Ouargla

Province

Ouargla (Arabic ورقلة, DMG Warqala ) is located the capital of the Algerian Province Ouargla, 800 km south of Algiers. The university city has over 133,000 inhabitants.

History

In the Middle Ages lived in the city of the tribes of the Magrawa and Ghardaia peacefully together. The city belonged to the realms of Ibadis and Kharijites and was especially known for its slave trade.

The city is surrounded by five small oases, Beni Thour, Sidi Khouiled, Chott, Ruwaysat Said Otba and N'goussa in which grow about a million palm trees. The oases are watered by about 60 m deep artesian wells, of which there are more than 800 in the region of Ouargla.

Worth seeing is the restored Old Town La Lasbah with their typical Arab market, the Souk, and the mosque " al - Masjid al - Atiq ".

In the southwest of the old town a European quarter has formed in the French colonial period, life in the other districts descendants of nomads who settled there.

In the city, companies have settled that exploit the surrounding oil fields. The oil fields at Hassi Messaoud in Wilaya Ouargla make up about 20 % of the oil fields in Algeria, resulting in opening up the economic importance of the region for the country.