Taghit () is a town and commune in Taghit District,

Béchar Province Béchar () is a Provinces of Algeria, province ''(Wilayah, wilaya)'' in Algeria, located on the border with Morocco in the Algerian Desert, Algerian Sahara. It is the second least-densely populated province in Algeria, with a population of 353591 ...

, in western

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 ...

. The town is an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentOued Zousfana, which runs along beside the dunes of the Grand Erg Occidental. According to the 2008 census its population is 6,317, up from 6,047 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 0.4%. The commune covers an area of .

History

The town was the site of the

Battle of Taghit The Battle of Taghit was the siege of a Fortification, fort held by a contingent of the French Army of Africa (France), Army of Africa against Moroccan tribesmen during the South-Oranese Campaign. Background In the 1890s, the French administrati ...

in 1903, in which 4000 Zayanes

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

besieged the French in the town, whom they outnumbered by 10 to 1. The attackers were later forced to retreat. Marabutto-Taghirt

Geography

Taghit lies on the left (eastern) bank of the Oued Zouzfana. The Grand Erg Occidental, a large area of continuous sand dunes, lies to the east, while the rocky Djebel Baroun lies to the west across the river.

Climate

Taghit has a hot

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWh''), with extremely hot summers and cool winters, and very little precipitation throughout the year.

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

is an important industry in Taghit. The commune has a total of of

arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...

, of which is

irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has be ...

. There are a total of 137,450 date palms planted in the commune. As of 2009 there were 3,330

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

, 2,995

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

s, 2,481

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

s, and 62

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

. There were also 24,000

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

s in 2 buildings.

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

is also significant in Taghit due to many

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

rock engravings in the area. Other attractions include sand dunes, palm groves, the old

ksar Ksar or qṣar (), in plural ksour or qsour (), is a type of fortified village in North Africa, usually found in the regions predominantly or traditionally inhabited by Berbers (Amazigh). The equivalent Berber languages, Berber term used is ' ( ...

and the zawiya. There is one hotel in Taghit, the three-star ''Taghit''.

Infrastructure and housing

90% of Taghits's population are connected to drinking water, 96% are connected to the sewerage system, and 93% (including 1,485 buildings) have access to electricity. There is one fuel service station in the town. Taghit has a total of 1,551 houses, of which 913 are occupied, giving an occupation rate of 6.9 inhabitants per occupied building.

Transportation

There are three main roads out of Taghit: one leads northwest to the N6 highway ( Bechar- Adrar section) just south of Bechar, another leads southwest through Igli to the N6 further south, and the third leads northeast, also to the N6 ( Bechar- Mecheria section) northeast of Bechar, near Figuig. A number of small localities lie along the Oued Zouzfana to the south; these are connected by a local road. Taghit is from the provincial capital,

Béchar Béchar () is the capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. It is also a commune, coextensive with Béchar District, of Béchar Province. In 2008 the city had a population of 165,627, up from 134,954 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 2.1% ...

. There is a total length of of roads in the commune.

Education

There are 5 elementary schools, with 39 classrooms including 30 in use. There are a total of 1,310 school students. 5.9% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 18.4% has competed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 81.4%, and is 86.6% among males and 76.7% among females.

Health

Taghit has 4 room care facilities, and a private pharmacy, and a medical operating theatre. The nearest hospital (by road) is in

Religion

Taghit has six operational

mosques A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were simple p ...

, with another under construction.

Localities

The commune is composed of five localities: *Taghit * Zaouia Fougania * Berrabi Bakhti *Zaouia Tahtania *Brika

References

External links

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{Authority control Communes of Béchar Province Cities in Algeria