To finish this series on Algeria, we're going to dive headfirst into the legendary Casbah of Algiers. This is the oldest neighborhood in Algiers, and many locals would also say that it's the most dangerous. In fact, the vast majority of locals that we asked about it told us that they themselves would not walk through this neighborhood alone. Yikes!
Now, if you've been following this series on Algiers/Algeria, you know that I've been preaching about how unexpectedly safe Algiers turned out to be. So it might seem odd that I'm now telling you about a place that is supposedly so dangerous. Well let me kick this off with a spoiler for you: the Casbah isn't so bad.
Today we're going to be doing a double-header: Cherchell and Tipaza. These places are not quite on the level of Timgad, but they are still going to be interesting and gorgeous. So buckle in kids! It's time to drive out into rural Algeria for some adventuring!
So, if you've been following this series on Algeria, you know that I was traveling with my mother. One little-known fact about my mom is that she's secretly a bad-ass and had actually lived in Algeria briefly in 1980. So this was a long-awaited return trip for her. During that time, although she did spend some time in Oran and Algiers, the majority of her stay was spent in a tiny town called Cherchell (pronounced "share-shell")...
In the previous article, I spent significant time gushing about how much I loved this city but I also talked a lot about the geopolitical isolation of this place. Most people even can't place Algeria on a map, and I want to change that.
But what if you decide you want to come here? What the hell are you going to do while you're here? What does "sightseeing" look like in Algiers?
That's what we'll be discussing today!
At a glance, much of Algiers is almost a mirror image of its former colonizer, France, which sits just across the Mediterranean. Visually, it is defined by Parisian-style buildings, almost all of which are colored white. However, in spite of its surreal visual similarities with France, it only takes about 10 seconds of walking the streets of Algiers to realize that it is a world all its own.
I’m going to tell you this up front: I LOVE this city.
If you're an American interested in visiting Algeria, first of all, that's really cool! Not a lot of Westerners come here, but the Algerian government isn't exactly making things easy. In this article, we'll walk through exactly how Americans can go about obtaining a tourist visa for Algeria. It's a little complicated, but if I can do it, so can you!
We arrived at the foot of Via della Conciliazione in later afternoon. The sky was gray, and the air held a cold moisture. We followed the masses of people up the road towards the giant stone gates. On either side of these gates, giant Roman columns stretched off endlessly. These marked the border between Italy and Vatican City. Perched on either side of the entrance were Italian military outposts manned by heavily armed but very bored-looking soldiers.
Crossing into Piazza San Pietro, though an international boundary, was decidedly anti-climactic. However, what we found on the other side of this plaza blew us away.
It was a long and unfortunate series of circumstances that delayed our flight from New York to Algiers for 2 full days, but they say that when God closes a door, he opens a window. And for us, this window came in the form of a extremely long layover in Rome. This would give us just enough time to sneak out of the airport to go into the city, so that's exactly what we did.
Even if you know Rome only by reputation, you can probably guess that it's far too big a city to see in a single day, so we decided to break off a single bite-sized piece: a neighborhood called Trastevere.
Travel plans! This time we'll be exploring Sicily, as well as the North African nations of Algeria and Tunisa. We will also be stopping through one other mystery Mediterranean location, which will be revealed shortly. In the coming articles, you can expect to hear about cities like Algiers, Tunis, Catania, Syracuse, and Palermo, among others.
LET'S DO THIS!
Madison is the second largest city in the state of Wisconsin, behind Milwaukee. Although it has a population of about 253,000, its metropolitan area is closer to half a million. It's also the capital city of Wisconsin and the home of the University of Wisconsin's main campus. UW is actually a massive university, so it is absolutely defining to the topography of this city—Madison is largely a college town. However, there's quite a bit more going on here than just Badgers games.
In Boston, things move fast. The city is lively, dynamic, and ever-changing. However, there are some pieces of the Bostonian puzzle that are quintessential, and eternal. No matter what's going on around them, somehow, they never seem to change.
Today I'm going to single out a couple of those places: Bay Bay and Beacon Hill.
