Modern Algeria

Introduction Algeria is a country located in the northwestern part of Africa. It borders Mediterranean Sea to the north. Algeria is officially referred to as the democratic republic of Algeria. It is also the second largest country in Africa. The country is covered by 90% desert. Most of its population lives in the northern region.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Modern Algeria specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The capital city of Algeria is Algiers, which is also the largest city in the country. The name Algeria means â€Å"the desert† in the Arabic language. Most of the population is of Arabs and Berbers ancestry. The Arabs who also introduced the Arabic language introduced the Islamic religion. Today Arabic and Berber languages are official in Algeria. Islamic religion is also the largest comprising of 99% of the population. French is used as a language of instruction in schools and in media although it is not an official language. The population of Algeria in 2010 was 34.9 million. The main people in Algeria are the Arab Berbers. This paper will cover Algeria as a country from a variety of perspectives. The paper will discuss the geography, history, political systems, economics, and culture of Algeria. Geography Algeria is a country that is located in the northwest part of Africa. It lies at 28o north of Equator and 3o east of the Prime Meridian. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Tunisia, and Libya to the east, Niger, Mali, and Mauritania to the south, and Morocco to the west (Africa: Algeria Para. 1). Algeria is the second largest country in size after Sudan in Africa. It has an area of 2,381,741 square kilometers (919,595 sq miles). It has a coastline of 998 kilometers (620 miles). Its highest point is at Mount Tahat, which has a height of 3,003 meters (9,852 feet) while its lowest point is at Chott Melrhir, which is 40 meters (131 feet) below the sea level. More th an 90% of Algeria’s total area is part of the Sahara desert. It comprises of bare rocks and gravel. About a quarter of this area comprises of sand dunes referred as ergs, for example, Grand Erg oriental and Grand Erg occidental are the largest sand dunes in Algeria.Advertising Looking for essay on geography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Algeria has one main river called Chelif River. This river rises from Tell Atlas Mountains and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It should also be noted that the southern part of Tell bears no permanent stream that flows. There are also some basins in the south of Tell, which collect water especially during the rainy seasons. The rainfall is fair on the coast especially on the Tell Atlas coast. This may range between 400 and 670mm in a year. There is also precipitation that increases from the western side towards the north. This may go high and even reach 1000mm annually. The basins form a large lake in this highlands region. The Saharan Atlas also receives more rains than other regions of Algeria. The Tell region and the coastal plains also receive mild rains during winter. Temperatures may rise up to 50 degrees Celsius. Orologically, there are various mountains in Algeria for example the Ahaggar Mountains, which are also known as the Hoggar Mountains. These mountains found at the centre of Sahara desert are arid. They are located at the southern part of Algeria. The highest part of these mountains is Mount Tahat at 3,003 meters (9,852 feet). There is also the Er Rif mountain range, which is located to the western frontier of Algeria. This mountain forms a cliff, which is very stiff and is about 2438 meters (800feet). In terms of climatic features, Algeria is located within the Sahara desert. Therefore, daily temperatures are extreme. There are extreme winds, and the place is very arid. The country receives an annual rainfall of less than 130mm i.e. (5in). The re is a Mediterranean climate in the northern part of Algeria especially on the Tell Atlas and the Coastal plain. This climate is characterized by warm and dry summers and mild rainy winters. The Tell Atlas and the coastal plains make the most humid region of the country. The Sirocco winds, which are hot and dry, blow in summer from the Sahara towards the north. The southern part of Algeria is very dry. In terms of flora, Algeria’s northern part has been the grazing field to the herders over the years.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Modern Algeria specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This has resulted to overgrazing and deforestation. In the Tell Atlas and the Saharan Atlas, there are only few remaining forests. In this region, trees such as Atlas cedar, Oaks and pine are common. On the other hand, the lower parts of the slopes are occupied with scrubby type of vegetation, for example, the juniper plants. On the high plateau, the area is barren. There is steppe vegetation that comprises of brushwood and esparto grass. Since this is part of the Sahara desert, plants are very scattered, mainly comprised of the acacia, jubebe trees, and drought-resistant grasses. The cedar and conifers are also common in Algeria. On the mountains, there are evergreen forests, which comprise of junipers, oak trees, and Aleppo pine. There are also deciduous trees on these forests. Towards the warmer areas, there are forests of agave , palm, and eucalyptus trees. On the coast, there are palm trees and grape vines. In the wider Sahara, there are acacia trees and olives especially the wild ones. The fauna in Algeria is also limited due to the sparse vegetation. This vegetation can only support a small number of animals. The animals in Algeria include jerboa, fennec fox, ibex, boars, jackal, hare, antelope, monitor lizards, and servals. The dama gazelle and the oryx have vanished from Algeria although they were common before 1990s. The vegetation of Algeria varies from coastal, desert vegetation, which is grassy, and mountainous. People live in close relationship with some wild animals, for example, the jackals, gazelles, and boars. Wildlife there comprises of leopards, cheetah, and panthers. The variety of species of birds has attracted many tourists who like watching birds. There are also many monitor lizards and snakes. There are also dangerous scorpions and poisonous insects in the desert. Some animals that existed some years ago have become extinct. These include bears and Barbery lions. The animal that is most reared is the camel due to its use as a pack animal that are very reliable for transport across the desert.Advertising Looking for essay on geography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More History of Algeria The first Algerian kingdom was founded by chief Masinissa who was a Berber. He reigned between 202 and 148 BC. He was allied to Ancient Rome. This kingdom was called Numidia. However, Masinissa’s grandson was conquered by the Romans in 106 BC. The Romans made the kingdom prosper to the level of becoming the source of olive oil and grains for Rome. During this time, the Romans used the military patrols in surrounding roads to garrison the towns. This was aimed at protecting the towns from the nomads. The towns included Tipasa and Timagad, which also developed into small cities. During the decline of the Roman kingdom in the 3rd century, Rome withdrew its legions that were taken on warfronts elsewhere. The Donatis Christian movement that was previously persecuted by these Romans experienced independence. The natives also denounced the Donatism sect. For example, Saint Augustine denounced it on his writings. Later on during the 5th century Vandals, a tribe fro m Germany conquered this region and established its own kingdom. Emperor Justinian of Byzantine used his army to overthrow the Vandals even before the end of that century. The vandals’ invasion of Algeria had left a mark during the whole of the 5th century (Collins 124). He restored the lost glory of Roman Empire. During the 17th century, Arabs who overthrew the leadership of Justinian and planted an Islamic leadership invaded North Africa. However, resistance from the Kusaylas, the Barber leaders, and from the Kahina, the alleged Judaism prophesier, faced the Arab invasion. Nevertheless, Algeria later became Umayyad Caliphate province when the resistant Berbers surrendered to Arabic leadership. Algeria became an Islamic country with the Arabs preferring urban lifestyle. It is also worthwhile to note that the Kabyles Berbers were given an upper hand by the colonial government in a bid to divide and rule (Alec and McKinney 104). However, the caliphate was seized from the hand of Umayyads by the Abbasids during the 8th century. During this seizure, the Berbers who belonged to Kharijte Islamic sect established their own kingdom. This kingdom was also Islamic with Rustamids as the leading one in Tahert in Algeria. The Tahert developed during the 8th century to the 9th century. However, it was overthrown by Fatimids people that belonged to Shia Islam. The Berber kingdoms of Almoravids and Almohads led to an autonomous centralized authority in the whole of Northwest Africa during 11th and 13th centuries. This made the city an Islamic city with Islamic learning centers and schools. Mosques were also a notable part of architecture. Handicrafts were also common. The Bejaila, Algiers, and Annaba ports prospered in trade with Europe. These ports supplied Barbary horses, fine leather, fabric, and wax to the Europeans. They also captured Christians and sold them as slaves (Hitchens 12). During the Ottoman rule, the Zayyanid took over leadership. When Almohad kingdom collapsed in 1269, the Zayyanid ruled for 300 years. Its capital was at Tlamchen. These people competed with the Muslim and Christians for the control of the seaports. This led to hiring of pirates who were known as corsairs to seize trade ships and their crew to demand for ransom. During the 16th century, Christian Spaniards captured and took over these ports. They also blockaded Algiers from all external trade and made it pay tribute. Due to this impact of the Christians, the Muslim requested the sultan of Ottoman to come to their aid. The sultan of Ottoman was the overall caliph. During this time, corsair brothers, referred to as Barberossas, prevailed on the caliph to send them on this mission to North Africa accompanied by a fleet of fighters. When the sultan sent them, they took over North Africa, overthrew the Spaniards, and took over their possessions. Khayr ad-Din was made the representative of sultan in Algeria. He acquired the beylerbey title. Since Algiers was far from the Constantinople, it was made autonomous. The corsairs were very effective, as they made Algiers become very powerful. Hence, their pirates became very dominant and controlled the port to the point of forcing European traders to pay tributes for protection of their ships. This money plus the money paid for ransom made them very rich. The Ottoman janissary garrisons were in charge of internal security. However, the Ottoman Empire declined during late 18th century. This opened an opportunity for Europeans to improve on ship construction and firepower to the point of challenging Corsair’s leadership. At the same time, they entered the international agreements outlawing piracy. This was followed by a naval squad that was sent to conquer the city by the United States in 1815. In 1816, an Anglo-Dutch war fleet almost destabilized Algiers. Finally, French army took over the city in 1830. By 1834, the French had taken over Algiers and its surroundings. It had already begun the occu pation of most of its coast and main lands. These territories fell under direct leadership of the French governor-general. Since the leadership of the French was incomparable to that of the Ottoman, native tribes began waging resistance. These tribes were led by Abd al-Qadir, a military leader and head of Sufi Muslim goodwill referred to as Qadiriyya. He trained his militants to use hit-and-run strategies. These tactics were very effective in fighting the French. Al-Qadir remained a hero until 1847 when he was subdued. However, the Barbers continued with the resistance though 1871 when the Kabyle Berbers waged the fieriest resistance that made them weaker. In 1872, the French forces won and confiscated the Berbers land. It is at this point that France colonized Algeria and allowed its citizens to settle there. French settlers bought land from barbers at very low prices. Others just confiscated it. The settlers developed industries, schools, banks, and agriculture to make Algeria loo k like their home. The agricultural products supported their home country with food. Production of citrus fruits and wine for export to France became prosperous just like it was when Algeria supplied grains to Rome. The move to confiscate land and to apply modern techniques of farming added to the available land (Horne and Alistair 32). French rule made the Muslim disadvantaged to the point of becoming its slaves. Muslims who were the majority were faced with restrictions. For example, they could not be in possession of firearms, hold public meetings, leave home without official permission from the French, and they were to work for them. However, some Muslims renounced Islamic religion. They were allowed to become French citizens. In fact, by late 19th century, most of those that had renounced Islam were allowed to go and work in France. The French government provided schools in Algeria. Since the population of the Muslim was growing very steadily, some of them went to school. It is from these educated minorities that the first nationalist emerged. After World War I, some Muslims who wanted equality with the French began the journey of nationalism in Algeria. The most notable nationalists in France in the 1920s were Shaykh Abd al-Hamid Ben Badis and Ahmed Messali Hadj. Their agitation made the French government come up with a plan of provision of equality right to Muslims. However, their National Assembly frustrated this plan. This made the nationalist more furious. Messali and Abbbas united and formed an anti French Friends of the Manifesto and Liberty party. This was during the Second World War. When the war ended, the Algerian Organic Statute put in place the first bicameral parliament that comprised of two colleges made up of one wing of the indigenous Algerians and the other wing of the settlers. However, the powers of this parliament favored the settlers. This parliament was unsatisfactory to both the settlers and the Algerians. This formed the basis of many young Algerians opting for armed revolution to oust the French colonization. The war of independence began with the formation of Revolutionary Committee for Unity and Action in 1954. It is from this Committee that the National Liberation Front (FLN) was formed. The National Liberation Front then launched its independence bid on 31 October and 1 November. They organized various attacks on military and police posts, government buildings, and centers of government communication. This was followed by intensive guerrilla warfare to the point of forcing the French to request for 400,000 troops for reinforcement. The National liberation Front used both Abd al-Qadirl’s led guerrilla strategy and intentional terrorism attacks. They immobilized the French army and the continuous kidnapping and killings of French. Muslims who were not supporting them terrorized Algeria. To counter the situation, the French retaliated by burning of villages and even the urban dwelling that they susp ected of supporting the guerrillas. They also subjected captives from these areas to massacres, forced evictions, and bombings. In 1956, this war hit Algerian cities. For example, schools and shops were terrorized, a cause that drew international attention. The French ruthlessly halted this war in cities and used aircrafts to bomb FLN centers. They also erected an electric fence on the borders of Morocco and Tunisia to cut off contact between FLN soldiers outside Algeria. Unable to find an amicable solution to this war, the war raised international criticism. Both the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization criticized the French of fighting an unpopular war. It went on until May 1958 when both the French army and settlers joined their forces to oust the French government due to its vacillation. They formed a committee to check on the safety of all the public and to demand that Charles de Gaulle reoccupy the office. The committee was for the idea that only this wart ime general that fighting for a Free French Algeria that could settle this war. When he was installed in power, he allowed the Algerians to have some self-determinism in 1959. This made the settlers angry. They unsuccessfully revolted against him in 1960. This was followed by another attempt of overthrowing the government by a group of French armies. A minority army group referred to as Secret Army Organization championed these attempts although majority of the army remained loyal to the government. Victory became evident in March 1962 when the government and FLN called for a cease-fire. This was announced at Evian in France. In July, a referendum was held with the Algerians voting for independence. This made the settlers to start returning to their homeland. It is estimated that about 500,000 people died with many others maiming as property was destroyed. After the Evithian agreement, Algeria became independent. However, it had to rely on France for special aid. This cooperation wa s to help Algeria come out of the devastation because of eight years of war. This agreement also allowed the French government to continue exploiting gas and oil in Algeria. It also allowed the settlers to remain in Algeria for three years after which they would decide whether to acquire Algerian citizenship or to leave the country. These Europeans left immediately after independence (De Azevedo and Cagiano 25).When most settlers left; Algeria suffered a crisis of lack of skilled laborers. However, there were internal wrangles within the leadership of FLN, which had declared it the only legal political party. It had also declared Algeria as a socialist nation. In September 1962, Ahmend Ben Bella was elected the first prime minister of Algeria after the chief of Defense forces of the National Liberation supported him. Ben Bella was one of the founders of FLN. In 1963, the voters approved the first independent constitution, which mandated a presidential government. On the same year, B en Bella was elected as the first president of Algeria under the independent constitution. The presidential powers were only to be checked by the National assembly. Due to this loophole in checking the powers of the president, Ben Bella became autocratic and concerned himself with international affairs. This made people detest him. In 1965, his minister for defense Mr. Boumeduenne made the president to be arrested. He declared himself president in what was seen as a bloodless coup. Boumedianne made the national army dominant and reduced the importance of FLN. He also focused on developing the vast resources in Algeria. Boumedianne remained the president, minister for defense, and the prime minister of Algeria. He also used the supreme authority of a 26-people council of revolution that mainly drew its membership from the army and his civilian friends. He was undemocratic and autocratic in his leadership. In 1971, he nationalized the oil fields that were formally controlled by the Fr ench. He also made the lands that the settlers had left government property. He also worked hard to develop the hydrocarbon industry. It is also in 1970s that president Boumedienne distributed settlers land to cooperatives made up by peasants in his attempt to exaggerate productivity of the nation. This president also promoted the Arabic language. He made it used in schools. He also promoted the Arabic culture. However, most of the Berbers resisted this attempt and railed themselves against it. In 1976, Boumedienne was elected as a legal president using the new constitution and the national charter. However, he later died in1978. Following the death of Boumeddienne, Chadli Benjadid, a colonel in the army, was selected to take over the presidency. He was later confirmed as the president after an official election in the same year. Colonel Chadli pardoned and released Ben Bella the former president in 1980. Chadli was re-elected in 1984 when he run for the presidency unopposed. He rel axed strict rule policies and liberalized Algerians economy and agriculture. In the 1980s, the prices of oil declined. This had adverse effects on Algeria. This made the government faced a series of demonstrations from the protesting youths. It used the forces to suppress these rioters. It also initiated changes that won over the public confidence in the president who was the elected to the presidency for his third term. He also allowed for constitutional changes that allowed for multiparty democracy in 1989. This legalized the political parties for example Islamic Salvation Front party FIS. However, this marked the beginning of the conflict between the military that supported FLN and the Muslim who supported FIS parties. Islamists became persistent winning civic elections in 1991. When it was evident that they would win the parliamentary elections in 1992, the government counseled them. Benjedid was forced by the army to resign. The Army and civilian officials took over the High Co uncil of State led by Mohammend Boundiaff as president. This was followed with the ban of FIS. However, Mohammend was assassinated in 1992. This made the government to clash with Islamist militias in Algeria. In 1994, Liamine Zeroul, the then defense minister, was named the president by the council. He was elected the president in 1995 during the first multi-party elections in Algeria. He was formerly a soldier and a diplomat. This made Algerians’ international creditors reschedule the country’s debt. He championed constitutional changes that banned political parties based on religion, region, gender, language, or race. In 1999, following the step down and resignation of other presidential contestants, Abdelaziz Bouteflika who was the former minister of foreign affairs won the presidency. He later called for national reconciliation and offered amnesty to Muslim militants. This made most of them stop the infighting. However, the al-Qaeda-led group refused to submit. In 2004, when he was re-elected, Bouteflika brought stability in Algeria. He has created union with the European nations and the United States besides giving amnesty to Muslim leaders who had earlier rebelled. In 2007, Algeria conducted another multiparty election. Surprisingly, there was no violence before, during, and after the election. Bouteflika was re-elected as the president in a coalition government. This government comprised of FLN, National Democratic Rally, and moderate Islamist movement for a Peaceful Society. Political System Algerian government is a multi party democracy led by the president. The government comprises of the executive, the legislature, which is bicameral, and the judiciary. The executive is made up of the president who is also the head of state, a prime minister who is appointed by the president and who is the head of government, and the council of ministers appointed by the prime minister. The president is the head of state who can declare war or peace. H e is also the country’s representative in foreign matters. The prime minister is the head of the government in Algeria. He has the power to head the cabinet. He is the leader of the government business. The prime minister also appoints the council of ministers. These ministers are in charge of the management of various government ministries. They represent the government in those ministries. The legislature is bicameral comprising of the upper house with 144 members and the national people Assembly or the lower house with 389 members. Out of the 389 members, the head of state directly appoints 1/3 while the rest come from municipal councils appointments. The members of the National people’s assembly serve for four-year term of office while the members of the upper house serve for six-year term. The upper house is in charge of legislation. The officials here make, amend, or abolish laws. They are also a representation of the public interest in the government. The lower house plays an oversight role and checks on the excesses of the upper house. It also has the power to monitor and impeach the president. This house also approves the national finance and expenditure. The Supreme Court is the highest court in Algeria. The Supreme Court also acts as the high court of appeal that has the power to hear cases from all jurisdictions of the country. It can also arbitrate over political matters and cases of appeal. There are three courts of appeals, which are located in Algiers, Constantine, and Oran. Other special criminal courts also play a key role. For example, they arbitrate cases of political and economic violations on the state and individuals. Algeria has also established many commercial courts that have powers to hear business disputes from across the country, and courts of justice and peace, which are responsible for developing and enhancing national cohesion. Political representation in Algeria starts with the president who is elected by the majo rity. Presidential elections take place after every five years. Initially, a legally elected president could only hold two terms of office if he or she is re-erected for the second term. However, this was changed through constitutional amendments by the parliament in 2008. The second level of political representation is at the legislature level. The president nominates a third of the members of the lower house mainly from his party. The upper house is also a political representation function as the members are directly elected by the people for a six-year term. The municipal councils also select the remaining two thirds of the members of the lower house, which is also highly influence by their political parties. The elected member of councils becomes the head of Wilayat and the communes. This is an authoritarian governmental regime with little or no freedom of the press. There exists a universal suffrage of all registered voters above 18 years. The most dominant party in Algeria is the National Liberation Front (FLN), the party that led to the country’s independence. In 1992, when multi-party democracy was allowed, Islamic Salvation Front (ISF) was formed and nearly won the 1992 elections. However, it was banned in 1996 because it was religious based. During the 2002 elections, several other parties came up. These included the National People’s Assembly, National Democratic Rally (NDR), which was pro-government and business and which was linked with president Bouteflika, the Reform Movement, and Islamist Movement for Peaceful Society. Other political parties are not as vocal as the above-mentioned ones. These include Algerian National Front, Workers party, the Rally for Culture and Democracy, Renaissance Movement, and the Socialist Forces Front. The National Liberation Front (FLN) has formed the government over the years although it has entered national coalition with other loyal parties due to its inability to win with a majority. The Islamist S alvation Front (ISF) remains the only illegal political party in Algeria. The national symbols depict the identity of the nation to represent legacy of Algeria. The main national symbol in Algeria is the flag. This flag was derived from the designs of Abdel kadir. These designs were inspired by Turkey’s flag. This flag was officially adopted on third of July 1962 by the new government of Algeria. The Algerian flag is rectangular and comprises of green and white colored rectangles. The flag has a crescent shape at the centre, which is a religious symbol that depicts that Algeria is an Islamic country. There is also a red star at the heart of the crescent. Every color on the flag signifies something. The white color represents peace, the green color represents Islamic religion while the symbols that are red colored are a representative of the blood that was shed by freedom fighters in the time of the struggle for independence in Algeria where many people died and others were ma imed. The other national symbol is the national Emblem. This looks almost similar to that of many other countries. The national emblem was officially adopted in Algeria in 1976. The language changed to Arabic from the initial French. This emblem has the Algerian ancient symbol of Fatma inside in the form of an inscription. This Fatima represents the sun that portrays the coming of another era. There are also some other symbols that represent agriculture and industrialization in Algeria. There is also a mountain on it that signifies the Atlas Mountains. The third national symbol in Algeria is the National Anthem of Algeria. Economics The Algerian currency is called the Algerian Dinar abbreviated as (DZD). In 2011, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Algeria was 263.661 billion dollars. The per capita of Algeria was 7,333 dollars. The backbone of this economy is the prevalence of fossil fuel. This accounts for 60% of its budget, whic h is 30% of the country’s GDP. This also accounts for 95% earnings from export hence the country’s main export commodity. The human development index in 2010 was 0.698. Unemployment rate is also high at about 20.1% with agriculture accounting for 14% of the country’s employment. Algeria is an importer of foodstuff and warfare equipments. Among the agricultural products that it exports are barley, oats, vegetables, and citrus. In 2011, Algeria exports were worth 73.39 billion dollars while the imports were worth 46.45 billion dollars. Inflation rates in Algeria are 4%, the lowest rate in this region. In 2001, Algeria signed a pact to purchase warfare equipments worth 7.5 billion dollars in exchange for their historical debt of 4.7 billion dollars. In 2006, Algeria paid its debt worth eight billion dollars to Paris Club even before the maturation date. Culture and Tourism Arabic and the Berber languages are the known native languages in Algeria. These languages ar e used by 99% Algerians. These languages are also official. French is also used widely especially in education and media. However, it is not official. The most common Berber language is the Kabyle, which is the most spoken. The Berber language is spoken by 27% with colloquial Arabic being spoken by 72% of the population. The predominant religion is the Sunni Islam, which account for 99% of Algerian population. Other religions include Christians and Jews. The culture of Algerians is greatly influenced by the Islamic religion. This culture is also distributed to denote Kabyle, French, and Arabic influence. Algeria has some of the most famous novelist in African literature including Albert Camus and Mohammed Dib. Paintings have also denoted Mohamend Khadda especially in the 21st century. Painters like Pablo Picasso who painted the works ‘Women of Algiers’ are great sources of the Algerian culture. Painters have also preserved the values of the Algerian people. Music also f orms a great part of the Algerian culture. For example, the Chaabi music, which dates back to 1920s, comprises of poems and rhythms from various dialects in Arabic language. The Malouf Constantinois style has been preserved through music by Mohamed Fergani. There is also the Algerian classical style of music from the Andalusian people, which has also been preserved. There is also the folk music, for example, Bedouin, which has poems on pastoralist, Kabyle folk songs comprising of poetry, and tales. These songs majorly revolve around love, exile, and even politics. The Turkish culture is also depicted though Turkish food, drinks, and even music. This is mainly by Turkish remnants that had migrated to Algeria during the rule of the Ottoman (Ruedy 22). They are today referred as Kouloughlis. These were children of Algerians native women and Turkish descendants. The major food is cuisine, which includes cereals at all times because cereals are abundant. It is prepared using fish, meat, and vegetables. Other main dishes include chorba, Berkoukes, and Mthewen. Cakes are also common in Algeria. Tourist sites includes kabylie mountains, Algiers beaches, Timgad ruins left by Romans, the Sahara, Biskra El-Kantara, Mt. Tahat, which is the highest point in Algeria 3003m, and Gantret El’Hwa in Constantine. Cinema is also part of the Algerian culture. This can be stemmed back to 1962 when movies began to be produced in Algeria. Films, for example, the Opium and the stick produced by Ahmed Rachedi and The battle of Algiers produced in 1966 are also common in this culture. Algerian films such as Chronicle of the Year’s Fire have won international awards. Comedies are also establishing in Algeria. There are museums, for example, the Gsell museum in Algiers. Education is compulsory in Algeria especially for the children who are between ages of six to 15 years. It is therefore compulsory for the parents to ensure that their children in this age are taken to school. This is an official move by the government to promote literacy. Statistics shows that about 5% of all the adults are illiterate. This means that the literacy levels in Algeria are not very low. Conclusion In conclusion, Algeria is an ancient country, which is officially referred to as People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria. The country was formerly known as Democratic and popular Algerian Republic. The earliest inhabitants of Algeria were Aterians and the Capsians. Before its independence in 1962, the country was ruled by a series of dynasties for example the Numidians, Romans, Carthaginians, Vendals, Umayyads, Byzantines, Fatimids, Almohads, and the Turkish. Algeria is an Arabic country with its capital in Algiers. This country is a partial presidential democracy with 48 provinces, which are subdivided into 1541 communes. The population of Algeria is about 37 million and is ranked 34th in world most populous nation list. The total area of Algeria is 2.381,741 km. It is the second largest country in Africa and the tenth largest country in the world. The president is the head of state and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president appoints the prime minister who then heads the government. The government has three major branches. These are judiciary, executive, and the legislature. The major source of economic power of Algeria is the fossils oil, which is also the major export for the country as revealed in the paper. Works Cited Africa: Algeria. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency, 2010. Web. Alec, Hargreaves, and Mark McKinney. Post-Colonial Cultures in France. London: Psychology Press, 1997. Print. Collins, Roger. Vandal Africa, 429–533. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print. De Azevedo, Raimond Cagiano. Migration and Development Co-Operation. Europe: Council of Europe, 1994. Print. Hitchens, Christopher. Jefferson versus the Muslim Pirates, 2011. Web. Horne, Alistair. A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954 –1962. New York, NY: New York Review Books Classics, 2006. Print. Ruedy, John. Modern Algeria: The Origins and Development of a Nation. India: Indiana University Press. Print. Appendices Algerian Flag Source: (Africa: Algeria 1) Geography of Algeria Area 2,381,741 sq km 919,595 sq mi Coastline 998 km 620 mi Highest point Mount Tahat 3,003 m/9,852 ft Lowest point Chott Melrhir 40 m/131 ft below sea level Source: (Africa: Algeria 1) The economy of Algeria Gross domestic product (GDP in U.S.$) $115 billion (2006) GDP per capita (U.S.$) $3,440 (2006) Monetary unit 1 Algerian dinar (AD) , consisting of 100 centimes Number of workers 13,887,214 (2006) Unemployment rate 20.1 percent (2004) Source: (Africa: Algeria 1) Map of Algeria Source: (Africa: Algeria 1) This essay on Modern Algeria was written and submitted by user Abel Klein to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.