beyond the mountains

The time has come for this blog to host my thoughts and impressions on a culture, which surrounds me every day here in Algeria, namely Islam. To me, Algeria is a very puzzling place because it represents greatly the edge between certain radicalism and a progressism that has emerged after the end of the terror period, in 1997. There are many signs of a relative opening towards a more occidental culture since president Bouteflika, who leads this country with an iron glove, has come into power. The « new » Algerian generation like many developing countries, faces a very trivial choice ahead: Either they pack up and immigrate to neighbouring Spain or France for a « better » future, or remain in Algeria and create a middle class that is desperately lacking. A friend of mine told me how easy it was to literally climb on a boat, bribe a couple of officials and travel to Marseille, join relatives or friends for a Pastis on the Canebière. On the other hand, Algeria experiences a great economic...

Salem Alikoum everyone, Alikoum Salem, With a little bit of luck, I shall be able to hold an experience with you… namely, follow a little drop of oil, extracted from the southern alegrian plants of Sonatrach (10th world largest hydrocarbures holding), through out the process, all the way to Algiers. Then I will watch the 50 000 barrel-tanker gracefully leave the bay carrying it to your tank station where ever you are in Europe. And all this while sitting on my terrasse. I can prove it! Before that, I have to solve a couple of issues. Firstly, Food. Algerian chef might cook the best Tajin, the most delicious Couscous, the crustiest Mechoui, it is useless during Ramadan. This is going to sound very silly, and I take it on me 100%, but “not being muslim in a muslim country ain’t easy”… Indeed, even though time difference is only one hour from Brussels, adaptation is a rather tough mission. As an example, Week end’s start on Thursday (sounds easy but try it on…) then, they break the Ramad...

Connected, Back home, I finally have the time to think about my first experience and miss the amazing moments I went through in Ukraine. After All, Indian summer's here, in Brussels, and it is sooo good to see my family and most of my friends again. So that you know, Alex left to Egypt for a wonderful project...lucky boy! And AnneSo and I continue the adventure together! Next stop Algeria (Normally;). As I did in Ukraine, I am going there aprehensionless, and very eager to discover what will most probably be on the other extreme of the cultural line: No more Vodka "to the (w)horses", no more mini skirts in the streets and most probably no food for the next 2 weeks... Ramadan oblige. Still, I am ready to peregrine in the desert, and open to a world that I know very little about. Interesting times ahead :) Besides, I enjoyed being in brussels again, but also went to Paris to attend the FIAC (international contemporary art Fair of Paris) which was full of people and pretty m...

Goeie Morgen Everyone, First of all I would like to apologize for my Lazyness... Since Anne Sophie and Alex have left last week end (snif!) I have had to deal with more things than expected. Anywayz, I am on the verge of leaving and that gives me a mixed feeling of excitment and sadness. Heading somewhere else with the impression that I haven't seen what I should have, "real Ukraine", will certainly be a excellent reason to come back to this country en devenir. But Ukraine also rimes with various human styles. In a little more than a month I have met stuburn civil servants, smart business men, creative artists, charming women, great friends, total morons and humping dogs. Pick your category, mates! It was trully a pleasure to meet you all and I hope our path will cross again very soon... Kazantip for example...;) We could all dress as rockets? Guess who is in the Rocket? As far as activities are concerned...Kiev had still a lot to offer, so I took as much as I could! Nex...

A bit of history – if you’re interested! Among the Slavs' earliest settlements was that of the name of Kyiv along the Dnipro River. The state known as Kyivan Rus-Ukraine arose in late 9th century. The Kyivan Rus-Ukraine reached its zenith in the 10th and 11th centuries under the rulers Volodymyr I (Volodymyr the Great) and his son Yaroslav I (Yaroslav the Wise). Volodymyr adopted Christianity as the official religion of his realm in AD 988. Christianity gave the eastern Slavic peoples their first written language, called Church Slavonic and Kyiv became eastern Europe's chief political and cultural centre. At this time Moscow was a small village in one of the northern principalities of Kyivan Rus, which later developed into Russian Empire. The 12th and 13th centuries saw the decline of Kyiv owing to internal dissension, struggles with the invading nomads. The Mongol conquest in the mid-13th century decisively ended Kyivan power, but a Ukrainian principality in western Ukraine th...

Party @ Pret à Café, Sept 9, 2005/Pomka in Action!!!! To illustrate and put words on the pictures, Here are the comments of Amy, a lady friend who took the time to share her impressions on the country..."Ukraine has long been a crossroads between Europe, Arabia and the Orient, and the modern Ukrainian Rus have acquired a strong admixture of Asiatic and Arabic blood: giving them an average height, slender build and fair complexion. Strictly speaking, the popular-image of beefy Slavic people are found mostly in western Ukraine (bordering on Poland, Hungary and the Slovak states) and in the north and northeast adjacent to Russia. For over a century, the official language was Russian. Since independence, Ukrainian is being promoted as the state language although Russian is still the most widespread, in the east, especially in the major cities. In villages people speak both Russian and Ukrainian. As a rule of thumb, you can manage by speaking Russian, although you may receive a bit of ...

Dobre Den a tous, Hai Hai caramaba, la revolucion otra vez! Indeed, since this very morning nobody knows whether President Yushenko has a real plan after his government dismissal or whether it was just a reaction against several corruption allegations accusing his entourage. In any case, this shows how fragile this "coalition" was and the desperate need for Ukraine to form an strong and transparent government backed up by an active parlement. One could expect Former Prime Minister Timoshenko to backfire very soon...revenge is a cold dish!!! As far as my team is concerned this could jeopardize much of what we have been doing here, on the editorial side as well as the advert's...we watch the news carefully and wait for postive signs. If the office decides so, I might as well stay longer... hehe! Still, I am not here to talk about politics, but rather about...ME! of course ;) I had my first opportunity to leave Kiev last week end. We (Anne-Sophie, Alex, Marte and I) jumped ...

Hello Hello, ça fait un baille! Voila on y est... premier point de la situation! It's been now a week that I am trying to become a "Kievois" and it's been a real delightment until now. In a country that has a sad past and a bright future, the whole thing is a true paradox... Kids playing on a heavy sovietic tank in front of the Rodina Mat (Monument celebrating the russo-ukrainian everlasting friendship), which in turn stands above the museum dedicated to patriotic suffering... Please, Do Believe signs asking you to watch your feet when you step out of the escalator... Gives a little grungy style! Relaxing time @ the beach. Fashion Tv which hangs on every restaurants and bars' walls. I guess it is a brainwashing strategy, and it obviously works...;) Your are Fashion Tv! As Adam Freeland (great DJ btw!) properly said "You are free to do as we tell you, We want your Soul." And ultimately, My best friend here, j ai nommé ma playboy mansion....trrrr trrrr trr...