It was a Tuesday evening. Me and my beloved wife Karen were having a chat over a cup of coffee. Two months down the line she was pregnant and I tried to devote as much time to her as possible. Karen was a brave woman, she still took to office everyday and attending her evening vocational classes. I was a bit worried that things might go wrong somehow so I kept calling her once in a while to check out on her. Around 5.30 just when we were about to wrap up, the doorbell rang, and to my surprise, it was Fred and his son Jerry. Its been quite some months I had not seen him, and warmly welcomed him inside. He seemed to have lost quite some weight. Readily he made himself comfortable on the couch as Jerry headed upstairs to my son Matt’s room.

Sipping on to the coffee Fred said that he was just back from yet another of his photographic assignments in Algeria. I knew he was dying to recount his experiences in the country and I lend him a patient ear. He started off by narrating how he had been in a land that offers lush green coasts, mountains, deserts and interesting cultures. He said that the country was still not considered safe for tourist travel and one needs to have an Algerian guide if he wishes to venture into the countryside. Although things have improved a lot in recent times, but still travelers are advised to exercise caution. It is necessary, he went on, to be associated with a reputed travel agency in case one has to make a trip to Algeria. I was surprised to learn that Algeria was regarded as the 11^th largest country in the world if total area is to be considered. It shares its borders with Niger, Libya, Tunisia, Mali and Morocco. More harrowing were the tales of civil unrest in the country and Fred recollected that more than 160,000 people were killed in clashes between 1992 and 2002. But Fred had enjoyed himself throughly, I could see it in his face. The best places he had visited, he recounted were Timgad, Biskra Zighout, Blida and Biskra.