When Roman emperors ruled the world, loyal centurions in the Roman legions who completed faithful service could expect as a retirement gift, if they were lucky, the equivalent of several hundred acres of farmland in the southern Mediterranean, mainly in territories that now lie within coastal Algeria, Tunisia, or Morocco.
Over the next two thousand years, these rich, fertile lands between the Atlas Mountains and the sea became wonderfully productive agricultural areas. There was a time not long ago when Algerian vineyards produced more wine every year than the entire state of California. The protective shadow of the Atlas, much like the San Gabriels and other coastal ranges in California, helped to make the coastal belt of Algeria a delightful place to live and work.
The modern nation of Algeria is gigantic, almost four times larger than Texas. Today, since Sudan was divided into two nations in 2011, it is by far the largest country on the whole continent of Africa. Algeria the nation is named for its capital city, Algiers, called “Alger la blanche” (the White City) because of its lovely whitewashed buildings gleaming on the sunny slopes overlooking the sapphire blue Bay of Algiers.
Visitors to Algeria often enter the country through Algiers, and it is surely worth prolonging your stay there several days if you can. Among its many treasures, Algiers is home to the famous Hotel St. Georges, a magnificent Moorish palace built atop a hill back in 1889. It was here that Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery directed much of his North African campaign in World War II, and it also famously hosted many significant conferences between General Eisenhower and Prime Minister Churchill during the war.
After Algerian independence from France in 1962, the St. Georges was renamed the Hotel El-Djazair, which has remained its name to this day. Many current guidebooks list the El-Djazair as one of the ten or twenty most famous hotels in the world. The French writer Henri de Montherlant is reported to have said, after a long stay there, “Heaven still exists!” because he found it so pleasant and the food so delicious.
Overlooking the bay from atop a high hill in the very heart of a bustling city, it boasts fortress-like walls and an enormous botanical garden, home to a number of rare Mediterranean trees. When you visit Algiers, this might be a good choice for your first stay. You will be shocked at how little it costs to stay at such a fabulous and luxurious hotel. In recent months, you could stay at the El-Djazair for $150 a night per person, double occupancy. A comparable luxury hotel would run you many times just a hop and a skip across the Mediterranean Sea in Italy or France.
Modern Algiers is big, beautiful, and thriving. It has magnificent restaurants, great architecture, fabulous beaches, an historic Casbah, enviable museums. You will especially want to savor the magnificent food in this seaside capital. I have too many happy memories of dining in Algeria to count, but if I had to pick a single favorite restaurant it would probably be El Cosaria, where my high expectations have always been met by fresh fish dishes prepared from that day’s catch brought up from beyond the breakwater in the Bay, and the many variations prepared there of lamb, a traditional Algerian staple. The cuisine is typically Algerian and very well done. Though this is considered the one of the city’s most expensive restaurants, dinner for two is rarely more than $50 to $75. But you will want to do your own exploring!…