November 2018: The time had finally come for me to visit Algeria, a country notorious for its visa and access difficulties, much like Libya, Eritrea, and Saudi Arabia. I had postponed the trip for years, having already explored the Sahara in Libya, and I wasn’t eager to navigate the bureaucratic red tape required for an Algerian visa. However, with countries like Algeria, the opportunity to obtain a visa is a fleeting one—when the window opens, you can’t hesitate. In 2018, reports indicated that Algeria was issuing tourist visas, so as part of a larger journey across North Africa-North Africa | Venture The Planet and Somalia-A Visit to One of the Most Dangerous Cities in the World-Mogadishu, Somalia | Venture The Planet, my friend Richard and I seized the chance. Our main goal: to find a mysterious fortress hidden deep within the towering sand dunes of the Sahara.
About Algeria
Algeria is a vast and diverse country—the largest in Africa—dominated by the uninhabitable expanse of the Sahara Desert. The majority of its population resides along the fertile Mediterranean coast, leaving the interior largely empty. Separating the coastline from the Sahara, the Atlas Mountains rise to approximately 10,000 feet, forming a natural barrier between the two regions.
Historically, Algeria played a crucial role in the Roman Empire and served as a major trading hub between sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean. Today, Arabic and French are the primary languages, while Berber is widely spoken among the Sahara’s indigenous communities. Algeria remained a French colony for over a century until gaining independence in 1962. Like many African nations in the post-colonial era, it endured a devastating civil war, which lasted until 2002 and claimed more than 150,000 lives. The conflict fueled the rise of Islamic insurgency and terrorism, threats that continue to linger in certain regions.
Due to security concerns—including the risk of terrorist attacks and kidnappings—Algerian authorities have historically restricted access for foreign travelers. Tourist visas have been difficult to obtain, and in some areas, travel is outright forbidden.
Map of my route in Algeria
To simplify the visa process, I secured a letter of invitation through an Algerian fixer. In some cases, visa applications submitted without this letter had been rejected, but fortunately, ours were approved. I also arranged for vehicle transport through the fixer to facilitate our travels within Algeria.
We arrived in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, a stunning coastal city where French colonial architecture meets the Mediterranean. After settling in, we met our fixer for dinner and spent time exploring the city on foot. Our accommodations were at a five-star hotel that provided breakfast on the top floor, offering what was likely the best panoramic view in all of Algiers.
View from the top floor of our hotel during breakfast in Algiers
Timimoun and a Desert Fortress in the Middle of the Sand Sea
The next morning, we boarded a domestic flight from Algiers to Timimoun, a small oasis town on the edge of the Sahara Desert. I had one goal for our time in the Sahara: to reach a mysterious, abandoned fortress I had discovered on Google Earth while searching for things to do in Algeria. There was no available information about it—no history, no records of who built it or why it was there. The structure was massive, a circular stone fortress resembling a coliseum, inexplicably standing in the middle of an endless sea of sand dunes. It was bizarre, almost surreal.
The fortress, known as Ksar Draa, lay 30 miles deep within one of the Sahara’s largest sand seas, stretching for hundreds of miles. The only way to reach it was by 4WD with a skilled local driver who knew the terrain. My fixer had never heard of Ksar Draa and knew of no one who had been there, but he managed to track down a local Berber in Timimoun who was familiar with it. Berbers, traditionally desert nomads, have an intimate knowledge of the Sahara—if anyone could find the fortress, it would be them.
However, there was a problem. The Berber driver contacted our fixer to inform him that the local police district had denied our request to visit or sleep at the abandoned fortress due to security concerns. Additionally, a massive storm had recently swept through the Sahara, turning vast tracts of sand into impassable mud, making travel even more uncertain. Even if the police permitted the journey, the fortress might be unreachable.
Despite these obstacles, I insisted that we should at least try. My fixer smiled, nodded, and agreed—we would give it a shot.
We flew to Timimoun as scheduled on a two-hour turboprop flight and checked into our hotel, a beautiful oasis retreat with a lush garden and a pool overlooking the rolling dunes of the Sahara.
Ksar Draa in the middle of sand dunes as shown in Google Earth
Mawlid festival-Muhammad Birthday
We spent about three days in Timimoun, coincidentally arriving during the Mawlid festival, a grand celebration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. During this time, thousands of tribal men from across the Sahara gathered in Timimoun, carrying Islamic flags, leading their finest camels, and wearing traditional attire. The festival was a spectacle of competitions, horse races, and camel contests, all set against the backdrop of music, singing, and drumming. While men performed in the streets, most women and children watched from above, perched on rooftops and along the tops of walls.
Timimoun is one of the few places in the Islamic world where Mawlid is openly celebrated. Many Muslims consider such celebrations haram, believing that honoring Muhammad in this way constitutes idolatry, diverting attention from Allah. Due to potential security threats, the festival was heavily guarded—soldiers armed with submachine guns patrolled the city, ensuring safety amid the festivities.
As one of the only foreigners in Timimoun during the festival, I quickly attracted attention. Fortunately, it was all friendly. A few Algerians from Algiers I had met earlier greeted me warmly and took it upon themselves to escort me through the celebrations, explaining the traditions and significance of the events. That evening, they invited me to a traditional dinner at their hotel, complete with live local music—an invitation I eagerly accepted.
Mawlid Festival, Timimoun
Police Force at Mawlid Festival
Locals at Mawlid Festival
Mawlid Festival, Timimoun-Tribes Carrying Islamic Flags
Mawlid Festival
Mawlid festival-Horse Races
My Algerian friend who invited me to dinner with his friends
Mawlid celebration I was invited to with my new Algerian friends
Ksar Draa Fortress
In my travels, I am always drawn to places that defy imagination—hidden, forgotten, and visited by few. Ksar Draa, a mysterious circular rock fortress deep in the Sahara, is one of those places. The fortress lies in the middle of an immense sand sea, requiring hours of driving by 4WD from the nearest Berber village. The only way to reach it is by hiring a local Berber guide, someone intimately familiar with the desert’s shifting landscape.
According to our Berber driver, the fortress is ancient, its origins shrouded in mystery. No one knows exactly who built it or why, but he believed it was constructed by Jews, explaining that in those days, Jews were forced into the desert to escape persecution and find refuge in its vast emptiness.
Our driver arrived at our hotel early, well before sunrise, in his sturdy Hilux truck. Since we knew the local police would deny us permission to visit Ksar Draa for “security reasons,” we planned to set off under the cover of darkness, avoiding the main roads and cutting across the desert to evade police checkpoints. From the moment we set out, it was clear that our Berber guide knew the desert better than anyone—we wouldn’t have to worry about the authorities. Though we had originally planned only a day trip, I was tempted to push our luck and camp overnight inside the fortress. I would have loved if we had.
Before heading into the sand sea, we stopped at a Berber village to stock up on food and water. Once supplied, we slightly deflated our tires for better traction in the soft sand and set off into the dunes. The drive was an exhilarating roller-coaster ride—cresting towering dunes before plunging into valleys below. The thrill was met with an element of danger; one wrong move could send us tumbling over a steep ledge, lost in the vast, shifting sands. A few times, we hit deep patches of sand and got stuck, forcing us to dig out the tires and regain momentum.
But after what felt like an endless ocean of dunes, the fortress finally emerged on the horizon—like a ghostly ship sailing through the sand.
Our Berber guide fron a Timimoun village near the desert of Ksar Draa Fortress
Driving in the Desert
Berber women collecting firewood from bushes in the desert
Me Looking out over the sand dunes
Stuck in the sand
Ksar Draa Appearing in Horizon
Ksar Draa
Ksar Draa
Ksar Draa
Our guide prepared lunch in the traditional desert way—heating up the sand to cook our food—while brewing tea over the embers. As we ate, we took in our surreal surroundings before setting off to explore the fortress.
Ksar Draa had only one entrance, a narrow passage leading into its double-walled structure. Our Berber guide explained that its circular shape was intentional, designed to prevent sand from accumulating against any one side. Inside, the fortress was divided into different sections, with small rooms, some enclosed, though there were no clear signs of its original purpose or who had built it. The mystery remained.
Standing within its ancient walls, surrounded by nothing but the endless dunes of the Sahara, the experience felt almost otherworldly. The silence was absolute, the kind of deep, unbroken stillness that only the desert can offer. I wished we could have spent the night there—to fully absorb the fortress’s atmosphere under the stars—but we knew that lingering too long could attract unwanted attention from the police. The Berbers who accompanied us also had another warning: the fortress was haunted by genies—evil spirits that roamed at night.
After a few hours of exploring, we reluctantly left, retracing our path through the rolling dunes. By nightfall, we arrived back at our hotel in Timimoun, exhausted but exhilarated by the day’s adventure.
Inside of Ksar Draa
Inside of Ksar Draa
Timgad-Roman Ruins
From Timimoun, we flew via Algeria’s domestic airline to Constantine, with a brief stop in Algiers, where we spent the night. The next morning, we hired a driver to take us deep into the Atlas Mountains, to the edge of the Sahara Desert, where the 2,000-year-old Roman city of Timgad lay waiting.
Upon arrival, I was immediately struck by the sheer scale of the ruins. Timgad was vast, its layout perfectly preserved and meticulously organized. It was one of the earliest examples of a city built using the grid system—an architectural marvel of its time, designed as a reward for veteran Roman soldiers. As we wandered through its remains, I could only imagine the grandeur it once held. Amphitheaters, bathhouses, and towering archways still stood, giving us a glimpse into what must have been a thriving metropolis.
The reason for its remarkable preservation was the very desert that now encroached upon it—the shifting sands of the Sahara had buried Timgad for centuries, shielding it from erosion and human destruction. Now uncovered, it stood frozen in time, a haunting relic of the past.
Richard and I had the entire city to ourselves. We wandered through the empty ruins, dwarfed by the silent columns and crumbling facades. It was eerie to stand in a place that had once been alive with Roman citizens, merchants, and soldiers, now reduced to an abandoned ghost city at the edge of the desert.
Timgad Roman Ruins
Timgad Roman Ruins
Timgad Roman Ruins
Timgad Roman Ruins
Timgad Roman Ruins
Timgad Roman Ruins
In the evening, we flew back to Algiers from Constantine on a domestic flight, spending one final night in the capital before continuing our journey to Tunisia-Gladiator Arenas and Serene Mediterranean Villas, Tunisia | Venture The Planet.