Our Alkebulan Journey: Algeria

Originally Posted: 1/23/2008

Villagers, we continue our journey to learn more about Alkebulan. I promised to share some basic information on all 49 African countries. If you have insights or experiences or knowledge to share on this journey ... please do so!

Algeria is the second country in our online journey.

• Official government web site
• CIA Factbook on Algeria

Algeria is situated along the North African coast, bordered to the east by Tunisia and Libya, to the southeast by Niger, to the southwest by Mali, and to the west by Mauritania and Morocco. It is Africa’s second-largest country, with 750 miles of coastline.

Along the coastal strip are the main towns, fertile land, good food, beach resorts and 90% of the population. Further south lies the area of the Hauts Plateaux, mountains of up to 6,600 feet covered in cedar, pine and cypress forests with broad arable plains dividing the plateau. The remaining 85% of the country is the Sahara Desert in its various forms, sustaining only 500,000 people, many of whom are nomadic tribes with goat and camel herds.

There are folks from Singapore, America and the 'moor next door' living and working in Algeria. A large country, Algeria was originally inhabited by the Berbers until the Arabs conquered North Africa in the seventh century. Staying mainly in the mountainous regions, the Berbers resisted the spreading Arab influence, managing to preserve much of their language and culture until the present day. Today, Berbers make up some 20 per cent of the total population.

The history of Algeria is remarkable. Part of the Turkish Ottoman empire from the 16th century, Algeria was conquered by the French in 1830. The struggle for independence began in 1954 headed by the National Liberation Front, which came to power on independence in 1962. In the 1990s, Algerian politics was dominated by the struggle involving the military and Islamic militants.

In 1992, a general election won by an Islamic party (Islamic Salvation Front) was annulled, marking the beginning of a bloody campaign which saw the slaughter of more than 150,000 people. An amnesty in 1999 led many rebels to lay down their arms. Violence has largely abated, although a state of emergency remains in place. In 2001, the Government agreed to a series of demands by the minority Berber community, after months of unrest involving Berber youths pressing for greater cultural and political recognition.

Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem has been the head of government since 2006. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been the head of state since 1999.

Algeria Fact Sheet contains some good information such as:

• Language: Arabic & Berber, however French is used quite often as well.
• Capital City: Algiers (El Djezaïr)
• Population: 34 million
• Area: 919,595 square miles
• Currency: 1 US Dollar = 67.19560 Algerian Dinar (as of 1/22/08)
• Entry Requirements: Passports and visas are required for U.S. citizens traveling to Algeria.

Well, Villagers, I still hope to receive some feedback. I tried to include more photos with people this time based on feedback from the last Alkebulan Journey. We have 47 more countries in Alkebulan to go. What can I add, delete or change in future posts to make this more useful for you? In the meantime, what say u about Algeria?