ORAN-gelica

The first time I heard of Oran...was in a techno remix song by the now defunct French group, Les Negresses Vertes.

I had no idea what Oran was then, but since coming to Algeria I heard good things about it, so I went there this weekend. I left early Wednesday on the 7:45am train. 5 hours later it pulled into Oran and I went straight to the Institute de Langues Etrangeres where my fellow English Language Fellow, Martha Schouten had an English Club Meeting going on. I arrived to a warm welcome from some enthusiastic English learners that Martha has been working with over the course of last year and this year.

After that, I explored the town some and as the sun went down I accidentally went into no man's land, the Casbah of Oran...I was escorted out of there by the police and they said that it is quite dangerous at night and that a foreigner like myself should not be around there. So I explored the area around the major downtown hotels. I found Oran to be fairly easy to manage for getting around and what not.

The next day I began heading towards the great mountain that overlooks Oran, Djebel Murdjadjo. It is quite majestic with the Spanish-built Fort of Santa Cruz and the nearby church of Santa Cruz near the summit. I asked a local man which way to go and after briefly explaining the directions, he invited me home for some coffee. It felt like Mauritania or Senegal all of a sudden. Invitations home like this were quite common over there.

Amar was a real nice man, he put on the Koran on CD and then some rap music and showed me pictures of him at the beach with his wife and their 8 kids. After finishing up the pain au chocolat and coffee, I thanked him and said goodbye. At a nearby square I found some “clandestine” taxis, or “clando” as they are called. One agreed to take me to the Santa Cruz Shrine for 200 Dinars.

The drive was nice, but the road was closed- at least according to him. I still got some nice pictures off. Before 10am, I headed to Place de Victoire, where I was to meet Martha. On the way, I took pics in the market, which I rather liked. Martha, showed off her cool retro place with high ceilings and pretty tilework. Then, we caught up talking about our program and upcoming activities.

She invited me along to visit the ACCESS students and her Thursday English club. Last year I worked with ACCESS students so it was nice to meet and chat with those that are participating here in Algeria. Her English club, is inspiring. These students meet at a place called Lebanon Café and speak in English.

On Friday, I met up with Karima, a local Algerian that I just met online days before going to Oran. She sent me an email via Couchsurfing.com, which I must recommend for those of you interested in meeting worldly traveler types. Anyways, she gave a brief but interesting tour and took me up the mountain that the clando taximan had refused to go up. The views of the city and surrounding area from up there were breathtaking. The Spanish Fort is closed due to an ongoing renovation, but the church area is open to visits.

After that we drove along the coast, which is absolutely wonderful with cliffs and an occasional fort jutting out to sea. Soon, we arrived at her hometown, Ain el-Turck. This small coastal town is the home of the Oran Nightlife and Rai music, was more or less born here. Maybe, I’ll get to see some of that next time. It’s really laid back though.

Karima took me to her home, where her brother had a big pan of paella waiting. Paella, the famous Spanish dish, is a popular meal in Oran as well. This is because, the Spanish were there for a long time and because much of the population were part of the Muslims and Jews that were expelled from Spain during the Reconquista of Isabella la Catolica. Karima means "generous" in Arabic, and Karima truly lived up to her name by offering to spend her one day off showing me around and treating me to a home-cooked meal at her family's home. This does not happen often, but in Oran it happened with Amar and with Karima, and I treasure those hospitable moments. So for those of you that are looking for such unique connections, either being a host or guest wherever you are, try out couchsurfing.com and see what it's all about.

Oran has many interesting sights to see, like the Mosque de Pasha, the St. Louis Church which was a synagogue. There is also a huge mosque in the city that was once a synagogue. The main Place du Premier Novembre has that regal French style reflected in the gardens, the monuments, the lion statues guarding the Town Hall and the magnificent Theatre.

I'll post pics later. :)