Sidi Bel Abbès ( ar, سيدي بلعباس), also called Bel Abbès, is the capital (2005 pop. 200,000)''Sidi Bel Abbes'', lexicorient.com (Encyclopaedia of the Orient), internet article. of the Sidi Bel Abbès wilaya (2005 pop. 590,000),

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

. It is named after Sidi bel Abbass, a Muslim marabout or noble man who is buried there. The city is the commercial center of an important area of vineyards, market gardens, orchards, and grain fields. It was formerly surrounded by a wall with four gates, and today is home to a university. Sidi Bel Abbès is 75 kilometers from the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

History

The present city, on the Wadi Sig River, developed around a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

camp built in 1843. In 1849 a planned agricultural town was established around the existing military post. From the 1830s until 1962 the city was closely associated with the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army ...

, being the location of its basic training camp, and the headquarters of its

1st Foreign Regiment The 1st Foreign Regiment (french: 1er Régiment étranger, 1er RE) and the 2nd Foreign infantry Regiment are the original and most senior founding regiments of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is also responsible for running sp ...

. In the late 1890s the town, described as being of Spanish appearance, had a

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...

population of about 30,000. The main buildings were in the French military district of the ''Quartier Vienot''.The training centre of the modern Algerian National Gendarmerie is located in Sidi Bel Abbès. In the 1930s much of the old city walls were demolished. Wide boulevards and squares replaced the traditional quarters, causing the town to lose much of its former character.

Geography

The city sits astride both banks of the Sig River, and lake ''Sidi Mohamed Benali''. The lake provides a major water reserve for the area.

Climate

Sidi Bel Abbès has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Csa'').

Neighborhoods

Sidi Bel Abbès has 26 regional neighborhoods. These are: Campus, Ben Hamouda, American Village, Rocher, Sidi Djilali, Environment, Gambetta, Maconi, Soricor, La Brimer, Londeau, Sidi Yacine, Saqia Hamra, Village Perrin, Village Bira, Adda boudjelal, El Makam, El madina el Mounaouara, Bab Eddaya, Boumlik (Campo), Downtown, Grebah, Cimitiere Houria, Cite 20 Aout, Village Tierre, Village de Gaulle.

Culture

Music

Rai music is the most famous music in the city and it is known of many rai chebs Like Djilali Amarna.

Sport

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

is the most popular sport in the city. The local football team is USM Bel Abbés, which plays in 24 Fevrier Stadium.

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

are also popular and are played in middle and high schools or sports complexes, such as Adda Boudjelal Sportive Complex. The city also has a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

club, MC Sidi Bel Abbés.

Economy

The economy centers on agriculture, particularly the production of cereals such as wheat and barley and the grape industry. A farm machine manufacturing complex is located there. There is an industrial zone which plays a major role in the city's economy.

Markets

There are many markets in Sidi Bel Abbes. ''Souk el Felah'' and ''Souk el Lile'' are the main two markets for fruit and vegetables.

Transportation

Route

Sidi Bel Abbès is well connected to other Algerian cities by roads.

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

is 70 kilometers north and

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the p ...

is 90 kilometers west.The West-East Route passes near the city.

Airport

The closest international airport is Oran Es Sénia, but the city is served by a domestic one: Sidi Bel Abbès Airport but it is not for the public use.

Tramway

The Sidi Bel Abbès tramway line was opened on July 25, 2017. The light rail line is 14.7 kilometers in length, with 22 stations covering most of the main points in the city such 3 Busstations,Daira,University campus,Down Town,Public Garden.Although It doesn't serve the west of the city and the south.

Train

Sidi Bel Abbés has a railway station from which trains travel to

, Bechar and Saïda.A rail link between

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

and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

passes through the city but this link has been discontinued for political reasons..

Tourism

Landmarks

Sidi Bel Abbès has several historical landmarks. These include ''Place Carnot'' which was renamed ''Place 1er Novembre'' after independence. This is a square situated in the central city. Perrin Castle is a fortress situated between Sidi Bel Abbés and Sidi Lahcene and built in the French style of architecture, The town hall, also built in the historical French pattern was formally a cathedral. The FLN party office was in colonial times a military building.

Hotels

Sidi Bel Abbés has five hotels, including ''Beni tella'' and ''Eden'', "Metropole I", "Metropole II", "Quods".

Notable people

* René Raphaël Viviani (November 8, 1863 – September 7, 1925), a French politician of the Third Republic, who served as Prime Minister for the first year of World War I * Marco Torrès (January 22, 1888 - January 15, 1963), Olympic gymnast, two-time World All-Around Champion * Gaston Maurice Julia (February 3, 1893 – March 19, 1978), mathematician famous for the

Julia set In the context of complex dynamics, a branch of mathematics, the Julia set and the Fatou set are two complementary sets (Julia "laces" and Fatou "dusts") defined from a function. Informally, the Fatou set of the function consists of values wi ...

chaos theory Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of scientific study and branch of mathematics focused on underlying patterns and deterministic laws of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, and were once thought to hav ...

* Marcel Cerdan (1916–49), French boxer, known as ''Le Bombardier Marocain'' ("The Moroccan Bomber") * Mohammed Bedjaoui (born 21 September 1929), foreign minister, former Minister of Justice (1964–70), Ambassador to France (1970–79) and Algerian permanent representative to the UN (1979–82). He was a judge on the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

(1982–2001). * Jean Boyer (1948–2004), French organist *

Brigitte Giraud Brigitte Giraud (born 1960, Sidi-Bel-Abbès in Algeria) is a French writer, author of novels and short stories. Early life Born in 1960, Brigitte Giraud grew up in Rillieux-la-Pape before settling in Lyon. She studied English, German and Arabic ...

(born 1960), French writer * Kad Merad (1964), actor in the 2008 French comedy film ''

Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis ''Welcome to the Sticks'' (french: Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, ) is a 2008 French comedy film directed and co-written by Dany Boon and starring Kad Merad and Boon himself. The film was the highest-grossing French film of all time at the box offic ...

'' * Éric Delétang (born 1966), former French professional footballer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sidi Bel Abbes Communes of Sidi Bel Abbès Province Cities in Algeria Province seats of Algeria