Those Romans Sure Got Around

You start realizing just how impressive that Roman Empire was when, in every country you visit, somebody says: "Hey, wanna go see our Roman Ruins?"  So there we were, receiving our very first visitors to our new outpost in Algeria when we blurted out: "So. Ruins. Whaddya say?"  Next thing you know, we piled six people into the Peugot and headed West to Tipaza.  Don't feel bad for the four crammed in the back, we're talking about a 30 minute drive here, 45 minutes when you take the slow road on the coast ... oh yeah, and when you're checking on the orange trucks every kilometer to see if they're still offering up 3kg of fresh oranges for a buck.

Once in Tipaza, finding the ruins is no problem at all. We stopped to grab a bite at a quaint little seafood restaurant on the way, and were seated right next to what seemingly was a old Roman bathhouse (or therme).

The 20 or so cats wandering the restaurant were definitely more impressive for the kids. With full bellies, we then made our way to the entrance to the site, paid our 20 DA a piece to get in (let's save you a trip to http://www.xe.com/ucc/ ... that's about 25 cents). Quite the bargain to be able to see some of the most impressively accessible and intact Roman ruins, only outdone by the turquoise backdrop of the Mediterranean sea.

We had the chance to climb up the steps to a sacrificial altar.  I'm sure the walk up those steps 2,000 years ago wasn't as cool as when we did it.

We took long, meditative walks down to the Mediterranean.

Say what you will about those Romans, they were solid real estate investors.  Location, location, location.

And not too crowded a place, considering the rock bottom entry fee.

Although the locals just thought of it as a really cool swimming hole.

I'm Dreaming of a White ... Mawlid

Well, after a "short" hiatus (if you don't think that was short, I challenge you to wait your turn at any Algerian government office) we're back.

After taking a little break in Canada, where we were greeted by 30cm of snow and temperatures of -20C (hey, lay off, we're not used to it anymore and we're certainly not prepared for it, so -20C is cold for anybody wearing Converse All-Stars and thin dress socks) we were back in Algiers to soak in the sun and mock our friends and family.  Or were we?

A couple weeks after returning, the thermometers here did something we did not expect ... they went to single digits, and then worst, TO ZERO!  Thankfully, the cold kept away the humidity, right?  WRONG!  So we witnessed something that they haven't seen here in ... well ... ever I would guess.

Our story took a particularly interesting turn, when 20cm of that snow fell in the span of one evening, while we were dining at some friends' house.  It had been raining all day, and surely somebody uttered "Well, thankfully the rain seems to have stopped" when we noticed that the sound of rain drops couldn't be heard anymore. Did we think to look out the window? No. Would we have noticed snow? Yes. Would we have left at that moment? Yes, because we were smack-dab in the middle of some pretty steep hills.

When we tried to leave at midnight, we were shocked.  If we were shocked, imagine the Algerians! We tried to get out, with summer tires, through roads with 20cm of unplowed snow, unsalted and without a shovel. We got to the bottom of the hill.

So the walk back to our friends' house was actually pretty nice, the snow gave the city a distinctly clean and fresh look.  We finally got out the next day at 3PM.  We will not bore you with the jokes about Canadians getting stuck in snowy Algeria. But the drive home was certainly scary, and wonderful, at the same time.

Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

We are going to change authors for this blog installment.  I got invited to a traditional Algerian wedding and wanted to share the experience with all of you.
How strange you say, that only I was invited?

Most traditional Algerian weddings are celebrated separately and since we are acquainted with the bride, it was I that got the invitation to go.
The actual ceremony is typically performed privately with close family.  The celebration, at least with the women, is an extravagant affair.


A parade of live music, dancing and high pitch "you-yous", welcomes the new bride to the party hall.  She takes her place of honour at the front for all to see and admire.  Then there was dancing and a lot of it.
I did find it strange though that no one went up to speak to her to say hello.  It almost felt like it was forbidden.  Being a foreigner, I didn't want to commit a "faux pas".

The bride then joins in on the dancing for a bit, to finish off with a fashion catwalk around the room and leaves to change into the next of her 6 outfits.
While she is gone the dance floor is full of hip shaking and crazy dancing.

The bride returns looking beautiful in another turquoise evening gown that stops at the knee and then delicate strings take over, of the same colour, to the floor.  The same style of strings cover only one arm and the other is bare.
She does a fashion parade around the room and takes her place at the front to sit and watch all the guests dance and socialize.
By this time I had gotten up the courage to ask someone.  "Does anybody go and speak to her or does she just stay like that all afternoon?"  Ah yes.. but you can go and speak to her if you want.  Let's just say I didn't want to be the one to break the ice.

A Kabylie Wedding outfit

Finally, someone from our table goes to see her.  The bride then gestures to our table to get up and dance with her.  In my mind, you don't say no to a bride... So we all went.
Shaking those hips is no easy task (at least for the foreigner)  They have pretty much been doing it from birth, since I pretty much had a 3 year old dance me under the table.

I then got my chance to have my picture taken with her.  I had a really good time and was very thankful that I had the opportunity to be apart of a bride's wedding celebration only after having just met her.

An Algerian Wedding dress

We have only been living here for 4 months and we have come to discover that the Algerian people are as bright and warm as their weather.
Here's to many more new and exciting discoveries that this country has to offer.