Jijel ( ar, جيجل), the classical Igilgili, is the capital of Jijel Province in north-eastern

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

. It is flanked by the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

in the region of

Corniche Jijelienne Corniche Jjilienne ( ar, كورنيش جيجل) is a natural region of northern Algeria characterised by rocky forested massifs rising above the coastal plain.Berardo Cori and Enrica Lemmi. 2002 The forested areas provide some of the last extan ...

and had a population of 131,513 in 2008. Jijel is the administrative and trade center for a region specialising in cork processing,

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and ho ...

tanning Tanning may refer to: * Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather * Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin ** Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun ** Sunless tanning, application of a stain or d ...

and

steelmaking Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and carbon/or scrap. In steelmaking, impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and excess carbon (the most important impurity) are removed from the sourced iron, and allo ...

. Local

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydropo ...

s include

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is nati ...

and

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legu ...

. Fishing is also of great importance. Tourists (mainly Algerians) are attracted to Jijel for its landscapes and fine sand beaches. Being a

resort town A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...

, there are many hotels and restaurants. There are Phoenician tombs nearby.

Geography and ecology

Jijel is situated 30 km from Taza National Park; this

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

and other vicinity features support a variety of flora and fauna. It is an important

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

for the endangered

Barbary macaque The Barbary macaque (''Macaca sylvanus''), also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar. It is the type species of t ...

, ''Macaca sylvanus''.C. Michael Hogan. 2008

History

Igilgili originally Phoenician, the city passed to the

Carthaginians The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...

, the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingd ...

and

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area be ...

, the Byzantines, the Umayyads, the

Genovese Genovese is an Italian surname meaning, properly, someone from Genoa. Its Italian plural form ''Genovesi'' has also developed into a surname. People * Alfred Genovese (1931–2011), American oboist * Alfredo Genovese (born 1964), Argentine artis ...

, and the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

. It was conquered for the last in the 16th century by

Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa ( ar, خير الدين بربروس, Khayr al-Din Barbarus, original name: Khiḍr; tr, Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa), also known as Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1478 – 4 July 1546), was an O ...

. In July 1664, the French took the city. Resistance was organised under the direction of Shaban Aga and the French were driven out in October of the same year. Jijel remained a

corsair A corsair is a privateer or pirate, especially: * Barbary corsair, Ottoman and Berber pirates and privateers operating from North Africa * French corsairs, privateers operating on behalf of the French crown Corsair may also refer to: Arts an ...

stronghold until recaptured by the French in 1839. Strong local resistance, finally subdued in 1851, resulted in the construction of three forts along its southern fringe as well as minimal colonisation. The original town was devastated by an earthquake in 1856.

Communications

Due to the rugged landscape, Jijel is slightly isolated. However, it is connected by road to large cities like Bejaïa (90 km west), Setif (135 km southwest) and Constantine (150 km southeast). The city also has its own airport

Jijel Ferhat Abbas Airport Jijel Ferhat Abbas Airport , also known as Ferhat Abbas Airport, is an airport near Jijel, Algeria. Its name comes from the first president of Algerian National Assembly, Ferhat Abbas Ferhat is a Turkish given name and the Turkish spelling of ...

Infrastructure

Jijel is built along modern patterns with wide streets framed by trees. The surroundings consist largely of dense cork-oak forest. A

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on al ...

lies right out from the coast and there is a

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

to the north. There is a hospital, previously a Catholic church (which was demolished), mosques and

University of Jijel The University of Jijel is a university, located in Jijel, Algeria. See also * List of universities in Algeria External links * http://www.univ-jijel.dz Jijel Jijel ( ar, جيجل), the classical Igilgili, is the capital of Jijel Pro ...

Port

A relatively new port has been built at Djen Djen,Enterprise Portuaire de Djen Djen. 2009 approximately 7 miles east of Jijel, which can handle large bulk carriers having a draft up to 18.2m. Presently, the port is mainly used by car carriers and break bulk vessels.

Sources

* C. Michael Hogan. 2008
''Barbary Macaque: Macaca sylvanus'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
* Encyclopædia Britannica. 2002. Edition 15, v. 6 , * Enterprise Portuaire de Djen Djen. 2009

References

{{Lighthouse identifiers , qid2=Q106097461 Communes of Jijel Province Mediterranean port cities and towns in Algeria Cities in Algeria Province seats of Algeria Lighthouses in Algeria