Ghazaouet

Introducing Ghazaouet

Algeria’s westernmost port sits in a well-protected bay, some 70km from Tlemcen (DA150 in taxis collectifs). The road is busy with halabiyah, the so-called ‘milk run’ of vehicles, from trucks to small cars, smuggling cheap Algerian petrol to the Moroccan border.

The Romans called Ghazaouet Ad Fratres (the Two Brothers), after the twin 25m rocks that rise out of the water at the mouth of the harbour. Under the French the port was known as Nemours, after the French aristocrat who governed here, and had a reputation for the quality anchovies and sardines canned in its factory. The centre still has a French feel, with its covered market (1938) and the central church, now a library (1931). The Pecherie, at the east end of the port, is a good place to walk and watch the fish being landed off boats as well as locals trying their luck with rod and line.

The best swimming is found away from the port. There’s a fashionable beach 10km east where, it is said, ‘even the rich like to go’. There is also good swimming west, at Marsa ben M’hidi, a 2km stretch of fine sand that is cut through by the Moroccan border. To get there you’ll need a car. Some people hitch with the petrol smugglers.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009