Touggourt (; or 'the gate') is a city and commune, former sultanate and capital of Touggourt District, in Touggourt 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 ...

, built next to an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment 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 dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

, which the French filled up.

Bradt Travel Guides Bradt Travel Guides is a publisher of travel guides founded in 1974 by Hilary Bradt and her husband George, who co-wrote the first Bradt Guide on a river barge on a tributary of the Amazon. Since then Bradt has grown into a leading independent ...

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 (; ', ) 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 came to be use ...

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) 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 (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

s. Tuggert became part of Oasis (prefecture seat

Ouargla Ouargla (Berber: Wargrən, ) is the capital city of Ouargla Province in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. It has a flourishing petroleum industry and hosts one of Algeria's universities, the University of Ouargla. The commune of Ouargla had ...

Geography

Touggourt lies on the western side of an extensive system of

oases In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

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 El Oued (, ) is a Saharan province of Algeria (n° 39) dominated by ''Oued Souf''. It was named after its eponymous capital. Notable towns include El Oued itself and Guemar. Geography Physical geography El Oued Province lies in the Sahara de ...

including the towns of Djamaa and El M'Ghair. 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, flat ...

both to the west and east of the city.

Climate

Touggourt 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 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. On 30 July 2023, a maximum temperature of was registered in Touggourt.

Transportation

Touggourt lies at the junction of the N3 and N16 roads, northeast of the provincial capital of

. It is connected by railway to

Biskra Biskra () is the capital city of Biskra Province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 307,987. Biskra is located in northeastern Algeria, about from Algiers, southwest of Batna, Algeria, Batna and north of Touggourt. It is nickna ...

and is served by the Sidi Madhi Airport. The N3 highway connects to Megarine, Sidi Slimane, and

to the north and

Hassi Messaoud Hassi Messaoud () 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 lowest in the province. O ...

and

Illizi Illizi (Amazigh language: Ilizi) is an Algerian town and Communes of Algeria, commune, coextensive with Illizi District, situated in the south-eastern part of Algeria, and capital of Illizi Province. According to the 2008 census it is the largest ...

to the south. The N16 connects to

Taibet Taibet is a town and Communes of Algeria, 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 Taibe ...

and

El Oued El Oued (), 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 cultivation and the rare use (for the desert) of brick c ...

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