Notre Dame d'Afrique

Notre Dame d'Afrique is a large cathedral built by the French in the 19th century, set up on a hill side overlooking the Bay of Algiers. It used to have a sign that stated: Christians have been here a long time and converted only one person to their faith-or a version of this. The interior is lovely with a black Virgin over the altar and panels depicting the life of St. Augustine in one of the side chancels. My new, cheap camera wouldn't take any pictures when the light was above a certain level. So, another adaptation to make. The spot is definitely a place of reflection up and above the city with a view of the Mediterranean and the city in gleaming white as it curves around the bay. Yet, on the taxi ride there I became aware of the problems of large cities-here writ large. The traffic wears one's patience thin. People everywhere, struggling to make a living, gathered in a large metropolis to provide an amalgamation of resources and a labor force. The streets were grimy and the apartments dingy as the taxi climbed the curves to the cathedral. While part of the route followed the bay and offered a modicum of tranquility portside, two large smokestacks by the water spew quantities of black emissions, zhich float over the slope of the city and contrast sharply with the sunny urban landscape and bright blue sky. Petty crime is also a problem, with a large population of young men looking for cash, passports, expensive cell phones and cameras, etc. In developing countries, the major part of the population is young people. More personal demons are appearing as I have to stay in lower cost hotels with a lot of time on my hands; but maybe that will be my challenge during Ramadan. Looking back on my camera theft, Moroccans have a saying that: "Money comes and money goes." That could be applied to cameras. With the new technology, they become obsolete so quickly anyway.

The cathedral is on the hillside in the background. The zoom lense on my Chinese (Mercury) camera (disposable batteries) purchased in Algeria doesn't function all that clearly; so this is without it.