worldaltem: April 2018

Terrible internet - painful process doing this blog.

Palm Trees and Gardens of Elche 5 hours 8:45 - 1:45 $99.
Experienced the Natural Bounty of Elche’s Flora. Saw Elche’s basilica, lush gardens and some of the 300,000 palm trees surrounding the city. The palms of Elche are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We took a scenic drive through the countryside to view them in a sprawling municipal park. Visited the Basilica de Santa Maria and explored the interior. Visited the Priest’s Orchard or La Huerta del Cura. Saw rare plants and typical plants, mostly palms and cactuses. Lemon and pomegranate trees were along the highway as we drove from port to Elche. Moorish-style foundations. In the center of the garden is the famous Imperial Palm, with its seven branches sprouting from one trunk. Sampled local dates, figs, and a heady date liqueur but no dried apricots.

Entering Cartagena Harbor in the morning.

Harbor Fort

Passed a lot of farm land.

Saw this in the Priest's Orchard

Basilica de Santa Maria

Fort near the public park we visited in Elche.

Palm we saw in the Elche public garden

Priest's Orchard, a private garden

Cactus in the Priest's Orchard

Priest's Orchard

We were told to expect the worst port of our trip, but the port was fine. Algeria's tourism policy includes having a police escort for all tours. With our escort, we passed through all traffic lights without having to stop.

Our day went very well. The roads were smooth. The police escorts were helpful. For example, the escorts helped those guests that had difficulty navigating the Roman Ruins. I was impressed with the tile pictures along the roadways in the city of Algiers. I was also impressed with the murals along the highways. The countryside was picturesque. I saw miles of greenhouse farming of what looked like tomatoes and pole beans. There was a lot of new construction in the Tipasa area. It was a great day and nothing was dreadful as we were led to believe.

Visited remains from two ancient civilizations. The Royal Mausoleum of Mauritania is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a huge circular structure that was built in 3 BC to entomb King and Queen of Mauritania although no remains were found inside.

Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania - There were three fake doors and one real opening. The top was damaged by bombs because it was believed there would be treasure inside, but there was no treasure. It was also said that at times the mausoleum was used for target practice. The Mausoleum was very well built to survive bombing and still be standing centuries later.

View from Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania

Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania

Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania - was built to be the Tomb of Juba II and Cleopatra Selene II. Cleopatra Selene was the daughter of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony. No remains from their time period have been found.

Roman Empire military colony near Tipasa. It was a Punic trading post, then Emperor Claudius turned it into a military colony when he was trying to conquer Mauretania.

Roman Empire military colony. While there are no traces of houses, there are ruins of three churches.

Tile picture along the street near our port in Algier's Algeria.

This is the 302-foot-high Martyrs' Monument that was dedicated to the heroes of Algeria's 1954-1962 War of Independence. There are three giant palm leaves sheltering an eternal flame at the base.

Murals painted on the walls along the highway.

Algiers, Algeria

Murals along the highway from Algiers to Tipasa in Algeria.

Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania

Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania There is some controversy pertaining to the cross on the door.

Roman ruins near Tipasa, I read that the stone blocks of the buildings were removed over time to be used for construction by civilizations that followed. This is what was left behind.

Roman ruins near Tipasa.

Near Tipasa, thiswas once a Roman Empire military colony and another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saw remains of early Christian churches, cemeteries, bathhouses, and an unusually shaped amphitheater.

Roman Empire military colony

View from Roman Empire military colony

Garum pot. Near the baths was a garum factory. Garum was a sauce made from small fish and intestines of large fish. The fish were softened by soaking with herbs in liquid until it disintegrated. This sauce was popular in Rome and was a main export.

Early drainage system

Mosaic flooring

View from Roman Empire Military Colony

Christian Basilica

Walls of the baths near Cardo Maximus. Not far from the sea. Archaeologists found four bath establishments. Unfortunately, the marbles and decorations have been removed.

Great Christian Basilica

Bapistry - Baptism was an important sacrement for early Christians.

Great Christian Basilica

Mosaic flooring

Mosaic flooring.

View from the Roman Military Outpost

More tile pictures along the street in Algiers, Algeria.

Roman Empire military colony. There were young people and children all over this site. It was like being in a park or on a playground. I had my picture taken with a lot of the teens and 20 somethings. I read a story online that this large amphitheater was filled with water. People in small boats fought each other to the death for the entertainment of the Roman crowds.

FACEBOOK post Algiers, Algeria. Everything was better than expected in Algeria. The port was in good shape, the roads were smooth and our visit to Tipasa was amazing. Tipasa was settled originally by the Cathoginians and then became a military colony for Ancient Rome. We walked around a large area of ancient ruins of the Roman military colony. I chose this picture of the Coliseum because I read an interesting story about it. The story said they filled this coliseum with water and prisoners would be launched in little boats. The prisoners would then fight each other to the death... It all seemed so Roman to me. I could imagine the Romans cheering on the sides. Very interesting day in Algeria, acres of farmland and greenhouses along the ocean as we traveled to Tipasa. Many artifacts among the ancient Roman ruins. There were children and young adults playing everywhere in this amazing historical area.