Algerian thoughts

I am now back from Algeria. What you see above if the extraordinary gorge at Constantine/Cirta that I mentioned but couldn't show in my last post. Now you see why it struck me that this really made a difference to any experience of living or being brought up in the place, now or 2000 years ago.

Anyway, I had a great time in Algeria, if slightly strange in various ways. The Roman remains really are amazing, as you can see (that's Timgad and the arch had a bit of assistance from the French, but never mind).

It would be great to think that more people would be able to go and see them, but it is difficult, though not impossible, to get there independently. Some cruises stop in Algiers and there are some niche tours, I think. But during the site visits we made, we saw no other definite non-Algerians. If you get a window of a chance, do go.

More generally, I think one should only very tentatively pontificate about places one visits but doesn't really understand. And I have been only to a small strip of a country that is as big as Europe. So please take what follows in the humble spirit it is meant. (Another picture of Constantine below: restoration of French mansion blocks.)

So far as I can tell from what I have read, there has been a big growth of committed Islam over the last twenty years or so, or back to the War of Independence. The impression I got in the cities of Constantine and Batna (that's the view from my Batna hotel window above) is that that majority of women are wearing the hijab, at least; and there were plenty of clearly "men only" zones (like every coffee shop). But it is clear that there is not a straightforward backward path for women. For a start the French banning of any kind of veiling hugely complicated the picture.  One local expert rightly pointed out that women in Algeria could claim a rather better record than those in the UK, with (for example) considerably more of them in the legislature.

I am always a bit suspicious of that kind of figure (and have a feeling that you tend to get more women in the legislature where power ACTUALLY lies elsewhere). But it isn't an isolated sign. The most dramatic thing we were told was about the birth rate: in the 70s women were having on average 8 births each; it's now around 2. And women are dominating in all kinds of professional university subjects, such as medicine.

The other issue for me (oh yes!) was the obviously very edgy question of alcohol, where there seemed violent differences of view. We had some good Algerian wine (and I brought 3 bottles back); we also stayed at places that threatened horrible things for even bringing a drop of the stuff into the place. That difference was summed up by the two flights we did on Air Algerie. On the way out, I was grudgingly brought a small glass of red wine when I asked for it. On the way back I had my glass repeatedly and generously topped up with champagne.

But the main point for me was that we had some great encounters with people who were really interested in the heritage,Roman and otherwise, and bent over backwards to be helpful. And whatever is going on in the politics of the place, it is not as simple as the usual demonisation makes out.

IF YOU GET A CHANCE, GO.