Algeria - Algiers (2)

Alger la Blanche (Algiers The White).

Sent by Samir from Algiers, Algeria.

Algeria - Ghardaïa

ALGERIA - Ghardaïa.
Girl in traditional dress.

Sent by Faiza from Annaba in Algeria.

This is from Wikipedia : Ghardaïa (Arabic: غرداية , Mozabite: ) is the capital city of Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. The commune of Ghardaïa has a population of 104,645, with 82,500 in the main city according to 2005 estimates. It is located in northern-central Algeria in the Sahara Desert and lies along the left bank of the Wadi Mzab. The M'zab valley in the Ghardaïa Province (Wilaya) was inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982, as a cultural property evaluated under the criteria II ( for its settlement having an impact on urban planning even to the present century), III (for its Ibadi cultural values), and V (a settlement culture which has prevailed to the present century).

Ghardaïa is part of a pentapolis, a hilltop city amongst four others, built almost a thousand years ago, and founded by the Mozabites a Muslim Ibadi sect (non-Arabic Muslims, including the Berbers) in the M’Zab valley. It is a major centre of date production and the manufacture of rugs and cloths. Divided into three walled sectors, it is a fortified town. At the centre is the historical Mʾzabite area, with a pyramid-style mosque and an arcaded square. Distinctive white, pink, and red houses, made of sand, clay and gypsum, rise in terraces and arcades. In her 1963 book, La force des choses the French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir described Ghardaia as "a Cubist painting beautifully constructed".

The name of Ghardaïa has its origins in a female saint named Daïa who lived in a cave (ghār) in the area before it blossomed into a town inhabited by Kharijite Muslims who came to escape persecution from Orthodox Muslims in the north.

Algeria - Tamanrasset

Images of Tamanrasset.

Sent by Karim from Algeria.

This is from Wikipedia : Tamanrasset (Arabic: تمنراست , also known as Tamenɣest or Tamenghest) is an oasis city and capital of Tamanrasset Province in southern Algeria, in the Ahaggar Mountains. It is the chief city of the Algerian Tuareg. It is located at 22°47′6″N 5°31′22″E / 22.785°N 5.52278°E / 22.785; 5.52278 at an altitude of 1320 meters (4333 feet) and has a population of 76,000 (estimate 2006).

Tamanrasset was originally established as a military outpost to guard the trans-Saharan trade routes. Surrounded by the barren Sahara Desert, some of the world’s highest known temperatures have been recorded here. Tamanrasset is located at an oasis where, despite the difficult climate, citrus fruits, apricots, dates, almonds, cereals, corn, and figs are grown. The Tuareg people are the town’s main inhabitants. Their red houses and the area’s magnificent, rugged scenery make Tamanrasset a popular tourist attraction during the cooler months. Visitors are also drawn to the Museum of the Hoggar, which offers many exhibits depicting Tuareg life and culture.

When Algeria was under French rule, the city was also called Fort Laperrine.

The city is served by Tamanrasset Airport and the Trans-Sahara Highway.

The oasis town is now the site of the Joint Military Staff Committee headquarters for combating Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb. The four-country Committee (Algeria, Mali, Niger, Mauritania) intends to use Tamanrasset to coordinate their military activity in the Pan-Sahel (BBC - "Saharan states to open joint military headquarters" ).

Algeria - Constantine

Constantine en Arabe Ksantina
Ville du Nord Est d'Algérie
Chef lieu de wilaya (Préfecture)
Superficie : 2.187 km square
Altitude : 1.316m de Djebel Chetebbah
Population : 815,000 h

Sent by Amine, a Facebook friend from Sidi Bel Abbès in Algeria.

Algeria - Algiers (1)

Algiers And The Pearl of Maghreeb

This is the first postcard received from Algeria. Sent by Farid.

Algiers (Arabic: الجزائر‎, al-Jazā’er; Algerian Arabic: دزاير, Berber: Dzayer, ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ, French: Alger) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000. An estimate puts the population at about 3,574,000 as of 2010. Algiers is located on the Mediterranean Sea and in the north-central portion of Algeria.

Sometimes nicknamed El-Behdja (البهجة) or alternatively Alger la Blanche ("Algiers the White") for the glistening white of its buildings as seen rising up from the sea, Algiers is situated on the west side of a bay of the Mediterranean Sea. The modern part of the city is built on the level ground by the seashore; the old part, the ancient city of the deys, climbs the steep hill behind the modern town and is crowned by the casbah or citadel, 122 metres (400 ft) above the sea. The casbah and the two quays form a triangle. (read further)