The Purple Culture Guide to Algeria

Chapter 1: First Impressions

The first thing that hits you about Algeria isn't the Sahara or the Mediterranean coast, the ruins or the mountains. It's the noise, and the light, and the sheer, constant presence of people. You walk out of the airport terminal and you are immediately in a crowd of families reuniting, taxi drivers shouting, porters weaving through. It's a tactile, kinetic energy that fills every public space, and it’s the first sign that your mental picture of the country is probably wrong. If you came expecting a dusty, deserted place, you'll be astonished to find yourself in one of the most vibrant and crowded corners of North Africa.

The most common wrong assumption people bring is that Algeria is a blank spot, a place that exists only in headlines about oil or conflicts. Then you arrive and you're confronted with a society that is intensely connected, deeply social, and has a thriving culture of its own. The second assumption is that it's a desert country, full stop. In reality, a huge portion of the population lives in the narrow, fertile strip along the coast, where the climate is Mediterranean: spring hitting green and wet, summer humid and hot. The Sahara is real, yes, and it is vast, but its dramatic, all-encompassing presence dominates much of the country's geography and only a small portion of its daily life for the majority of people. So your first drive from Algiers airport might be through pine-forested hills, not sand dunes.