El Bayadh, Algeria

Capital City

El Bayadh is a sleepy provincial capital with a population of just 85,577 people. The climate here is brutally hot, with temperatures spiking as high as 51.3°C on record. Bureaucracy is a persistent headache, as the town was once known by its colonial-era French name of Géryville.

This dusty desert outpost offers little in the way of amenities or entertainment. Unless you're content with a slower pace of life surrounded by the rugged Ksour mountain range, El Bayadh is unlikely to satisfy most expats' desires.