Tamentit ( is a town and
commune of
Fenoughil District
Fenoughil District is a district of Adrar Province, Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 29,540.
Communes
The district is further divided into 3 communes:
* Fenoughil
*Tamentit
Tamentit ( is a town and communes of Algeri ...
in
Adrar Province
Adrar (, ) is a province ('' wilaya'') in southwestern Algeria, named after its capital Adrar. It is the second-largest province, with an area of 254 000 km2, roughly the size of the US state of Wyoming. It had 401.297 inhabitants at the ...
in southcentral
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 ...
. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 9481,
up from 7912 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 1.9%.
Until the late twentieth century, the people of Tamentit spoke
Gurara, a variety of the
Berber language
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight, are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related but mostly mutually unintelligible languages spoken by Berber communities, who ar ...
called
Zenati, which is spoken by the
Sanhaja
The Sanhaja (, or زناگة ''Znāga''; , pl. Iẓnagen, and also Aẓnaj, pl. Iẓnajen) were once one of the largest Berbers, Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zenata, Zanata and Masmuda confederations. Many tribes in Algeria, Libya ...
.
History
A Jewish community existed in Tamentit until the 15th century. In 1492,
Muhammad al-Maghili destroyed the Jewish communities of the region of
Tuat
Tuat, or Touat (), is a natural region of desert in central Algeria that contains a string of small oasis, oases. In the past, the oases were important for Camel caravan, caravans crossing the Sahara.
Geography
Tuat lies to the south of the Gr ...
, including their primary
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
in Tamentit. The surviving Jews of Tamentit fled south along caravan routes and settled in
communities along the Niger. Several years later, in the face of persecution, these Jewish communities were forcibly converted to Islam. Some contemporary Malian Muslims claim to be the descendants of those Jews who converted to
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
.
Geography
The villages of Tamentit are located near oases that are part of the
Tuat
Tuat, or Touat (), is a natural region of desert in central Algeria that contains a string of small oasis, oases. In the past, the oases were important for Camel caravan, caravans crossing the Sahara.
Geography
Tuat lies to the south of the Gr ...
region in northern Adrar Province, between the communes of
Adrar to the north and
Fenoughil
Fenoughil () is a commune, and the capital of Fenoughil District, Adrar Province, in south-central Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 11,793, up from 9,962 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 1.7%.
Geography
The v ...
to the south. The rocky
Tademaït
Tademaït is a natural region in the Sahara Desert right in the centre of Algeria. It is located north of In Salah and south of the Grand Erg Occidental in the Adrar District of Adrar Province, El Ménia District of Ghardaïa Province and the n ...
plateau rises far to the east, while the sandy
Erg Iguidi
The Erg Iguidi (), is a large erg in the area of Tindouf in southwestern Algeria, extending into northern Mali and Mauritania. Geography
The Erg Iguidi is a sandy desert with a clear pattern of narrow linear dunes stretching for a length of 400 km ...
and
Erg Chech
The Erg Chech (), is a large erg in southwestern Algeria and northern Mali.
Geography
It is an almost uninhabited part of the greater Sahara Desert, an inhospitable desert region with long, extremely hot summers and short, very warm winters. The E ...
deserts lie to the west.
The Tamentit
iron meteorite
Iron meteorites, also called siderites or ferrous meteorites, are a type of meteorite that consist overwhelmingly of an iron–nickel alloy known as meteoric iron that usually consists of two mineral phases: kamacite and taenite. Most iron me ...
was found nearby in 1864.
[Tamentit meteorite]
at Meteoritical Bulletin Database.
Climate
Tamentit has a hot
desert climate
The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''BWh''), with extremely hot summers and mild winters, and very little
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
throughout the year.
Transportation
Tamentit is on the N6 national highway, which leads north to
Adrar and south to
Fenoughil
Fenoughil () is a commune, and the capital of Fenoughil District, Adrar Province, in south-central Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 11,793, up from 9,962 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 1.7%.
Geography
The v ...
commune and eventually
Reggane
Reggane (from Berber "Argan"; ) is a town and commune, and the capital of Reggane District, in Adrar Province, central Algeria. Reggane lies in the Sahara Desert near an oasis. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 20,402, up from 14 ...
. The village of
Bouffaddi lies on the highway to the south of Tamentit, while the other villages of the commune are to the east of the highway and are connected to it by local roads.
Education
5.9% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 17.9% has completed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 75.6%, and is 85.9% among males and 65.2% among females.
Localities
As of 1984, the commune was composed of seven localities:
References
Neighbouring towns and cities
{{Adrar Province
Communes of Adrar Province
Cities in Algeria
Historic Jewish communities in North Africa
Jews and Judaism in Algeria