After we visited Algiers, we went to
Constantine. Because the city is on a plateau at 640 metres above sea level, it
is surrounded by a deep ravine. The city is very picturesque with a lot of
bridges and a viaduct crossing the ravine. This was very impressive to see. In Constantine
they produce textiles, wool, linen and leather, which they sell in the rest of
Algeria and Tunisia. In my opinion, Constantine is as developed as Algiers. We
walked through the city and also visited some mosques here. I think they are
amazing.
Because Algeria is a former colony of Algeria,
some people could speak French. This was very interesting for us because the
other languages there are Arabic and Berber, languages we cant speak at all.
In 1962, the French president Charles de Gaulle allowed Algeria to become
independent and it became a republic.
The current president is Abdelaziz Bouteflika, he was chosen by the army. Somebody
there told us that there have been many demonstrations for political reform,
but the police always intervened. Indeed, there was a state of emergency in
Algeria where it was forbidden to protest, but recently, the 19-year-old state
of emergency has ended. We ourselves havent seen a demonstration at all.
Tomorrow we are heading forward to Tunisia, the
last country we will visit in Africa.
