Bethioua (

Berber language The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber commun ...

: Ibeṭṭiwen, ar, بطيوة, formerly ''Arzew'', under French rule, called ''Vieil Arzew'' then ''Saint Leu'') is a town and region in the

wilaya A wilayah ( ar, وَلاية, wālāya or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu and fa, ولایت, ''velâyat''; tr, vilayet) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes fr ...

of Oran in the west of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. It has a gas port, petrochemical facilities and desalination plant. It is located on the ruins of the ancient

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

settlement of Portus Magnus. The region itself belonged to the Battiwa (Ibeṭṭiwen), a group of Berber clans which arrived from the

Rif mountains The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterrane ...

, mainly Ait Said and Temsaman tribe. They were composed of clans from Zegzawa (Izegzawen), the Ait Mait and their Maraboutic leader Sidi Amar Ben Ahmed whose mausolée lies facing the sea..Thus originally settled in Mazagran near the city of

Mostaganem Mostaganem ( ber, Mustɣanem; ar, مستغانم) is a port city in and capital of Mostaganem province, in the northwest of Algeria. The city, founded in the 11th century lies on the Gulf of Arzew, Mediterranean Sea and is 72 km ENE of O ...

, when in 1784 was given to them by the bey of

Mascara Mascara is a cosmetic commonly used to enhance the upper and lower eyelashes. It is used to darken, thicken, lengthen, and/or define the eyelashes. Normally in one of three forms—liquid, powder, or cream—the modern mascara product has vari ...

this coastal territory of Bethioua a little further west. During the French colonization, Bettiouas had to take refuge in Mazagran once again, most of them were given back their land by the authorities. Today only elders can still really speak the tribe language. When the Anglo-Americans invaded Algeria in November 1941 ( Operation Torch), the American troops who captured Oran landed at Beach Z, which was the strip of coastline between

Arzew Arzew or Arzeu ( ar, أرزيو Berber; ) is a port city in Algeria, 25 miles (40 km) from Oran. It is the capital of Arzew District, Oran Province. History Antiquity Like the rest of North Africa, the site of modern-day Arzew was ori ...

and Bethioua.

References

Bibliography

Metzmacher, M. (1979 a). Les oiseaux de la Macta et de sa région (Algérie) : Non passereaux. ''Aves'', 3-4 : 89–123.
Populated places in Oran Province Mediterranean port cities and towns in Algeria {{Oran-geo-stub