Along the national highway leading to Algiers, newly developed residential areas began to stand out. In the town center, a new mosque stood, and dozens of houses—all shaped similarly to the new streetlights—lined the streets, creating a stark contrast with the older buildings.
アルジェへ向かう国道沿いには、新興住宅地が目立ってきました。町の中心には新しいモスク、そして新しい街灯のもと同じような形の家が何十棟も建ち並び、古い建物とコントラストを見せていました。
As usual, we were being treated to tea at a café.
Even after the two of us drank two glasses of orange juice each—four glasses in total—the owner wouldn’t accept payment, saying, “It’s on the house.” At another café, the owner told us, “The customers who were here a little while ago paid for your drinks, too.” [Wow, that’s so cool.]
As the days went by, we came to realize that in Algeria, it’s standard practice to greet people with a handshake—whether at a café or anywhere else. It seems they shake hands first, regardless of whether they know each other or not.
That day, we were looking for a water source. We decided to ask a man passing by where we could find one. Of course, we didn’t forget to extend our hands for a handshake.
“Bonjour. Saba?”
“Saba.”
“We’re looking for a water source.”
“What? You want water? This way.”
Saying that, he led us to his home. He filled our bottles and plastic jugs to the brim from a simple water supply drawn from his well. After we thanked him, it didn’t end there. He then treated us to coffee and even gave us some houbs to take with us.
Along the highway, people drinking tea and chatting, others leisurely tending to their sheep, and farmers working in the fields—they all seemed very friendly and would call out to us as we rode by.
In those moments, too, a handshake comes first. “Communication begins with a handshake”—that seems to be the Algerian way.
Daily Passport Checks
The more towns we passed through, the more often we naturally encountered police officers, and—perhaps as part of their job—we frequently underwent passport checks. Unlike in Morocco, in addition to our passports, I was asked to show a currency exchange certificate issued by a bank, and W was asked to show his student ID.
That day, while drinking coffee at a café, we were called over by a police officer—our second consecutive day of checks, following the previous day. To top it off, we weren’t just checked on the spot; we were taken all the way to the police station.
That said, the checks are always friendly—as usual, they start with a handshake. I answer their incomprehensible French questions in English, saying, “We’re not suspicious. We’re just Japanese travelers,” and that’s the end of it, but honestly, having this happen two days in a row is getting a bit tiresome.
On another occasion, while riding along a highway, we ran into a pair of police officers on patrol on motorcycles. They asked us all sorts of questions for about 30 minutes—though the conversation was far from a “police interrogation”; it was really just about our travels.
私たちは相変わらず、カフェでお茶をご馳走になっていました。
二人でオレンジ・ジュースを２杯づつ計４杯飲んでも「タダだよ」と店主は代金を受け取りません。別のカフェでは「さっきの客がお前たちの分も払って行ったよ」と店主。〔何だよ、カッコいいじゃん〕
日を重ねるうちに、アルジェリアではカフェでもどこでも握手をしながら挨拶をするのが当たり前だとわかってきました。顔見知りでもなくても、取りあえず握手をするようです。
この日、私たちは水場を探していました。通りすがりの男性に水場の場所を尋ねてみることに。もちろん手を差し伸べて握手も忘れません。
「ボンジュール。サバ?」
「サバ」
「水場を探しているんですけど?」
「何っ、水が欲しいのか? こっちだ」
そう言って案内してくれたのは男性の自宅でした。井戸から汲み上げた簡易水道からボトルとポリタンクいっぱいに水をもらい、お礼を言うと、それだけでは終わりません。その後コーヒーをご馳走になり、おまけにホブスまで持たせてくれました。
街道沿いで、談笑しながらお茶を飲む人たちやノンビリと羊の番をしている人、畑で農作業をしている人など、みなさん人なつこいと見えて走行中の私たちに声がかかります。
そんな時もまずは握手。「コミュニケーションの始まりは握手から」それがアルジェリア流のようです。
連日のパスポート・チェック
通過する町が多くなるほど、自ずと警察官に出くわす機会が増え、彼らの仕事の一つなのか、たびたびパスポート・チェックを受けることになります。モロッコと違うのはパスポートの他に、私は銀行発行の両替証明書とＷ君は学生証の提示を求められることです。
この日、カフェでコーヒーを飲んでいると警察官に呼ばれ、前日に引き続き二日連続のチェック。おまけに、その場ではなく警察署にまで連れていかれました。
ただ、チェックはいつも友好的、例によってまずは握手から。意味のわからぬフランス語の質問に英語で「私たちは怪しい者ではない。ただの日本人の旅行者だ」と答えて終わりですが、さすがに二日続くと少々ウンザリです。
いつぞやは、街道走行中にオートバイでパトロール中の二人組の警察官と出会い、いろいろ聞かれること約30分、中身は〈職務質問〉とはほど遠い私たちの旅の話でした。
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