Algeria Street Scenes in Algiers
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Battle of Algiers
Should watch great movie.
This the story of the liberation of Algeria from the French colonies, from the perspective of the Algerians. Algerian film makers in conjunction with the Italians, making for a one sided propaganda film, which at times seems real with footage that is comparable to news reel. Documentariesque.
Although set between the years 1954 – 1962 there is a distinct comparison to more recent wars and problems faced by both sides.
U.S. ‘seeks to sell Algeria spy satellite’
U.S. intelligence, alarmed at the emergence of a jihadist sanctuary in northern Mali, is considering providing Algeria, the military heavyweight in North Africa, with a surveillance satellite to monitor al-Qaida operations in the Sahara region.
The plan, reported by the Intelligence Online website, appears to be part of a growing U.S. effort to bolster regional military forces arrayed against the jihadist fighters who have controlled northern Mali since spring 2012, without committing U.S. forces to yet another foreign conflict.
The Algerians, whose forces have been fighting Islamist militants since 1992, are wary of bringing in outside powers like the United States and France, the former colonial power which remains deeply suspect in Algeria.
The Americans have been just as distrustful of the Algerians for some time but Washington’s attitude to the military-backed government in Algiers underwent significant change after the carnage of the Sept. 11, 2001 when the Americans found themselves fighting the same enemy as the Algerians.
U.S. President Barack Obama appears determined not to involve the U.S. military in another messy land war after he withdrew all U.S. forces from Iraq just more than a year ago and is in the process of disengaging in Afghanistan. But he is committing U.S. Special Forces across the globe to counter jihadist forces and increasing deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles to hunt them down.
Even so, there’s a wide body of opinion in Washington that this largely undeclared war will eventually drag Americans into new foreign conflicts.
Algeria has for some months refused U.S. requests that UAVs deployed in Burkina Faso, a West African state south of Algeria, and in the southern desert of Morocco, a longtime U.S. ally, be allowed to use Algerian airspace to track the jihadists.
Middle Eastern intelligence sources say the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency believe they need Algerian support to monitor the ungoverned spaces of the Sahara and the semi-arid Sahel region to the south that runs from Africa’s Atlantic coast to the Red Sea in the east.
“To be able to do so, these services are advocating Algiers acquire its own optical observation system and develop its own fleet of drones,” Intelligence Online reported.
Providing Algeria with spy satellites may turn out to be the short end of the stick for the Americans, who say al-Qaida is extending its operations across Africa, including oil-rich Nigeria to the south and the Horn of Africa in the east.
France, on the other hand, like North African states, views the presence of seasoned jihadist fighters in their own enclave in Mali as a direct threat to the security of Western Europe, a target for Islamists long before 2011.
“Only two years ago, Washington categorically refused to sell armed drones to Algeria’s army,” Intelligence Online observed.
“But the takeover of northern Mali by radical Islamists has prompted the Obama administration to have a change of heart.”
The website said senior “U.S. intelligence officials and space industry executives” visited Algiers in the second week of December to discuss the “sale to Algeria’s intelligence services of optical observation satellites.”
No details of the discussions are available. But Intelligence Online commented that “the encounter reflects strengthening ties between the intelligence communities in Washington and Algiers.”
The December talks apparently stemmed from the October visit to Algiers of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during which she discussed counter-terrorism with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a veteran of his country’s 1954-62 independence war against France.
The French, who have Special Forces and other military contingents deployed across their former African empire, are spearheading efforts to stitch together a regional force, possibly Algerian-led, to move against the jihadist strongholds in northern Mali, which by all accounts are being steadily reinforced by fighters from across the Muslim world.
On Dec. 21, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a French resolution for an African Union military mission to recapture northern Mali.
The French drew up the resolution after talks with the United States, which wants desert warfare veterans from Chad brought in for the operation.
Given the Algerians’ vast experience in counter-terrorism operations, their participation would make a lot of sense.
Breads of Algeria
An Algerian told me the other day, “eating a lot of bread is one of the few things we really took from the French.” Well, nevermind all those other things the French left behind, but Algerians do really love their bread. Bread here is subsidized, and arrives in the form of baguettes, delivered by truckloads twice a day. I wish I had a picture of this but I am shy about taking my camera out in public. Because of the subsidies, at 5 dinar or .05 euros a loaf, most of the baguettes are spongy and dry not very good. However, you can find some good baguettes scattered throughout the city.
But what we really love here are the local breads, the various flat breads you see piled next to the cashier’s stand. Because everyone buys the baguettes, all the local forms of bread are usually sold in small batches, either made by the shop owners themselves or by a small local bread maker. Many Algerians make these breads themselves at home.
There are a couple unique things about these breads, first they are usually made with a semolina dough, either completely semolina or semolina with a little regular flour mixed in, so they require a lot of kneading and a long rise time. Second, several of the breads are made on special pans, such as a clay pan that looks like the bottom of a tagine, but is made of unglazed clay with little spikes all over the bottom . Below are some of the breads we’ve discovered in our first months in Algiers:
Kesra Matlua’a
This is probably the most common kind of bread available. Called kesra bread, this version is leavened (matlua’a means risen) and is made on the clay pan described above. You can see the little pin-pricks left from the pan in the photo aboove.The bread is light and spongy, with a heartiness from the semolina. The bread is really only good the day it is made and gets dry quickly.
Kesra Rakhsis
Above are pictured two versions of the flat, or unleavened, kind of kesra. It is dense and chewy and slightly sweet. I really like this one for breakfast, alongside my yogurt and honey. This bread supposedly lasts a long time but we always devour it quickly, so we’ve never found out.
Messemen
This is probably my favorite kind of bread here, but as the name implies (messemen means greasy or buttery) it is a bit rich. This is a semolina based dough that is stretched out very very thin and then cooked on a wide flat griddle with butter. It resembles Lebanese markouk bread, but a bit more free form and of course more greasy/buttery to the touch. I especially like to make sandwiches by spreading the bread with labne (strained yogurt) and sprinkling mint and olives over and rolling it up. Labne and sour cherry jam roll-ups are another favorite for breakfast.
Of course, there are many other kinds of breads – round hearty whole wheat and bran loaves, a bread called pain mahonais, named from Spanish immigrants who came to Algeria from Mahon, Minorca, and flavored with anise seeds and herbs or olives. Special breads for eid or flat pancakes cooked on one side and sprinkled with honey. We look forward to sharing more of the breads here with you as we explore.
Social Media in North Africa: a ‘Double-Edged Weapon’
This is a question that has been hotly contested in both policy-making and academic circles essentially ever since a Tunisian fruit vendor’s act of self-immolation swiftly wreaked havoc with a number of deeply entrenched authoritarian regimes from Tunis to Cairo in 2011. One group emphasizes the great significance of the social media in that they empowered the disaffected youths, political activists and various opposition groups to coordinate their actions and communicated their agenda and goals to the population at large – all of these combined are said to have incited the revolts. Another group views the social media essentially as a double-edged weapon – although they have contributed to the successful overthrow of the aging dictators, some regimes and political groups have been effective at utilizing the same technologies to spy, subvert and influence public opinion to serve their particular domestic political purposes. Some skeptics also point to the generally very low internet access and availability across North Africa (reportedly, only 5 percent of Egyptians use social media, such as Facebook and Twitter).
In contrast to traditional strategies to oppose undemocratic regimes, such as student movements and sit-ins, today’s IT-savvy young generation possesses much more advanced tools to raise awareness
Whatever the outcome of this seemingly inconclusive debate, the ongoing process of technological revolution is unstoppable. As the societies across the North African region have experienced profound changes in their population structures and social fabrics – with young people under 30 years now making up more than a half of the population – the long-standing authoritarian regimes at the dawn of the 21st century were surely bound to face challenges to their rule from a perhaps somewhat unlikely corner. In contrast to the earlier employed traditional strategies to oppose undemocratic regimes, such as student movements and sit-ins (that were also much easier to suppress by the ruthless police apparatus), today’s IT-savvy young generation possesses much more advanced tools to raise awareness about their legitimate demands. No Arab country in North Africa and the Middle East is immune from their youths’ demands on social networking websites that have provided them with a space for a free exchange of their ideas and the communication of their aspirations. The dynamics of the Arab Spring series of uprisings, especially the speed with which the rebellion has affected one country after another, testify that social media have become a powerful weapon in the hands of the people who had long suffered under the tyranny of corrupt regimes.
However, in the global age, social media technologies are no longer the exclusive domain of the left, liberal youth. Facebook, Twitter and other social media have also been readily employed by various political parties and religious groups to empower their different – and not always virtuous – agendas. Islamists – who tend to be, perhaps paradoxically, otherwise very critical of everything ‘Western’ – have proven to be among those groups that are both keen and capable of taking utmost advantage of Western-devised modern technologies for political ends. Both the effectiveness with which they organize and co-ordinate their activities and the swiftness of international communications have facilitated the Islamist groups’ strategies to choreograph global campaigns, such as the recent series of violent protests in a number of Muslim countries following the release of the controversial trailer Innocence of Muslims.
Importantly, the movie has never made its way beyond You Tube where it was posted in June. Once there, it was left largely unnoticed – much like thousands of other low-quality amateur footages posted on the video-sharing site – until September when millions of fabricated text messages, emails and tweets made the rounds in many Muslim countries drawing their attention to the movie’s insult to Islam and Prophet Muhammad and urging them to vent their anger against the United States and other Western countries. Such well-organized manipulation of sentiment is a function of modern-era politics as it has proven to be an effective rallying cry for the Islamists seeking to define their political agenda and gain popular support (not only in the run-up to the next elections).
Thus, where Al Qaeda had not succeeded with its protracted global jihad campaign, a low quality 13-minute trailer posted on YouTube has fared incredibly well – unlike the terrorist network (whose violent tactics have been increasingly denounced even by Muslim countries), the social media site demonstrated its extraordinary power to breed hatred and inflame violence against the United States while undermining Washington’s ‘soft power’ in this strategically important region. However, the risk is that, if left unchecked by governments in Muslim countries, the bloody protests triggered by a well-orchestrated social media campaign will not only temporarily decrease the sale of American hamburgers, but are also likely to have a long-term negative and destabilizing effect on the process of democratization across North Africa.
Harley Davidson store Inauguration
As announced on the same site, the motorcycle market in Algeria is hosting Harley-Davidson introduced through Sarl PROX4 which recognizes five years in the activity of two wheels.
Inauguration of the legendary showroom American brand took place this Saturday at Blida.Situated on highway and imposing its design which has no equal as standard HD, the site is spread over three levels, with 1600 RN2 divided into an exhibition space of 600m2, 250m2 workshop, storage space of 750m2 and 600m2 ample parking
“II will provide its customers with a wide range of motorcycles of different styles, custom design center and excellent after-sales service,” says one Harley-Davidson Algiers name of the concession whose catalog offers five different ranges, namely the Sportster, the Dynha the Softail, V-Road and Touring. should be noted that the store has a space dedicated exclusively to members HOG (Harley Owners Group).
3800 athletes took part in the 4th International Marathon of Algiers
ALGIERS – 3800 including 50 foreign athletes from 25 countries took part in the 4th International Marathon on Saturday in Algiers ran Dely-Brahim (Algiers), organized each year “International Sports Events.”
The race coincides with the 58th anniversary of the outbreak of the Algerian Revolution and festivities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the recovery of national sovereignty concerned the different age groups ranging from 12 to 76 years,
It should be noted that this fourth marathon Algiers was attended by athletes from many countries, including the United States, Japan, Ukraine, Italy and Morocco.
The Director General of “International Sports Events” Rezkane Abdelmadjid, pointed out that the marathon Algiers begins to grow, particularly in terms of foreign participation.
“From the next edition, microchips will be in accordance with international standards, provided to all athletes,” he said.
Algeria to contribute $5B to IMF
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria’s Finance Ministry and central bank have announced the country is contributing $5 billion to the International Monetary Fund.
In April, Algeria said the IMF had asked for Algeria’s participation in the international lending institution.
Flush with oil and natural gas, Algeria has foreign reserves of more than $186 billion (actually 193 billion), according to its central bank.
Tablet made in algeria
It is fashionable and what is trendy, tablets are now part of the range of the leading manufacturers of mobile phones and computer products, and Condor is no exception with its range of touch tablets now available in Algeria with Condor computer, manufactured locally and presented at the 9th edition of the Med-Algiers it for launch in a month.
In Pictures
Computing Condor is therefore to present its first tablet 10” produced in Algeria running Android 4.0, will be available in 16 and 32 GB Warranty 24 months, the tablet allows multiple Condor connectivity via the port! USB or HDMI with the ability to connect directly to an optional dock. Condor Computer indicates that the price of the tablet will be around 35,000 DA. We will return with more details in our new section.
Cleaning the city of algiers
It looks like Sellal the new prime minister is instituting if you want to change yourself change your enviroment (Do not litter)
A campaign of cleaning city of Algiers was launched on Thursday and involved in a first step the cities and streets of Bab Ezzouar with the participation of the community and services from different companies specialized in the field of hygiene and the beautification of cities. The operation aims to clean several cities and streets of the city of Algiers who knows, especially in recent months, severe degradation of life with, in particular, the proliferation and accumulation of waste and miscellaneous garbage with all the adverse consequences on the health of citizens and the environment. It also aims to restore the capital’s image of yesteryear, that of “Algiers the White”. Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal had recently pointed out that the country is currently experiencing a decline in general public service announcement in this context the organization of a large-scale cleaning of cities. “One of the operations that we will launch shortly is cleaning (cities), because” the public service has declined slightly in this area,” he had said. In this context, the general manager of the company’s collection of household waste “Netcom” Benalia Ahmed, said in a statement to APS importance of this cleaning operation of the city of Algiers who knows degradation of life with the proliferation and accumulation of waste and various filth where the volume grows a little more each day at its streets and roadways. Mr. Benalia emphasized in this context the need to remedy this situation, stating that “Netcom” “contributes to cleaning operation in collaboration with stakeholders in the environmental sanitation of the city Algiers so that it returns to its image of yesteryear. Mr. Benalia said his company had mobilized nearly 500 health officers in addition to 4,000 officers daily collection of waste in addition to the participation of several other companies with “Edeval” responsible for the management of green spaces, “Asrout” specializes in sanitation and maintenance of roads and establishment of implementation and maintenance of public lighting of Algiers “Erma”. Netcom also mobilized 100 trucks in addition to 410 company-owned trucks for the collection of waste and daily transport to the landfill site Ouled Fayet. “Our main goal through this important transaction sanitation consists of the final disposal of blackheads prevalent in cities, in places and at unguarded ravines, parks and markets because of uncontrolled waste discarded by traders, “said the Director General of Netcom. These wastes thrown anywhere and at any time, are at the origin of the pollution and the spread of diseases with a direct link with the public health, said Mr. Benalia noting that this operation remains open for more get closer to citizens and to raise awareness about the urgent preservation of the environment and the importance of urban beautification operations. Against this background, Mr. Benalia has emphasized the need to devote culture collection and sorting of waste to begin with cities. (APS)
Une vaste campagne de nettoiement de la ville d’Alger a été lancée jeudi et a concerné dans une première étape les cités et rues de Bab Ezzouar avec la participation des services de la commune et de différentes entreprises spécialisées dans le domaine de l’hygiène et de l’embellissement des villes. L’opération vise le nettoyage de plusieurs cités et rues de la ville d’Alger qui connaît, notamment depuis les derniers mois, une dégradation avancée du cadre de vie avec, en particulier, la prolifération et l’accumulation de déchets ménagers et d’ordures diverses avec toutes les conséquences néfastes sur la santé du citoyen et sur l’environnement. Elle à pour objectif également de redonner à la capitale son image d’antan, celle d'”Alger la blanche”. Le Premier ministre, M. Abdelmalek Sellal, avait souligné récemment que le pays connaissait actuellement un recul en matière de service public en général annonçant dans ce cadre l’organisation d’une vaste opération de nettoiement des villes du pays. “L’une des opérations que nous allons lancer incessamment est le nettoyage (des villes), car ”le service public a légèrement diminué dans ce domaine”, avait-il indiqué. Dans ce contexte, le directeur général de l’entreprise de collecte des déchets domestiques “Netcom”, M. Ahmed Benalia, a souligné dans une déclaration à l’APS l’importance de cette opération de nettoiement de la ville d’Alger qui connaît une dégradation du cadre de vie avec la prolifération et l’accumulation des déchets ménagers et de divers immondices dont le volume grossit chaque jour un peu plus au niveau de ses rues et ses chaussées. M. Benalia a mis l’accent dans ce contexte sur la nécessité de remédier à cette situation, précisant que “Netcom” “contribuait à l’opération de nettoiement en collaboration avec les parties concernées par l’assainissement de l’environnement de la ville d’Alger afin qu’elle renoue avec son image d’antan. M. Benalia a indiqué que son entreprise avait mobilisé près de 500 agents d’hygiène en plus des 4.000 agents chargés de la collecte quotidienne des déchets outre la participation de plusieurs autres entreprises dont “Edeval”, chargée de la gestion des espaces verts, “Asrout” spécialisée dans l’assainissement et l’entretien des routes et l’Etablissement de réalisation et de maintenance de l’éclairage public d’Alger “Erma”. Netcom a également mobilisé 100 camions qui s’ajoutent aux 410 camions appartenant à l’entreprise pour la collecte quotidienne des déchets et leur transport vers le centre d’enfouissement technique d’Ouled Fayet. “Notre principal objectif à travers cette importante opération d’assainissement consiste en l’élimination définitive des points noirs répandus au sein des cités, dans les lieux non gardés et au niveau des ravins, des parkings et des marchés anarchiques du fait des déchets jetés par les commerçants”, a souligné le Directeur général de Netcom. Ces déchets, jetés n’importe où et à tout moment, sont à l’origine de la pollution et de la prolifération de maladies ayant un lien directe avec l’hygiène publique, a rappelé M. Benalia soulignant que cette opération restait ouverte pour mieux se rapprocher des citoyens et de les sensibiliser quant à l’impérative préservation de l’environnement et l’importance des opérations d’embellissement des villes. Dans ce contexte, M. Benalia a mis l’accent sur la nécessité de consacrer la culture de la collecte et du tri des déchets à commencer par les cités.(APS)
ALGIERS | Grand Plaza Hotel
DNA Barcelona Architects Le Grand Plaza Hotel
Project: Le Far Du Grand Vent
Designed by DNA Barcelona Architects
Location: Cheraga, Algeria
Website: dna-arq.com
DNA Barcelona Architects share with us their impressive proposal for Le Far Du Grand Vent, created for the city of Alger in a way that perfectly fits into its environment. DNA Barcelona Architects had the goal to make an impressive landmark for the city, but at the same time with its friendly design shape it as a true part of it.
After the jump view more images accompanied by architects description:
From the Architects:
Le Far du Grand Vent has been designed especially for the city of Alger in a manner that perfectly adapts to its environment. The design for this project follows existing forms and urban traces tissue close to the plot, bounded by a road and other buildings around it. This merged with the city and its surroundings, works like a hinge belonging to the city.
The goal of this project is to develop an iconic building friendly to the city, able to relate to existing, provide new services and new sensations and feelings pass through the proposed architecture. Our philosophy, in that case, focuses on building life, creating environments where people can enjoy and live.
This design, of future trends, could be compared with the shape of a ship, angular at its base, considerably higher than the levels above that follow. Furthermore, the creation of levels, different from each other, with large terraces overlooking the city, gives us the feeling that this large futuristic boat is in full motion by the wind, a key element for navigation and for the design of Le Far du Grand Vent as its name suggests.
With its avant-garde proposals resulting from the fusion of organic forms of nature, rigorous studies on the urban context, and the inclusion of social and cultural context within its own environment and design concepts, Le Far du Grand Vent is designed so that each space is different and each is capable of creating different sensations to users.
In that sense, the overlapping slabs, rotated between them and separated on the outside, which make up the skyscraper, are the terraces that seem to be in different plane, dancing in the wind in constant movement. Geometrically speaking, are angular shapes, creating an imposing and impressive image, emphasizing still further the sense of fragility, as if at any time the slabs could fall from the heights by a strong gust of wind.
The use of materials such as glass in most of the facade, gives an air of sophistication and light, contrasting with the large size of skyscrapers. In short, Le Far du Grand Vent becomes the new icon for the city, a new reference point for citizens, both during day and night, because the glass passes all lighting of the interiors building. The main idea is to create a new urban node for the city, such as the most famous architectural icons that have marked, in some cases, the identity of cities like Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Sydney Opera House and the famous Empire State of New York.
The distribution and uses of the program is projected for users and citizens of Argel, given its privileged position in the city. We have good communication route, the nearby presence of the sea, and the historic center of Cheraga. This allows the project to become a focus of providing new activities and promoting a multi-purpose architecture, which generates a living building 24 hours a day: service area, commercial area, office, hotel, apartments and the construction of public space along the main arteries of the city.
The position of the apartments and the hotel is situated at the top of the skyscraper, offering spectacular views and some privacy to residents imposed by the height. The lower floors, however, are aimed at public activities directly related to city, so that the base of this skyscraper is a new central area where mixed uses are interlinked so fluid and dynamic.
DNA Barcelona Architects has been commissioned to restore the beauty inherent in the architecture and turn it into this great skyscraper, top design and innovation, seeking a balance between social, economic and environmental.
DNA develops new and future icons of contemporary architecture, translating ideas into projects to make them real: each project is unique with its own personality, its own soul and its own “dna”. The architecture involves the mind, body and soul and, somehow, this way of understanding and work our projects has become a hallmark of the company.
Algeria A growing appetite for retail
what will happen to the souk
As Algeria’s economy has continued to sidestep most of the global turbulence, domestic consumption has strengthened, attracting an increasing amount of interest in the country. Alongside a shift away from informal retailers, increasing demand for international brands and medium to high-end retail outlets, supported by rising purchasing power, has been a boon for new mall projects.
One such project is being carried out by Swiss-owned Société des Centres Commerciaux d’Algérie (SCCA), which is developing a retail centre in Oran. The project was announced following the success of SCCA’s first large-scale shopping centre in Bab Ezzouar, on the outskirts of Algiers.
SCCA has laid out plans for a 32,000-sq-metre retail and entertainment complex in the community of Es Sénia, located on the south-western edge of the provincial capital. Spanish architectural firm L35 was chosen to develop the facility on a recently acquired 5-ha plot, and construction is expected to begin by the end of 2012. The choice of the site in Es Sénia, located near the University of Oran and the province’s Ahmed Benbella airport, should help to funnel traffic into the shopping area.
The Es Sénia centre will include roughly 20,000 sq metres of retail space, including a 7500-sq-metre anchor store. Another 10,000 sq metres will be dedicated to leisure facilities. The complex’s mix of retailers is expected to be similar to that of SCCA’s Bab Ezzouar shopping centre, which combines a handful of local retailers with international brands.
The centre will be one of the first large-scale, high-end shopping centres outside of the capital when it opens in 2015. This marks a distinct shift in consumption habits by Algerian consumers, given that the informal retail market is estimated to account for roughly 40% of all retail and trade activity in Algiers, with an even higher percentage in other cities.
This is attributed to a variety of factors. In addition to rising purchasing power over the past few years, the population is increasingly “exposed to foreign retail standards through the internet, television and other media, and is demanding high shopping standards,” Alain Rolland, the general manager of the SCCA, told OBG last year.
While Algeria has a variety of shopping areas and markets, Bab Ezzouar was one of the first to feature a large number of international brands and entertainment areas. In the months following its aggressively hyped opening in August 2010, the shopping centre saw an average of 60,000 visitors per day, with a peak of 90,000 people per day during the first few weeks, which coincided with Ramadan, a key shopping period.
Visitor numbers have since levelled off at an average of 25,000-30,000 individuals per day, with roughly 55-60% of all visitors making purchases, according to SCCA.
The steady footfall figures will likely be reinforced by recent government measures to increase purchasing power and stimulate spending. The government raised public sector salaries in 2011 for the second time in two years and introduced subsidies for household goods. In 2010, the IMF predicted a 4% annual increase in household spending through 2013.
While Bab Ezzouar, and in the future, Es Sénia, fit into the higher end of the retail market, Algeria also has a number of current and planned retail facilities aimed toward the mid-range market. The Algerian company Arcofina Holdings is developing a large mixed-use retail and real estate project on the Bay of Algiers, named Alger Médina, which includes a large shopping mall and a hypermarket and should significantly increase formal retail opportunities in the capital’s city centre in 2012.
In addition, Sidar Algeria, a subsidiary of the Saudi-based real estate developer, manages the Al Qods shopping centre in Algiers, which has been a key outlet for the mid-range retail market since 2008. Sidar is currently developing several new retail projects, including a 62,000-sq-metre commercial and business centre in Oran and the development of four shopping districts and centres in the Algiers area.
As long as economic growth and household expenditure hold steady in the face of continued economic trouble in Europe, the Es Sénia project and others will help to capitalise on the expanding retail market in Algeria.
algeria skyscrapper city
Bab Ezzouar
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=693028&highlight=bab+ezzouar
Algeria and France Tussle over archives
Algiers – When French soldiers and administrators left Algeria after more than a century of colonial rule, they did not go empty-handed.
They took historical artefacts, books and maps, a national heritage that still sits in French libraries and archives today and which Algeria says its former colonial master should return.
France and Algeria this week mark the 50th anniversary of the July 5, 1962, independence declaration that ended French rule. Each side will reflect on the problems that entangle them.
Algerians want Paris to apologise for decades of colonial servitude and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people who fought for independence. France wrestles with its legacy in the form of a huge community descended from Algerian migrants that struggles to integrate into French society.
Set against these problems, the missing archives are not the most serious issue weighing on French-Algerian relations. But the tussle captures the deep sense of both grievance and mutual dependence that remains between the two countries half a century after they broke apart.
Abdelmadjid Chikhi, director of Algeria’s national archive centre, said his counterparts in France had offered a compromise: Algeria would be given access to copies of the disputed items if it abandons its claim to them. He refused.
“We’re not going to give up our right. We’re not going to give up our property,” he said in an interview in Algiers. “Quite simply because it’s something that belongs to us. What’s mine is mine. I’m not going to sign away our national heritage.”
France sees it differently. Herve Lemoin, the director of the French national archives, said an agreement had been reached in 1966 to return Algeria’s historical archives, notably Ottoman-era documents, and technical documents from the 1830-1962 period, but Algiers had since claimed more.
The row has practical implications for Algeria because some documents held in French institutions contain technical data; maps of underground sewers, gas pipes and electricity lines.
In the summer of 2009, archaeologists found the remains of an ancient Christian basilica underneath Place des Martyrs, a busy square in Algiers not far from the historic Casbah.
Among the Algerian archaeologists excavating the site were a number of researchers from France. Asked why they were there, the Algerian head of the dig said: “They have the maps.”
He said it was customary for France to allow access to such maps on the condition that French scientists join the project.
Engineers building the first underground train system in the capital, completed earlier this year, had similar problems with a lack of data about what they were digging through.
In all, according to archives chief Chikhi, France still has about 50,000 manuscripts which originated on Algerian soil, as well as large numbers of other historical artifacts.
Most coveted by Algerian historians are the items which relate to the country before the start of French rule in 1830.
France has the library of Emir Abdelkader, an Islamic scholar who led a rebellion against French rule in the two decades after the French arrived. General Thomas Robert Bugeaud, sent by Paris to put down the revolt, captured the emir, sent him into exile and confiscated the library.
French institutions hold hundreds of scientific papers which date to a period before rule from Paris, when Algeria was a seat of learning that attracted scholars from Europe, among them Leonardo Fibonacci, the Italian mathematician.
Another Algerian artifact stands in the French port of Brest – a bronze cannon, known to Algerians as Baba Merzouq.
It was built for Algeria’s rulers to protect their Mediterranean coast from attacks by European forces trying to neutralise the pirates who used Algeria as a safe haven.
It was also used in the 17th century to execute two French consuls who annoyed the local rulers, giving the cannon its French nickname, le Consulaire. When the French invaded, they claimed the cannon as a trophy of war. Algerian civil society groups have mounted a vocal campaign to get it back.
Algerian historians feel the shipping of such items to France was part of a drive by colonial rulers to erase traces of the civilisation that existed before they arrived.
It aimed, they say, to crush ideas of Algerian statehood.
The removal of artifacts began with the start of French rule and continued even in the weeks before independence, when files were transferred to France under the pretext of transferring them onto microfilm, said Chikhi.
“They didn’t want to leave any symbols of the state, and the archives are a symbol of state,” he said.
Despite the disputes, staff at the Algerian and French national archives have a decent working relationship.
They signed a cooperation agreement in 2009 and let each other’s researchers study, and sometimes copy, some documents.
“This agreement… opens for both our countries a page of history that we hope will be fruitful as possible,” Lemoin said.
The problems are at a higher level. When negotiators were hammering out the terms of Algeria’s independence in the French spa resort of Evian 50 years ago, they did not include in their treaty any articles on archives or historical artefacts.
Since the 1966 agreement cited by Lemoin, there has been political deadlock. France argues that since the archives and artifacts were collected by French officials when Algeria was part of France, it now owns them.
“These archives, which represent just 15 percent of the public archives existing in Algeria in 1962, came from civil servants, police and military… (and) are considered under French law sovereign archives that are not transferable,” Lemoin said. “But that does not exclude them from being made available for the needs of research and knowledge.”
Algerians counter that no one asked them if they wanted to be ruled by France. In any case, they say, if a document or artifact originated on Algerian soil, it is Algerian property.
U.S embassy in Algiers helps install driving range
The Public Affairs Section at the U.S. Embassy in Algiers has partnered with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Office of the Olympic Complex (OCO), and the Algerian Golf Federation, to install the first driving range in Algiers. A driving range is primarily used as a learning platform for players who want to learn principle techniques and improve their golf performance. The new driving range will be managed by Professional Golf Association expert Aamir Chaudhry, who will offer professional golf lessons and provide free workshops for children. This landmark accomplishment will be celebrated by all those who love the game of golf on May 4, 2012 at 10:00 at the Official Opening Ceremony held at the Terrain du Golf in Del Ibrahim.
Joint statement by High Representative Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Štefan Füle on the elections in Algeria
Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission and Štefan Füle, Commissioner for Enlargement and the European Neighbourhood Policy, made today the following statement: “We welcome the holding of legislative elections in Algeria in a peaceful and orderly atmosphere. We consider these elections to be a step forward in the reform process which started in April 2011 in Algeria, expected to be concluded by a revision of the Constitution later this year to consolidate democracy and the rule of law in line with the legitimate expectations of the Algerian people. The newly elected Assembly will be called to play an important role in this process. We welcome the increased participation of women in this Assembly. Algeria’s invitation to the EU to observe these elections is a mark of trust and engagement. We take note of the preliminary results of the elections announced by the Ministry of Interior and of the Local Communities and the official voter participation rate. The preliminary findings of the EU’s Election Observation Mission, led by MEP M. Salafranca, have acknowledged positive developments in the electoral process while underlining some areas where improvements can be made. More detailed recommendations will be outlined in the final report which will be made available in the coming weeks. The EU is fully committed to continuing an open, comprehensive and constructive dialogue with Algeria in order to further strengthen the partnership. The EU looks forward to the newly elected Parliament taking forward the reform process based on democratic principles and the respect for human rights and the rule of law.”
legislative election chart
Tour d’algerie
algeria’s cycling tour 2012
Hanout Maker 2
Here is the rest of the shows. it looks like they are trying to have a tour all over the country
full show in Wahran (Oran)
full show in Tlemcen
interesting look on how the algiers metro was/is made
video taken near the emir abd elkader statue on around the 25th of
December
excavation for the extension of the Algiers metro.
algeria skyscrapper city
A forum dedicated to show the various projects that are occurring in Algeria(and various other countries).
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=1476
Algerian cityscapes showing the various cities in Algeria.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1495
Algerian portraits
www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=87050370#post87050370
Algerian music
Daniel Bosshart FIBA
Swiss artist Daniel Bosshart in Algiers. the cartoonist draws about his experience when he visited the comic festival in Algiers.
http://issuu.com/danielbosshart/docs/sejour_english?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222
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