Brisk business at "closed" Morocco-Algeria border

By Tom Pfeiffer

OUJDA, Morocco (Reuters) - On the last stretch of Moroccan highway before the Algerian frontier, an end-of-the- world atmosphere appears to confirm the message of travel guides and government officials: the land border to Algeria is shut.

Spacious roadside cafes once packed with travelers lie empty. Where the road ends, weeds push through wide cracks.

The only sound is the wind in the trees, the fluttering of Moroccan flags and the heels of two mustachioed border guards as they emerge from their office.

Their faces hold a look of faint surprise: "Yes, the Algerians are out there somewhere," says one, glancing back beyond a huddle of disused customs buildings.

"But we never talk to them. We hardly ever see them."

Rusty barriers and spiked chains crouch as a warning that travelers venture further at their peril.

But follow one of the beaten tracks over the hilly frontier and a different picture emerges.

No fences, searchlights or passports here. The way is clear for a steady stream of cars, donkeys and carts that furtively criss-cross no-man's land weighed down with contraband goods.