Aïn Séfra ( ar, عين الصفراء, lit. ''

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'') is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Naâma Province Naâma Province ( ar, ولاية النعامة) is a province (''wilaya'') of Algeria named after its provincial seat, the town of Naâma. The region is dominated by a large sabkha. There is an airport in Mécheria. History The province was ...

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. It is the district seat of Aïn Séfra District and it has a population of 47,415, which gives it 11 seats in the PMA. Its postal code is 45200 and its municipal code is 4503. It is the second most populated municipality in the province after

Mécheria Mécheria is a city situated in Naâma Province, Algeria in the Atlas mountains, capital of Mécheria District, known for its cold winter and livestock life. As of 2020, it had a population of around 120,000, making it the most populous commune ...

History

The

Ksar Ksar or qsar (Maghrebi Arabic: wiktionary:قصر, قصر ''qṣer'' or ڭصر ''gser'', plural ''qṣur''; Berber language, Berber: ⵉⴴⵔⵎ ''aghrem'' or ''ighrem'', plural: ''igherman''), plural ksars, qsars, ksour or qsour, is the Nor ...

of Aïn-Séfra was erected around the year 1586 by the children of Mohamed Benchaïb, known as Bou Dekhil,

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the city, after the purchase of the land from local tribes against 1000 sheep, according to the tales of oral tradition.

French Period

During the first French incursions in the middle of the 19th century, the majority of " Chorfa" families left the ksar as refugees, mainly to

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the por ...

and

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. The modern city dates back to the French colonial era. Initially, in 1882, a strategic military garrison post consequent to the revolt of Sheikh Bouamama left their bastion of

Figuig Figuig or Figig ( ar, فجيج; Figuig Berber: Ifeyyey) is an oasis town in eastern Morocco near the Atlas Mountains, on the border with Algeria. The town is built around an oasis of date palms, called ''Tazdayt'', meaning "palm tree" in the B ...

. French troops have instead established a military post at the site of Aïn-Séfra, to control ''"The Gateway to the

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First Sahara desert snow in 40 years captured in photographs
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''. Retrieved 2016-12-21. A railway reached Aïn-Séfra as early as 1887, and it extended to Bechar and Kenadsa in 1906, both for economic and strategic reasons. During the colonial period, it was an important sub-prefecture and a military territory, but also a region of cultural, economic and political importance. The region where Aïn-Séfra is located was one of the bastions of the popular resistance against the French colonial conquest, south of

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

Climate

Aïn Séfra has a cold arid climate (

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''BWk'') with hot to sweltering summers and, owing to its elevation, cool to relatively cold winters, despite its location in the

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. Snow has been recorded on rare occasions. It lightly snowed on 18 February 1979, for the first time in recorded history, and again in the winters of 2016/2017 and 2017/2018. An unusual blizzard hit the area on 20 January 2017, dumping snow in the municipality up to a meter thick in some places. This was the largest snowfall in residents' memories and caused travel disruptions due to iced roads.

Demographics

Customs

Traditional wedding custom

Traditionally wedding parties took place over 7 days. Nowadays, weddings last a maximum of 3 days. For the first lunch, the relatives are invited for a meal with "merga" (dish in sauce). Subsequently, a couscous is served to the guests for the following meals. Throughout the wedding, the bride would not leave her new home. Once the marriage ceremony was over, she would take her bucket, go out to fill it at the source and bring it home. Meanwhile, the groom would buy fruit and vegetables at the market without bags or baskets. He would then carry them in his burnous and give them to the bride, who would then give them to the cooks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ain Sefra Communes of Naâma Province 1881 establishments in Algeria Algeria