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Ilya Perekopskiy

@perekopsky

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Serial entrepreneur based in Dubai, VP of Telegram, investor and traveller (135 countries)

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taken in Glencruitten House official by @perekopsky

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a month ago

by @perekopsky

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4 months ago

taken in Provence, France by @perekopsky

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4 months ago

Travel around Provence taken in Sisteron by @perekopsky

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4 months ago

Just a few minutes from Algiers’ grand colonial boulevards lies a completely different world: the Casbah.

This ancient hilltop district dates back to the 10th century and served as the heart of Ottoman Algiers for hundreds of years. Its maze of narrow alleys, hidden courtyards, and whitewashed houses was designed long before cars existed, creating a city that feels almost unchanged by time.

One little-known fact is that many houses in the Casbah were deliberately built with almost no windows facing the street. Instead, they opened onto beautiful interior courtyards, protecting families from heat, noise, and unwanted attention while creating surprisingly elegant private spaces behind very simple facades.

Another fascinating fact is that the Casbah once served as the headquarters of the feared Barbary Corsairs. From here, fleets sailed across the Mediterranean, capturing ships and bringing immense wealth to Algiers, which was one of the most powerful cities in the region during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Today, the Casbah remains one of the most authentic historic districts in North Africa. Walking through its winding alleys feels less like visiting a museum and more like stepping into a living piece of history. taken in La Kasbah, Alger, Algeria by @perekopsky

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4 months ago

One of the most fascinating parts of Algiers is its colonial center. After the French conquest in 1830, the city was gradually transformed over the next century. Entire districts along the waterfront were rebuilt with grand boulevards, arcaded facades, elegant balconies, and monumental public buildings. The goal was simple: anyone arriving by sea should immediately feel they were approaching a European capital rather than North Africa.

A little-known fact is that part of the famous seafront boulevard was literally built on enormous vaulted structures extending over the old shoreline. In other words, sections of today’s city stand above what used to be the sea.

Walking through these avenues today feels surprisingly European. The architecture often resembles Marseille, Nice, or even Paris more than what most people imagine when they think of Algeria.

What makes this even more surprising is that behind the elegant seafront lies a completely different city, with a distinctly North African character. taken in Alger centre. Place Audin. by @perekopsky

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4 months ago

We finally made it to Algiers, a city that had been on our list for a long time. Surprisingly, it is very close to Europe: just a 1-hour flight from Spain and about 2 hours from Paris.

Algeria is a fascinating country with a rich history. Along its Mediterranean coast are some of the best-preserved Roman cities in North Africa, including Tipasa and Djemila, reminders of the time when this land was part of the Roman Empire.

Algiers itself is beautiful. The city stretches along the sea, with elegant boulevards and impressive colonial-era architecture built during the French period. The purpose was clear: anyone arriving by sea should immediately feel they were approaching a European city. More than a century later, that illusion still works.

The city’s airport is large and modern, but also one of the most bureaucratic I have experienced. Endless checkpoints, document checks, and controls make the arrival process unnecessarily slow.

One thing I did not enjoy was smoking. Smoking is still allowed in many restaurants, and even some hotel rooms carry a strong cigarette smell. Algeria currently lacks the new generation of luxury hotels that have transformed hospitality in many neighboring countries, so most five-star properties feel dated. The good news is that several new upscale hotel projects are expected in the coming years, particularly around Tipasa, home to Algeria’s most famous Roman ruins. taken in Algiers, Algeria by @perekopsky

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4 months ago

A midnight in Chamonix, inspired by Woody Allen. taken in Chamonix, France by @perekopsky

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Went to the closing ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival yesterday — the atmosphere was truly special. Was especially happy to see Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev win the Grand Prix for Minotaur. A well-deserved award. taken in Cannes Film Festival by @perekopsky

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5 months ago

They arrested me for wearing a leopard-print shirt.

But seriously, the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, is relatively safe, just like much of Africa. With security guards, the chances of problems can actually become much higher than without them. But people often don’t understand this and hire security in places where it’s unnecessary. In the end, they just look like clowns. taken in Bangui, CAR by @perekopsky

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5 months ago

BANGUI — a few things the postcards skip.
THE LEADER. President Touadéra: mathematician with two PhDs, in power since 2016. Re-elected to a third term in December 2025 with 77.9%, after a 2023 referendum scrapped term limits. Backed since 2018 by Russia (formerly Wagner) in a security-for-minerals deal — gold, diamonds, uranium — plus Rwandan troops and a 17,000-strong UN mission.

THE WAR. Civil war since 2013, when the Muslim Séléka coalition seized the capital and the Christian Anti-Balaka militias rose in response. Main opponent: ex-president Bozizé, running his rebel coalition from exile in Guinea-Bissau. In 2021 armed groups held ~80% of the country; today the government controls roughly 90% — though “control” thins fast east of Bambari.
THE KIDS. Adult literacy ~37%. About 28% of primary-school-age kids are out of school (47% of girls). UNICEF estimated 6,000–10,000 child soldiers during the 2012–15 peak, some as young as seven.

WHAT SURPRISED ME. Bangui is calm. Genuinely. Walking around feels safer than a lot of African capitals I’ve been to lately. The war is in the bush, not in town. The reputation is far worse than the reality.

VISA TRAP Even with an approved e-visa, you still have to physically collect the visa after landing. They take your passport at a Bangui office and you wait ~5 days to get it back stamped. In that window you can’t fly anywhere — locked in the capital. I negotiated around it, but wouldn’t count on that working for everyone. Bake those 5 days in.

TWO FACTS MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW:
— In 1977, in this same city, Bokassa crowned himself emperor in a Napoleon copy-paste ceremony France paid for — roughly a full year of CAR’s national budget. Two-ton gilded eagle throne, Lafite Rothschild ’71, 60 Mercedes-Benz airlifted in via Cameroon (country is landlocked).
— In 2022, CAR became the second country after El Salvador to make Bitcoin legal tender. Quietly abandoned a year later. taken in Bangui, CAR by @perekopsky

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Dzanga-Sangha, Central African Republic.
Spent a few days deep in the rainforest with the BaAka — one of the oldest populations in Africa, still living as pure hunter-gatherers. No farming. No livestock. Everything on their plate comes out of the forest.

Walked through their camp, watched them dance, saw how they pull drinking water straight out of forest lianas, dig wild yams with sharpened sticks, and track honey by following birds.

A few things most people don’t know about them:
— Their diet includes 63 wild plants, 28 species of game, and 20 species of insects. Zero cultivated crops.
— BaAka fathers hold their infants ~47% of the time — the highest rate ever measured in any human society. Babies are never put down; cots don’t exist in their camps.
— They sing in four-part contrapuntal polyphony, improvised collectively by the whole group. European music didn’t reach this complexity until the 14th century. UNESCO protects it as intangible heritage.
— Fully egalitarian society. No chief, no hierarchy, no accumulation of wealth.
— Supreme god is Komba; the way to him runs through Jengi, the forest spirit. The forest is literally their cathedral.
— “Liquindi” — water drumming. Women stand in a river and slap the surface with cupped hands, trapping air to produce deep bass percussion. An entire musical genre built on this.
— Their gut microbiome is dominated by Prevotella and radically different from any Western population — a living snapshot of what the pre-agricultural human gut looked like.
Around 5,000 BaAka live in and around the Dzanga-Sangha reserve. Their way of life is collapsing under deforestation, poaching, and shrinking game populations. What I saw may not exist in 20 years. taken in Central African Republic by @perekopsky

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