Béni Abbès

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بني عباس
ⴰⵢⵜ ⴰⴱⴱⴰⵙ
Béni Abbès
Béni Abbès (Algeria)
Béni Abbès
Béni Abbès
Coordinates 30 ° 8 ′  N , 2 ° 10 ′  W Coordinates: 30 ° 8 ′  N , 2 ° 10 ′  W
Basic data
Country Algeria
province Béni Abbès
ISO 3166-2 Double room
height 500 m
surface 10,040 km²
Residents 11,416 (2009)
density 1.1  Ew. / km²
founding 11th centuryTemplate: Infobox location / maintenance / date
Béni Abbès - View of the town
Béni Abbès - View of the town

Béni Abbès ( Arabic بني عباس, DMG Banī ʿAbbās , tamazight ⴰⵢⵜ ⴰⴱⴱⴰⵙ) is an oasis town with about 12,000 inhabitants in western Algeria, mainly inhabited by Berbers . It is the capital of the province of the same name .

location

Béni Abbès is located on the Oued Saoura , which is water-bearing only in winter and spring , and forms the western border of the Western Great Erg sand desert in the provinces of Bechar and Béni Abbès. The nearest larger towns to which there are direct transport connections are Bechar, about 235 km (driving distance) to the north, and Taghit, about halfway . The new town of Béni Abbès is located on a rock plateau above the valley floor at an altitude of about 500 m above sea level. d. The plain is surrounded by sand dunes, which in the immediate vicinity (at the Hotel Rym, La Grande Dune ) protrude almost 40 m above the surface of the plateau. Other dunes reach heights of more than 80 m.

history

Béni Abbès was founded in the 11th century and initially consisted of four independent fortified settlements ( Ksar ). Sidi Muhamed ben Abdeslam then combined these into a single place in the 15th century. During the Algerian War of Independence , the old Ksar was evacuated by the French in 1957, as resistance fighters were suspected to be here. The residents first moved into houses on the edge of the palm grove and on the slope to the plateau, later the new town was laid out on the plateau. The old Ksar has been falling into disrepair since then, but parts of it are repeatedly being repaired.

Attractions

In Béni Abbès there is a Sahara museum and a Sahara research center with the remains of a zoological and botanical garden. The communal swimming pool, which is fed from a spring, is also of touristic value. There are old fortifications (Ksar of Béni Abbès) in the middle of the palm grove. The Hermitage La Fraternité , founded in 1901 and where Charles de Foucauld lived for four years, has a chapel and is still inhabited by a few monks. Some nuns also live in the neighborhood.

Web links

Commons : Béni Abbès  - Collection of images, videos and audio files