El Menia () is an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

town and

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

, and capital of El Ménia District, in

Ghardaïa Province Ghardaïa ( ar, ولاية غرداية) is located in the north of the Algerian desert, and the headquarters of the state is the city of Ghardaia 600 km south of the capital Algiers, its total area is estimated at 24711 Km², its extensio ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. The former name is El Goléa (); together in Arabic, the two names mean ''Impregnable Castle''. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 40,195, up from 28,848 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 3.4%. The area is inhabited by the Zenete Berbers. El Menia oasis grows many agricultural products. The grave of the French priest

Charles de Foucauld Charles Eugène de Foucauld de Pontbriand, Viscount of Foucauld (15 September 1858 – 1 December 1916) was a French soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnographer, Catholic priest and hermit who lived among the Tuareg people in the Sahara in Al ...

is located in the town.

Geography

El Menia is located almost at the center of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, lying at the eastern border of the

Grand Erg Occidental The Grand Erg Occidental ( ar, العرق الغربي الكبير, al-ʿIrq al-Gharbī al-Kabīr), (also known as the Western Sand Sea) is the second largest erg in northern Algeria after the Grand Erg Oriental. It covers an area of approximatel ...

at an elevation of . The town is a gateway to the Sahara in the south, and has an estimated 180,000 palm trees within the oasis area. The oasis itself lies beneath an escarpment rising up to above. Some of the largest continuous areas of Saharan sand dunes begin just a few kilometres to the west of the oasis.

Climate

El Menia has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''BWh''), with long, extremely hot summers and short, warm winters. There is very little rain throughout the year, and summers are especially dry. Summer daytime temperatures are known to consistently approach . The sky is clear throughout the year and sunny, bright days are guaranteed. On July 7, 2021, the record high temperature of was registered.

Transportation

El Menia has good road connections along the N1 highway to

Ghardaïa Ghardaïa ( ar, غرداية, Mzab-Berber: ''Taɣerdayt'') is the capital city of Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. The commune of Ghardaïa has a population of 93,423 according to the 2008 census, up from 87,599 in 1998, with an annual growth rate ...

to the north and

In Salah In Salah or officially Aïn Salah ( ar, عين صالح) is the oasis town in central Algeria that is the capital of the In Salah Province and In Salah District. It was once an important trade link of the trans-Saharan caravan route. As of the 2 ...

to the south.

El Golea Airport El Golea Airport is an airport in El Goléa, Algeria. Airlines and destinations The only airline operating regular flights to/from the airport is Air Algérie Air Algérie SpA ( ar, الخطوط الجوية الجزائرية, ; ber, Aeri ...

is located west of the town's center.

Education

6.9% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 17.3% has completed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 81.4%, and is 85.4% among males and 77.2% among females.

Localities

The commune of El Menia is composed of 12 localities: * Centre-ville * Taghit * Belbachir * Hoffrat El Abbas * Vieux Ksar * Badriane * Belaïd * Zouitel * Ouled Zid * Tin Bouzid * Ksar Belkacem * Ouled Feradj

References

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{DEFAULTSORT:El Golea El Ménia District Oases of Algeria Communes of Ghardaïa Province Ghardaïa Province