I've been thinking a lot about perspective since I arrived. Algiers is one of those cities in which private life happens behind layers of walls: rooms inside apartments inside buidings inside courtyards. From the street, the city looks plain, forbidding even.
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| the street from my friends' apartment |
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| entering the casbah, or the old city |
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| Upkeep on the casbah's buildings is a constant need. |
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| a mosque in the casbah |
The courtyards offer beautiful tile-work and gardens as well as the privacy in which to enjoy them. We had a lovely lunch here yesterday while the birds punctuated the calls to prayer from the neighborhood mosques.
The greatest creativity appears in the interior, private spaces. Today we walked through a historic palace in the casbah which now houses art exhibits, and we joked that one could enjoy the visit even if only looking at the floors and ceilings.
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| inside a palace in the casbah |
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| a wooden door inset in a marble doorway |
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| fountain inside the palace in the casbah |
My friends' apartment is, of course, not as ornate as this palace, but it shares the openness of design with high ceilings and large doors as well as marble floors, which are pleasantly cool underfoot.
While in the casbah, we also climbed to the top of a house, which offered another shift in perspective. the confusing warren of streets have a sort of beauty from above.
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| the casbah from one of its rooftops |
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| the port and admiralty |
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| a mosque complex near the port |
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| the most inland sweep of the bay |
The day's sights were punctuated with surprises, too.
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| Pack donkeys collect the trash in the casbah. |
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| A mama cares for seven (we think) kittens. |
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| A glance down a side street reveals a mosque. |
Further anon.
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