Monday, November 01, 2010

FRONT DE MER AND NOTRE DAME

ALGIERS- OCTOBER 2009


"GRAND POSTE - The Great Post Office building, with its neo-Moorish façade, was inaugurated in 1913"


"GARE D'ALGER - The Railway Station"


"PORT - The harbour of Algiers has a development and modernization plan spreading until 2015"


"FRONT DE MER - WATERFRONT"


"ESPLANADE"


"CHAMBER OF COMMERCE"


"FISHING DOCKS"



"NOTRE DAME DES AFRIQUES - The basilica of Algiers, located on the north side of Algiers, on a 124m cliff overlooking the Bay, was inaugurated in 1872, after fourteen years of construction. Built in a Neo-Byzantine style, it can be considered to be a counter piece to the church of Notre-Dame de la Garde on the other side of the Mediterranean, in Marseille"


"FOOTBALL"



"PANORAMA"

59 comments:

Trotter said...

Hi Folks! This is the last post on Algeria 2009, and it keeps the delay in roughly one year, as I left Algiers on November 1st, 2009... It is dedicated to two of the most significant views of Algiers: the Waterfront and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Africa... From my point of view, it makes a fabulous mix of white and blue... Hope you enjoy and have a great week ahead!

Cloudia said...

So well kept and modern amenities!



Aloha from Honolulu

Comfort Spiral

><}}(°>

Shionge said...

What can I say but in awe once again by your beautiful photos. Thank you :D

Sylvia K said...

Thanks as always for the marvelous tour! Your photos are superb also as always! Hope you have a wonderful week!

Sylvia

Rakesh Vanamali said...

I'm amazed by the open spaces and the airy feel of Algiers! I gather that there has been a great deal of planning ahead of construction primarily to ensure that space was well utilized in the sense of how important space is!

seema gupta said...

thanks for sharing such a beautiful pictures and place with us.
regards

Jen Laceda | Milk Guides said...

Algiers is really surprising me with the many beautiful sights!

Olivier said...

l'eglise est magnifique, j'aime beaucoup

diane b said...

The basilica looks very interesting as does the whole area but not sure if I would like to go there.

Daniel Chérouvrier said...

Beau reportage;
Je suis très occupé actuellement par des recherches sur le père de l'écrivain Jules Roy : Henri Dematons qui naquit dans l'AUBE en 1864, fut instituteur dans plusieurs villages autour de chez moi avant de partir en Algérie. Il apparait dans la chronique "Les chevaux du Soleil" écrit par Jules Roy, particulièrement dans "le Maître de la Mitidja".

BLOGitse said...

I wonder how many footballs have been kicked into the sea! :)

Come and check Casa traffic pictures...

indicaspecies said...

Will you hurry up a bit and take me on more virtual tours? Thanks for this fabulous mix of blue and white, and have a lovely week.

SusuPetal said...

That football stadium is fun looking!

elvira pajarola said...

I'm impressed of the magnificient harbor views.....FABULOUS!!!!

Certainly, the white houses just look wonderful with the blue sea background!!!

Lovely to see your elegant wife too!!!

ciao ciao elvira

Cergie said...

Alger la Blanche... Un surnom tout à fait mérité. C'est la blancheur qui saute aux yeux et que de vastes et majestueux bâtiments ! La gare est très impresionnante, j'aurais aimé aller à Alger en train (des amis sont revenus à Rabat en train).
Une basilique ? Tu ne nous montres pas la cathédrale ?

alicesg said...

Very interesting to see the town with so many buildings close to each other. Very beautiful buildings.

Anonymous said...

Some very impressive and beautiful buildings. Comparing the post office to mine here at home......well.... there is NO comparison. Lovely! Hope you are all better now.

Gattina said...

The French architectural influence is evident, just like in Morocco.

[G@ttoGiallo] said...

Good, where are we going now ?
Eastward ?

juka14 said...

Nice looking city, I think the weather must be great there.

Nikon said...

I love that shot of the railroad station with the big ferry in the background.
Notre Dame is beautiful & your "aerial" shot of the football stadium is great!

Light and Voices said...

Very nice.
Joyce M

Unknown said...

Amazing sites and photos Gil, this place seems so far away for me, a place I can only dream of going. You take care and get well soon :)

Rajesh said...

Beautiful shots. Very interesting architecture of these buildings.

yyam said...

Love the architecture! And what lovely views! :)

hpy said...

No wonder it's called the white city.

Rune Eide said...

What a view - especially compared to my window right - grey :-)

Emery Roth said...

I didn't know it was called, "the white city," but that seems appropriate. Thanks for the tour.

Pietro Brosio said...

Hello Gil! Another fantastic tour! Wonderful views of Algiers, the basilica is so charming, both the outside and the inside.
Happy weekend :-)

Oman said...

i would be lost in there, huge structures fronting the sea wow. just wow.

magiceye said...

that was wonderful!!

Ron said...

Fabulous post! Awesome picture of the soccer field. Churches really make for good photography.

Trotter said...

Hi Everybody! Thanks for taking your time to comment here. It’s so hard nowadays to have a comment on a post, that I truly appreciate your kindness to drop a line... I’m not a Blogger’s Follower of any blog, which doesn’t mean I don’t follow blogs... Actually, I have a list of roughly 80 blogs where I comment regularly, but it’s amazing this story of Blogger’s Followers... There are 59 on this blog, not so many as at the closed Blogtrotter (One)... From those 59, there are 25 that I don’t even know who they are... From the remaining 34, five have never left a comment here... So, the ratio is that 50% of the Blogger’s Followers are commenting on this blog and that’s much more than what I used to have at the former Blogtrotter (One)... Great improvement... ;)

Cloudia,
Well kept and modern? Well, let Blogitse live there for a while and you’ll find it won’t actually be as it looks on the first sight... ;))

Betty,
My pleasure to post them for you!!

Sylvia,
Thank you for your support... It’s great to have the feeling that someone is praising what you’re doing...

Rakesh,
Well, I’m not so sure about the planning; certainly not in the old town, casbah, citadel, etc... The new parts of town may have developed according to some town planning rules, but when you see the traffic jams you have to face to drive from one side to the other, you question yourself about the planning... ;)

Seema,
My pleasure!! And thanks for coming here and drop a line at Blogtrotter Two. Much appreciated...

Jen,
Don’t forget that I usually show only the nice side of the moon, not the dark side... ;))

Olivier,
La basilique est vraiment superbe et maintenant qu’ils sont en train de la récupérer elle va devenir encore plus belle… Il y en a des travaux partout, ce qui n’est pas bon pour les photos… ;)

Diane,
If you don’t need to go there, maybe you wouldn’t make such an effort... But everybody tells me that the south of the country, I mean the desert, is absolutely stunning!!

Daniel,
Avant de partir en Algérie et de se mettre en affaires avec Mathilde Roy, la femme du policier Louis Roy… Intéressant qu’il soit né du coté de chez toi et aussi ton intérêt dans le sujet……

Blogitse,
I’m sure that there are some kids getting fun catching the balls that go out of the stadium… ;))

PeterParis said...

The Algier basilica being the counter piece to the Notre Dame at Marseille, yes really - at least seen from the outside!

april said...

Wonderful all those white buildings. Greetings, Ingrid

Ash said...

Marvellous views and building!

Ash said...

*buildings*

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Hi Gil
Algeirs has spectacular views from so many different locations. I think my favorite set of photos were the ones looking at the Our Lady of Africa Cathedral.

Trotter said...

Part Two:

Celine,
OK, I’ll get some advance in posting on this blog, as the next trip will be already from February 2010... I think it’s the first time that I will be posting pictures taken in the same year of the post... And it will be a place that is quite familiar to you... Surprise... ;)

Susu,
I thought there was a wonderful view from the Basilica towards the stadium... You see no audience in the stadium... Everybody was looking at game from the terrace of the Basilica... ;))
xoxo

Elvira,
Lovely blue sky and sea, magnificent white houses... great combination...
Margarida thanks for the compliment... ;)
xoxo

Lucie,
C’est vrai qu’on appelle Alger la Blanche, mais, après le film d’Alain Tanner, «Dans la Ville Blanche», la vraie ville blanche est Lisbonne… ;)
Mais la Basilique de Notre Dame des Afriques est beaucoup plus intéressante que la cathédrale du Sacré Cœur d’Alger… ;))

Alice,
Buildings close to one another, but not as close as the huge tower buildings in Singapore… ;)

Lynn,
I’m still feeling uncomfortable, but a friend of mine who happens to be a doctor just told me to stop all medication and drink water... We’ll see what will happen in the near future... ;))
That Post Office building is absolutely stunning!!

Gattina,
No wonder there is a French influence; anyhow they were there since 1830 through 1962... ;). Well, not so long as the presence of the Portuguese in, let’s say, Macao (1553-1999)... ;)

G@tto,
Eastward, indeed... It will be one time where I’ll be posting only with a nine month delay, which doesn’t happen very often... ;)

Juka,
Well, if you compare with the weather in Brussels, it sure is great the weather in Algiers... ;))

Paul,
Thanks for drawing the attention to the huge ferry behind... must confess that I hadn’t noticed it before you mentioned...
That terrace of the Basilica provides a fabulous view over the football stadium...

Haddock said...

The railway station looks great.

Trotter said...

Part Three:

Joyce,
Thanks!!

M.Kate,
Great to read you back here!! I don’t think it is worth while «dreaming» of going there, unless you are actually dreaming of going south, deep into the desert... But if there is a decent opportunity to see the city, don’t miss it... ;)

Rajesh,
Some shots are better than others, but it’s true that some buildings have a great personality, architecture-wise speaking... ;)

Yvonne,
As the city lies in an amphitheatre towards the bay and the sea, there are always some spectacular views to be enjoyed from several different high points around town...

Hélène,
Yeah, but as I wrote in the answer to Cergie, after Alain Tanner’s «In the White City» movie, the White City is definitely Lisbon... ;)

Rune,
It has been a great Indian summer here in Lisbon with the sun shining the whole week and temperatures around 25º Celsius everyday... So, it’s time for you to consider a visit: it would give you the chance for superb pictures, I’m absolutely sure... ;))

Ted,
Indeed that’s the name it was given to Algiers for the striking white of the buildings of the modern part of the city, by the seashore, rising up from the sea towards the hills...

Pietro,
Great that you liked!! The basilica is actually a magnificent building and it’s encouraging that it has been restored to former glory...

Lawstude,
According to Wikipedia, «The modern part of the city is built on the level ground by the seashore; the old part, the ancient city of the deys, climbs the steep hill behind the modern town and is crowned by the casbah or citadel, 400 feet (122 m) above the sea. The casbah and the two quays form a triangle».

Magic,
Indeed!!

Ron,
That soccer pitch has a great location; and people with binoculars can watch the game for free from the terrace of the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa... Great deal... ;)

Trotter said...

Part Four:

I don’t know if you noticed, but this was the first time I managed to answer the comments before making a new post, I believe... Not important in fact, but it just shows that this week was a weird one: viruses still attacking my pharynges-larynges area, stop medication, stay at home and wait... So, there was a bit more time for the blogosphere... ;)

Peter,
I only saw the Basilica in Marseille from the air, so I don’t have any strong feelings on the similarity...

Ingrid,
That white makes a lovely contrast with the blue of the sea and the sky!!

Ash,
Indeed!

Pat,
As I mentioned in the answer to Yvonne, «as the city lies in an amphitheatre towards the bay and the sea, there are always some spectacular views to be enjoyed from several different high points around town...»

Haddock,
Great to see you back commenting here!!

P.N. Subramanian said...

I was greatly impressed by The basilica of Algiers, The football ground and the Railway Station. Thanks.

Trotter said...

P.N.Subramanian,
The basilica is magnificent and that football pitch was an amazing discovery...

My Unfinished Life said...

white n blue seems to be the theme colors of this city.....and they do make a lovely combo!!!

My Unfinished Life said...

get well soon .....

Trotter said...

Star,
It's true, blue and white always... In Algiers and with F.C.Porto... ;))

Mark H said...

Algiers was considered too dangerous when I travelled through Algeria some years ago. Have you travelled into the desert? It is staggerings beautiful for its emptiness, aridness and amazing light.

Trotter said...

Mark,
I couldn't make to the South, I mean the desert, but everybody tells me that's an amazing experience... Algiers is still a city with a security concern, taking into account the number of check points on the road from the airport and the number of policemen around town...

eye in the sky said...

How "European" the buildings are! My favorite in this set is the Notre Dame. Beautiful.

Trotter said...

Eye,
It's true that on this set you are not that far from Europe...

Lakshmi said...

Gil, Im a bit late here, but Ive just gone through all the posts that Ive missed and I must say, Im tryly overwhelmed by this virtual visual tour..this has been one of yr best..great to travel with you :)

Trotter said...

Lakshmi,
Great to read you back here!! Thanks for the kind words!! Algiers is not exactly a place where you expect to get some wonderful shots from well known monuments, but it has its beauties, like everywhere else...

Joy said...

A lot of concrete! I was expecting something different - like more trees, souks and colour.

Have a great Monday!

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

Trotter said...

Joy,
trees there are some, but with more than three and a half million people, you need a lot of concrete to lodge them... ;)

A Lady's Life said...

It's always nice to overlook the waterfront.
Have dinner on top of a high wall with a warm breeze.
Very refreshing.:)

Trotter said...

Lady,
Indeed! And in particular for those whose favourite sport is... «sea watching»... ;))

Light and Voices said...

Amazing that Algiers has a football field. My husband and I watched the Bear's play last night on TV. Algeria is so clean looking. What a neat surprise!
Joyce M

Trotter said...

Joyce,
Oh dear, that is a true football (soccer) field; not that thing that Americans call foot-ball and that is played with hands... ;))

Ah, but the Bears beat the Dolphins... ;))