that fable could be about work

I realized today at lunch that we were getting close to the end of the well. So I spent the afternoon doing tedious end of well work to prepare for it. It went fairly well and to "reward" myself I read a few of the fables I downloaded from one of the link on my blog page.

My usual favourite one is that of the frog and the scorpion. But in this collection they have a lot of old fables I had never heard of before and so far I have not come across my that one.

Here is a short one that seems to fit nicely with the way I feel about work in Algeria right now...it isn't a comment on Algeria, it is a comment on the company I work for right now.

The Horse and His Rider
A horse Soldier took the utmost pains with his charger. As long as the war lasted, he looked upon him as his fellow-helper in all emergencies and fed him carefully with hay and corn. But when the war was over, he only allowed him chaff to eat and made him carry heavy loads of wood, subjecting him to much slavish drudgery and ill-treatment. War was again proclaimed, however, and when the trumpet summoned him to his standard, the Soldier put on his charger its military trappings, and mounted, being clad in his heavy coat of mail. The Horse fell down straightway under the weight, no longer equal to the burden, and said to his master, "You must now go to the war on foot, for you have transformed me from a Horse into an Ass; and how can you expect that I can again turn in a moment from an Ass to a Horse?'

How to make a religious martyr

Here is one good way.

"The life of Saddam Hussein was brought to an end at dawn this morning, between 0530 and 0545 local time, just as the call to prayer was sounding across Baghdad. " (from the news this morning)

Today is Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, the day to celebrate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son’s life to god.
The sacrifice of the sheep to commemorate the event is typically perform at morning prayer time.


I let you put two and two together.

As an aside I do disagree with capital punishment.

Keeping track

Here is a brief overview of what I would like to do next.
This is the version written down in a few minutes from the top of my head...the long version will never be blogged...it would be too long.

Places where I would like to go:
- Southern Algeria (Djanet etc)
- Tanzania
- Mount Kilimanjaro
- Ngorogoro Crater (Kenya)
- Madagascar
- The Everglades National Park (US)
- Canadian Arctic (‘ve been before but want to go back)
- Thailand ? Everybody says I should go…
- Australia
- High Desert of Chili
- Southern most point of South America
- Lake Titicaca
- Greenland
- New York (the Guggenheim Museum and more)
- Antarctica
- Chad
- India
- Siberia
- The Mongol desert
- Tibet
- Timbuktu
- Easter Island
- Galapagos Islands
- Yellow Stone National Park (again…’ve there several time)
- Jordan, Petra
- Syria, Damascus and more
- Yemen, Sanaa
You’d think this list should get shorter as time goes by and place names get taken off, but it is just not the way it works.


Things I would like to see:
- Rock paintings in Djanet
- Great Wall of China
- Pyramids of Egypt
- The Maya temples
- An active volcano
- The big heads of Easter Island
This one bounds to get longer if I spend more than 5 minutes on the lists.

Animals and plants I would like to see in the wild (apart from all of them):
- Polar bear
- Muskox
- Elephant
- Wolf (again and again and again)
- Lemur
- Those animal which stands up and look goofy (I have a shirt with one of them)
- Zebra
- tea plantation (again)
- Coffee plantation (saw coffee ion Trinidad, the flower smells beautiful)
- Peanut plantation
- Panda
- Kangaroo
- Boa
- Crocodile

Things I would like to do for fun:
(I don’t want to get into personal life list of what I would like to achieve here)
- take a boat trip on the Nile
- Take a boat trip on an ice breaker
- Camp alone in the Sahara (this will never happen)
- Drive across the Australian desert and generally around
- Fly into a totally isolated place in Northern Canada live in a cabin and have the plane pick me up a year later
- Take time to do art projects I’ve had in my head for what seems like ever (you've already seen part of the result of "The Orange Project".

The festival of sacrifice

Tomorrow is Eid (also spell Aid and pronounced Ah-id)
The Festival of the Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha) is one of two major Islamic celebrations (the other being Ramadan) and takes place on the tenth day of the Islamic month Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Millions of Muslims from around the world make an annual pilgrimage to Mecca in order to worship Allah and to commemorate the willingness of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) to sacrifice his son in response to a command from God.

The story goes like this:
Abraham had a dream several nights in a row that he was making sacrifice of his son. So he went to his son and explained to him that God had made his wish known and he had to be sacrificed, and they agreed that it had to be done.
At the last minute satisfied with Abraham's devotion, God replaced the son with a sheep who was brought by the angel Gabriel, and the sheep was slaughtered instead.

While pilgrims in Mecca re-enact this scene by slaughtering sheep of their own, Muslims who can afford it in the rest of the world also participate in this rite by slaughtering sheep, camels and cows. One third of the meat is distributed to the poor, one third to neighbors and relatives while one third is kept by the person who offered the sacrifice for use within his or her own family.



One aside: Muslims say that the son in question was Ishmael. The Jews and the Christians believe that the son of the story was Isaac.

This difference is in a way critical since the Jews are descendants of Isaac. And Mohammed, the last prophet of the Muslims, is a descendant of Ismael's line.

Both are sons of Abraham (obviously) one -Isaac- is the son of Abraham and his wife Sarah, and one -Ishmael- is the son of Abraham and Hadjar.

Aside to the aside: Hadjar was a servant of the original couple but when Sarah could not bear Abraham any, either sons, or children...I am not sure...she, I am told, begged Abraham to go with Hadjar to have offspring. Abraham and Hadjar lived in Mecca and had a son. Later Sarah did have a son, Issac.

Aside to the aside of the aside: Mecca's sacred site is beleived to be the site of the house Abraham had with this second family (with Hadfjar and Ismael).


Obviously I am not the expert. All this is new to me and I am just passing on what I am told here and what I found on the internet.....both agree with each other, amazingly enough.

More polar bears

So what is it about bears, polar bears in particular that makes them so "cute".

Polar bears are the only animal alive known to actively hunt humans and yet, I don't know you, but when I see photos I feel like going "Hawwwww!".

They are a power house of muscles and survival instinct, skills and smarts but they look fun, huggable, goofy, soft, handsome.....

How can our instinct not warn us about them? typically as humans we are scared of spiders, snakes and animals like this. But nothing kicks in when we see bears in photos...I am sure in real life they are quite impressive...in fact I know for a fact that grizzlies in the wild are VERY impressive. I wonder if Inuit children are born with an instinctual fear of polar bears?

Xmas dinner but only if....

In an earlier post I wrote how I missed the so called Xmas dinner at the rig by going for a walk to another rig...
I am so pleased I did, because it turned out that it was a HUGE lunch with shrimps, wine, turkey, fancy desserts etc...BUT it was only offered to expats and senior staff. The rest of the staff, those who actually do physical work and need the big meal, just had a regular lunch.

I found that out totally by coincidence....

It turns out that every meal that I am served here is actually not offered to the local workers..they get different food!...Next they'll be asking for a letter from your religious leader to make sure that you are getting the right meal for your kind! or maybe a DNA test to make sure you belong to the right ethnicity for what you are eating!

I tell you I am mad...I mean really mad!!!

It is going to be interesting to see if when it is Aid (pronounced ah- id) the expats are allowed to eat the fancy food of the religious celebration...of course I already know the answer since I was here for Ramadan (though I missed the Aid at the end of Ramadan).

Internet Explorer 7...a rant

I don't use Internet Explorer, I don't like the idea of it. I use Firefox. BUT I have Norton antivirus (which I will never buy again!) and when I had big problems with my laptop I had to go to a "fix it" page for Norton which Oh Surprise, only can be access from IE...So I used it for one day fixing my problem...It offered to update to IE7 and my BIG MISTAKE was to actually upload the new version!
Right now I can neither use IE7 nor Firefox apparently because they conflict with each other (I am writing this from another computer). I have no functional browser. So you say "easy!uninstall EI and just use Firefox"....likely story. If you think that EI7 is in the list of stuff you can uninstall easily you are wrong…. I know enough to know that it is not in the regular list of "install uninstall software" it is in "Window Component" but even then....
So you say "just do a system restore to pre-upgrading" and that would indeed be an excellent idea if the problem I had with Norton had not resulted in my "system restore" being shut down and all system restore point being deleted!

Ok, so I'll wait till I get home, back up all my photos. Trash everything in the computer. Reinstall everything. Eliminate EI7 and eliminate Norton!

A bit of a "big Hammer" approach, but I am found of that particular style!

Polar bears

Ok, I am obviously not going to say that today I saw a polar bear!

Mostly today as the polar bears are about to make it to the endangered list, I am thinking that I as much as I am seriously hoping that the next job in Mozambique works out...or even just happens whether it works out or not, I am also thinking that I should take a long holiday in Arctic Canada and go and see polar bears...and muskoxen (I did check the spelling of the plural of "muskox"?) and all that.

I really would like to see a polar bear in the wild. I've wanted to do it for a long time but since it is in Canada there is a sense that I can always do it later...well apparently there isn't a"later" for polar bears. I have better do it soon.

One advice: DO NOT go and do a word search on "arctic canada holidays" it will take you to some absolutely amazing sites and next you will be dreaming of taking icebreakers to the visit both the extreme North and the extreme South and many many more trips that anybody in their right mind would want to take.

Do you realize that there are three week long boat trip organized to go to Antarctica?!?....

...I for sure find myself now in the Sahara dreaming of the Canadian Arctic, and Antarctic trips!!! Icebreakers!....Icebergs!....etc

Human nature I guess...I am here and thinking of being somewhere else.

You want to hear something funny: now that I am done typing this I feel cold!!

Merry Christmas

Ok, fine, here it is:

Merry Christmas......blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah........

Bah Humbug

dreaming of holidays

This is one of the rock painting in the Tassili (this one is in the Sefar region) that i am really hoping to see after this well.
I do hope it works out.

So, it is Xmas!

The day started hellishly!
I basically woke up at 3:30am and decided to show up very early to go and relieve the "night guy"....good job! he hadn't done anything so even though I thought I was gong to be 3 hours early I was already 9 hours late (12-3=9).
And it went from here....everybody else had problems that ended up impacting my already late work!!!!..(and by the way JVS, I am totally retraining the "night guy")

I had all intention of taking a picture of the rising sun to show you a Xmas morning here...but somewhere in the motion of running around trying to compensate for other peoples problems the idea got lost.
I did treat myself for Xmas. I went for a long walk to the other rig and went there for lunch and then walked back. The other advantage of going on this walk was that I missed the Xmas lunch for my rig but did not catch it at the other rig since they had Xmas dinner last night! I hate make pretend celebrations at work.

And my Xmas present was a lovely arrowhead (the one in the picture)! I found it! my only gift today was from the desert! ....speaks volume!...I am really happy about it. At this location so far I had found pottery fragments (some decorated) and various other tools, one of which is probably my favourite so far, but no arrowhead.

the desert and the oranges

It took me a while to fine somebody to help with this project. JVS had agreed to it but in the end had no time. After that it was tough to find somebody, but here it is and I am very happy with the result. I love it.

And take my word for it with a digital camera which has a three second delay it is not as easy as it looks....but what fun!

My assistant is Ouahid, who is meant to be the drilling assistant and not the photo assistant.

Finally

December 18th, and we are finally getting The Good Oranges!
Now we know we are in Algeria!
The company man and myself have been waiting for The Good Oranges.
It was starting to look like not only I was going to be here for Xmas but I was going to be here for Xmas with bad oranges...

This is how boring my life is: getting The Good Oranges is worth blogging about!!!!!

Cold humid morning in the Sahara

I read the news and see the European Alps (as if there were any others, really!!!) are getting no snow, Moscow (Russia...and yes there are others!) is not getting any snow either and in fact is pretty warm for this time of year.I don't see anything about North Africa though.
Here is my bit: This morning I could see my breath, a sure scientific measurement of cold AND humidity in the air. The air is so humid that paper goes "soft" when carried outside and there is condensation on the car windows!!!
Here is the weather forecast for Hassi Messaoud, the closest town about ...hmmmmm!!! .... 300 or 600km North of us...I used to know which one it was!!
===========

5-Day Forecast for Hassi-messaoud (from Monday Dec 18th)

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
68° F | 44° F 20° C | 7° C	68° F | 42° F 20° C | 6° C	68° F | 41° F 20° C | 5° C	59° F | 44° F 15° C | 7° C	57° F | 44° F 14° C | 7° C
Clear	Scattered Clouds	Clear	Clear	Scattered Clouds

Nursultan Nazarbayev

Here is another article from BBC world news.

===============

Giant tent to be built in Astana

(written by Natalie Antelava)

Kazakhstan has unveiled a new architectural project for its capital Astana - a giant transparent tent that will contain an indoor city.
The 150m-high (500ft) dome, designed by UK architect Norman Foster, will be built in just over a year.
The tent is being made from special material that absorbs sunlight to create the effect of summer inside.
Astana lies in the very heart of the Central Asian steppe. Temperatures there often drop to -30C in the winter.

'Difficult project'

The final shape of the world's biggest tent was revealed in a 3D model by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Underneath, in an area larger than 10 football stadiums, will be a city with squares and cobbled streets, canals, shopping centres and golf courses.
The idea is to recreate summer, so that when the outside temperature is -30C, the residents of the Kazakh capital can play outdoor tennis, take boat rides or sip coffee on the pavement cafes.
Called Khan Shatyry, the project is designed by Lord Foster, who has recently built a giant glass pyramid in Astana.

Nothing of the sort has been done before, and from the engineering point of view it's an extremely difficult project," says Fettah Tamince, the head of Turkey's development company Sembol that is building the tent.
Mr Tamince is nevertheless confident the company can complete the construction in just 12 months.

'Huge risk'
It is a hugely ambitious undertaking, but so is Astana itself.
It was just over 10 years ago that President Nazarbayev decided to move the capital from Almaty to the very heart of Kazakhstan.
Since then the government says it has spent $15bn (£7.7bn) on construction, although some believe the figure is actually much higher.

For this oil rich state, which is an increasingly important global energy player, cash is not a problem.

===============

Obviously the part in both bold and italics like this are my emphasis.

I am sure that the Kazakhs who live in the steppe away from either Almaty or Astana would love to know that Kazakhstan has no cash problem! Not to mention most of the "normal" population would love to just even take a boat ride and play golf any season of the year ONCE in their life!!!!
At least when Nursultan NAzarbayev started Astana out of nothing to make a new capital city he had the excuse that a large earthquake was predicted in Almaty, but this project is just too much.
Instead of posting photos of the "extremely difficult project" let me show you totally normal villagers. Do they look like a golf players to you?

Nursultan Nazarbayev is using Kazahstan as is own cash cow. He is raping the country so that he and his friends can live the so called good life of discusting excess.

Muslim headscarf

Again from the BBC world news web page.
It is a little simplistic but a good reference that I am posting for my own benefit.


























The word hijab comes from the Arabic for veil and is used to describe the headscarves worn by Muslim women.

These scarves, regarded by many Muslims as a symbol of both religion and womanhood, come in a myriad of styles and colours.

The khimar is a long, cape-like veil that hangs down to just above the waist. It covers the hair, neck and shoulders completely, but leaves the face clear.

The chador, worn by Iranian women when outside the house, is a full-body cloak. It is often accompanied by a smaller headscarf underneath.

The al-amira is a two-piece veil. It consists of a close fitting cap, usually made from cotton or polyester, and an accompanying tube-like scarf.

The shayla is a long, rectangular scarf popular in the Gulf region. It is wrapped around the head and tucked or pinned in place at the shoulders.

The niqab is a veil for the face that leaves the area around the eyes clear. However, it may be worn with a separate eye veil.

The burqa is the most concealing of all Islamic veils. It covers the entire face and body, leaving just a mesh screen to see through.

I am the proud owner of an Al-amira. I also have what I was told is a Chador...but it just the black long coat-like light thing used on top of other clothing to cover it entirely. And I also own a black face veil that can be used in Yemen since the part that comes down is made of three layers: one always stays down to cover the face below the eyes, one can be lifted and cover the top of the head but has a slit for the eyes, one is a shear piece of fabric you can put on top this one is designed to also cover eyes but let you see.

More Ireland

Then of course there are castles in Ireland, old ruined castles.
Mostly nameless to me. I can't remember the name of this one, but I do remember where it is. It is on the west shore of northern Ireland South/ South West of Bushmill and the Giant's Causeway.
The view is the view from its South facing windows.

In a way it seems unfair that I should be able to go and see those castles which have no special significance to me when quite a few people who are into Celtic history may have heard about them and may be dreaming of getting to see them.


For a brief geology "moment" here I will say that the cliffs are chalk and that the basalt of the Giant's Causeway actually cuts through those chalks a few tens of kilometres north of that spot.

I guess in a way many people get to see the Giant's Causeway not really caring, not having dreamt about it for a long time.

Life is not fair....nothing new here!

Ireland: Marble Arch Caves

We also went to Marble Arch Caves that Rob had on his list of "To Do".
When we arrived the parking lot was near empty because it was closed. But before we even had a chance to ask, the staff who was in the closed visitor center came out and asked if we wanted to go and see it anyway. That's how friendly people were!
It was beautiful in there.
I got totally turned around and at one point I had to realize that if we had had to go out on our own I would have gone completely the wrong way...I cannot be trusted with direction when I am inside....Inside a cave, inside a mall, inside just does not lend itself to orientation from my point of view.

Knowth and Newgrange

I went to Ireland originally to see the Giant's Causeway and visit with Rob in Dublin. The rest was really of no consequence to me. I found once I got there that I was totally unwilling to find out about the struggle between North and South Ireland. I had enough of struggles, of people hating each other, of violence etc... of old quarrels rooted in stuff that happen when people alive today weren't even born...I didn't want to hear a thing about it.
I was ranting and raving about how people could go and kill each other, just don't expect me to admire them and pay my respects or even acknowledge that they existed. Poor Rob was trapped in the car with me having to listen to that!!!!
The road trip to Northern Ireland to see the Giant's Causeway was totally unplanned.
Along the way though we did see a sign for some Irish possibly -standing-rock-type-of-thing...this is how much I knew about it!!! The first one was Knowth. We got there late and there one one more tour going that we could catch and would allow us to see both Knowth and Newgrange. As in Ghardaia, you have to have a guide..first I though, bummer there is going to be a group, we won't be able to see anything, but there was only one other guy so the three of us pretty much had a private tour of Knowth.

I'll admit there is something about the all Celtic thing that I don't like. It is so fashionable, the music, the this, the that...makes me gag..Everybody is a Celt, etc etc.
I'm a Gypsy by blood..I am just not Celtic!!! And I was totally unprepared, but it was nice to have a break from driving and I knew that I had liked Stone Henge. I was so "yeah, yeah, let's go for a walk" that I didn't even have my camera with me!!

After all this bad attitude, it turned out that I was really impressed with Knowth. Mostly I was really impressed by the old carving on the stones around the main tomb. Would you believe it but those were carved at about the same time than the rock carvings/paintings I want to go and see in Djanet (Algeria)!!!
I guess reproductions of Celtic art do nothing for me, but the original stuff...the actual stuff, on the rocks, right there, THAT I really like.

The second tour was to see Newgrange, there there was a group, but by then I was ready to ignore them to see the next megalithic tomb...and the art!!

I didn't like the outside as much probably because they had "restored" the front to look like what it MIGHT have been. But the inside was great. We couldn't go into Knowth, so it was great to go inside Newgrange.

Nice places both! Well worth the trip even for a seriously grumpy freak like me.

Just don't ask me how to get there!
Rent a car in Dublin, aim towards the Giant's Causeway in a way that allows you to avoid Belfast, when you see a sign for old celtic stuff, turn off.....That's pretty much the way it went for me!

And Ireland

It is getting late and I'll show some of what I saw in Ireland tomorrow.
But here is an "appetizer".

Ireland was great! The air is humid and cool and "bracing", the people are friendly and it is beautiful.
Of course it helps if you have a great "guide".
This is the Giant Causeway a geological temple as well as one the "top 1000 places you have to visit before you die"...I think it is even in the book titled something like that I have at home (just in case I need more ideas of where to go!!!!).

The graffiti made me think of it

The king of the birds

by The Brothers Grimm
German Household Tales

One day the birds took it into their heads that they would like a master, and that one of their number must be chosen king. A meeting of all the birds was called, and on a beautiful May morning they assembled from woods and fields and meadows. The eagle, the robin, the bluebird, the owl, the lark, the sparrow were all there. The cuckoo came, and the lapwing, and so did all the other birds, too numerous to mention. There also came a very little bird that had no name at all.

There was great confusion and noise. There was piping, hissing, chattering and clacking, and finally it was decided that the bird that could fly the highest should be king.

The signal was given and all the birds flew in a great flock into the air. There was a loud rustling and whirring and beating of wings. The air was full of dust, and it seemed as if a black cloud were floating over the field.

The little birds soon grew tired and fell back quickly to earth. The larger ones held out longer, and flew higher and higher, but the eagle flew highest of any. He rose, and rose, until he seemed to be flying straight into the sun.

The other birds gave out and one by one they fell back to earth - and when the eagle saw this he thought, "What is the use of flying any higher? It is settled - I am king!"

Then the birds below called in one voice, "Come back, come back! You must be our king! No one can fly as high as you."

"Except me!" cried a shrill, shrill voice, and the little bird without a name rose from the eagle's back, where he had lain hidden in the feathers, and he flew into the air. Higher and higher he mounted till he was lost to sight, then, folding his wings together, he sank to earth crying shrilly, "I am king! I am king!"

"You, our king!" the birds cried in anger. "you have done this by trickery and cunning. We will not have you to reign over us."

Then the birds gathered together again and made another condition, that he should be king who could go the deepest into the earth.

How the goose wallowed in the sand, and the duck strove to dig a hole! All the other birds, too, tried to hide themselves in the ground. The little bird without a name found a mouse's hole, and creeping in cried -

"I am king! I am king!"

"You, our king!" all the birds cried again, more angrily than before. "Do you think that we would reward your cunning in this way? No, no! You shall stay in the earth till you die of hunger!"

So they shut up the little bird in the mouse's hole, and bade the owl watch him carefully night and day. Then all the birds went home to bed, for they were very tired - but the owl found it lonely and wearisome sitting alone staring at the mouse's hole.

"I can close one eye and watch with the other," he thought. So he closed one eye and stared steadfastly with the other - but before he knew it he forgot to keep that one open, and both eyes were fast asleep.

Then the little bird without a name peeped out, and when he saw Master Owl's two eyes tight shut, he slipped from the hole and flew away.

From this time on the owl has not dared to show himself by day lest the birds should pull him to pieces. He flies about only at night-time, hating and pursuing the mouse for having made the hole into which the little bird crept.

And the little bird also keeps out of sight, for he fears lest the other birds should punish him for his cunning. He hides in the hedges, and when he thinks himself quite safe, he sings out, "I am king! I am king!"

And the other birds in mockery call out, "Yes, yes, the hedge-king! the hedge-king!"

The old Gardhaia

The thing about Gardhaia is of course that it is a very traditional town because it stayed isolated and protected from the modern world for a long time.


Donkeys are still the main transport inside the old part of the city since cars will not fit in the old narrow streets. In fact there is only one street large enough to allow cars onto the main market place.





I really like the atmosphere of the market place.
Yes, people did stare at me, but they are not unused to tourists so they stared a little but not in a way that felt uncomfortable to me.

I spent quite a bit of time at the market place, in the open space and under the arcades looking in the stores around it. I probably spent an entire morning in the carpet store talking, choosing carpets and jewelery and generally just sitting around.
At one point two women came in and told the store owner that as far as they knew Christians could behave as they please because they had neither hell nor heaven in their religion...Now I am not religious, but I know that this is not true. So sitting on a pile of carpets I pretended to be Christian and explain that this was not the case that "we" believed that only those who behave well would go to heaven. It was a revelation to the people in the store.




I don't like having my picture taken, so I don't often take picture of people, but in Gardhaia it was even more the case.
Once I asked some old guys if I could take their pictures and they refused, making me even more reluctant to take pictures of people after this.
So here is a view, totally skewed, of one of the market street. You have to imagine below it a narrow street full of people buying vegetables and meat and all that stuff.

I know it is impossible.

One day I'll take more pictures of people.

People are all the same

People are people regardless of where you are and even in Gardhaia, such a controlled city, you see some graffiti.
Not very many in the old town.
In the newer part of town I saw a few about football but these two I saw in the old town.
This one of the letter Tamasheck alphabet (the language of the Berbers) and this can be taken as a somewhat political statement of freedom, and it is also on their the Berber flag...
J. tells me that a Berber on her rig showed her how indeed it looks like two links of a chain which have been cut..hence freedom.






The other graffiti, totally different I absolutely LOVE. I reminds me of Chagall, and I love Chagall's work.

It is probably supposed to be a rooster but doesn't it look like the king of birds?
I love it.

From Hassi Messaoud to Gardhaia

I am writing this completely out of sequence.
On the 30 some kilometres between Hassi Messaoud and Gardhaia we mostly crossed the desert, two small towns and the desert.
in the middle of the flat desert you get this road sign at regular intervals and this is because the camels do come on the road...you have to wonder why in this big old desert they would end up on the road!















I even saw a bloated dead camel on the side of the road....sorry no picture!

More about my trip to Gardhaia

I just want to show a couple more things about Gardhaia. I am thinking about it because today JVS came for lunch and asked me about it.

The woman in the photo is typical of women of Gardhaia, mozabite women, this is the only way you see then outside. Now in Gardhaia you can actually see a few women who are not mozabite and cover their hair and wear the face veil, but do not cover themselves entirely apart from one eye.
It was really weird to make eye contact with the mozabite women. Like all human beings they were curious to look at a foreigner in their town, but they really are not suppose to stare. They did stare though.



This was just a normal little boy in the street.





Some old part of towns were restricted and you could only enter them accompanied by a guide. To make sure that some part of the town stayed private, to make sure that people did not take picture of the covered women, and to make sure that nobody wandered the street in shorts or anything like this.








This is one of the guides. He was quite funny but unfortunately not very informative. But there was no choice. He was the only guide to be had for this part of town.

All in a row

In the previous photo (open view to the East) you can see how there are big long open valleys. From the air you can see that the dunes create a pattern.


Apart from being able to see long open valleys you really do not get this sense of organization on the ground..at least I don't.

Even the valleys don't seem to go on for ever. The ground is uneven enough to block the view that would go on for ever. You can also see in the photos that some smaller ridges cut them across. On the ground those are tall enough to give the impression that you are in a "basin" more than in a mile long "valley".

open view to the east

This is pretty much looking South (east to the left, West to the right) you can see why I have pictures of sunrise.
For scale the derrick is roughly 50m tall (160")