Oran

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وهران
Oran
Oran (Algeria)
Red pog.svg
Coordinates 35 ° 41 ′  N , 0 ° 39 ′  W Coordinates: 35 ° 41 ′  N , 0 ° 39 ′  W
Symbols
coat of arms
coat of arms
Basic data
Country Algeria

province

Oran
ISO 3166-2 DZ-31
height 100 m
Residents 679,877 (2009)
Post Code 31000-31037
View of Oran
View of Oran

Oran ( Arabic وهران, DMG Wahrān , tamazight ⵡⴻⵀⵔⴰⵏ Wehran ) is a coastal city in the province of the same name in western Algeria .

It is the second largest city in the country after the capital Algiers and an important industrial city (metal, chemical, light, food industry). It has a port, the Oran Es Sénia Airport and is a cultural center with a university, theater and museums .

Oran is also the location of the fictional event in the novel " The Plague " by the French writer Albert Camus , which describes an outbreak of the plague in the 1940s and which was published in 1947. Four years earlier, the Italian writer Raoul Maria de Àngelis had published the novel “La peste a Urana” (“The plague in Urana”). Oran is the hometown of the Raï .

The Algerian space development center Center de développement spatial of the Algerian space agency Agence Spatiale Algérienne is located in Oran .

climate

Oran is located in the subtropical climatic zone . The annual average temperature is 17.7 degrees Celsius, the annual rainfall is 366 millimeters on average. The warmest months are July and August with an average of 24.2 to 24.8 degrees Celsius, the coldest months December to February with an average of 11.7 to 12.4 degrees Celsius. Most of the precipitation falls from October to April with an average of 32 to 67 millimeters, the least from May to September with an average of one to 19 millimeters.

Oran
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
44
 
16
7th
 
 
47
 
17th
8th
 
 
43
 
19th
10
 
 
40
 
21st
11
 
 
27
 
24
14th
 
 
9
 
27
18th
 
 
2
 
30th
20th
 
 
2
 
31
21st
 
 
13
 
29
19th
 
 
34
 
25th
15th
 
 
41
 
21st
11
 
 
64
 
17th
8th
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source:
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Oran
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 16.0 16.9 19.3 20.6 24.1 26.9 30.1 30.8 28.7 24.6 20.5 16.8 O 23
Min. Temperature (° C) 7.1 7.5 9.7 11.4 14.2 17.5 20.1 20.5 18.6 14.5 10.9 7.9 O 13.4
Precipitation ( mm ) 44 47 43 40 27 9 2 2 13 34 41 64 Σ 366
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 5.9 6.3 7.7 8.3 9.6 9.9 10.5 10.2 8.9 7.4 6.0 5.4 O 8th
Rainy days ( d ) 5 6th 6th 5 4th 1 0 1 2 4th 6th 7th Σ 47
Water temperature (° C) 15th 15th 15th 16 18th 20th 23 24 23 21st 18th 16 O 18.7
Humidity ( % ) 80 77 74 73 69 70 69 68 72 75 77 78 O 73.5
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
16.0
7.1
16.9
7.5
19.3
9.7
20.6
11.4
24.1
14.2
26.9
17.5
30.1
20.1
30.8
20.5
28.7
18.6
24.6
14.5
20.5
10.9
16.8
7.9
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		44
47
43
40
27
9
2
2
13
34
41
64
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source:

history

Oran was probably founded in the 10th century by Muslim merchants from Andalusia . Since the fall of the Abdalwadid Empire , the city has changed hands several times. The Spaniards captured Mers el Kebir in October 1508 and Oran in May 1509. In 1708, however, the Spaniards had to surrender after a siege by the Moors. In 1732 it was recaptured under Philip V. The Spaniards landed surprisingly on June 22nd, 1732 before Oran and on June 24th there was the battle of Masalquivir, in which the Moors were defeated. They retired to the city and surrendered on June 27, 1732. The Spaniards stayed there for 60 years until they sold the city to Algiers in 1792. In 1797 the Hassan Pasha Mosque was built. The rule of Algiers only lasted until 1830 , when France took possession of the city.

In July 1940 the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had the (Vichy) French fleet anchored in the port of Oran shot at to prevent a feared takeover by the Germans ( Operation Catapult ). On November 10, 1942, the city was captured by US troops as part of Operation Torch and served as the starting point for the subsequent landing in Sicily .

During the French colonial era, the city had the highest percentage of European population in all of Algeria, up from 54% in 1962. The group of "Europeans" according to the legal definition of the colony consisted of Christians of Spanish, Italian and French origin and the Sephardic Jews . Oran has been part of the independent state of Algeria since 1962. The remaining European population, mostly French and Italians, was largely expropriated and driven out by the new rulers.

In the chaotic time of Algeria's independence, the right-wing French nationalist terrorist group OAS pursued a scorched earth policy : they did not want to leave any French achievements to the hated Muslims and so Delta Commandos of the OAS not only burned Algiers' library down, but also blew up Oran's city hall, library and four schools in the air. In Oran, the OAS bombings in May 1962 killed 10–15 people a day. For this, and for over 100 years of oppression, the National Liberation Front (FLN) retaliated on July 5, 1962 with a bloodbath. Between 95 and 3500 Christian Europeans were killed in a massacre, a more detailed analysis of the events is still pending.

Population and religion

Oran has 645,984 inhabitants (2012 calculation).

Population development:

year Residents
1977 (census) 499 330
1987 (census) 609 823
2009 (calculation) 679 877

Since independence in 1962, Islam has been by far the most important religion in Oran. There are around 93% Muslims (in 1962 it was only around 44%), 4% are Christians , 3% are Jews . There are often several mosques in many areas of Oran. The most famous mosques in Oran are:

  • Sidi El Houari mosque
  • Eckmühl mosque
  • El Mouahidine Mosque
  • Zin El Abidine Mosque
  • Osama bno Zaid mosque
  • El Fath Mosque
  • Maghrawa Mosque
  • Abubakr Es-Sedik Mosque

economy

Central Station
View of Fort Santa Cruz, built by the Spanish in the 16th century, and the harbor

Due to the large port , the city has developed into an important industrial and commercial center since the colonial times. Among other things, the chemical and food industries are located here. The natural gas from the Algerian Sahara also reaches Oran via pipelines and is exported from here. The east-west motorway runs close to the city.

The port of "Marsa el Kebir" is an important transshipment point for exports and imports from Algeria. Most of the Algerian companies have their headquarters in Oran. The industrial areas Es Senia, Oued Tlilet, and Hassi Ameur are known for their many small and medium-sized enterprises, which produce food, clothing, furniture and paper goods. With the introduction of the market economy, Oran has attracted many foreign investment firms, therefore the city is considered an important center of the Algerian economy.

Summer guests come from different places to spend their holidays in Oran. So tourism has also become an important economic factor.

Oran is an important garrison of the Algerian military . The headquarters of the Northwest Military Region of the Algerian Army and a base of the Algerian Navy are located in the city.

Attractions

  • Sidi El Houari is the old town and landmark of Oran.
  • The coast around Oran has a large number of sandy beaches; z. B. the beaches Coralès, La Grande, Les Andalouses and Bousfer.
  • The Fort of Santa Cruz, built by the Spanish in the 16th century, towers over the city at a height of almost 400 m.
  • The Great Synagogue , built from 1880 onwards, was one of the largest Jewish places of worship in North Africa; in 1975 it was confiscated and converted into the Abdellah ben Salem Mosque.
  • The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (Sacré-Coeur) was built from 1903 and now serves as a library.
  • The Ahmed Zabana Museum shows the history of Algeria and offers an insight into the culture of the people who live there.
  • The Musée d'art modern d'Oran shows modern art.

Culinary specialties

Oran is a coastal city, which means that fish plays an important role. Among other things, fish is also used in the preparation of paella . This dish was adopted in Oran by the Spaniards who ruled the city for two hundred years.

There is also fast food , the best known being Karantika, an Orange specialty, where a sandwich is filled with baked pudding made from chickpea flour . Another specialty in Oran is couscous with lamb , carrots , beets, melon squash, chickpeas, and green zucchini. Another culinary specialty in Oran is Chorba, a particularly spicy noodle soup with vegetables.

Town twinning

sons and daughters of the town

Web links

Commons : Oran  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Quick: 'Le parole sono pietre' Medical aspects of Italian literature of the 20th century. In: Würzburger medical history reports 7, 1989, pp. 5–34; here: p. 21
  2. ↑ wetterkontor.de
  3. ↑ la fusillade de la rue d'Isly, l'exode des pieds-noirs, Oran . Ligue des droits de l'homme , March 2002
  4. ↑ Citipedia.info. Retrieved May 3, 2017.