Table Of ContentV
V-
e\ Guides
J
1
BERLITZ*
ALGERIA
BERLITZ TRAVEL GUIDES
' Africa Greece. Cyprus Prague
OAJaeria and Turkey Split and Dalmatia
■ Kenya Athens O Yugoslavia
■j Morocco Corfu North America 1990/1991 Edition
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H Tunisia Greek Islands Aegean California
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£g.yp. Italian Riviera Bahamas
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Australasia §?"•
'NeS Zealand Venice Southern Caribbean
Austria/Switzerland Scandinavia Brazil* (Highlights of)
'fr;' Copenhagen o Mexico’
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ire.:ar.o Barcelona/Costa Dorada Great Britain’/Greece
Oxford and Stratford Canary Islands Hungary*/Italy/Spam
, , Costa Blanca More for the $
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Amsterdam Madrid Caribbean
France ’Majorca and Minorca Handbook to Cruising
Brittany Portugal skj Gujdes
'-France Algarve Austria/Fra nee
~ p !j«Cd By the staff of Berlitz Guides
EBuadsateprens tE urope Europ®e Gojde A Macmillan Company
Dubrovnik/S. Dalmatia Business^ S.
iw C Hungary J?rEet Guide-Europe
HgfSSuSg* cmefc Europe
<>r 256 p.
f i T
How to use our guide CONTENTS
These 256 pages cover the highlights of Algeria, grouped by region. Algeria and the Algerians 8 !
Although not exhaustive, our selection of sights will enable you to
Facts and Figures 18 !
make the best of your trip.
History 20
ry] Places of interest are described between pages 45 and 194.
1 * I Those most highly recommended are flagged by the Berlitz Historical Landmarks 36
traveller symbol.______________________________ Where to Go 38
The Where to Go section on page 38 will help you plan your visit Helpful Vocabulary 42
according to the time available. _________________________ Algiers and Vicinity 45 '
For genera] background information see sections Algeria and t e Algiers 45
Algerians (p.8), Facts and Figures (p. 18), History (p.20), and His West from Algiers 56
torical Landmarks (p. 36).____________________________________ East from Algiers 64
Sports, shopping, entertainment and eating out are found on pages Great Kabylia 65
198 to 215. ________________—- North-East 72
1 yTohuer p trraipct ibceagl iinn foonr mpaagtieo n2,1 h8.i nTtsh aisn dse tcitpios nt hias t awrrialln cgoemd ea ljpnh haabnedtiyc aflo yr Lesser Kabylia 73
Constantine 79
for easy reference.________________ __________
The Aures 84
The map section at the back of the book (pp. 242-251) will help you
94
find your way around and locate the principal sights._____________— Guelma
96
be found in the Annaba
Sketch maps of specific sites or itineraries can
South to Tebessa 102
relevant sections. _________________________
in the complete North-West" 103
Finally, if there is anything you cannot find, look
105
index (pp. 252-256). ______________ Oran
108
Tlemcen
South 116
116
Bou-Saada
118
Biskra
El Oued 122
[I 3hHlSS5J25E5&SK&5.«f
Touggourt 127
130
Ouargla
Printed in Switzerland.
3
2
\1!
CONTENTS
South (cont.) Ghardaia and the M’Zab 132 Text: Martin Gostelow i
The Great Circle 141 Staff Editors: Eileen Harr-Kyburz and Earleen Brunner
Far South 162 PLhayootougt:raphy: VBeerrnonariqdu Jeo Pliaast che ii:
Tamanrasset 162 Ian Hamel (p. 125)
The Hoggar 166 Martin Gostelow (p. 167) f
Sketch maps: Max Thommen
Tassili N’Ajjer 179 Cartography: @ Falk-Verlag, Hamburg
What to Do 198 !
198
Sports
Shopping 201
Fairs and Festivals 205
206
Entertainment
f Eating Out —20 8 Acknowledgements
To help You Order... 214 We would like to thank Anne-Karin Ratna, Gerard Chaillon, and the
215 Entreprise Nationale du Livre in Algeria for their invaluable help in
... and Read the Menu
"215 Preparation of this book.
jBofitZ'Iofo
Maps Algeria 6, Northern Algeria 242,
Southern Algeria 244, Central Algiers 246,
Greater Algiers 248, Constantine 249,
Oran 250, Tlemcen 251
Sketch maps Old Tipasa 62, Djemila 78, Timgad 88,
Ghardaia 133, The Great Circle 145,
Circuit of Gourara 160, The Hoggar 171, Found an error or an omission in this Berlitz Guide? Or a change
Tassili N’Ajjer 180 or new feature we should know about? Our editor would be happy
252 , o hear from you, and a postcard would do. Be sure to include your
Index a^ress» since in appreciation for a useful suggestion,
a like to send you a free travel guide.
Although we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the
formation in this book, changes occur incessantly. We cannot there-
jore take responsibility for facts, prices, addresses and circumstances
general that are constantly subject to alteration.
Cover photo: Beni Abbes (Pierre Kunz)
5
4
r
J
SPAIN
N /
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
LIBYA
InAm6naso •.
Adrar o )
—j oTindouf In Salah
X Reggane o |
ALGIERSANDVICINITY
p.<5
north-east
pn.o 7r2th-west MA LI
p.103
SOUTH
p.116
EARSOUTH
300 miles-
p. 164
ALGERIA AND THE ALGERIANS
ALGERIA AND An area roughly equal to that contrasts that never fail to prisingly, in the high plains
THE ALGERIANS of Western Europe seems to impress. The Algiers Kasbah between the Atlas mountain
contain more than its fair share and some of the newer suburbs ranges you can drive for hours
of the wonders of the world. have so many people crammed without seeing a soul. Then,
Some days you could be for into them, but the Sahara has
A universe within one nation, given for feeling that five one of the lowest population
Awhlgoelrei ac oisn stion efunltls ocfa nvanroite tmy athtcaht eluxntrcahotirmdien aarrye enthoiungghs anbde fyoorue dtwenos itpieeso palen ywpehre res,q uaatr e abmoiulet fBreoamu taie sr aodfi athnits Tlaanghdi—t
it. The landscapes have few ri need to pause and recover. (fewer than one person per oasis to the soft smile of
vals on earth—or on the moon. Above all it’s the extreme square kilometre). More sur- a Ghardaian.
ALGERIA AND THE ALGERIANS ALGERIA AND THE ALGERIANS
perhaps, a lone shepherd Berber people of these parts young to remember anything convertible. So although you'll
wrapped in his hooded woollen withstood invasion, as they al of it at all, and they won’t be meet many Algerians, espe
cloak will wave you down just ways have, but soon embraced satisfied with living on past cially students eager for a con
to exchange greetings. City the faith and helped to spread glories. In the heady early years versation, you will only rarely
dwellers can be impatient: no it. Indeed it was a succession after 1962, Algeria’s revolution see groups of foreign visitors.
mads have all the time in the of leaders and ascetics from was a model for others. Then So much the better, because it
world. the mountains and deserts of the oil and gas boom allowed means that Algeria is still an
In Algeria, the most ancient North Africa who launched rapid industrialization. Alge adventure.
and the most modern stand movements and dynasties that ria’s good offices were sought Should frontier officials
side by side: solar-powered ruled from Egypt to Spain for by great powers trying to solve seem rather on their dignity or
electric pumps draw water long stretches over the next international disputes. Today’s a little distant, be patient. You
from the depths of the desert thousand years. There was a world of lower oil prices is will find that ordinary people
only a spear throw away from consistent refusal to compro much harsher and less opti in general are among the most
Stone Age engravings in a rock mise. Whole sects marched off mistic. What is remarkable is helpful, friendly and polite that
face. The past is all around into the desert rather than do the extent to which reconcili you could hope to meet any
them, but Algerians don’t so, and this ingrained stub ation has been achieved with where. Once they come to know
much concern themselves with bornness still shows up as a Fraice: there is little public or and like you, Algerians are
sstihtei.vea e,Tt hpfberoiuyrde tet iag iyknnoee u rtash evcd aofogamnmue’eto l syuog sp e fosta isgrst hehttsoes oiuntntash tilifeaoirecn dkha laao lnclf d htrh,aa ercia tiv acawlt erpaireisrsd et jIipuscled.a oimOcpel ne w tsht ihoatheit ppifsoer irCntv udaoaretnn ene cbcbdeeu”ni rtottg,r neaetr tohniinnneedg isnsA ug.s l tag“rpfeyTtro,eih parha nuotsl ua ipnstsaiidaongyenge. mwaffiinriwelmdla a s yoiuft n rrohieleyfa.n rlYddibfs eeot, o usia rumr necedmthfu f ehotrhdnorita sasitptt eityitonlaoy lued iq tooywu u siaitlosll
disamtreielmpl oraeflnse dscsissoo nnosN fute mhdoaailntii tlghyR i icoln imtfeepar aenais nrtect.i intTjiugehssse,,t tliihne evIe sevrlreae gmrayiro deana n.ay dl l l-itifhmee: pdtohuretti aepnsrt o offtea scast io.Borens (P1w9am6uh2lil c)el hi t athnlneaed sia g atehtledbmnuootucisoartitn nit orgten ob, c ltoeoAduu lnrgsitisernimrceiaes. mAphraIratafcb syhiecoes,ud .eocvafe nng uriesfee toainn flgey,w t “hwepo lrpedaossl ieot”ef
too great for most people. of faith in one God, and 01 the Mediterranean encour and “thank you”, by all means
ptoa TsAtw lagoree re oixafnp slsuo, psairvneedm eethv ieemnypt’sro eri ntsae ntphcaee hmfsiaavudmeel yzm,zt ieimndh eissihs i csa ah lpel darhoradayps h e(lwoat;hln tehgpno r s> ingyc e* anguecadhll aymr, aialclntieodrn isan soe avf irfteaosbruelylitg ,c nAhearlsng gearenida- dTthohe i sso tr.i osB uubntlo eit t mtoona lyyl en aobrnte cbaeAu wrsaeob riotch.f !i
rwaates d cboyn v1e3r scieonnt utroie sI.s Tlahme ffiorslt bgeens scomsmMitted Sto jicass e*' iwnaast itvheely e xdceespigtinoend. Ah ofteewls imwaegre t(hreem deimffbiceur lttyh eo ofl dt hjeo klea:n gEuvaegrye 1
lowing the arrival of the Arabs uill and not very well main- word in Arabic has three I
in the 630s, and the second, the med thereafter. Several mod- meanings: the basic meaning,
revolt against French domina Joastal resorts set out to the exact opposite, and some
tion which climaxed with inde seekers after sun and part of a camel’s anatomy).
pendence in 1962. ing daylight hours. tbe attraS/ j3!11 they have mostly Nor the fact that the local
fwrorTtmth ere Alsirgpaieboeinda owtof i tIhts hlaewm hA icsthlpa rnettahidce sFtrraFungocgre lte h soefseoem rws hlliiokb eeto raootnkilo yPn a Yr®tx ’x tom0 inbte cdaiufsfeic uthlote ciartt o* P cuetorrraPevlneec lw y haiobs rfoninaoddt dcthaiaeul seeocntn ewi niyell o tudim olueebsa trolneuestsd o.b feI tteu’snn lbitkheee-
day. But the majority ar
never ceases to amaze. The
10
ALGERIA AND THE ALGERIANS
reply will come in French, blossom, apricot orchards and j
which is very widely spoken vineyards fill the sheltered
and understood. More Alge valleys. Ambitious reafforesta
rians still read a French-lan tion schemes using drought-
guage daily newspaper than an resistant pines are to be seen I
Arabic one. And you should everywhere in the mountains. B
remember that for many peo The High Plateaux that sep- I
ple, their first language is Ka- arate the two ranges are a green B
byle or another of the Berber sea of esparto grass rippling |
dialects. like silk in the wind.
Most street names are in Then, south of the Atlas, the ;
Arabic script alone, however, land descends again to another |jj
so you will need maps and fre “sea”, that greatest of all
quent help. Aid may come deserts, the Sahara. As the
from one of the many younger heat haze generates mirages at
men who have worked for noon, so your imagination con
some time in London, Frank jures visions of remote forts
furt, Rome or Paris. Connec inhabited by the ghosts of lost V
tions with Europe are still armies, of sudden oases and |
. strong, and the Mediterranean their groves of palm trees, of j
i remains a link, not a barrier. camel caravans led by the
t It was always so; the southern mysterious Tuareg, the “blue
land frontier was the impreg men” whose heavy indigo-dyea
nable one. Macho motor rallies headcloths stained their faces.
only serve to point up the fact And the dreams are all mtruoes,t
that the desen crossing is still a though only bats occupy
of the forts nowadays, ana
challenge.
Behind the coast, flat and indigo is scarce.
fertile in places, steep and Oasis towns look like perl
rocky in others, the parallel cubist paintings, blocks of P
ranges of the Atlas are cut blue and ochre, white and rust
through by deep gorges and red, apparently piled one *P
the other. Rising over them are
tumbling streams fed from the
tall, clay-plastered minarets,
snows of mountain peaks (yes,
there is skiing). Cedar, cork some topped with a whol
and chestnut trees share the trich egg. Architecture sf
foothills with springtime wild- to have grown organically r ro
flowers in a profusion now for the landscape, using ",
ever materials were avail**
gotten in lands ruled by herbi
cides. Orange groves of scented on the spot. Building y
12
Mirages
Across the burning sands a thirsty
explorer is crawling towards... a
lake, a grove of palm trees, a shim
mering white city. Just a mirage, !|
no doubt, but what exactly is this
phenomenon, or to be more pre i
cise, what causes it?
A mirage is an optical illusion
caused by refraction of light as
it passes through atmosphere of
varying density. Objects in the dis
tance may be distorted or raised
above their normal position. Be
sides the desert, any hot road in
summer will produce the same
results, when the intensely hot air
near the surface of the ground
bends the light upward. The most
usual mirage is that of a sheet of
water, which in fact is an image
of the sky. Occasionally, light from
a tree, for example, produces an
inverted image of a tree, as if
reflected in a pool.
The other kind of mirage occurs
when light is bent the opposite way
in layers of colder air—this is
normally seen only over cold seas!
? theY are in the traditional
vaulting supported by' P
The contemporary face of Algeria, Kasbah* or citadel quarter, but
in this sweeping view over Oran. trunks. The width of th the even when the doors are open, temperament of the people.
was actually determined y.
you can see nothing of the Whether that is so or not, it
length of trunk which diem $
interior of the house. The pas- is seldom that strangers are
sag, and in places the
ageway is invariably bent at invited to private houses. If
so effective that people have ^
are perfectly adapted to the nS?ngles.at,east once- This you are, of course, the rules of
call out to avoid bumping1^
climate. Labyrinthine earth- : r ‘or Privacy, even secrecy, generous hospitality prevail.
walled ksour (villages) are each other in the hollSes o ten said—by Algerians as Oases mean date palms by
Front doors of Pr,va|t* Ji just
a maze of sandy alleyways right in the alleys, J We to be reflected in the the ten thousand, some planted
shaded by roofs of mud-brick are set
15
14
i
The solution to carrying both babies
and baskets, far south in Djanet
in deeply dug craters so that
II
their roots can reach subter
ranean water courses because, :
surprisingly, they need plenty !"
of moisture. Sand excavated
from the craters forms another
paradox—man-made dunes, as
if there weren’t enough of the
natural variety. And if you
thought “a date is a date is a
date”, think again: there are
over 50 varieties, led by the \
deglet nour (finger of light).
Exported in flat, round-ended
boxes, they have given genera
tions of Western children their
first hazy ideas of the Sahara—
and they taste even better on
their home ground. In autumn,
Algeria even has its own pyra
mids: massive piles of dates in
the markets of oasis towns.
The desert has ensnared
many travellers. You are most
likely to join them if you exper
ience these vast, open spaces
at dawn and especially dusk,
for then the scents are stronger,
the air seems lighter and the
colours glow in shades of gold,
peach and violet. People here
have adapted to the extremes
of their environment and so
must the visitor, seeking shade
from the fiercest sun but being
17
