Saïda (, Latn, ar, saʿīda, ) is a commune and the capital city of Saïda Province,

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

History

The city's site has been of military importance ever since the Romans built a fort there. Saïda was a stronghold of Abd al-Qadir, the Algerian national leader, who burned the town as French forces approached it in 1844. Modern Saïda was founded as a French military outpost in 1854 and once housed a regiment of the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

. Its growth was stimulated by the arrival of the

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

- Béchar (narrow-gauge) railway in 1862. In 2005 the population was 158,856 inhabitants. It is nicknamed ''the city of waters'', because of its abundant underground springs. The area is forested and the main products of the town are cereals, wool, leather and bottled

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. It is usually still, but may be sparkling ( carbonated/ effervescent). Traditionally, mineral waters were used or consumed at t ...

Geography

Location

Saïda is located in north-western Algeria, on the southern slopes of the Tell Atlas mountain range at the northern fringe of the High Plateaus. The city lies on the right bank of the Wadi Saïda, protected by wooded mountains on the opposite shore that rise steeply from the valley floor to an elevation of some 4,000 feet (1,200 metres).

Climate

Transport

Saïda is served by a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

railway from Mohammadia; however, a

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

line is proposed.

Demographics

Saïda had a population of 110,865 in 1998, while the population grew to 124,989 in 2008, representing a 12.74% increase.

Gallery

file:حي داودي موسى.JPG, Saïda, Algeria File:حي قصديري بمحاذاة واد ملوث.jpg, Saïda, Algeria file:زاوية مولاي الطيب بسعيدة.JPG, Saïda, Algeria

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saida, Algeria Communes of Saïda Province Cities in Algeria Province seats of Algeria 1854 establishments in the French colonial empire Populated places established in 1854