Béchar ( ar, ولاية بشار) is the second least-densely populated

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

(''

wilaya A wilayah ( ar, وَلاية, wālāya or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu and fa, ولایت, ''velâyat''; tr, vilayet) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes fr ...

'') in

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

, named after its capital

Béchar Béchar ( ar, بشار) is the capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. It is also a commune, coextensive with Béchar District, of Béchar Province. In 2008 the city had a population of 165,627, up from 134,954 in 1998, with an annual growth ...

History

The greater part of the province is dry plains (

hamada A hamada ( ar, حمادة, ) is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren, hard rocky plateaus, where most of the sand has been removed by deflation. The majority of the Sahara is in fact hamada. Other examples are Negev dese ...

s) suitable for grazing but with insufficient surface water to support agriculture. Most settlements are therefore concentrated in oases along the Saoura valley and its tributaries. Natural resources include

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

deposits in the north around Bechar and Kenadsa. The oases' traditional economic basis was agriculture, notably growing date palms and grain. The inhabitants of several oases, notably Ouakda, Lahmar and Boukais, speak Berber languages, while the rest speak Arabic. Many of the oases had significant populations of shurfa or Haratin peoples. There is a notable '' zaouia'' (traditional religious school) at Kenadsa. The region also supported a substantial mainly Arab pastoralist nomadic population, notably the Doui-Menia and Ouled Djerir; most or all have settled in the oases.

Trans-Saharan trade Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara between sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the early 17th century. The Sahara once had a very d ...

routes passing through this region played an important role in its economy in pre-modern times, but have at present been superseded. A small tourism industry exists, focused particularly on Taghit. Béchar, whose growth from a minor village began only in the early 20th century, has become the principal urban and administrative centre. The region has a distinctive musical scene influenced by sub-Saharan African rhythms, whose best known representative is the Gnawi singer Hasna El Becharia. Another locally well-known group is El Sed, from Kenadsa. Disagreements between Morocco and Algeria over their mutual border in this province and

Tindouf Tindouf (Berber: Tinduf, ar, تندوف) is the main town, and a commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian, Western Saharan and Moroccan borders. The commune has population of around 160,000 but the census and population ...

led to conflict after Algeria's independence, the so-called

Sand War The Sand War or the Sands War () was a border conflict between Algeria and Morocco in October 1963. It resulted largely from the Moroccan government's claim to portions of Algeria's Tindouf and Béchar provinces. The Sand War led to heighten ...

. The province was created from the Saoura department in 1974. In 1984 Tindouf Province was carved out of its territory. In 2019 Béni Abbès Province followed.

Administrative divisions

The province is made up of 6 districts and 11

municipalities 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 ...

. The districts are: #

Abadla Abadla ( ar, العبادلة) is a town and commune in western Algeria, and capital of Abadla District, Béchar Province. It is located on the Oued Guir southwest of Béchar. According to the 2008 census its population is 13,636, up from 10,8 ...

# Béni Ounif # Kénadsa # Lahmar # Taghit The municipalities are: #

Beni Ounif is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform as simply Beni (stylized as BENI). She was initially best known fo ...

# Boukais #

Erg Ferradj Erg Ferradj ( ar, ﻋﺮق ﻓﺮاج) is a town and commune in Abadla District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 4,406, down from 4,670 in 1998, and an annual population growth rate of -0.6%, ...

# Kenadsa # Lahmar # Mechraa Houari Boumedienne # Meridja # Mogheul # Taghit

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bechar Province Provinces of Algeria States and territories established in 1974