Sunday, October 17, 2010

CASBAH, INTERIORS AND MECHOUI...

ALGIERS - OCTOBER 2009

***

CASBAH


"CASBAH - The Casbah (meaning citadel) is, according to Wikipedia, «specifically the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it». Built on a hill over the ruins of old Icosium, the Casbah is a small city divided in two: the High city and the Low city"


"VIEWS OF THE CASBAH"


"VIEWS FROM THE CASBAH"


"SHOP"


"STREETS OF ALGIERS"

***

INTERIORS


"ETNOGRAPHY - A traditional Algerian home may be visited to see how life was in the old times"


"DECORATION"


"PATIO"


"PAINTINGS AND MUSIC"


"CROWN"


"ANTIQUES' MUSEUM"


"OFFICE BUILDING"

***

DINNER


"RESIDENCE"


"MECHOUI - With music..."

52 comments:

Trotter said...

Hi Everybody! Just came back after some days abroad for professional reasons to stroll the old streets of Algiers! This time will see the Casbah, visit some museums and end the day with a mechoui dinner... Hope you enjoy and please
put down your comments, so that I know if it makes sense continuing posting...
Have a great week ahead!

joo said...

It's a fabulous post Trotter - the first photo is stunning, and I love the craft you show us here. Wow, it's a must-to-visit place!
Have a nice week:)

Nikon said...

Hi Gil, that sure is a place to boggle the mind!
I think I would suffer from visual overload in no time - there is so much to see and so much crammed into the Casbah.
Great photos!

G@ttoGiallo said...

I'd like sneaking through the streets of the Casbah !
Hey, happily Blogger gave us back the old post editor, uh ?!!!

alicesg said...

Lovely to walk along the street of the town and taking photos of the buildings. Very interesting and lovely place.

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Wow! I cannot say enough in appreciation of these marvelous pictures that truly depict a culture so very well! Thanks so much for posting them!

Also, what is that in the last picture? The one in the top right hand quadrant? Duck? Yummmmmy ;)

Do have a great week ahead!

P.N. Subramanian said...

Great pictures. Everything looks Oriental. French influence is not that much visible.

Ash said...

Beautiful and exotic! I'd love to visit that antiques museums.

hpy said...

De belles choses - et de moins belles aussi, comme partout.

Ron said...

Great, great post! I really like that first picture and how it shows the oldness to the buildings. Great shot:)

Joy said...

Reminds me of Morocco. It seems like a really old place. Steeped in history.

Looking forward to the weekend?

Many thanks for visiting Norwich Daily Photo and leaving your comment. Come visit again tomorrow!

indicaspecies said...

Interesting shots Gil.

Shionge said...

Hiya Gil, once again wonderful shots and beautiful sharing.

We knew you have been trotting from one place to another, where is your actual home? Have you blogged about your home & places around the house? Or neighbourhood? That would be great too :D

You have a great weekend too.

Dawning One said...

ho, ho , ho Gil, been to ze Caspar?
how wonderful. you made me want to go there too. i'm back on line after a very lengthy break away, visit http://newdawn-now.blogspot.com/
Lydia

juka14 said...

I like the style of the interiors, it's so different from Europe.

eye in the sky said...

the first photo alone is breathtaking. nice set here. wow.

Karena said...

I am so glad to find you and I adore your site ! Fabulous images!!!

I have a Fabulous French Giveaway from Metis Linens you will love!

Karena
Art by Karena

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Lovely photos and a very informative write up.Although,I cannot visit these places,you photos give me a fantastic view and I am simply thrilled to visit your blog.

Best wishes:)
Joseph

elvira pajarola said...

Oh....Thanks so much for this splendid and fun trip through this fascinating part of Algiers.....certainly; I admit...I did a lot of shopping too; hehe...!

Wonderful Mosaiccombinations; FABULOUS!!!!!!

have a great weekend, Trotter!!!!

ciao ciao elvira

Pietro Brosio said...

Hello Gil! Thanks for this fantastic and interesting tour through the Casbah with your very nice pictures and collages! It's all so thrilling: from the views of the houses, the shop, the interiors, the decorations, to the patio, the antiques museum and the Mechoui with music!
Have a great weekend!

A Lady's Life said...

Wow! Certainly is different from all your other pics.
Very exotic. :)

Anonymous said...

Rock The Casbah!

Really wonderful images. I've just wandered the streets of the citadel with you. Thanks for sharing.

Cloudia said...

really enjoyed this post/visit!

that crown, heck, everything shines with patina of culture and years.


well done


Aloha from Hawaii

Comfort Spiral

><}}(°>

S-V-H said...

I love the "magic of the orient" and the "murisch" architecture. Very nice and interesting post, as usual, Manuel!

I hope you're feeling well again!

Rajesh said...

Beautiful place. Very different from what you have shown us so far.

HalfCrazy said...

Whoa, it's so cool that the city is divided into two!

Casbah looks so solemn to me. There aren't many colors, just white concrete stuff.

april said...

Seems to be a shopping paradise.
Greetings from Cologne, I.

diane b said...

Certainly a very different culture. You have captured it well.

My Unfinished Life said...

luks a bit like old delhi in some pics!!!

Rune Eide said...

I would have loved taking my cameras there, but since I can't I'll gladly settle for your photos.

Have a speedy recovery!

yyam said...

Wow! Spectacular photos! Love the little cultural treasures! :)

Marja said...

oh I didn't know that I always thought that the casbah was the shopping centre. Beautiful photos It has a bit of the feeling of Marocco
What a wonderful time you must have had

magiceye said...

fascinating shots!!

Cergie said...

Bonjour Gil, en réaction à ton commentaire : le blog et la publication des messages est surtout un enrichissement personnel. Refaire les voyages à l'envers, trier ses photos est déjà très agréable pour soi, on n'est pas maso ! Et puis aussi pour sa famille qui ne commente pas souvent (c'est le cas chez moi du moins). Et puis il y a le partage bien sûr !
Alger, l'architecture même traditionnelle d'une grande sobriété avec quelques détails "qui tuent" comme ces marquises au dessus des fenêtres et des portes où je verrais bien posés quelques pigeons ou mouettes...
Le méchoui je le laisse aux autres visiteurs, je ne suis pas très "viande"... Par contre la chorba... Miam !

rochambeau said...

Hi Gil and Mrs. T!
Thank you for sharing your photographs of Algeria. The textiles, architecture, the tiles all wonderful. I like how all the patterns work together. Is the man playing a sitar?

Happy week ahead to you both!
xox
Constance

Jen Laceda | Milk Guides said...

This is beautiful!!!

Gil, do you have a Twitter account?

indicaspecies said...

Hi Gil,
I hope all's well at your end, and you must continue posting. Cheers!
~celine

Emm said...

Oh wow... that is so not what I expected Algiers to look like! It looks like the humidity must be quite high as all the the paint is peeling and cracking. Very interesting - did the place feel magical for you??

Anonymous said...

I agree with the others. You would be so missed if you quit posting and how would I ever see some "wow" places as Algiers without your fabulous photos? Things I know I will never see in my lifetime. :) Fabulous photos Gil.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting sights. I'd love to hear the music, too. ;-) Wonderful-looking.

Paz

Light and Voices said...

The introduction shot is my very favorite of this series. I can't imagine wearing that jewelry on post.
Joyce M

Emery Roth said...

Terrific post - one of your best. I expect to see Bogie around every corner. The first shot is especially stunning.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Sorry,Gil, I thought I left a comment last week -- it must not have "taken"
I love the richness of design and colors in the Casbah. It looks so exotic.

Indrani said...

What a contrast between the first shot and the last collage! Stunning crown too. Great pictures shared.

Trotter said...

Hi Folks! It’s time to start leaving the Maghreb, while still staying in North Africa, though much more to the east than Algeria... Anyhow, there will be a last post on Algiers before we move, and that will be your last chance to put your thoughts on what you feel about this new country at Blogtrotter Two! Thanks always for the comments. It’s so hard to get one that I truly praise yours...

Joo,
It’s ok, pictures came out rather well, but I wouldn’t say it is a must visit place anyhow... ;))

Paul,
The peculiar condition of the Casbah(s) is the fact that it usually crams too many things in such a short amount of space... ;)

G@tto,
Great that the old editor came back to live; the new one was more than disturbing, to say the least...

Alice,
That’s exactly the mission of a tourist: nose in the air, camera in hands and shooting everywhere, either standing or moving... ;))

Rakesh,
Lamb!! According to www.mechoui.com, «Mechoui is an Arabic word meaning "roasted on an open fire" as opposed to oven-roasted. This can apply to a variety of foods, but mostly it refers to a whole lamb spit-roasted outdoors. In Algeria, Mechoui is considered as an appetizer and is traditionally served at the beginning of a feast. It is eaten with fingers. The host serves himself first, then tears out pieces of the crispy skin and offers them to the guests. »

P.N.Subramanian,
Oriental? Maybe you’re right, but I must confess that I didn’t notice till you mentioned it…

Ash,
It’s not a big museum, but it has some interesting items in the collection; nice place to go when it’s too hot or too rainy… ;)

Hélène,
Vraiment ça; comme partout… Le plus important c’est le regard que tu portes là-dessus… ;)

Ron,
Piece of cake!! All those buildings are so old that it’s not difficult to find one to illustrate the genuine antique character of the district... ;)

Joy,
No wonder it reminds you of Morocco; it’s quite close and quite similar, though there are also differences... ;)

Celine,
Thanks!!

Trotter said...

Part Two:

Betty,
I’ve always been based in Lisbon, except for the first five years of my life; and I’m actually trotting from here... I never posted about Lisbon, as this blog is supposed to be about trotting, and in Lisbon I don’t trot a lot; at least nowadays, because some thirty five years ago I used to pick a camera and a book guide every Saturday morning and act like a tourist in town. An amazing experience... Anyhow, maybe in the future, when the chances to go abroad will be reduced, I’ll start trotting again in Lisbon... ;)

Lydia,
Wow! Welcome back!! Great to see that you’re still alive and launching a new era; look forward to seeing you here often...

Juka,
Not that different; there are many similar interiors in Portugal and Spain... No wonder, as the Arabs settled in the Iberian Peninsula for several hundreds of years...

Eye,
Thanks! It came out quite well indeed, that first picture of this post... But some of the others aren’t that bad also... :D

Karena,
Thanks for your visit and first time comment at Blogtrotter Two! Hope you enjoy and keep commenting here. I’m not giving up anything, that’s probably why I don’t get as much as yours over three hundred comments!! ;)

Joseph,
One never knows; actually Algiers and Algeria were not in my visiting list, though they are close to Lisbon and there is even a direct plane line nowadays... So, never say never...

Elvira,
My pleasure dear!! And I’m happy that you managed to go shopping easily from your sofa-bed trip... ;)). The mosaics are a treat from PowerPoint... ;))

Pietro,
I’m glad that you enjoyed it all; sorry that the mechoui doesn’t go live yet in the Internet; maybe in the future... ;))

Lady,
Which one is different? The Mechoui? That’s my contribution/retribution to all those that try to ruin my already ruined diet by showing some fabulous meals in their blogs... ;))

The Photo Huntress,
Thanks for your visit and first time comment at Blogtrotter Two! Hope you enjoy and keep commenting here.

Trotter said...

Part Three:

Cloudia,
That crown would surely fit rather well on you... And I’m sure that everything else wouldn’t make a disappointment... ;)

Sue,
This is the true Moorish architecture, as the Moors actually lived there for ages... The one you see in the Iberian Peninsula is already something mixed... ;)

Rajesh,
I’ve already shown something of Morocco and of Tunisia, which are not so different from what we may see here in Algeria...

Half,
Where did you find that idea that the city of Algiers is divided into two? Of course, when cities are some centuries old, there is usually an Old Town and a New Town, but that doesn’t really mean that the city is actually divided into two parts, like for instance Beirut was and Nicosia is... ;))
White and blue are perfect colours for a city by the sea... ;))

Ingrid,
Shopping paradise? I don’t think so... Nothing compared at least with the Kasbah of Marrakech, Morocco... ;))

Diane,
With that statement I can agree; it’s truly different the culture... But that’s the great advantage of travelling: seeing new places and cultures... ;))

Star,
That’s an amazing comparison... There might actually be some places in the Old Delhi that are similar to the Casbah...

Rune,
Thanks! It’s easy to get there now: you fly TAP Portugal from Oslo straight to Lisbon, spend some time here and then fly straight from Lisbon to Algiers... Piece of cake... ;))

Yvonne,
The little cultural treasures of the Algerian museums are pretty appropriate for you, who are always wondering us with such interesting little treasures in you own blog...

Marja,
According to Wikipedia, «The Casbah (Arabic: قصبة‎, qasba, meaning citadel) is specifically the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. More generally, a kasbah is the walled citadel of many North African cities and towns. A casbah/kasbah has never, is not, and will never be a marketplace or anything even remotely related to a marketplace or store of any kind. The name made its way into English from French in the late 19th century (the Oxford English Dictionary states 1895), and continues to be spelled as acquired from that language». Always learning... ;))

Magic,
Magical, I would say... ;)

Trotter said...

Part Four, and last, for the time being... ;)

Lucie,
Tu as certainement raison; c’est surtout un enrichissement personnel... Mais je dois avouer que s’il s’agirait seulement de travailler pour soi-même, je me demande si je continuerais à dépenser aussi du temps comme je le fais aujourd’hui avec ce blog… ;)). À mon avis, c’est surtout le partage et la chance de montrer quelque chose que les autres n’ont pas vue et peut-être n’auront pas la chance de la voir…
Dis donc, tu as trouvé le secret de la chorba? ;))

Constance,
I’m not sure it is a sitar, but it can easily be...

Jen,
I actually don’t have a Twitter account; in fact I have one account at Facebook, but truly don’t pay much attention to it... I’ve too many things to do to be always wired... ;))

Celine,
Thanks! I’m still fighting those viruses in the throat, larynges/pharynges... Hopefully it will get better... ;)

Emm,
Maybe the humidity is high, but you know, when you keep a building without any maintenance or painting for some thirty years or more, it’s no wonder that the paintings start peeling and cracking... ;)
Far from magical dear...

Lynn,
I will be around, provided that you’ll also continue to leave your comments here... Fair deal, I assume... ;)). And I’ll try to keep bringing some odd places people is not so used to be watching in everyday travelling... ;)

Paz,
The music was somehow a mix of east and west... According to Wikipedia, it’s basically Raï... And «Raï ‎) is a form of folk music that originated in Oran, Algeria from Bedouin shepherds, mixed with Spanish, French, African and Arabic musical forms, which dates back to the 1930s»...

Joyce,
You would look great with all that jewellery on, I am sure... ;))

Ted,
Bogie was probably at Rick’s in Casa and had no time to come to Algiers as he had to leave to Lisbon one of those days... But the Casbah all create the same feeling... ;)

Pat,
Sometimes we think it’s done, but then Blogger idiosyncrasies start working and everything goes bust... ;))

Indrani,
Thanks! Contrasts are my enchantments... ;))

seema gupta said...

so royal pictures, beautiful..

regards

Trotter said...

Seema,
Thanks for your visit and first time comment at Blogtrotter Two! Hope you'll enjoy commenting in the future...

Oman said...

seems like an old city with outstanding culture.

i love travelin' because i am given the chance to mingle with locals and learn their cultures. but i can't afford to travel as extensively as you so reading your blog really made me feel like i am travelin with you and seeing places i could never go to. thanks for sharing.

trotter said...

Lawstude,
One day you'll also see it all...
Meanwhile I must confess that your pictures of the Philippines' islands also make me dream of a decent trip down there...