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    #1

    Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

    Perhaps I'll be in Oran next week. The only reason that I've actually heard of Oran is because I read Camus' La Peste when I was a student. I'm guessing that is not going to help me know much about it (and I certainly hope in many ways that it doesn't)

    This is all up in the air, at present though because it takes Algeria 8 days to issue a visa and because I needed my passport for other reasons (viz: travelling) I was only able to get it the embassy yesterday. I need it back next Wednesday so I can leave on Thursday. This does not give them 8 business days, so I may just be staying here and enjoying the May 1st holiday weekend with my family, which would not displease me.

    So, Oran, then. Not holding out much hope, but perhaps one or two of you have been or can me tell me something that is not related to a fictional outbreak of the plague in the 1940s.
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    #2
    Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

    The population was ravaged in the mid-19th century by a non-fictional outbreak of cholera.

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      #3
      Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

      I've never been to Oran. The historic quarter (Sidi el Houari) is famous for its mosque ('Mosquée de la perle' in French), the Bey's palace, the old city gate known as the Porte d'Espagne which leads to the casbah and the city's most recognisable landmark, the citadelle, and Algeria's most famous market, Medina Jedida.

      In colonial times, Oran was the city with the most European settlers and sephardic Jews. It was known for the Spanish influence. There was (and might still be?) a lot of colonial architecture: a theatre, a grandiose cathedral and an impressive synagogue, an ornate library and a famous lycée. Oran was also a lot smaller than Algiers, so the things to see from the colonial era ought to be in a walkable area.

      The coastal route west to Mostaghanem is supposed to be magnificent.

      Oran is the birthplace of raï music; your musical accompaniment must include Cheb Kader and Chekha Rimitti. Although she is not from Oran, the recently deceased writer Assia Djebar set her short story collection The tongue's blood does not run dry there; it gives a flavour of the city during the guerilla war of the early 1990s.

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        #4
        Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

        Thanks for that. I hadn't realised that Rai's origins were specific to Oran. That's great to know. Not sure how much time I'll have to explore but I am looking forward to it. Cheers laverte.

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          #5
          Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

          isn't it also where the royal navy sunk half the french mediterranean fleet in 1940.

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            #6
            Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

            And they have a decent football club

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              #7
              Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

              laverte wrote: I've never been to Oran. The historic quarter (Sidi el Houari) is famous for its mosque ('Mosquée de la perle' in French), the Bey's palace
              This Bey?

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                #8
                Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

                This Oran?

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                  #9
                  Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

                  This didn't happen. My visa came out of the embassy on Thursday morning about 3 hours before I was due to fly, which would have been tight, but doable. But it was all irrelevant as on Monday morning, just after he woke up, my father in law, who'd been staying with us, complained of not being able to breathe. He walked into the ambulance, lay down, and died. It's not been the week I expected it to be.

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                    #10
                    Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

                    My condolences ad hoc.

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                      #11
                      Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

                      Crikey. Sorry to hear that Andy.

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                        #12
                        Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

                        Condolences to you and your in-laws.

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                          #13
                          Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

                          Very sorry, Andy. Was he in bad health? I guess that doesn't really matter. Condolences to your family.

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                            #14
                            Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

                            No he wasn't (obviously) in bad health. He had been chopping wood in our garden the day before.

                            Mrs hoc has lost her brother (her only sibling), mother and now father in the space of 5 years. It's been a tough time.

                            We spent today in his garden with two of his closest friends and their wives. Each day feels hard yet positive all at the same time.

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                              #15
                              Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

                              sorry to hear that andy.

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                                #16
                                Oran (Another entry in the So,...,then series)

                                God, that's awful. Very sorry for your and your wife's loss.

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