North Africa

North Africa is the Northern part of the African continent. Countries Countries of North Africa Algeria (Algiers) The largest country in Africa. Egypt (Cairo) Home of the ancient Egyptian civilization, with its temples, hieroglyphs, mummies. Libya (Tripoli) Large open spaces with more than 90% of the country being desert or semidesert. Morocco (Rabat) Situated on both the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Tunisia (Tunis) Located in the very centre of Mediterranean Africa Western Sahara Governance is in dispute between Morocco and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), but the majority of the region is occupied by Morocco. Other territories Atlantic Ocean Islands: Canary Islands (Spain), Madeira Islands (Portugal) Spanish Exclaves: Ceuta, Melilla Cities Alexandria — Egypt's major Mediterranean city is a pale shadow of its former glorious self but remains a major tourism site Algiers — the capital of Algeria with a notable medieval casbah Cairo — the largest city in Africa with major monuments of Ancient Egypt nearby Casablanca — the largest city in Morocco is of sparse interest to the traveller, but is a major transit point El Aaiún — the capital city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara Marrakech — this historic Moroccan city close to the foothills of the Atlas Mountains is an extraordinary meeting of the ancient and modern Tripoli — Libya's capital was long off-limits to most travellers but is experiencing a real resurgence of interest Tunis — the capital of Tunisia is a relatively small and sleepy city but is the gateway to the remains of Carthage and other very notable historical sites. Other destinations Abu Simbel — a very remote area in far south Egypt, with some beautiful ancient temples Carthage — Phoenician colony in Tunisia and the biggest trade metropolis of the antique world; famously razed by the Romans and the remnants are now encased in a museum El-Oued — in Algeria with its domed architecture & nearby Grand Erg Oriental — the Sahara's second largest dune field Ghat - an ancient settlement in southwest Libya with prehistoric rock paintings and very challenging desert trekking High Atlas — hiking, skiing and Berber culture amongst these peaks and valleys in Morocco. Leptis Magna — extensive Roman ruins in Libya Matmata — desert village in Tunisia of cave abodes, where Star Wars's Tatooine was filmed Merzouga and M'Hamid — from either of these two settlements in Morocco at the edge of the Sahara, ride a camel or 4x4 into the desert for a night (or a week) among the dunes and under the stars Valley of the Kings — the great site of Ancient Egypt Understand Talk Arabic is without a doubt the dominant language, and is the official language in every North African country. However Arabic dialects are mutually unintelligible, so there's no way a tourist speaking standard Arabic could understand a Moroccan speaking his dialect. However, standard Arabic is always the official language, and with the exception of Western Sahara, almost all urban people are able to speak it. French is the most widely known second language in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, due to much of the area's history as a French colony. In Libya and Egypt, English is the dominant second language (except among older Libyans, where Italian is more prevalent) Get in By boat There are some ferries from Italy, notably Sicily and also the Canary Islands. See Ferries in the Mediterranean‎. Get around See Itineraries Drink Stay safe Avoid drinking untreated ground water. Get out This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!