Site visited December 2013. My visit to M'Zab Valley WHS could be categorized ’nearly missed’ due to the riots that took place in Ghardaïa that time. But I consider it as visited though not extensively. In many aspects my visit became totally different than I had expected.

There were lot of things that went wrong on my trip. The problems started already when I flew from Constantine to Ghardaïa via Algiers. Air Algérie is notorious for its unreliability and I fell victim to that. The whole story is too long to tell here but all I want to say is that it was very eventful travel day. I was lucky that I made it to the Ghardaïa plane just before its departure.

I was happy when I arrived late in the evening in Ghardaïa but I was totally unaware what waited for me there. At the airport the policeman escorted me to the taxi. The hotel staff was a little bit surprised when they saw a tourist. Next morning they made it clear that they don’t let me out of the hotel on my own. They told me that the situation is very serious and it is not safe to visit the famous ksours. The receptionist said that there has been violent ethnic clashes between Arabs and Mozabite Berbers. She told that people throw cobblestones to shop windows, burn houses and dig bodies from the graves. There had been fatalities. The receptionist also said that she don't understand why this place is supposed to be some kind of tourist destination because it is a war zone.

I had to wait in my room until it was safe to go out. In the afternoon the taxi driver took me to Beni Isguen which was at the time the safest of the inscribed ksours because it has mainly Mozabite population. I went to a tourist office and got a obligatory guide who walked with me around the old village. It looked peaceful in Beni Isguen yet the streets were quite empty. It is forbidden to take pictures when there is people, especially women, on the streets. The guide told me every time when it was allowed to take a picture. It was exiting to walk on narrow alleys. The houses and walls had organic and round shapes. Main colours are yellow, pink and red. On the summit of the hill there is a mosque.

After Beni Isguen we went to Ghardaïa market square. There was a big mess. Many windows were broken and some of the shops had been burnt. On the ground there were piles of cobblestones, garbage and empty canisters. Near the market square there was also a burnt car. Next we visited in the gates of Bounoura. It was too risky to go inside. The taxi driver looked very anxious all the time. He said that it is war going on here and he is responsible for my life. All we could do was just drive around the ksours.

Later in the evening we went to Beni Isguen market but it was almost empty. Most of the shops had been closed. Luckily there was one shop open so I could buy some unique handicrafts.

Other thing that surprised me was the weather. Whole of my visit it was freezing cold, cloudy and it was raining almost all the time. I have to put on many layers of clothes but still I was a bit cold when we walked outside.

M'Zab Valley is one of the most interesting World Heritage Sites in Northern Africa but the long lasting ethnic unrest makes this place a bit unpredictable. At least my short visit was disappointing. I saw the potential but I couldn’t enjoy the visit. I could imagine that in peaceful times and good weather M'Zab Valley is a unique experience. Maybe one day I'll go back and see all the things I missed during my unlucky first visit.