Algeria: Capital, Flag and Fun Facts

About Algeria

Algeria is in North Africa, with a long coastline on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the largest country in Africa, and most of it is covered by the Sahara Desert. It is known for ancient Roman ruins, huge sand dunes and prehistoric rock art.

About Algiers

Algiers sits on a wide bay on the Mediterranean coast in the north of the country. It is known for its white buildings climbing the hills and its old Casbah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Fun facts about Algeria

1. Algeria is the largest country in Africa by area, and about four-fifths of it is desert.
2. The fennec fox, a tiny desert fox with enormous ears, is a national symbol of Algeria.
3. Tassili n'Ajjer has more than 15,000 ancient rock drawings and engravings, some showing animals from a once-green Sahara.
4. The Roman town of Timgad was built from scratch around AD 100 with a neat grid of streets.
5. The name Algiers comes from an Arabic word meaning 'the islands', after small islands once off its coast.
6. Algeria's highest mountain, Tahat, rises 2,908 metres in the Hoggar Mountains of the Sahara.