Friday 3 August 2012

The Wilaya of Tlemcen



ولاية تلمسان
—  Province  —
Map of Algeria highlighting Tlemcen
Coordinates: 34°53′N 01°19′WCoordinates34°53′N 01°19′W
Country Algeria
CapitalTlemcen
Government
 • PPA president
 • Wāli
Area
 • Total9,061 km2 (3,498 sq mi)
Population (2008)[1]
 • Total945,525
 • Density100/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zoneCET (UTC+01)
Area Code+213 (0) 43
ISO 3166 codeDZ-13
Districts20
Municipalities53

Tlemcen (Arabicتلمسان‎ Tilimsān) is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it ships to the port ofRashgun for export.
Its population is about 140,000, while the province had 949,135 inhabitants in the 2008 census[1], and should reach about 1,200,000 by 2011.

Etymology

The word Tlemcen (ArabicتلمسانTilimsān) comes from Berber Tala Imsan (Tlemcen in Tifinagh.svg in Tifinagh) which means "the dry spring". The name is sometimes spelled Tlemsen,Tlemsan, or Tilimsen.

Culture

 its centuries of rich history and culture have made the city a center of a unique blend of music and art. Its textiles and handcrafts, its elegant blend of Islamic, Berber, Andalucian and French cultures, and its cool climate in the mountains have made it an important center of tourism in Algeria. It is home to a beautiful tomb - that of Sidi Boumédiène, whose tomb adjoins to amosque. The Great Mosque at Tlemcen was completed in 1136 and is said to be the most remarkable remaining example of Almoravid architecture
History 
Tlemcen was founded by the Romans in the 4th century CE under the name of Pomariaas a military outpost. It was an important city in North Africa see of the Roman Catholic Church in the century in which it was built, where it was the center of a diocese. Itsbishop, Victor, was a prominent representative at the Council of Carthage in 411, and its bishop Honoratus was exiled in 484 by the Vandal king Huneric for denyingArianism. It was a center of a large Christian population for many centuries after the city'sArab conquest in 708. In the later eighth century and the ninth century, the city became a Kingdom of Banu Ifran of the Kharijitesufri.[3] These same Berber Kharijis also began to develop various small Saharan oases and to link them into regular trans-Saharan caravan routes terminating at Tlemcen—beginning a process that would determine Tlemcen's historical role for almost all of the next millennium

See also





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