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Algeria is an Arabic nation in North Africa. It has a Mediterranean Sea coastline in the north. It is enclosed by Morocco to the northwest, Tunisia to the northeast, Libya to the east, Niger to the southeast, Mali to the southwest, Mauritania and Western Sahara to the west. After Sudan, Algeria is the 2nd-biggest country in Africa and the 11th largest country in the world in terms of total area. Algeria is defined as an Arab, and Amazigh (Berber) nation. Talk: The authorized language is Arabic. Be careful, though, that North African (Maghrebi) Arabic is pretty different from the Arabic spoken in other parts of the Arab World, such as Egypt. This is mostly due to Berber and French influences. French, the colonial language, is still widely spoken, especially in urban areas. Usually, only the young generations in Algeria understand English, but most people are able to communicate in French. Weather: Northern Algeria is in the temperate zone and has a mild, Mediterranean climate. Its broken topography, however, provides sharp local contrasts in both prevailing temperatures and incidence of rainfall. Winters are not particularly cold, but the humidity level is high. In eastern Algeria, the average temperatures are somewhat lower, and on the steppes of the High Atlas plateaux, winter temperatures are only a few degrees above freezing. A prominent feature of the climate in this region is the sirocco, a dusty, choking south wind blowing off the desert, sometimes at gale force. This wind also sometimes reaches into the coastal Tell. Culture: Current Algerian literature, sandwiched between Arabic and French, has been powerfully prejudiced by the country's recent history. Algerian culture has been strongly influenced by Islam, the main religion. The works of the Sanusi family in pre-colonial times, and of Emir Abdelkader and Sheikh Ben Badis in colonial times are widely noted. The Latin author Apuleius was born in Madaurus (Mdaourouch), in what later became Algeria. The Algerian musical genre best known abroad is raï, a pop-flavored, opinionated take on folk music. Although "raï" is welcomed and praised as a glowing cultural emblem for Algeria, there was time when raï’s come across critical cultural and political conflictions with Islamic and government policies and practices, post-independency. Thus the distribution and expression of raï music became very difficult. Sports: Especially Soccer is very big in Algeria. Baseball is also rising as a major sport in the country. Algerians, especially the younger generation, are passionate soccer. Hockey is popular in Algeria too Yannick Hamri is a famous Algerian hockey player. The most popular sport in the country Soccer is the sport everyone in the country can get behind and be integrated. |
