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Tipasa, Algeria’s ancient melting pot, faces an uncertain future
- ruddct 5y agoI visited Tipasa on a trip to northern Algeria a few years back. It, and so many of the ruins across the country, are pretty incredible, Pompeii-level sites that are mostly sitting there empty. There’s very little tourism in Algeria, though, which might explain the lack of investment in their historic sites. If you get the opportunity to see them soon and you’re up for a bit of adventure, I’d recommend it.
- aunty_helen 5y agoThat sounds amazing and well worth the visit. As someone who has become disenfranchised with the over tourism that happens on the European side of the Mediterranean, finding sites that you can actually go and be a part of instead of stare at from a distance through perspex is a novelty and well worth seeking out.
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- afr0ck 5y agoI am from Algeria. I've been to Tipasa multiple times when I was a student in Algiers, the capital, since it was a very short ride. Tipasa has a truly magical coast, with all the amazing Numidian, Roman and Byzantine ruins, but also the sea. While there, you observe the blending of the mountains, the rocks, the beautiful, calm and shining Mediterranean sea and all the temples and the ruins. It takes you to another dimension of feelings and relaxation. It was a very good place of inspiration for me. Algeria is a kind of a hidden gem. There are many other impressive sites and much larger and better preserved Roman cities. Few minutes from my hometown, Setif, there is Djemila [1]. The preserved arches, basilicas, bathes, theatres and markets is just super impressive. A larger and bigger site is in Batna, a neighboring city of Setif. The site is called Timgad [2], usually the preferred place for cultural events. Timgad is definitely one of the greatest world heritage sites, absolutely on the same order of Pompeii. Another impressive city is Constantine [3], or equally Béjaïa and also obviously the The Casbah in Algiers [4]. On the Sahara side, there is the Tassili [5] and The Hoggar mountains. edit: typos [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dj%C3%A9mila https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dj%C3%A9mila [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timgad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timgad [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine,_Algeria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine,_Algeria [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casbah_of_Algiers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casbah_of_Algiers [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tassili_n%27Ajjer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tassili_n%27Ajjer
- sayrer 5y agoIt's very difficult for Americans to travel there. But I got the visa once, and went to Oran and Algiers. I had to send my passport via Fedex to the Algerian consulate in NYC and cross my fingers. There are strange rules about whether you have to send it there or to Washington DC, based on which US state you live in (no one in the US cares about this). Beyond that, it can be difficult for Americans to understand French with any unconventional accent, let alone understand Arabic at all. I know enough words to count and understand what the police say.
- ruddct 5y agoCompletely anecdotal, but doing it in-person in NYC was pretty painless for me. Walk in with paperwork, wait 2 weeks, pick up visa. I’ve heard of others having difficulty though, particularly over mail.
- sayrer 5y agoEverything went fine for me too, but it was difficult to figure out what to do from California. Sending my passport to them that way made me nervous, though.
- mtalantikite 5y agoYeah, plus the consulate in NYC is pretty empty, at least when I’ve been. I once was able to get a two year visa in under an hour in and out, although my father is Algerian and half my family still lives there, so it was likely a special case for them.
- MauroIksem 5y agoWhy don't you get an algerian passport?
- alephxyz 5y agoI've heard the paperwork to get a military service exemption is not worth it unless you're visiting frequently
- learned 5y agoWhenever Tipasa comes up, I always think of Camus's quote from "Return to Tipasa": > But in order to keep justice from shriveling up like a beautiful orange fruit containing nothing but a bitter, dry pulp, I discovered once more at Tipasa that one must keep intact in oneself a freshness, a cool wellspring of joy, love the day that escapes injustice, and return to combat having won that light. Here I recaptured the former beauty, a young sky, and I measured my luck, realizing at last that in the worst years of our madness the memory of that sky had never left me. This was what in the end had kept me from despairing. I had always known that the ruins of Tipasa were younger than our new constructions or our bomb damage. There the world began over again every day in an ever new light. O light! This is the cry of all the characters of ancient drama brought face to face with their fate. This last resort was ours, too, and I knew it now. In the middle of winter I at last discovered that there was in me an invincible summer.