The explorer traveled to the other side of the Mediterranean for a new issue of the RMC Découverte documentary. A journey between traditions and modernism.
In twenty years of “I will sleep at your place”, Antoine de Maximy has traveled the entire Earth. However, the explorer, recognizable for his red shirt and especially his two cameras (one on the shoulder, the other remote), never went to Algeria, the fault of the various geopolitical events that disrupted the country. In October, it was therefore with undisguised pleasure but with a certain apprehension that he took the plane to discover the inhabitants of the tenth largest country in the world, the largest in Africa, in the Arab world, and the Mediterranean basin.
His journey begins in the Algerian mountains, in greater Kabylia, a 1.5-hour drive from Tizi Ouzou, where several villages are perched. At random, he stops at one of them and meets his first people. “Hello, welcome to our home! Nice to meet you, whose honor do I have?”, warmly welcomes him to Daoud Baraka, a retired engineer, with whom he will spend his first night. Together, the two men will cook but also talk about the colonial period still marked in the minds of Algerians.
The next day, on the road, Antoine de Maximy comes across a party. Many villagers gathered to celebrate Mouloud, the birth of the prophet. The explorer does not linger but still takes the time to swallow a few spoonfuls of couscous. He then went to Djanet, in the far south of Algeria, but he quickly understood that the city’s proximity to Libya would force him to review his plans.
Indeed, when he gets off the plane, he is entitled to a three-hour check and then he is invited to stay, not with a local as he is used to, but in a hotel. In addition, for his safety, two police officers will accompany him on his travels. Not enough to delight the explorer. After several hours of fruitless wandering, Antoine de Maximy meets Ali, “a modern Tuareg”, who welcomes him to his home for lunch and a nap. “A “I’ll go sleep at your place” in the afternoon,” jokes the globetrotter.
His journey continues in Ghardaïa, north of the Sahara, where things will certainly prove less complicated but a little nonetheless. “This is the first time I have found myself in such a situation,” laments Antoine de Maximy. The latter then takes the direction of Algiers. In the capital, the explorer quickly discovers that it will be difficult for him to go incognito. “Since I started, one thing has changed: it’s social networks. There are many Algerians who know that I am in Algeria, who invite me, who send me their telephone number…”, he emphasizes. He then decides to join Oran.
During his last evening in Algeria, Antoine de Maximy meets a group of young BMX Freestyle enthusiasts and ends the evening by offering them all a kebab. “The situation escapes me,” he laughs. Between the mountains of Kabylia and the hustle and bustle of a modern city, there are ultimately only a few kilometers. “A huge country with extremely different people, from one region to another it’s not at all the same mentality,” concludes the explorer with a smile.
