[HN Gopher] Tipasa, Algeria's ancient melting pot, faces an unce...
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Tipasa, Algeria's ancient melting pot, faces an uncertain future
Author : diodorus
Score : 55 points
Date : 2022-02-18 16:16 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.atlasobscura.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.atlasobscura.com)
| [deleted]
| afr0ck wrote:
| I 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 Bejaia 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 [2]
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timgad [3]
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine,_Algeria [4]
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casbah_of_Algiers [5]
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tassili_n%27Ajjer
| mtalantikite wrote:
| Tassili has been on my list for a long time, can't wait to get
| there sometime soon.
|
| My family is from Bejaia and I can attest to that as well, it's
| a beautiful old city.
| MauroIksem wrote:
| Don't forget all of Mzab valley. The architecture there is
| incredible, not to mention a culture that has lived in harmony
| with the environment for a 1000 years.
| sayrer wrote:
| It'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 wrote:
| Completely 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 wrote:
| Everything 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 wrote:
| Yeah, 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 wrote:
| Why don't you get an algerian passport?
| thekid314 wrote:
| Yeah, I applied once and was never given an answer, just come
| back next week.
|
| But I'm a journalist so that's understandable.
| afr0ck wrote:
| The Algerian system is known for its highly notorious and
| absurd bureaucracy that makes no sense in most of the cases.
| It's a very sad thing. Even within the country, the level of
| bureaucracy and administrative burden is astounding. It's on
| another level that still baffles the mind of every Algerian
| to our day. A reminiscent of the communist era that largely
| defined and still defines every aspect in the country.
|
| Nevertheless, Algerians are very welcoming and they are very
| happy to see other people visit them. We hope that things
| will change very soon. However, it's hard to have a positive
| hope with the corrupt, mafioso political system governing the
| country.
| selectodude wrote:
| It's more difficult than countries that America has visa-free
| travel with but pretty standard for countries that we're
| touch and go with. Russia required me to deliver my passport
| _in person_ to their embassy in Washington DC. I cannot mail
| it. I needed to pay a handler with a very convenient
| relationship with the Russian embassy a bunch of money to be
| the "intermediary". I've paid less for flights than I did to
| get a Russian visa.
| sayrer wrote:
| I've never tried to go to Russia, but the process you
| describe is the way to go if you can spare an extra $100.
|
| For example, it's much easier to get a Chinese visa by
| paying this company across the street from the Chinese
| consulate in SF than it is to go there. I think everyone
| that speaks Chinese knows how to work the system, but I
| don't speak it at all.
|
| They turned me down for having a bent corner on my
| passport, lol, after taking my money. I just gave up and
| used the company across the street for my second try.
| learned wrote:
| Whenever 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.
| epberry wrote:
| This is beautifully written thanks for sharing.
| ruddct wrote:
| I 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 wrote:
| That 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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