My three day of working in Algiers were tough as all the discussions were in French and I don't get enough practice nowadays. However, my hosts were most polite and obliging and at the end we were agreed we had achieved what we set out to do.
The last meeting on Monday ended a little earlier than expected so I was taken off to see the Bardo National Museum which was fantastic. The museum is housed in a villa, built in what I would call a Moorish style, originally by a Prince from Tunis (as this areas was then) possibly as early as the 13th Century but extended at times since then. The surrounding gardens are a very attractive sight and a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the city outside. Much of the museum is still completing a major restoration but I had a great time in the archaeological section looking at the early history of the region - human settlements second only to Odulvai (East Africa) in age. These items and some more modern artefacts are in annexe rooms that probably were added on in the 19th century. It was fascinating and a superb end to the tour. I would like to come again and see the older building and the art collection.
We all went for a stroll downtown to look at the shops and buy some local sweet cakes for the office and I was also given a large bunch of fresh dates. These had been the subject of much discussion about the various words for dates in Arabic dialects and the fact that you can get camels and dates in Australia too. A final dinner at a super little family restaurant with great chilli flavoured dips similar to Mexican salsa and beautifully cooked shashlicks of veal fillet.
Tuesday morning and it was back to the airport - very modern and efficient apart from Lufthansa arriving late. That of course meant the plane departed late and I missed the connection in Frankfurt so I ended up on the later Austrian Arrows flight back home.
Algeria is OK in my book and if I go again I will surely make the effort to get more time off to see some more of the architecture and the country.
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