Category: Algeria 2026

Ghoufi is the site of cliffside houses called “troglodyte dwellings”, and is referred to as Algeria’s Grand Canyon. It used to be underwater, and fossils of sea creatures can apparently still be found at the top of the cliffs. The dwellings were built about 400 years ago, originally carved or tunnelled into simple caves in the rock, but later built up as the inhabitants began to work with brick and other materials. We did not descend to see the actual dwellings, it’s apparently an arduous 3-hour hike down and back from where we were observing it, so the distanced viewing was enough for me, although Geoff and our driver did venture part-way down for better views.

Next day, we continued our journey south, stopping for a day in the somewhat sleepy town of El Oued. Spent a leisurely morning strolling the market, then visited a nearby madrassa (Islamic school), then enjoyed a free afternoon, which was honestly a nice break after several travel days. We’re in a rather fancy hotel here, with a domed roof in our room, which is typical architecture of the area. In fact, they call El Oued the City of a Thousand Domes. The domes take up warm air to keep rooms cooler in the desert heat, and it does work. Will also mention here since I am thinking about the hotel, that at breakfast in most places where we stay, there is a great selection of sweet pastries. I have been avoiding them, but it’s just surprising to see them at breakfast. It seems that Algerians, like me, have a sweet tooth.

There is also a wonderful teapot fountain on the premises; anyone who knows my Scottish family knows our penchant for “a wee cup of tea” on all occasions, so I loved this. By the way, when you ask for tea here, you’ll be served mint tea, with the leaves brewed quite strongly, and some sugar added. Served in very small cups, maybe about 3 or 4 ounces, and I’m getting quite used to it I must admit. 

After breakfast on Sunday, we hit the road to the south, heading for Ghardaïa, an oasis town.  Very quickly as we drove, the temperature climbed, the air became noticeably drier, and eventually the palm trees and tall plants gave way to scrubby desert.
We visited the old town, similar in some ways to the Casbah in Algiers. It’s truly a maze, with short alleyways and covered passages running in all directions. I don’t think any street goes further than about 20 straight yards. It would be hard to find your way and walk through the city without a guide. I learned today these old towns were built exactly like this on purpose, for a few reasons.  The short passages, turnoffs, and alleys make it difficult for blowing sand to accumulate on the streets in drifts. But the design maximizes wind ventilation, and keeps the town cooler. And lastly, invaders would not be able to swarm through the town easily, so it could be better defended.

All the houses in the old town are finished with a rough pattern made by swatting the dried stem-bunches of dates against wet plaster. I had assumed this was just decoration, but it turns out the little whorls create tiny areas that in total provide about 50% shade on the surface, keeping the house cooler than flat plaster would. In the Sahara region, everything is cleverly designed to stay cool!

I will post a picture of an oasis to give you an idea, I hope, of how very green it looks surrounded by miles of sand and earth. And for good measure, will throw in a picture of my travelling companion enjoying an “oasis of peace” after our day of trekking.

Sorry to post two days in a row, that is unusual, but my blog got off to a slow start this trip, as I struggled to remember how to attach a new post to a country tab… but thanks to remote help from Linn the amazing WordPress expert, I seem to be back in business. Whew!

Constantine is a very old city, in a majestic setting. It sits atop a high plateau, surrounded by deep gorges with steep cliffs. The views are spectacular, both from places in the city and from several bridges that cross the gorges. There’s also a cable car, and I did ride it, although I must confess I was afraid to look down 😱 . Thankful to say that my lovely assistant Geoff leaned over and took some snaps, one of which I will share.

My favourite place in the city was the palace of Ahmed Bey, last governor of Constantine.  He spent about 10 years designing and building this palace, and it sounded as though there was a bit of corruption involved. In any case, despite complaints from prominent citizens, he made sure his residence was beautifully designed and extravagantly decorated.  The building was completed in 1835, but it turned out he only had two years to enjoy it before the French captured the city in 1837, and took over the palace as their military headquarters. The interior courtyard is lovely.

It gave me a strange feeling (but in a good way) to see the old train station.  My father was here during the war with the British Army, and told the story of arriving in Constantine in 1942, and lining up at the station with the other soldiers to get his helmet filled with handfuls of dates, which were his breakfast, lunch, and  dinner that day.

Algeria is living up to our hopes and expectations! We arrived in the capital city Algiers on Saturday via Paris (but alas, just a 2-hour stop there, so no patisseries for me), and were met by our first guide Moncef, who was a pleasure to tour with.

Started a walking tour in downtown Algiers with a visit to the Bardo Museum of Ethnography. Amazing exhibits of prehistoric cave art, also intricate 19th-century embroidery, and as a bonus it’s housed in a beautiful Moorish villa dating from the late 1700s. I’ll post a picture of the courtyard, as well as one of an interesting type of door we have seen in other Islamic countries. You’ll see 2 knockers — the larger one for use by male visitors, the smaller by women. They each make a distinctive sound inside the house, and if a man knocks, any ladies inside will not answer the door. Sometimes think I could use one of these at home 😉

The Algiers seafront is impressive — French-style architecture reminiscent of Haussmann’s Paris. I gather these buildings are large and expensive rental flats. Certainly they would have a million-dollar view of the harbour.

Day Two was older history; first we headed to Tipaza, to visit the hilltop Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania, built about 300 BC as the tomb of the Berber king Juba II and his Egyptian Queen Cleopatra Selene, the daughter of the more-famous Cleopatra and Mark Antony. An interesting monument, it looks like a dome that would have open space inside, but in fact, the ground level of the monument is all solid blocks of stone, and inside there is a descending narrow passage through the blocks that leads to the underground crypt, where the king and queen are interred.

Next, on to the Roman city of Cherchell, which boasts a well-preserved arena, temples, roads, and a marketplace. And situated beautifully on the Mediterranean. The road is in great shape for being 2,000+ years old, and by the way, when they were building the modern highway from here all the way into into Algiers, they pretty much laid it right over the Roman road, which was and remains the best route, so the flagstone road that we saw eventually morphs into the modern highway.

Day 3 found us back in Algiers proper, and the highlight of the day was an afternoon strolling the old central city, better known as the Casbah. It’s the original city, and was originally built from the harbour’s edge right up to the top of a significant hill. When the French colonized Algiers they destroyed a section of the Casbah down by the water, and replaced it with the aforementioned beautiful blocks of flats, but the Casbah behind these, and indeed all the way up the hill, is well-preserved and extremely picturesque.

Next stop, on to Constantine!