Algeria is a North African country with a Mediterranean coast and a desert interior of the Sahara. Many empires have left legacies here, such as the ancient Roman ruins on the coast of Tipaza. In the capital, Algiers, Ottoman landmarks such as the Ketchaoua Mosque from 1612 line the Casbah district on the hillside. , with its narrow streets and stairs. The city’s neo-Byzantine Notre Dame d’Afrique basilica dates back to French colonial rule.
One of the biggest sand dunes of the world is located in Algeria.
91% of the population lives along the Mediterranean coast on just 12% of the country’s total landmass.
here are a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Algeria, including Al Qal’a of Beni Hammad, Tipasa and Djemila and Timgad.
The Sahara desert makes up more than four-fifths of the country’s area. The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world (excluding Arctic and Antarctica).
The main languages in Algeria are Arabic, French, and Berber.
Algeria finally gained full independence in 1962 after the brutal Algerian War of Independence, fought from 1954 to 1962.
The official currency of Algeria is the Dinar.
The US army used to import camels from Algeria until the 1870s.
Algeria is the tenth largest country in the world and became the largest country in the continent of Africa.
In 2018, snow fell on the Sahara Desert for the third time in 40 years covering dunes in a layer of snow up to 40cm deep.
The national animal of Algeria is the Fennec Fox.
In 2019, Algeria became only the second African country to be officially recognized as malaria-free, following Mauritius in 1973.
Only 12% of Algeria’s land mass is inhabited.
Known as ‘Combat taa lkbech’ in the local Algerian Arabic dialect, sheep fighting is an illegal sport in Algeria where sheep are trained to battle each other to death.
There is a tradition in Algeria to leave a little of your food on the plate at the end.
Algeria has won the Africa Cup of Nations football championship twice. First in 1990 and then again in 2019. They were also runners up once in 1980.
Algeria took part in the Barbary Slave Trade between the 16th and 18th century.
The Djamaa El Djazair mosque in Algeria has the world’s tallest minaret. The mosque with its 265m-high minaret was completed in 2019.
Visitors to Algeria are greeted with a gift of dates and milk.
The critically endangered Saharan cheetah can be found in Algeria.
Albert Camus, the Nobel Prize winner for Literature was born here.
The French Foreign Legion used to be based in Algeria at the North African headquarters near Oran.
Tassilli National Park in Algeria has pre-historic rock drawings and Neolithic archaeological sites.
Around 99% of Algerians are Muslim – predominantly Sunni.
The highest mountain in Algeria is Mount Tahat.
The country’s capital city, Algiers, is known as ‘Alger la Blanche’ (Algiers the White) because of its whitewashed buildings.
The national football team is nicknamed Les Fennecs, after the national animal the Fennic Fox.
Algeria is a huge fossil fuel exporter. The country’s shipping of petroleum, natural gas and ammonia account for over 95% of its total exports.
St Augustine of Hippo – A founding fathers of Christianity was born in Tagaste in Algeria.
