Kasbah of Algeria

The Kasbah of Algiers is an outstanding example of a historic Maghreb city having had extensive influence on town-planning in the western part of the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa.
Indeed, located on the Mediterranean coast, the site was inhabited at least from the 6th century BC when a Phoenician trading post was established there.  The term Kasbah, that originally designated the highest point of the medina during the Zirid era, today applies to the ensemble of the old town of El Djazair, within the boundaries marked by the ramparts and built at the end of the 16th century, dating back to the Ottoman period.
In this living environment where nearly 50,000 people reside, very interesting traditional houses, palaces, hammams, mosques and various souks are still conserved, the urban form of which bears witness to an effect of stratification of several styles in a complex and original system that has adapted remarkably well to a very hilly and uneven site.
Source: Unesco

Thanks to Tayeb for this beautiful street view of the Kasbah

Sent: 28 December 2015   Received: 16 February 2016   Travelled: 50 days

Ghardaia. Algeria

Ghardaïa is the capital city of Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. It is located in northern-central Algeria in the Sahara Desert and lies along the left bank of the Wadi Mzab. The M'zab valley in the Ghardaïa Province (Wilaya) was inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982, as a cultural property evaluated under the criteria II ( for its settlement having an impact on urban planning even to the present century), III (for its Ibadi cultural values), and V (a settlement culture which has prevailed to the present century).

Ghardaïa is part of a pentapolis, a hilltop city amongst four others, built almost a thousand years ago in the M’Zab valley. It was founded by the Mozabites, a Muslim Ibadi sect of non-Arabic Muslims, including the Berbers. It is a major centre of date production and the manufacture of rugs and cloths.Divided into three walled sectors, it is a fortified town. At the centre is the historical Mʾzabite area, with a pyramid-style mosque and an arcaded square. Distinctive white, pink, and red houses, made of sand, clay and gypsum,rise in terraces and arcades.In her 1963 book, La force des choses the French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir described Ghardaïa as "a Cubist painting beautifully constructed".

Thanks to Khaled for this postcard,quite a surprise as we have previously swapped before 

and this card comes via postcrossing :D

Sent: 3 February 2015   Received: 26 February 2015   Travelled: 23 days

Annaba, Algeria

Thank you Khaled for this view from your city!

 Sent: 22 January 2014, Received: 20 February 2014 Travelled: 29 days

My first stamped card from Algeria

Thank you Nafissa for this folklore card :D

Sent: 20 March 2013,   Received: 25 April 2013,   Travelled: 36 days