"WONDERFUL DAYS IN EL OUED" El Oued by Narviking

El Oued Travel Guide: 8 reviews and 49 photos

El Oued is located in the northeastern part of Algeria, not far from the border to Tunisia. Situated in the Sahara desert, El Oued is a oasis town and its worth spending some days here. The town is also called "The Village of a Thousand Domes". The reason for that is that so many buildings use vaults and domes in a effort to alleviate the terrible summer heat. When I was there in may it was 40C in the shadow. That was not the warmest time of the year, in july and august it could get up to 55C I was told.

One of the most interesting thing in town is the marked. Ther you can buy almost everything you need. The busiest day is fridays.

IN EL OUED MUSEM

El Oued is a quiet town but very interesting. Beside the market, you can also visit the museum. However one of the most interesting things is just to walk around and watch peoples daily life.
Also a must is to take a trip out in the desert. Thats not a big problem as the town is surrounded by it. In the desert you can go on small camel trips if you like. The camels I saw outside of El Oued were however in a little bad condition I think. I therefore let them rest....

WEARING LOCAL CLOTHES

The people of El Oued was extremely friendly. People wanted to talk with me everywere and I was invited for tea or cold drinks countless of times. Unfortunately my french is very poor and I dont speak arabic so it limited my possibility to chat with people but there were some who spoke english.

Most of the women in El Oued used veils and when I visited private homes I was not allowed to take pictures of them. I could not shake hand with any women either. The only females I spoke to when I was there was two girls I met in a handicraftshop. They spoke also some english.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Friendly people and interesting atmosphere.
Cons:The summerheat !
In a nutshell:Interesting oasis town in Sahara

Intro Updated Feb 25, 2004
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Reviews (8)

HANDICRAFTSHOP IN EL OUED Shopping (1)

Beside shopping in the El Oued market you can also find a few nice handicraftshops in town. Rugs seems to be a popular... more travel advice

A tourist trap has for me... Tourist Traps (1)

A tourist trap has for me several times been shops or basars were the sellers more or less attack you trying to sell... more travel advice

There are a few restaurants in... Restaurants (1)

There are a few restaurants in El Oued. Except from one time I had all my meals in the restaurant of Hotel Le Souf and... more travel advice

I only was in El OUED during... - El Oued

I only was in El OUED during... Hotels (1)

I only was in El OUED during my visit and I can reccomend the HOTEL LE SOUF. But remember it was in 1992 and much can... more travel advice

Nightlife (1)
Nightlife in El Oued is...
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Comments (5)

dsantosh Mar 10, 2004 at 10:44 PM Report Abuse

Superb albums and great tips...
globetrott Feb 5, 2004 at 5:08 PM Report Abuse

What an interesting destination ! It is just a pity, Algeria is rather unsafe at the moment...
husain Jun 1, 2003 at 2:40 AM Report Abuse

rugs always make a great buy! ...i got a few from kabul:)
tini58de Dec 7, 2002 at 11:24 PM Report Abuse

Lovely page of a very remote place! I loved El Oued, too, but stayed only for a few hours!
traveldave Nov 9, 2002 at 5:18 AM Report Abuse

El Oued looks like an interesting and exotic city. It looks like a good place to experience the local culture well off the beaten tourist path.