I just put in my first six days near Hassi Messaoud, Algeria. What a contrast to Ikeja and Isolo!
I was nowhere near town, just based next to the airport so I cannot say much about local civilisation but where I was I could walk back and forth without worrying about my safety. There were no beggars or shoe-shiners anywhere to be seen and the locals seemed to be polite, friendly and correctly distant.
The food was quite good in the camp, Italian-style rather than, yecch, Briddish. Plenty of fresh veg and fruit and chicken you could cut with a fork rather than having to use a diamond blade.
The pilots were mostly young and amiable instead of old and grouchy, like me.
The aircraft I flew was the nicest Twin Otter I have ever seen, just like new.
Best of all, the ramp was full of airplanes. There was one lonely-looking B206L out there but that was it for helicopters. I guess the distances are too much, so that they just take a D8 and make an instant air strip wherever they need to operate out there in the Sahara. The Pilatus Porter and the Cessna Caravan take the place of the B212, so to speak.
The temperature was surprisingly cold, colder than Germany was when I left. It was down to 5° or so in the mornings and it never got above about 15° even at mid-day. On the other hand I have been reliably informed that it can go up to 54° in the summer. Not to worry, they are sending me off to Saudi next, or so I have been told. Algeria is too nice, perhaps!