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Not much. The news media is certainly giving it a pass. I've been there, but it was way too long ago to have any relevant comment on it, and even in the 1960s, it was problematic getting into, it was classified then as a "socialist state". I saw a lot of good movies, I was there for the World Socialist Film Festival, which was nothing like Cannes. As I recall, I did not need a visa to cross the border on the train from Tunisia, but there were horribly rigid currency controls.
It's the largest, and sixth most populous country in Africa. Tenth and 32nd in the world. Probably the worst mistake ever made in the entire history of the French nation, who tried to incorporate the entire territory into France proper in the late 50s.
There was a ripple of agitation during the Arab Spring, but the military dictatorship relaxed two decades of a state of emergency (which had had its brutal moments) and the country again fell below the radar. It is an OPEC member, and the economy has suffered somewhat owing to its tendency to depend on oil exports and deemphasize its industrial sector. It is the only place in the world to get truly great couscous, the everyday staple.
Algeria... ... ... I don't know much about it either. This is what I know (I haven't read the above threads, I promise!):
*Much of it is desert.
*Much of the population is on the Mediterranean coast.
*The government and/or its people support the independence of Western Sahara, I suspect because they want to influence Western Sahara to let them have access to the Atlantic Ocean.
*The "President for Life" since 1979 is Abdul-Aziz Bouteflika
*The French colonized/ruled the country for more than a century, finally leaving in the 1950s (or 1960s?)
*Most or all Algerians speak French and Arabic, and I suspect some also speak a native pre-Islam language. Many prefer to speak French and might start to have a conversation in Arabic but change to French.
*Although France ruled other countries in North Africa, Algeria was more receptive to French rule and culture than the other countries. The governing entity of Algeria was weak at the time France came over.
*Thousands and thousands of Algerians have emigrated to France, mostly near Paris.
*Types of Berbers and Tuaregs lived in Algeria pre-Islam. On the coast were other types of people, probably there from hundreds, maybe thousands of years before Islam, and probably from the Middle East (i.e. Phoenicians).
*Although Algeria is known as an "Arab country" very few people are purely Arab--most are only part Arab or not at all.
*In the early 1990s there was an Islamist revolution. I guess civil war is what you can call it. Thousands of Algerians killing each other for political and religious beliefs, and many more who were innocent bystanders (like in any conflict).
*Rai, a genre of music, became popular in the early 1990s, first in Algeria and North Africa, and also a little bit in Europe. Lyrics have to do with love and heartbreak like most pop music, but some songs have political messages. Cheb Hasni is the most famous and beloved rai artist, and he was killed for his contraversial music (though it was made to look like an accident) in 1994 (I think?). Many rai artists have the title Cheb or Cheba which is a title given to youth (like Miss is given to young women) because they spoke for the young people. The most internationally-known artists of this genre are Khaled (aka Cheb Khaled) and Cheb Mami (you remember that irritating song from the late 1990s "Desert Rose"--he was the other voice in the background you might have thought was a woman. Most of his music isn't that bad though).
*Algeria is a suspicious country internationally because of Islamic terrorists coming from there or training there. The U.S. and other countries have stricter standards for Algerian immigrants that they don't have for Moroccans or Tunisians. For example in the U.K. Algerians need a transit visa to have a layover in their country but a Moroccan would not (I had to look this up in 2008 so maybe it's changed, but I don't think so).
OK I think that is all I know about Algeria specifically. Other things I know would apply to Morocco and other North African countries (in fact, some of the above could apply to them too). PLEASE do not take this list seriously--it is not fact, just my interpretations from what I have read and heard.
Last edited by Tintlelli; 02-14-2013 at 09:25 AM..
Reason: more
Algeria is the only country whose two-letter ISO country code is not based on its name in a European language. Cars from Algeria have a DZ oval, and websites in Algeria end with .dz, from the Berber name Dzayer. The name Algeria comes from the Arabic article preceding the Berber name, Al-Dzayer. The French take the matter even further, calling it l'Algerie, putting two spurious definite articles on it, one French and one Arabic.
CH for Switzerland, from the Latin Confoederatio Helvetica, It became Switzerland in 1848.
HR for Croatia, which in Croatian is spelled Hrvatska
ES = España. DE = Deutschland. SF = Suomi-Finland
KM and KY for Comoros and Cayman Island, because there are too many countries beginning with C.
ZA for South Africa is the Dutch spelling (Zuid-Afrika).
ES = España. DE = Deutschland. SF = Suomi-Finland
KM and KY for Comoros and Cayman Island, because there are too many countries beginning with C.
ZA for South Africa is the Dutch spelling (Zuid-Afrika).
I will update your message little bit:
"SF" is not any more in use, it changed around 25 years ago to the "FIN"
On European union area this sticker what shows nationality, is not compulsary any more because info concerning country is on register plate ( little bit same as in US, register plate shows state of orgin).
Algeria is the only country whose two-letter ISO country code is not based on its name in a European language. Cars from Algeria have a DZ oval, and websites in Algeria end with .dz, from the Berber name Dzayer. The name Algeria comes from the Arabic article preceding the Berber name, Al-Dzayer. The French take the matter even further, calling it l'Algerie, putting two spurious definite articles on it, one French and one Arabic.
CH for Switzerland, from the Latin Confoederatio Helvetica, It became Switzerland in 1848.
HR for Croatia, which in Croatian is spelled Hrvatska
ES = España. DE = Deutschland. SF = Suomi-Finland
KM and KY for Comoros and Cayman Island, because there are too many countries beginning with C.
ZA for South Africa is the Dutch spelling (Zuid-Afrika).
Its actually Suid-Afrika, as in Republiek van Suid-Afrka, so technially in English and Afrikaans, should be SA. But thats too similar to South America or South Australia..
My uncle lived in Oran years back. Loved Algeria. Beautiful beaches, Islamic culture, dry desolate desert interior.
He was the only family member that loved living in Africa. My mum spent time in Nigeria and Ghana, another uncle was in Ethiopia (now Eritrea) and my aunt was in Angola.
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What do I know about Algeria? Not much!
