El Hamel is a town and commune in

M'Sila Province M'sila ( ) is a province () of northern Algeria. It has a population of 958361 people and an area of , with a density of 74/square kilometers while its capital, also called M'sila, home to M'sila University, has a population of about 100,000. Lo ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 10,195. El Hamel was built in the 11th century on two hills at the foot of Mount Omrane; Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the city resembles a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

citadel below which flows the Great

Oued Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet ( ephemeral) riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portions of alluvial fans and e ...

. The village of the Saharan type, on a hill, while the zaouïa whose appearance resembles a fortress (ribât) rises on the second.

History

Many of the inhabitants descend from the so-called '' Hedjadjs (pilgrim) of El-Hamel'' who, returning from the Hajj pilgrimage settled here. The first of these inhabitants were the children of the noble Sidi Bouzid Ben Ali Ach'Charif Al-Hassani, from whom descend all Sharifs (descendants of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

MA Cook, Muhammad, (Oxford University Press), 1983) p 13.) from the central

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

Description of the town

The old village of El-Hamel is built around ''Ain-Et'Touta'' (the Fountain of the Mulberry tree) is a ksar whose buildings recall those of the Kasbah of Algiers and the ksour of Ghardaïa and the old Bou-Saâda. The

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

s are juxtaposed. They communicate with one another through beautiful Sakifates; A sort of narrow streets crossed here and there by Ghorfates or suspended

veranda A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...

s that rest on old tree trunks, forming small tunnels that bring shelter, charm, and freshness. Built on the left bank of the Oued Bou-Saâda, its imposing mass whose appearance is that of a fortress seems to watch over the village located below.

Zawiya

Zawiyet El Hamel A ''zawiya'' or ''zaouia'' (; ; also spelled ''zawiyah'' or ''zawiyya'') is a building and institution associated with Sufis in the Islamic world. It can serve a variety of functions such a place of worship, school, monastery and/or mausoleum. I ...

The creation of the Zaouïa complex dates back to the 19th century, founded by born in 1823 in the vicinity of

Hassi Bahbah Hassi Bahbah is a town and commune in Djelfa Province, Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 77,000 which is 0.221% of total Algeria population. The town lies on the N1 Trans-Saharan highway, north of the town of Aïn Maabe ...

in the

Djelfa Province Djelfa () is a province (''wilaya'') of Algeria. Its capital is Djelfa. It was first established by the administrative reorganization of 1974, and is home to over 1,595,794 inhabitants. Localities in this province include Tadmit, El Khemis, a ...

. After he died in 1897, his daughter

Lalla Zaynab Lalla Zaynab (c. 1862 – 19 December 1904) was an Algerian Sufi Muslim spiritual leader. Regarded as a living saint by her followers, she fought a bitter battle over the succession of her father's barakah and Zawiya with her cousin Sa'id ibn ...

succeeded him until 1904. The

zaouïa A ''zawiya'' or ''zaouia'' (; ; also spelled ''zawiyah'' or ''zawiyya'') is a building and institution associated with Sufis in the Islamic world. It can serve a variety of functions such a place of worship, school, monastery and/or mausoleum. ...

consists of a mosque, a Koranic school, and the mausoleum where the founder and his successors rest.

References

Communes of M'Sila Province M'Sila Province {{M'Sila-geo-stub