faces. You will learn that they thank God for everything (humdullah) and for anything that they want or will do they ask for God’s will (Inshallah) so if someone says I hope that I will see you again you answer Inshallah meaning God willing we will see each other again.
Go and see Algeria for yourself and you will be pleasantly surprised at the people and their generousity and how beautiful the country is.