Touggourt ( ar, ﺗﻗﺮت or تڤرت; ber, ⵜⵓⴳⵓⵔⵜ, Tugurt, lit=the gateway or 'the gate') is a city and commune, former sultanate and capital of Touggourt District, in

Touggourt Province The Wilaya of Touggourt ( ar, ولاية تقرت) is an Algerian province created in 2019, previously, a delegated wilaya created in 2015. It is in the Algerian Sahara. Geography The wilaya of Touggourt is in the Algerian Sahara; its area i ...

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

, built next to 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 ...

in the Sahara. As of the 2008 census, the commune had a population of 39,409 people, up from 32,940 in 1998, and an annual growth rate of 1.8%. Touggourt's urban area includes the communes of Nezla, Tebesbest and Zaouia El Abidia, for a total population of 146,108. Touggourt is notable for its date trees. It was formerly surrounded by a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

, which the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

filled up. Bradt Travel Guides describe it as "largely a modern town of block architecture" and "largely unattractive. The centre is quiet most of the day due to the heat but is more active at night when people take to the streets."

History

In 1414 the Sultanate of Tuggert was founded in southern Algeria. The known

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

s (and one female ruler) were: *Ali II *Mabruk (Mubarak) *Ali III *Mustafa *Sulayman III *1729 Ahmad II *Muhammad I al-‘Akhal *Ahmad IV *Farhat *Ibrahim *Abd al-Qadir I (1st time) + Ahmad V *Khalid *Abd al-Qadir I (2nd time) *Umar bin Bu-Kumetin *1756 Muhammad II *Umar II bin Muhammad *Ahmad VI *Abd al-Qadir II *Farhat II *1792 Ibrahim II *1804 al-Khazan *1804 Muhammad III *1822 ‘Amar (‘Amir) II *1830 Ibrahim III *1831 ‘Ali IV bin al-Kabir *1833 ‘Aisha (Aichouch) (female) *1840 ‘Abd ar-Rahman *1852 ‘Abd al-Qadir III *1852 - 1854 Sulayman IV The

Tuggurt Expedition (1552) The Tuggurt expedition in 1552 aimed to obtain the submission of the Saharan cities of Tuggurt and Ouargla, seats of independent sultanates. Salah Rais, beylerbey of the Regency of Algiers, was allied to the troops of the Kingdom of Ait Abbas, l ...

is also a notable historical event. In 1854 the sultanate was abolished by French colonial authorities in Algeria. Touggourt, as it is now spelled, became one of the initial six (1902), then four (1905) autonomous administrative districts of the ' (Southern Territories), which in 1957 were first joined, then reorganized into two regular French

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

s. Tuggert became part of Oasis (prefecture seat Ouargla).

Geography

Touggourt lies on the western side of an extensive system of

oases 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 im ...

which supports palm plantations and other agriculture in an area from north to south. Other towns around the oases are Sidi Slimane and Megarine to north, and Tamacine and Balidat Ameur to the south. The system is also associated with more oases further north in El Oued Province including the towns of

Djamaa Djamaa ( ar, ﺟﺎﻣﻌﺔ) (also written Jama'a) is a town and commune in El Oued Province, Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 50,916, up from 37,438 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 3.1%. Geography To the ea ...

and

El M'Ghair El M'Ghair ( ar, اﻟﻤﻐﻴﺮ), also called El Meghaïer or Mhraïer, is a town and commune, and capital of El M'Ghair District and El M'Ghair Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 49,793, up from 40,228 in 1 ...

. Beyond the oases, the land is arid and barren, with extensive

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

both to the west and east of the city.

Climate

Touggourt has a hot desert climate (

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, nota ...

''BWh''), with long, extremely hot summers and short, warm winters. Average high temperatures are consistently over 40 °C (104 °F) during June, July, August and September and reach a maximum of nearly 45 °C (113 °F) in July. Average low temperatures in summer are also very high, above 26 °C (82.4 °F) and routinely above 29 °C (86 °F) in the hottest month. Average annual rainfall is around 55 mm (2,16 in) and summers are especially dry.

Transportation

Touggourt lies at the junction of the N3 and N16 roads, northeast of the provincial capital of Ouargla. It is connected by railway to

Biskra Biskra ( ar, بسكرة ; ; Latin Vescera) is the capital city of Biskra Province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 307,987. Biskra is located in northeastern Algeria, about 248 miles (400 km) from Algiers, 71 miles (115&n ...

and is served by the

Sidi Madhi Airport Sidi Mahdi Airport is an airport serving Touggourt, a city in the Ouargla Province of eastern Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , ca ...

. The N3 highway connects to Megarine, Sidi Slimane, and

to the north and

Hassi Messaoud Hassi Messaoud ( ar, حاسي مسعود) is a town in Ouargla Province, eastern Algeria, located southeast of Ouargla. As of 2008 it had a population of 45,147 people, up from 40,360 in 1998, and an annual population growth rate of 1.1%, the low ...

and Illizi to the south. The N16 connects to

Taibet Taibet is a town and commune, and the capital of Taibet District, in Touggourt Province, Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 20,174, up from 14,322 in 1998, and a growth rate of 3.6%. Geography Taibet lies at an elevati ...

and

El Oued El Oued ( ar, اﻟﻮادي, ber, Suf meaning ''the River''), Souf or Oued Souf is a city, and the capital of El Oued Province, in Algeria. The oasis town is watered by an underground river, hence its name is El Oued which enables date palm culti ...

to the east. Another road, the ''Route Messaad Tougourt'', connects to Messaâd and Djelfa to the northwest. Local roads connect to nearby towns Megarine and Tamacine.

Localities

The commune is composed of nine localities: *Quartier de Mestaoua *Sidi Abdessalem *Baalouche *Chateau d'eau *Emir Abdelkader *La gare *Sidi Bouaziz *Zone Industrielle *Nouvelle Zone d'Activité

References

Sources and external links

WorldStatesmen - Algeria - Tuggert

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{Authority control Oases of Algeria Communes of Ouargla Province History of the Sahara Cities in Algeria