2022 Travels

 

We live in Algeria now and Google Maps doesn't fully work here. This yearly recap comes from my Google Maps timeline, which relies on the tracking function to make the dots. Unfortunately the tracking function stops soon after arriving at the airport, so all I'll ever see is a dot at the airport and nothing else in this country. It does show that we traveled around the DC area and that we visited Rome and Cairo from Algeria, so that's what's on the map.

Old Cairo, Modern Art, Mosques, & Churches

 

This blog post is a mix of days spent in Cairo. The mosques and churches were seen with a private tour guide and driver, which isn't too expensive and worth it to have that personalized exploration of the major sites. We used Uber to visit other parts of the city on our own, which is an even cheaper way to get around.

Egyptian Museums

We visited The Egyptian Museum (The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities) as part of a private tour guide day. We took an Uber on our own to The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. Both are a must see if you're in Cairo.

Giza Pyramids

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Our hotel view when we arrived at the Giza pyramids in Egypt

Constantine Algeria

 

Constantine has various interesting and beautiful bridges crossing the ravine that cuts through the city. This is the Sidi M'Cid Bridge at night. That's after we arrived in the city after visiting the Djémila ruins shown in a previous blog post. We also made a day trip to the Timgad ruins from here which is another post. Most of these city pictures are from the final day of a wonderful 3 day weekend trip.

Timgad Algeria Roman Ruins

 

Timgad is one of the best examples of roman city planning with a grid layout. These ruins are fairly big with the city originally designed for 15,000 people.

Djémila Algeria Roman Ruins

Djemila is a 4 hour drive to the east of Algiers. It's on the way to Constantine, which is a popular tourist destination here for the tourists who venture to Algeria.

Rome Italy

 

Rome is a 2 hour direct flight from Algiers, so it's a good place to get away for a week or a weekend. Here's a belated blog post full of photos from a couple of weeks ago.

Oran Algeria - Days 2 & 3

 

We started day 2 in Oran at a private hotel beach about 45 minutes to the west. It was a nice secluded environment to relax a bit before resuming our city sightseeing after lunch.

 

Oran Algeria - Day 1

 

We took a weekend trip to Oran Algeria with a guided group tour. It was about a 4 hour train ride to the west of Algiers with only a couple of stops. The return trip wasn't as express and added at least another hour. There were many interesting places to see, an unexpected holiday concert, and much food to be eaten. Overall, it was a good weekend.

Tipaza Algeria

 

This is the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania, which is the tomb where the Numidian Berber King Juba II (son of Juba I of Numidia) and the Queen Cleopatra Selene II, sovereigns of Numidia and Mauretania Caesariensis, were allegedly buried. However, their human remains have not been found at the site, perhaps due to tomb raiding.

Bardo Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography

Bardo National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography

Arabic: المتحف الوطني باردو, El-mathaf El-ouatani Bardo

French: Musée National de Préhistoire et d'Ethnographie du Bardo

First Month in Algiers

sun rises on a new day in a new country (for us)

Algiers Apartment

Here's a little look at our furnished apartment in Algiers, Algeria. It compares well to our previous apartments with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms of a good size. We're very fortunate to be in a new building with a great view of the city.

2021 Travels

 

I forgot to make an end of the year recap of our 2021 travels. We lived in Latvia, vacationed in Iceland, spent home leave in Texas for 2 months, and then moved to DC for my language training right before New Year's Day. That must be why I forgot.