The Workshop will be held at Mentouri University, Constantine, in Eastern Algeria from the 16-17 June 2010, with the 18th of June devoted to a tourist trip in the region.
Participants
are expected to arrive at Constantine on Tuesday June 15, and depart on
the Thursday evening, Friday evening or Saturday morning according to whether or not
they take part in the Friday out-of-town tourist trip.
Breakfasts will be served at the Hotels and lunches and dinners will be
served at the University. The Workshop dinner will be held on the evening of Wednesday
June 16.
Visas
Visa to enter Algeria is required
from visitors for most of the countries. Please inquire about the visa
requirements at the Algerian Embassy of your country.
Currency
The Algerian currency is the Dinar (DA), the approximate current exchange rate is: 1 Euro #120 DA. Change can be made at the air terminals at Algiers and Constantine and at various banks in town. (Transactions are rarely carried out using credit cards in Algeria, traveler checks at banks are OK). The currency rate at the banks and in the black market being close to each other, it is not a good idea to change money in the street. Note however that the Algerian currency is not convertible, so you should only change what you need.
Public Transportation
Center city stands on the "main rock" and so is rather compact: all the places to be visited there are at walking distance. You may use " Taxis" to go to other parts of the city. Participants will be taken from the hotel to the University and vice versa by a special bus.
Shopping Hours
Shopping hours are generally from 9:00 to 18:00 on weekdays; some shops are closed on Friday. Remember that in Algeria the weekend is on Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday.
Telephone
Public phones are either pay-phones or card-phones. Pay-phones operate with 5 and 10 DA coins. Card-phones can be used for international calls at some public phone boots: For dialing abroad, start by dialing 00, then dial the country code, etc. Phone calls may be also made from the "taxiphones" and the hotels.
Weather
Constantine is situated in the continental temperate zone, the weather in June is usually warm, 26 C and above, but surge of hot weather is quite possible. Rainy conditions can also occur during that period but it is rather uncommon.
Arrival at Constantine
The
Constantine Mohamed Boudiaf Airport is located at about 10 km from
the center of the city. Participants arriving on Tuesday June 15 and Wednesday
morning June 16, will be met ar the airport. Otherwise special arrangements
will need to be made. Please in all cases, inform the organizing committee
of your exact date and time of arrival.
Mobile phone numbers will be made available before the Workshop.
Emergency calls
Emergency calls are 19 for information, and 17 for the police.
Previous Workshops
- Batna Workshop 2008
Constantine
University, renamed Mentouri University in 1998, is an important landmark
in the region's geography and 
culture. When it opened its doors for the first time in
1962, it was an annex of Algiers University and offered a very limited
range of academic disciplines. Because of the tremendous increase in the
student population, a new University was built on the Ain Bey plateau,
visible from most parts of the city and the surrounding area. It is the
actual main campus, the so called Ain-Bey campus. Conceived by the Brazilian
architect Oscar Niemeyer, it was inaugurated in 1971. Nowadays, it is
the home for 24 departments and 35.000 students. The main library with
its 700 seats, is holding some 250.000 books and offers audio-visual,
Braille, and Internet services.
Several new campuses were added later: the Chaabat ar-Rassass campus which houses most of the engineering and related departments; the Zarzara campus further along the road to the airport from the main campus, which is housing the architecture, civil engineering, and electronics departments; and the latest major extension,
the imposing Tedjini Haddam campus (In center) was inaugurated
in the 2000, and is the home for the business and administrative
sciences.
"Constantine is a Toledo in quest of a Greco". Albert Camus.
A Special Place to be:
Once
in Constantine, and wherever he goes in the city, the visitor will always
meet something which will both puzzle him and satisfy his senses. Just
a general glance at the natural beauty of the site will charm any demanding
viewer. From the Sidi M'cid Bridge, 
often called the Suspended Bridge, one can look down upon
rocky cliffs and see the Rhummel River. Beginning as a small stream tumbling
over a rocky bed, the water course becomes deeper and deeper as it follows
a natural course down the canyon. by the time the river has reached the
Falls bridge, the air is filled with mist and the noise is deafening.
As it continues to roar its way down the valley, finally emerging into
the sunshine, the visitor has seen one of the true beauties of Constantine...
In the
morning... 
Up the
slippery rocks, the town wakes up and comes out of the misty morning like
a goddess revealing all her jewelry and beauty; the red roofs, the blue
skies and the green gardens. Once the visitor has seen al this perfection
and splendor, he can 
with no reluctance say that the legend belongs to him.
Geographic situation:
Constantine, Qacentina in Arabic, is situated at 36°23` of latitude and 6°37`of longitude in the Northeastern part of Algeria. It is 245 km east of the Tunisian border, 431km west of Algiers, 89 km south of Skikda, and 235 km north of Batna. The altitude above sea level varies from between 400 and 800 meters in the North, to 800m to 1200m in the South.
With more than 800.000 inhabitants, Constantine stands as the third largest city in Algeria.
As a way of conclusion
Constantine
is one of the few places in the world which can offer a combination of
joy, wonderment, serenity, and 
centuries of majestic history having withstood invaders
from many different lands and cultures. Its rocky stature, virtuous waters,
mild rehearsal of light, charming silhouettes beyond all reach, resonance
of beautiful music flying back and forth under the imposing and silent
bridges, served as an inspiration to poets and musicians. 
Cirta, Opullentissima, Qacentina, Constantine is like a gift of eternity created as a beautiful and everlasting mosaic encompassing time and space.
Quotable Quotes on Constantine
"Constantine
is one of the strongest places in the world. It dominates vast tracts
of cultivated plains sowed with wheat and barley."
al-Idrissi, twelfth century
Arab geographer.
"...La seule
chose importante que j'ai vue jusqu'a présent, c'est Constantine, le pays
de Jugurtha. Il y un ravin démesuré, qui entoure la ville. C'est une chose
formidable et qui donne le vertige, je me suis promené en dessous, a pieds,
et dedans, à cheval. Des gypaètes tournoyaient dans le ciel".
Gustave Flaubert-1858
"Un cri
d'admiration, presque de stupeur. Au fond d'une gorge sombre, sur la crête
d'une montagne baignant dans les derniers reflets rougeâtres d'un soleil
couchant, apparaissait une ville fantastique, quelque chose comme l'île
volante de Gulliver".
Alexandre Dumas.
"Une clef
pour Constantine, une clef pour mon coeur, pour cet itinéraire qui s'en
va et revient dans le merveilleux désordre des refrains décousus... Un
fellah est venu apporter des fleurs et du lait. Des enfants jouent. Un
minaret appelle. Le Rhumel persiste dans son audace...Le Rhumel s'en souvient,
les corneilles s'en souviennent. Et les cigognes qui nichent sur les toits
du quartier des Tanneurs, quand elles nous quittaient aux premiers froids,
s'en allaient raconter aux quatre coins de l'Afrique et du monde arabe
que le jour se levait sur la terre algérienne".
Malek Haddad, a contemporary
Algerian writer.
The Previous Astrophysics Workshops
- This First Workshop Batna
University, Batna
- The Second Workshop, CRAAG- Algiers