Algeria the unsuspected – Itziar Aretxaga

Also available in: Español (Spanish)

WARNING: this is a travel log that contains over 200 photographs. While they have been compressed, if you are not in a WIFI environment, you might like to visit this post later on.

I am writing this post as I listen to the album by Imarhan that our guide Billel recommended to us while we were travelling around Constantine. I went to Algeria mainly on an International Astronomical Union mission, but my good friends Ale & Paco surprised me by joining me for a small tour before the work started. All considered, it has been a month in a country that I have come to fondly call “Algeria the unsuspected”, so physically close to where I grew up, yet so remote to me for all these years. Not a week has passed and I am already missing its people and its landscapes. This is my travel log, so that I can revisit, remember and prolongue the aftertaste of my visit to these lands.

Ghardaïa

A little recount of two trips back to back, one with Ale and Paco, organized by our travel agency, the other one organized by our CRAAG colleagues together with the Ghardaïa astronomy club, host champions that made our visit extra vibrant and culturally inmersive. We arrived at night and were scorted by police to our hotel. This is scary for the unaware visitor, but standard policy for foreigners, although it seems no real danger is nowadays to be expected. There was not much we could appreciate at night, but the morning came with a loadful of images we wanted to take with us.

First stop was El Atteuf, the oldest village of the Ghardaïa commune. Founded in 1020 by the Mozabite people, it is still strongly guarded by seven families to their core traditional values. The Mozabites tamed the desert to build and extensive palm tree system in the valleys with clever irrigation systems. The extension of the oasis is much much larger than the original one they started from.

We were first met by Said, our general guide for the Ghardaïa region, a bachelors degree holder from the local university, with perfect English, seemingly from watching movies!

He arranged for one of the elders of the village to be our local guide. Both him and Said were wearing the traditional Mozabite baggy trousers and cap. Ale and myself making do at 37C with some of my old kimonos to cover arms, as this is a traditional community with a recomended dress code.

The local guide took us to the oldest gate of El Atteuf and showed us the drill if we were visitors in the XI century.

El Atteuf, view of one of the minarets from the cementery

El Atteuf cementery. During the second visit with the school we had the privilege of being guided by Ahmed Bakelli, a writer and philosopher, pictured to the right. He spoke to us mainly in French with some broken English. I could not understand eveything he said, but the little I understood and the little that came through in a very free translation, made me want to know more about his vision of life. The Mozabite tradition is to place the corpses looking towards Mecca and identify by the number of stones the head, the feet and whether a woman was pregnant at the time of death by an additional stone over the belly.

Coming down from the cementery one can find the 700 years old Sidi Brahim mausoleum, a shrine and center of Coran studies that can be visited.

View of the stairs one has to take from the cementery to go down to the mausoleum. The work to refurbish them is being done by the community. All those people coming down are part of my party, during the school visit to El Atteuf.

The first visit was more cousy. In that shot I am with Ale & Paco and our local guide for the morning, who made suggestions on the best spots and postures for photo opportunities. The niches to the left were free at the time of visit, but they are used to place the Coran and candels at the time of religious gatherings.

Visit to the traditional house of our guide in El Atteuf, Ahmed Bakelli, to the right in the first row. He no longer lives in this house, but they preserve it in a traditional way to show visitors..

I was very moved when he related to us that we have to take care of the house because it takes care of us and we have to be grateful for the materials in it and the privilage to use them for our benefit. He was caressing a column as he was saying this.

It resonated with me because I thank my XVII century house in the center of Puebla for taking care of me, specially during earthquakes. When you live in historical quarters there are common thoughts of respect, it seems.

Next stop, Ghardaïa City, the main village of the region, with some ~90,000 inhabitants, mostly Mozabite, but also with an Arab and Jewish community.

The people in the front are our hosts from the local astronomy club. We are in the market square. The kiosks to the right sell the most delicious cold beverage you can imagine, made of herbs and spices. I bought the mixture to make the infusion back home: 12 liters of infusion!

The travellers posing with the minaret of the main mosque in the background

We unadvertedly covered the main meeting point of town, where the representatives of the community met for ruling on governance. Nowadays that system is no longer in place. Now there are rugs for sale there!

Walking the streets of the Ksar, window shopping…

in the food quarter we want to buy everything, including olives of a million colors

Beatiful view of the minaret from one of the shopping streets

If you take a local guide, you can go up close the center of the Ksar, like Ahmed Gueboudji, one of the students in the school, also a PhD in Physics from Bejaia Univ. (Algeria)

And from there to visit Said’s village, Beni Isghen, where we were asked to be extra careful not to take pictures of the local women in white robes. This took some time an effort as whenever we had the perfect framing, a new woman in white appeared in the street. Many laughs, but we managed! Because of our good behaviour, we were shown into the tower of the village, and afterwards we went to Ksar of Tafilelt, new part of the village of Bou Noura. This Ksar has won many susteinability awards by introducing an atractive traditional-style housing ouside of the palm-roof, which is the main sustain and traditional nourishment source of the community.

In the old market square, we liked those trolleys. Next to these, but not in the picture, the community gathers utensils for exchange.

Entrance to Ksar Tafilelt with moon in the background

View of the palmroof to protect, from the top of the tower of Tafilelt

Panoramic view of the new botanical garden (1990 onwards), with tree species other than palm trees. This garden was created in a pronounced slope to optimize irrigation with santized waste water from the new Ksar. Those buses were our means of transportation for the school participants.

Sand dunes, sand dunes, sand dunes!!!! We went to Sebseb Oasis, 45 minutes to the southeast of Ghardaïa for sunset and a traditional couscous dinner with the school.

This is a natural oasis and a section of it has sand dunes where you can ski and go for a ride in a 4×4. We decided to walk and observe

until sunset, with a mountain blocking the horizon…

The Milky Way (wobbly, but, hey, just with my cell phone)

And the exploratory weekend ends and finds us on a bus ride to Oargla to catch a plane back to Algiers, but a second sunset in the desert first, this time with a flat horizon… as if it were a sunset at the sea, a sea of dust and sand.

Tipaza

Another double visit. This is good, I can appreciate better details I missed on the first visit. Tipaza the Phoenician settlement, nowadays Roman archeological site by the sea, Tipaza the modern fishing harbour. Blue and green should be its colours.

Harvour fishing utensils. For a moment I was transported to Bermeo and images of my chilhood witnessing rows of women sewing nets, men loading and unloading them into the fishing vessels..

We are here to see the Roman ruins, of course. What a spectacular place! Both with Ale and Paco and with the school we had singing sessions in the amphitheater. I know there are videos around. I might get blackmailed one day on my interpretation of Scarlatti’s O Cessate and Offenbach’s Barcarolle duet, but hey, it was just for fun!

To the harvour through the main North-South street, Cardo Maximus, with palaces left and right. Imagination at its maximum to picture the Roman villa where Cleopatra Selene and Juva II, queen and king of Numidia-Mauritania, passed their leisure time.

180 deg panoramic (with some distorsion) of the seashore at the remains of the Numidian/Roman harvour, from the Royal Palace site. This landscape is so similar to the Catalonian northern coast…

View of the harvour area from further apart. We were there before!

With fellow school directors David Mota (Univ. Oslo, Norway) and Nassim Seghuoani (CRAAG, Algeria)

School picture at the Numidian/Roman ruins of the alleged tomb of Cleopatra Selene, first queen of Numidia-Mauritania

These three photographs are by Abdellah Ghebriout (CRAAG), I believe.

And from there to Cherchel to see the old Caesarea Museum which collects much of the artwork left unespoiled by different invasions.

The Numidian-Mauritanian kingdom was established by the marriage of Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and Marcus Antonius, and Juba II. This was a client kingdom to Rome. The influences in style are clear.

With Steve Sottie from Ghana, the very talented composer and singer of the GA2024 anthem, also an Astronomy grad student and a student in our ISYA 2024 school. Photo by Abdellah Ghebriout (CRAAG). His music can be heard in YouTube, just look for his name and “Oh Africa”, the name of the song.

Africa is the name of a godess, oh yes! (s. II AD)

Djemila

I am at lost to find words that describe the visit to this archeological site, so let’s just go with wow-wow-wow! Not in vain it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. I am sure a major part of the enjoyment was imprinted by our brilliant guide Billel, who kept us reading and guessing inscriptions in Latin in every stone and recounted Roman history with graphs and play in different locations of the ruins, and by my fellow travellers and good friends A&P, who are Roman history nerds, and kept on asking advanced questions on every detail Billel mentioned. I studied Latin and Roman history as part of the high-school curriculum, too many years ago to recall any of it, but… what a blast!

I am going to show first the amazing landscapes, although Billel showed us first the museum so he could introduce us to the richness of the place and enjoy the decour these palaces and mansions had in the past. How amazing it must have been to be an archeologist at the time of preserving these remains!

Walking towards the archeological site. Very few other visitors at this time of the day. We go with water to tour for ~3 hours the ruins in scorching hot weather. In the backround, the Christian quarters.

From the bottom of the archeological site. This place is huge! The baths where we visitied the furnaces and the water engineering system are to the bottom left.

Very soon the party advances and I loose track of the explanation. One has to keep pace.

Ale contemplating the vastness of the ruins. Beautiful mountains surround this place.

Billel and Paco to the right, from a different point of view.

The market, with all sorts of measuring marks for the goods that were sold here.

Billel explains how they could measure volumes in this place. The stone-carved receptacles have a little hole from which, after measurement, they could pass the liquids to some vase below. Much like a modern sink!

In the Capitolium lays the torso of Jupiter/Zeus. It was part of the three supreme Gods, the triad ”Jupiter, Minerva and Juno”. I could not resist touching it. It is marble and, of course, stone-hard 🙂

A fish marks the entrance to the public toilets. Why a fish? Blind me!

Ale among the many seats in the public toilet.

Thanks for making a simulation of how the thing works… Now I do not want to imagine all the positions being occupied simultaneously… privacy, please!

Some mosaic in place, I belive close to the baths

Furnaces of some baths, where we got the explanation about the Roman water engineering system

A fountain almost at the top of the ruins

An amphitheater!!!! Time to sing again Ale!

The temple of Gens Septimia, built for the emperor Septimius Severus and his wife Julia Domna because they were deified to solidify the Severan dynasty rule. Built in 229 A.D during the reign of Alexander Severus.

The Arch of Caracalla, that marks the entrance to Djemila, beautifully preserved.

And now time for the mosaics that adorned all these mansions and lay-people’s houses. We measured the extension of the latter: not bad, close to ~70 sq.meter, much like medium-size modern apartments! I could see our guide was puzzled by all the measuring mania. Professional deformation…

A 180 deg panoramic view of one of the main rooms where the mosaics are exhibited

and the complementary 180 deg panoramic view

I know, too many mosaics, but these are so amazing that they deserve their own gallery. Just thumbnails, so that if you are not into mosaics you can pass this section quickly.

Guelma

Not one of the main touristic sites. We enjoyed the little museum and the site in general. Foreigners are not usually seen here, so we were asked permission to take pictures of us for their website. Main purpose? The amphitheater, which is used for performances nowadays. It is reconstructed, and it has beautiful acoustics. Yes, we tested it!!!! 😉

Annaba

We are here to visit St. Agustine’s basilica, the old and the new, and catch a quick glimpse of the coast in the meantime. Not a major archeological site, but P has a keen interest in the history of the Catholic Church and already knows many details about the site.

A closer view, with a statue of the saint

Inside the church, in an urn, there is a statue of St. Augustine and a relic bone. I have a picture, but it is a bit creepy, if you know what I mean.

The old Basilica Pacis built by Saint Augustine and destroyed by the Vandals and subsequent invasions.

Not a major archeological site, you can find animals pasturing in the ruins.

Some mosaics in good condition still in place

Some others are covered, in full or in part, to preserve them. I did not even dare to take out the dust out of the inscription. It might be better protected that way.

Some are already in the museum, like this beautiful fishing motive, a Catholic reference.

Timgad

Another major Roman archeological site. A military stronghold to defend Roman interests against the attacks of the original inhabitats of the Aures mountains. This is so extensive that even at a good pace, we could not see all of it.

View of Trajan’s arch in the middle of the tour there

One of the buildings that impressed me the most: the library! This is one of the few preseved libraries of Roman time. I soon sent these photos to my friends in the Círculo de Lectura del LadoB, my bookclub. We often share pictures of libraries and books we like.

The entry inscription. Despite the accelerated Latin course by Billel I cannot reproduce what he said the inscription says, but it identifies it without doubt as a library.

The niches where the book rolls were displayed. The description of Irene Vallejo’s book, Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World, comes to mind.

And at the entrance, hundreds and hundreds of columns.

This is the textile market called ”emporia” beside the macellum (where they sell fresh food such as meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables). It has a chequered pattern with alternating stones red and gray. In the background is the Capitolium for the triad Jupiter, Minerva and Juno

Ale as a shop assistant at the selling table.

Up close, another impressive site: Capitolium for the triad Jupiter, Minerva and Juno. Look at the size of that capitel and now imagine me dwarfted beyond my natural size by the columns.

And climb up we did. Here Ale displaying her joy at having gone up. Some climbing skills were required here.

Timgad citizens took time to play in the forum. This is for real.

Translated into a modern board so that we could practice the logic.

Impressive road, Decumanus Maximus, surrounded by columns, that leads to Trajan’s arch

And, of course, there is a well presenved amphitheater for the arts, with a complete acoustics bouncing wall.

And so, this opportunity could not pass without Ale and myself singing. My voice was well gone by then with an incipient cold. Billel filming Ale in the middle of an aria.

And by now you are probably aware I love mosaics, so no surprise here. Mosaics in the museum:

Lambaesis

A millitary garrison to protect some roads. It is a totally abandoned place now, but very interesting to see the military barracks and the main buiding and amphitheater.

Walking towards the main building, with thousand of remains of the barracks around us.

Inside the main buiding. After the Romans many legions have marched through these gates.

The nearby amphitheater for fighting, that would host ~3000 spectators. No singing here. Through those tunnels all sorts of beasts emerged.

Tiddis

Last of our Roman ruin exploration: another military outpost that communicated with what is now Constantine. Built over a hill, it was difficult to supply enough water for all the population. Very interesting water engineering here. Also interesting to see the sites where remains of the mixture of faiths can be seen.

View of the hill over which the town was built

This is a shrine that Zoroastran followers used in small gatherings

This is a phallic symbol which is apotropaic used to avert the evil eye and also as a symbol of fertility. It’s beside the Mithreum dedicated to the goddess Mithras, originally the Zoroastrian goddess worshipped by the Roman soldiers.

This is associated with the worship of Mirhras, it’s a ritual of slaughtering the bull known as ”Tauroctony” where originally depicted as the goddess mithras holding the bull’s throat and slaying it with a knife

View from the top. This really is one house on top of the other.

Water tanks at the top of the hill. That is quite some volume! Still the town was seamingly abandoned due to water scarcity.

Constantine

A quick visit to a marvellous city, third in size in Algeria. We were there for three nights while we toured the Roman ruins, and felt knackered after so much walking, so we stayed put in the hotel for most evenings. An afternoon to explore the city felt way too short, really!

and a view of the gorge from the same bridge

In the early morning we visited the Mosque Émir Abdelkader of Constantine, before most of people arrived for prayer. It was a Saturday, but all the same… Ale and I in borrowed long robes.

View from the atrium. We could see this view from our hotel.

Selfie time… too bad the minarets were cropped, but we were jolly happy!

That must be the entrance for the main ceremonies, it goes to an inmense atrium

More looks into the ceiling in the males’ quarter

The women’s quarter does not have high celings, but it is beautiful all the same and it has a direct view of the patio

Patterns in the walls, with undercarvings

And to the streets we go

A street dedicated, with dates reversed, as one should read them in Arabic

Billel playing a prank on us, as we go down to the bridge area through quite a slope

A traditional meal at Guaadet Ezzema, where we translated into Spanish their welcome signs

Time to visit the Palace of Ahmed Bey, who enjoyed it only for two years before invasion and eviction

A mural decorates the whole wall. 180deg panoramic with Ale on the side.

And a goodby pic at the airport with out fantastic hosts: tour guide Billel and driver (and singer) Jalil. We miss you!

Alger la Blanche

Work is awaiting me in Algiers. The school starts the following day in Zeralda, a coastal touristic resort in the outskits of the capital. During the three weeks that followed I could visit the center of Algiers several times.