Skikda

Geography

The wilaya of Skikda is located at the North-East of Algeria and extends on a surface from: 4137 km ², with a population bordering them: 804697 inhabitants.

It has 130 km of coasts which are spread out El Marsa in the east to Oued Z' hour at the fine bottoms of the solid mass of Collo in the west. It is bordering with the wilayas on Annaba, Guelma, Constantine and Jijel.

Relief

Its relief is very broken on the littoral fringe is, in the solid masses of Collo, Azzaba and Marsa. In this relief one distinguishes three types of topographic zones, the mountainous areas, the zones of plains and the zones of piémonts.

Mountainous areas

The mountainous areas which are subdivided in several parts are consisted the Massif S. the most important Djebel S are:

In the south:

Djebel Sidi Driss: 1364 m of altitude
Djebel Hadjar Chouat: 1220 m of altitude

In extreme cases of the valleys of Guebli and Saf-Saf:

Djebel Staiha, 572 m of altitude
Djebel Abdelhadj

In extreme cases of Saf-Saf and of El-Kebir:

Djebel Wire-Slipped by, 586 m of altitude

In north:

Cape Bougarouni and Cape de Fer

In the west:

Djebel El Goufi, 1200 m of altitude

Zones of plains

the plain of the valley of Saf-Saf extends from El-Harrouch with Skikda and wife contours of Saf-Saf
the plain of the valley of El-Guebli Wadi begins in Oum-Toub, widens on the level of Tamalous, frays until Collo or it widens again.
the plain of the valley of the wadi El-Kebir
the plain of Azzaba sprinkled by the wadi El-Kebir, it extends from are-sebt with Azzaba until Djendel where it presents a throttling emerging to Ain Charchar and Bekkouche Lakhdar.

The second part of the plain is regarded as the zone of junction between the plain and the depression which begins with the lake Tanga close to El-Kebir.

Piémonts

Piémonts are located in particular in the areas of El-Harouch and Azzaba.

Hydrography

The principal Oued S are permanent and take their source with a few kilometers of the sea. The most important wadis are:

El-Kebir Wadi in the east
Saf-Saf Wadi in the center
Guebli Wadi in the west
Wadi Z' hour in the extreme west

Climate

The wilaya of Skikda belongs to the bioclimatic fields wet and subhumide.

The wet stage covers all the mountainous Western zone as well as the tops in the east and in the south, it is with soft or moderate with the littoral and cold alternative inside.

The stage subhumide covers the remainder of the wilaya, in particular the plains, the hot or soft alternative is located on the littoral and the moderate or cold alternative inside.

It made there hot and wet in summer, but very fresh in winter.

History

Old Counter Phénicie N founded during the first millenium before Jesus-Christ close to the antique port of Stora, the city was called Rusicade (in Latin Rusicada ) at the time Roman E, a name Phénicien which would mean Cape of the Cicadas or Headland of fire (Rus el Ucadh into punic or Râʾs el Wakaḏ in Arabic), one probable allusion with the existence of a headlight on one of its headlands giving on the gulf of Stora, the antique Sine Numidicus. It was one of the four autonomous municipal republics of the Roman province of Africa. City of the Mediterranean coastline and the maritime emerged main thing of Numidie.

The ruins of the ancient city, destroyed by the Vandals in Ve century of the Christian era, were invested by the French in January 1838 at the time of the Colonisation shortly after the fall of Constantine. Pushed back at the time of a first attempt by terrestrial way coming from Constantine, the French troops had entered by bay of Stora, an old counter phenician whose history goes back to 1000 before Jesus-Christ, become later the fishing port of Skikda, and installed their general headquarter on the current site of the hospital, located in height to face the resistance armed with the tribes of the surroundings. The city was renamed Fort de France name of the ship which allowed the unloading of French in bay, then Philippeville in homage to the king Louis-Philippe. It will preserve this name until in 1962.

It is while negotiating with the hostile tribes of the surroundings, in particular the powerful warlike confederations of Béni Méhenna and Béni Béchir which French could occupy, in a first place, one of two banks of the Wadi Saf-Saf (the Thapsus antique) which cuts the two valleys on which is the current city. French also negotiated the heights of Bouabbaz in exchange of the construction of the Mosque of Sid Ali el-Adib, built in 1840 on the other pouring of the city facing the place. The mosque of Sid-Ali el-Adib, named according to the name of a saint of Syrian origin come from Béjaïa, is today the oldest mosque of the city.

In 1911, during a strike of protest of the dockers of the port of Phillipeville, the Moslem workmen raised a Turkish flag and another, of green color, struck crescent and star which will be regarded as one of the ancestors of the Algerian flag, to express their solidarity and their fidelity with the Ottoman Empire.

In 1914, the port of Philippeville is violently bombarded by two war buildings of the Othoman Turkish navy, then in war at the sides of IIe Reich German against France.

In 1942, the there allied troops will unload, in particular on the beaches of Jeanne d' Arc (currently Larbi Ben Me Hidi) where the carcass rusted of a mini submarine to always lie on the level of the 7th beach. The city was also the target of air raid carried out by planes Italian and German bombers during the second world war.

The arrival of American GI 'S caused the general enthusiasm of the Muslim populations of the city and the resentment of the colonial authorities. In 1942, an incident between a Senegalese rifleman and Algerian will serve as a pretext for a made massacre with the level of the Arab district (current Souika) during lesquel of the Senegalese riflemen, armed and heated with white by French soldiers will kill about thirty Algerian civilians. It is thanks to the intervention of the American army which the massacre will cease whose victims will be buried in the presence of the mayor of the city, Cuttoli, and some among principal notable Europeans and Moslems.

During the War of independence (1954-1962), Skikda essuya of the losses: August 20th, 1955, a series of attacks conducted by units of the Armed with national release (ALN) against European targets in the vicinity and in the city involves reprisals on behalf of the forces of parachutist and red Bérêts of the French Army whose school was located at Jeanne d' Arc (7 km of the city) and of the armed militia consisted extremists pied-noir.

The soldiers drew at sight on all the men from 14 to 70 years. Those which were not summarily carried out on the spot were gathered and taken along at the municipal stage (today Stade of August 20th, 1955) where they were massacred and buried in common graves covered to the quicklime while hamlets (in particular Blessed-Melek) underwent massive rammings with artillery and air raids. One estimate today with more 12 000 , the number of disarmed Algerian civilians killed at the time of this massacre while them colonial sources had evaluated with 1 200 . Algerian sources estimate that the assessment would be much heavier since one does not know with exactitude all the places, put aside the stage, where the other victims of repression were buried.

In 1962, the town of Philippeville knew one massive exodus pied-noir population towards France.

During the years 1950, but more particularly as from the years 1960 and 1970, the city knew a massive surge of rural populations (but also those coming from other Wilayas as remote as Oran) to the looking for a job in the tertiary sector then in the oil field, which has have for effect to recompose completely social structures of the city and disappearance of its population of origin. The same phenomenon acccentua during the years 1990 during which the populations fleeing the insecurity were established downtown.

Structures

The city has of a Town hall of style néo-Moorish and a stylée railway station, conceived by Le Corbusier. The Town hall of Skikda contains masterpieces of a very great value.

Skikda has potentials economic and tourist, with a maritime frontage of 130 km where follow one another of the beaches (energy of Tamanart in the west, until El Marsa in the east), and where one counts 8 zones of tourist expansion . This geographical position combined with the importance of its technical infrastructures (trunk roads ports and railways) enable him to play a big role in the economic exchanges and flows.

One of the greatest petrochemical zones of Algeria is in the east of the city, in the commune of Larbi Ben Me Hidi (in the past Jeanne d' Arc ).

Territorial organization

Economy

Wilaya with double agricultural and tourist initial vocation, Skikda was famous for its beaches, its orchards of citrus fruits (oranges, tangerines, lemons, etc), its culture of the strawberry, its olive oil mills and the fish transformation. After independence, it became an important industrial park of Algeria, forming the industrial triangle of the east with Constantine and Annaba.

A station of Dessalement of sea water is under development as well as a complex of production of the liquid Hélium.

Tourism, extremely promising because of the enormous potential of Wilaya on the matter, suffers today from a lack of infrastructures and effects of the policy of the very industrial initiate during the Seventies. But of the efforts have been deployed for a few years for redynamiser the sector.

A technological pole whose site would be at the Southern exit of the east city also being studied.

Culture

The Drapeau of Skikda carries the colors White-blue of the the Mediterranean.

The city has a working tradition. This one started to be expressed politically since 1911 with the strike of the dockers of the port and was reflected on the tendencies gauchists of the Skikdis nationalists. In 1935, the religious reformer Abdel-Hamid Ibn Badis, visiting the city was badly accommodated there. What gave rise to the myth of a city whose children would have been cursed by famous Prédicateur.

During the years 1920-1930, a religious preacher wandering of the name of Ben Aroua, emitted a series of prophecies on the future of the city of which that, remained famous in the collective memory, relating to the war and independence, a metal snake whose origins are lost in sands of the desert and the head in the sea, allegorical allusion to the pipeline which connects the oil-bearing fields of the Sahara to the petrochemical terminal, as with occurred of a catastrophe of the apocalyptic type of which only those will be survivors which will take refuge on the heights of Djebel Messiouel located not far from the city.

Like all the harbor cities, the city had an underworld local which arrived during a certain time to compete with the Marseilles medium on its own ground.

The city has an intelligentsia very dispersed and often forced with the exile or the fold. It is characterized by a perfect control of the French language which one finds that in Paris region. Because of various socio-policies causes, This one forever been able to form an elite with the service of the city or its area

Skikdi is famous for its sturdy character and critical. The local speech is one of rare to properly pronounce Arab Kaf as in literary Arabic instead of Gaf common at the populations Arabic-speaking people of Morocco to the Arabo-Persian Gulf.

Abada

Abdelaziz

Ahmed Chekat

Azzaza

Benchebchoub

Berrebbi

Bou-houita

Boufafa

Boulnemour

Bou-houita

Chekkat

Dib

Guermèche

Himeur

Mechtouf

Merabet

Mouats

Siafa

Souames

Younes

Zighed -->

; Cultural infrastructures

the Roman Amphitheater, built in IIIe century of the Christian era, is located in full center of the town of Skikda (adjacent with the college of young girls In-Nahda) Its capacity is more important than the amphitheaters of Guelma and Timgad.

Skikda belonged to the cities to have five cinemas as of the years 1930: empire, Eden, Rivoli, Réalto and the Lido.

the municipal Théâtre is of a similar style from certain of its aspects to the style baroque and constitutes one of curiosities of the city.

Of the houses of the culture of which that of Aissat Idir to the style haussmannien and of the public libraries.

; Cultural events:

Festival of the Strawberry: annual event which is held at May to celebrate one of the specialities of the area. Folk dances, Fantasia S, contests of pastry makings and craft industry are organized on this occasion.

Personalities related to Skikda

Malek Chebel, born in 1953 with Skikda, Philosopher and Algerian Islamologue. He studied in Algeria, then in France in Paris, where he also studied the psychoanalysis. He taught in many universities throughout the world.
Dalil Boubaker, vice-chancellor of the Mosque of Paris and first president of the French Conseil of the Muslim cult was born there in 1940
Pierre Blanchard, famous Acteur in the interval war, born in Philippeville (ex Skikda). With played with Michelle Morgan in “the pastoral symphony”.
Karim Sarroub, writer, born with Skikda, author of “In the shade of oneself” and “Rabble”, published with the Mercure de France . In its novel " Racaille" , the author tells the history of a Skikdi young person taken in contradictions of his desire of living free and the weight of the old traditions.
Tewfik Abada (1953-2005), Diplomat, former Ambassador of Algeria to the Vietnamese soldier-Nâm.
Wahib Abada, Diplomat, Former Ambassador of Algeria in several countries and General secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1989.

External bonds

(http://www.skikda.ko.ifrance.com) Site perso on Skikda
Town of Skikda - site perso on Skikda
Wilaya de Skikda - official site
University August 20th, 1955 of Skikda

Random links: