Ghardaïa () is an Algerian province located in the north of the
Algerian desert. Its administrative center is the city of
Ghardaia, located south of the capital
Algiers
Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
. Its total area is estimated at , from north to south, and from east to west. It rises above sea level.
Geographical location
The province is bordered by the province of
Djelfa and the province of
Laghouat to the north, the province of
El Menia in the south, the province of
Ouargla
Ouargla (Berber: Wargrən, ) is the capital city of Ouargla Province in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. It has a flourishing petroleum industry and hosts one of Algeria's universities, the University of Ouargla. The commune of Ouargla had ...
to the east and the province of
El Bayadh in the west.
The city of
Ghardaia, the capital of the province, is from
Laghouat, 200 km from
Ouargla
Ouargla (Berber: Wargrən, ) is the capital city of Ouargla Province in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. It has a flourishing petroleum industry and hosts one of Algeria's universities, the University of Ouargla. The commune of Ouargla had ...
, from
El Menia and from
El Bayadh, and is crossed by the national road 1 linking the Algerian capital to the Great South.
Climate
Since the state is located in
desert
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
areas, the climate of the region is arid desert, the temperature range is wide between day and night, and between winter and summer; the winter temperature ranges between , and between in summer. The weather is fair in spring and autumn, and the sky is clear most days of the year.
The average rainfall in the state is about annually, mostly in the winter season. How much cold northwesterly winds blow in the winter and south-westerly winds laden with sand in the spring and in the summer a hot south known as
Sirocco
Sirocco ( ) or scirocco is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season.
Names
''Sirocco'' derives from '' šurūq'' (), verbal noun o ...
.
History
c.1100 - Town of Ghardaïa is founded by the Mozabites, Amazigh Muslims of the Ibadi sect.
1984 - The Ghardaïa province was carved out of
Laghouat Province.
2015 - Violence causing the death of over 20 citizens as a result of ethnic tension between "Bani Mzab and Arab Bedouin from various branches of the Chaamba tribe".
"Aghlan" is the name the Beni
Mzab have given to their region. Its geographical borders are as follows: Oued Bouzbyar in the North, Oued Zergoun in the west. The
Mzab includes
Zelfana and
Guerrara in the east and is merged to the region of
Chaamba in the south. The area is approximately .
During the 8th century AD, 2nd century Hegira (according to
Cheikh Abi Ishak Tfyeche) thé Beni
Mzab settled on the banks of the oued or Valley to which they gave their name. The first inhabitants of the area had been nomadic or semi-nomadic. Many old small built-up areas, fallen into ruins long time ago, can be counted: in nearby
al Atteuf we mention Agharm Netlazdit, Oukheira, and Aoulaoual, Tmazzert once existed near
Bounoura and Agharm Enwadday has preceded the present city of
Melika.
Not far from
Tafilalt were the towns of Mourki. Tirichine, Tlet Moussa, Agnounay and Boukyaou.
The final settling process of Beni Mzab along with the emergency of the three following cities: El
Atteuf, which was settled in 1012;
Bounoura in 1065,
Ghardaia settled in 1085; and more than two centuries later, in 1321,
Tafilalt expanded and integrated the inhabitants of its neighboring villages and is named since then
Beni Isgeun. In 1355,
Melika succeed Agharm Enwadday. This way the Mzab
pentapolis
A pentapolis (from Ancient Greek, Greek ''penta-'', 'five' and ''polis'', 'city') is a geographic and/or institutional grouping of five cities. Cities in the ancient world probably formed such groups for political, commercial and military rea ...
was born.
Three centuries later, in 1631, the town of
Guerrara was founded northeast of the pentapolis and 60 years later the town of
Berriane was founded north of the pentapolis.
Now and since the last administrative division (in 1984) the seven Mzabite towns have been reduced into five municipalities in the province of Ghardaia.
Administrative divisions
The province is made up of 7
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
, which are divided into 9
''communes'' or municipalities.
Districts
#
Métlili
#
Bounoura
#
Ghardaïa
Ghardaïa (, ) 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 of 0.7%.
It is located in northern-central A ...
#
Dhayet Bendhahoua
#
Zelfana
#
Bérianne
#
Igraren
Communes
#
At bergane
#
At bounour
#
Dhayet Bendhahoua
#
Tajnint
#
Igrarene
#
Taghrdait
#
Metlili
#
Sebseb
#
Zelfana
#
Mansoura
Mansoura (; ', , rural: ) is a city in Egypt located on the eastern bank of the Damietta branch of the Nile river. The city is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate and has a population of 621,953 as of 2021.
Etymology
''Mansoura'' in Arabic ...
The governors
The position of
Wali
The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...
of
Ghardaia was held by many national political figures since its establishment on 4 February 1984 under Law No. 84-09 which reorganized the
Algerian territories by increasing the number of provinces from 31 to 48.
Transportation
Road transport
The state of
Ghardaia is characterized by the presence of a
road transport
Road transport or road transportation is a type of transport using roads. Transport on roads can be roughly grouped into the transportation of goods and transportation of people. In many countries licensing requirements and safety regulations e ...
network, represented by a network of
highways
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
, in addition to a huge fleet of large and small
buses
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
,
yellow taxis, and others.
Air transport
Ghardaia Airport - Numirat Moufdi Zakaria (
IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...
: GHA,
ICAO
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...
: DAUG) is an
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...
located in the city of
Ghardaia, and the airport was named after the
Algerian poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
Moufdi Zakaria.
Ghardaia state road network
Source:
The state of Ghardaia is characterized by a wide road network that connects the regions of the state with each other, as well as the state of Ghardaia, with the neighboring states, as well as the highway (north-south).
National roads
* National Road No. 01 (North–South highway).
* National Road No. 49.
* National Road No. 107.
State roads
* State Road No. 33 The link between the municipality of
Berriane and
El Guerrara
* State Road No. 105 The link between the municipality of
El Atteuf and the national road n ° 01
* State Road No. 105B Avoidance road to the municipality of
El Atteuf
* State Road No. 106 The link between the municipality of
Sebseb, via the municipality of
Metlili, to the national road N° 01
* State Road No. 147 The link between the municipality of
Dhayet Bendhahoua, passing through the municipality of
Ghardaia and
Bounoura, up to the national road No. 01
* State Road No. 201 The link between the municipality of
Zelfana and
El Guerrara
* State Road No. 347 The link between the municipality of
El Guerrara and
Guettara
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghardaia Province
Provinces of Algeria
States and territories established in 1984