Hassi Messaoud
Hassi Messaoud is an
industrial city in Algeria. A lot of oil and gas companies decided to allocate
their camps here.
The first discovery was
neither gas nor oil, it was water.
The camps are like
fortresses with armed guards, defensive walls and check points. Same happens on
the roads leading to them. In order to enter the town, you need to go through
few police and military check points.
Long distance travel by car
is forbidden for expats due to security reasons. The city has many checkpoints
that why Hassi is a kind of 'green zone' where expats can travel safely from
camps to the city or the airport.
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| Mild desert storm |
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| Entrance to one of the base |
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| Ceck point |
During the weekend, local people organise BBQs on dunes around Hassi. Sometimes
you can see.
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| BBQs on dunes |
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| BBQs on dunes |
I found departure
procedures at the airport really strange. They include several checks. At the
entrance to the building is the first scanning of baggage and a simple body
search. What is funny, smoking inside is forbidden, however, no one respects
it.
Afterwards, an immigration
form should be filled and checked by a policeman together with your passport
and then, once completed, you need to have your hand luggage checked again by a
scanner. Finally, you can enter waiting area. When the boarding starts they
will check your ticket and you will be taken by bus. After getting off the bus,
the boarding card is checked again and near the plane, on the ground,
registered luggage is waiting for passengers. Before boarding your flight, you
have to pick it up, put on a big trolley. When they collect all luggage they will
take it to the hold.
Time for the last hand
luggage check by a policemen (sometimes they do very detailed check), a simple
body search. After all this checks, passengers can take a seat on the plane.
This procedure is for national and international flights and is slightly
different if you have international flights from Algiers (there is no need to
carry your own registered baggage to the hold using trolley).
The procedure is for locals
and expats.
If you ever travel to Algeria - enjoy the trip. :-)
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| Local shop |
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| Dirty dunes |
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| At the airport |
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| Hassi |
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| Hassi |
