Added: Mar 26, 2007
From: belda67
Duration: 9:59
Judging by the headline in Liberté, this might not be the best day for our visit to the casbah. 'Algérie en Colère!' it screams - 'Algeria in Anger!' - but for once it isn't a massacre or another killing that's responsible. The anger this time is directed at the inadequacy of public services, and especially the water supply, which has remained unchanged since the French left. After another long dry summer, water in some areas is now rationed to one day in five, and there are reports of a typhoid outbreak in the poorer parts of the city. We're told on no account to drink tap water. Before entering the casbah we rendezvous with the local police outside the white walls of the Barberousse prison, named after the Barbarossa brothers, two Turkish corsairs brought in by the ruler of Algiers to fight off Spanish invaders in the sixteenth century. It stands at the top of the hill looking balefully out over the narrow, crowded roofs of the casbah. Because of the heightened security and the momentousness of our visit (the first foreign film crew to be allowed in for several years), we're all a touch jumpy, and when, with a sudden blaring of horns, a convoy of cars bursts round the corner, we instinctively rush for cover. Much mirth on the part of the security men, as it turns out to be nothing more than a wedding procession, in the middle of which is a portable band - six musicians in fezzes, white cotton tunics and red waistcoats, sitting in the back of a pick-up truck. With a salvo of car horns they move past down the road.As we near the main road at the lower end of the casbah there is a milling throng. Eamonn walks beside me, casting wary looks, but everyone seems to be either friendly or preoccupied. I feel that we have barely touched the real world of the casbah, which, as in all Arab communities, is private and inward-looking, so Said takes me round to the shrine of Sidi Abderrahmane, a holy man of great powers who lived here in the sixteenth century. The sound of female voices rises from inside as we approach the domed building surmounted by a tall balconied minaret. This is traditionally a place for the women to come and invoke the help of the saint in childbirth or with problems of infertility, but the imam is happy for us to join them. Remove my shoes and enter in reverent silence. I needn't have bothered. The small chamber is less like an English parish church than a kindergarten at collection time. Small children sit and play as their mothers worship in their own way. Nothing is formal. One woman hugs the side of the tomb, singing plaintively, another bows to Mecca, another has brought her new-born baby to touch the wooden casket that contains the saint's remains. It's the first place, she declares proudly, that he's ever been taken to. Brightly coloured texts run round the walls, heavy cut-glass lamps hang, undusted, from the ceiling, and in one corner is a heavy-duty industrial safe, with a slit for offerings. By now I've completely forgotten that I might be a target. The cordon sanitaire has been discreet to the point of invisibility and the people of Algiers as cordial and curious as anywhere in ALGERIA. Michael PALIN
Channel: News
Rating: 4.75 (24 ratings) Views: 54327' favoriteCount='50 Comments: 25
butterfly0203 Says:
May 11, 2007 - Please will you type in Bring Nassima Home on You Tube,you will see the tragic story of NASSIMA SADIA an 8 year old Belfast child from Northern Ireland who was abducted by her father MUSTAPHA SADIA last April 2006 and taken to ALGERIA,possibly the BIRKHADEM area ,she has not been heard from since.If you have any information or could offer us any help,please contact the Bring Nassima Home website that is shown in Nassimas video,we need to know if this child is safe and well.Thank you
richardbealey Says:
May 15, 2007 - Very good video of Algeria alway like to go their nad my penfriend said I don't need to worry about going their the people are very friendly. I like the woman that dress in white veal's and dress in all white. w w w . b t i n t e r n e t . c o m / ~ r . l . b e a l e y
richardbealey Says:
May 15, 2007 - Very good video of Algeria and I will like to go their and my penfriend said I don't need to worry about going their the people are very friendly I like the woman that dress in White veal's and dress in white all over. w w w . b t i n t e r n e t . c o m / ~ r . l . b e a l e y
pockypurse Says:
Jun 1, 2007 - ROFL. xD; Look at Michael's face when the Triangle of Death is first mentioned.
jdun101 Says:
Jun 30, 2007 - this is great! i am a private american who was living in algiers when this was shot. i was there for that flood and i had a job and walked around alone downtown and i'm female! also funny is i worked with this tourguide in 2006 with the first group of american tourists to visit algiers since about 1990. what's up said! i moved back home after three years there after the recent bombings. alger la blanche i miss you.
kwoolr Says:
Aug 7, 2007 - i as there in 2006... there are tourists there .,, you just dont know it
richardbeale Says:
Aug 21, 2007 - Very good video of History of Algeria Micheal Palin. I have a penpal in Tizi-ouzu's Algeria 100km from the capital Alger. Richard Bealey Exeter England
kwoolr Says:
Aug 24, 2007 - how old is this movie? Where can I get a copy of it
hakimdream Says:
Oct 24, 2007 - Algeria is da best, baby
sounboul31 Says:
Oct 31, 2007 - Rastavibration enta hmar, on met chaque fois une mauvaise image à l'Algérie alors k'à la Tunisie et au Maroc on donne tjs une bonne image bien k'il y'est plus de pauvreté. Alors pour une fois ke je vois un truc ki ne critike pas ça fait plaisir, alors ton commentaire tu te le fous là ou je pense.
calme3131 Says:
Dec 6, 2007 - yhanks to show us a new world that alot peopel ask me about algeria ?
tubeurDZ Says:
Dec 29, 2007 - true, i agree i noticed it :)
Transperse Says:
Jan 9, 2008 - je l'ai vu a la télé
LuvableGame9 Says:
Jan 21, 2008 - yeah algeria rocks
AlbanianMafia Says:
Mar 3, 2008 - Barberousse brothers was Albanians Muslim
Rab0b Says:
Mar 10, 2008 - Where can I see this in full?
rami1600 Says:
Apr 30, 2008 - acroyable
ahmed8491 Says:
May 2, 2008 - très beau et réel, j'ai fait à peu près le même voyage que j'ai publié en photos. Voir mon blog.
helgarv1 Says:
May 11, 2008 - I spent a lot of time in Algeria during the 80:ies. My father worked there at the time. It's wonderful to be able to see at least something from a country were I spent many years of my childhood. Things were rather safe back then.
orrin73 Says:
May 29, 2008 - The barbaros brothers father was a Turk and their mother was a greek woman. They were born on the island of lesbos. They were NOT albanian! They were Turks!
Alco2008 Says:
Jun 14, 2008 - you have to get michael palins documentaries series...very nice work!
54spiritedwill54 Says:
Jul 28, 2008 - when was this made? its kinda scaring people off
trythinksmart Says:
Nov 10, 2008 - Merci beaucoup pour ce video. I grow up in Oran in late 70's.
Donsofiano Says:
Nov 11, 2008 - pfffff could you please remove this crappy video?
butterfly0203 Says:
May 11, 2007 - Svp volonté vous saisir apportez à maison de nassima sur "vous Tube", vous verrez un enfant britannique âgé de 8 ans de Belfast NASSIMA SADIA appelé parIrlande du Nord qui a été enlevé l'année dernière et pris en Algérie par son père. Si vous pouvez aider à placer NASSIMA SADIA veuillez aller au site Web de bringnassimahome et email des bébés de TYPES, nous avons besoin de ce dos home.thank d'enfant vous tellement