I started taking photographs on my yearly travels and got better with time. I try to capture the feeling and mood of a place as much as I can in each of my photos. Please check out my Flickr stream for the body of my work.
Introduction
Algeria is my favorite African country, perhaps because I am French-Algerian. After travelling extensively in many Arab or African countries, I found that there is something special about Algeria. It is a place with magnificent landscapes, beautiful cities around the sea or in the desert, with a lot of ancient and recent history.
Some places show the scars of different wars over the last 50 years, but the people are the warmest and most welcoming I have seen in my travels. I visited Algeria for the first time in 2007 with a couple of friends, and it turned out to be the beginning of a series of visits over the last 3 years. You are never bored there. On each visit, you can experience something different.
The country is divided into two parts, the north and the south. In the north, you will find the Djurdjura mountain chain with its snow capped peaks. You will also find Oran, a major city on the northeastern Mediterranean coast and the second largest city of the country , with its rich Spanish history; Constantine, about 80 kilometres from the Mediterranean coast with vestiges of Turkish colonization and Alger with it’s beautiful bay. When you go down through the country, the landscape becomes dry when you arrive finally at the mystic Sahara.
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SCHOOL FRIENDS AND TEACHER / TAGHIT
Picture taken in Taghit - a very beautiful place with sand dunes among the biggest you will find in the Grand Erg Occidental.
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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QUEEN OF THE DESERT /
A small Renualt car which works very well among the sand dunes, perhaps better than a 4x4 SUV.
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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TEA IN THE SAHARA /
Having tea in the sand dunes as the sun goes down. It is almost a necessary and traditional ritual.
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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ANT WORKERS /
On the road to Ghardaia, between Bou Saada and Djelfa, we made a stop at the construction site of a water tower. The workers seemed liked little ants in the giant support lattice around the tower itself. They were coming down for their lunch break when we got there.
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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BEJAIA STREET /
Bejaia is a colonial city with a beautiful and authentic charm. The people there are warm and welcoming and live very quiet lives in this beautiful mediterranean setting.
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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WOOD WORKERS SHOP IN THE CASBAH / ALGIERS
In a small space barely enough for 2 people, a wood worker toils away to make beautiful furniture in the Algerian Casbah.
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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THE BARBER SHOP / ALGIERS
The barber's shop in the Algerian Casbah. The Casbah of Algiers is founded on the ruins of old Icosium. It is a small city which, built on a hill, goes down towards the sea, divided in two: the High city and the Low city. To outsiders, the Casbah appears to be a confusing labyrinth of lanes and dead-end alleys flanked by picturesque houses; however if one loses oneself there, it is enough to go down again towards the sea to reposition oneself. ( Wikipedia ).
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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ANOTHER CASBAH WORKER / ALGIERS
A painter at his shop in the casbah.
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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PEOPLE OF GHARDAIA / BENI IZGHEN, GHARDAIA
Ghardaia is the traditional heart of the M'zab valley, home of the Ibadi sect in Algeria, and has preserved its original medieval architecture remarkably well; the valley of which it forms a part is an official World Heritage Site. Ghardaïa is renowned for its coarse goat hair carpets, generally with simple geometric patterns in black and white. It is home to the Mozabites ("At Mzab") - a branch of a large Berber tribe. (Wikipedia).
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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A LITTLE MOZABITE BOY / GHARDAIA
The mozabite community is a mixture of black and white Algerians.
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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DJEMILA LANDSCAPE / DJEMILA
Djemila is a mountain village in Algeria, near the northern coast east of Algiers, where some of the best preserved Berbero-Roman ruins in North Africa are found. It is situated in the region bordering the Constantinois and Petite Kabylie (Basse Kabylie). Dejemila is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it was inscribed as such in 1982. It was recognized because of its unique adaptation of Roman architecture to a mountain environment. Buildings present in Djemila include a theatre, two fora, temples, basilicas, arches, streets, and houses. The exceptionally well preserved ruins organize themselves around the forum of the Harsh, a large paved square, the entry to which is marked by a majestic arch. (Wikipedia).
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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TARGUI (TOUAREG IN ARAB) OF TAGHIT / TAGHIT
Hamou is from a Touareg family who have lived in the Wilaya (region) of Adrar for over 600 years.
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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PALM GROVES IN TAGHIT / TAGHIT
An old man in the famous palm grove of Taghit.
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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STREET IN ALGIERS / ALGIERS
A typical street in Algiers with haussmanian architecture and French cultural influences.
Photograph by Thomas Talmat Amar / © Thomas Talmat Amar. All Rights Reserved.
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