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Algeria is situated
along the North African coast,
bordered by Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Morocco. It
is the largest of the three countries (including Morocco and Tunisia)
which form the region of western North Africa known traditionally as Al
Maghrib (" the West"). It is also the second largest country in Africa and
the tenth largest country in the world in terms of land area, equal in
size to Western Europe. The Sahara is one of the
most striking features of the country. Relatively uninhabited, the area is
drawing increasing numbers of winter tourists. Local cooking often
includes roast meat and cous-cous with a vegetable sauce. Main towns offer
reasonable entertainment facilities, including discotheques, folk dancing
and traditional music.
After a century of rule by France, Algeria
became independent in 1962. The
surprising first round success of the
fundamentalist FIS (Islamic Salvation Front) party in December
1991 balloting caused the army to intervene, crack down on the FIS, and
postpone the subsequent elections. The FIS response has resulted in a
continuous low-grade civil conflict with the secular state apparatus,
which nonetheless has allowed elections featuring pro-government and
moderate religious-based parties. FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation
Army, disbanded itself in January 2000 and many armed militants
surrendered under an amnesty program designed to promote national
reconciliation. Nevertheless, residual fighting continues. Other concerns
include large-scale unemployment and the need to diversify the
petroleum-based economy.
The name Algeria derives from the Arabic
Jaza'ir which is the plural for the word meaning "island" or
"peninsula".The name Jaza'ir comes from the ancient regional descriptive,
Barr al Jaza'ir (Lands of the Islands), indicating the three countries of
the Magreb region. The total area of Algeria is 2,381,741sq km, sharing
its western border with Morocco, its southern border with Niger, Mali and
Mauritania and its eastern border with Libya and Tunisia. Its 1,200 km of
northern coastline runs along the Mediterranean Sea.
The great majority of the population are Sunni
Muslims of Arab-Berber descent; Europeans, who before
independence accounted for 10% of the total, now are only 1% of the
population. Arabic is the official language, but French is widely spoken,
and a sizable minority speaks a Berber language.
Along the coastal strip are the main towns and
beach resorts. The Sahara Desert covers 85% of the country. There are two
mountain ranges: the dramatic Hoggar massif, rising to almost 3000m
(9800ft), and the Tassili N'Ajjer or 'Plateau of Chasms'.
The
capital city Algiers, has been a port
since Roman times and many impressive ruins can still be seen, such as
those at Djemila and Tipaza. Along the coast lie some fine resorts;
Zeralda is a beach resort with a holiday village and a replica nomad
village. Tipaza has exceptional Roman, Punic and Christian ruins.
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