Bordj Menaïel (from the Arabic برج - bordj, "tower" and Berber imnayen "cavaliers") is a town in the Boumerdès Province in Algeria. It is located in the western Kabylie region at 36°44′30″N 3°43′23″E / 36.74167°N 3.72306°E and is 30 km away from the city of Boumerdès. As of 2008, the population of the municipality is 64,820.[2]
Bordj Menaïel
برج منايل | |
---|---|
City and Common | |
Nickname: Burǧ Imnayen | |
Motto(s): "From the people, for the people" | |
Location of Bordj Menaïel in the Algeria | |
Coordinates: 36°44′30″N 3°43′23″E / 36.741667°N 3.723056°E | |
Country | Algeria |
Province | Boumerdès Province |
District | Bordj Menaïel District |
APC | 2012-2017 |
Government | |
• Type | Municipality |
Population (2008) | |
• Total | 64,820[1] |
Time zone | UTC 1 (CET) |
ISO 3166 code | CP |
Presentation
editBordj Menaïel was founded by the Ottoman government of Algeria, most likely in the 16th century, to guard a route between Algiers and Constantine and to secure control of the Isser plain.[3] In the 18th century, its military role was superseded by the foundation of Bordj Sebaou further west, but it remained the residence of the Ottoman wakil administering the surrounding farmland.[4]
The French conquest reached the fort of Bordj Menaïel in 1844, when General Bugeaud took it. Afterwards, it initially became the residence of the aghas of the Iflissen Umellil.[5] In 1859, a French colony was created there by imperial decree, using 1718 hectares. It was enlarged through land expropriation in 1872 by Admiral de Gueydon, in the wake of the Mokrani Revolt.[6]
History
editFrench conquest
editAlgerian Revolution
editSalafist terrorism
edit- 2008 Zemmouri bombing (9 August 2008)
- 2010 Bordj Menaïel bombing (21 September 2010)
Transport
editThe road RN 12 runs through Bordj Menaïel, linking it with Isser to the west and Naciria to the east.[7]
Sports
editAlgeria goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi was born in Bordj Menaiel. The local football team is JS Bordj Ménaïel.
Notable people
edit- Farouk Belkaïd, footballer
- Bachir Boudjelid, footballer
- Faouzi Chaouchi, footballer
- Zinedine Ferhat, footballer
- Omar Fetmouche, artist
- Hocine Mezali, journalist and writer
- Mustapha Toumi, songwriter, lyricist, composer, poet and painter
- Fatma Zohra Zamoum, writer and film-maker
References
edit- Charles-Claude Bernard, 1877. Notice topographique et médicale sur le plaine d'Isser. Blida: A. Mauguin.
- Kouider Djouab, 2017. Bordj-Menaïel, une ville, une histoire : La Ville des coquelicots. Saint Denis: Edilivre.
Notes
edit- ^ ONS Statistic (Boumerdès province) Archived 2011-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Recensement Génaral de la Population et de l'Habitat" (in French). Wilaya Boumerdes. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014.
- ^ N. Robin, 1873, "Note sur l'organisation militaire et administrative des Turcs dans la Grande Kabylie", Revue Africaine, p. 134, (in French).
- ^ N. Robin, 1873, "Note sur l'organisation militaire et administrative des Turcs dans la Grande Kabylie", Revue Africaine, p. 207, (in French).
- ^ Robin 1873:207.
- ^ Charles-Claude Bernard, 1877, Notice topographique et médicale sur le plaine d'Isser, pp. 36-39
- ^ "Atlas Routier de l'Algérie : Wilaya de Boumerdès". Archived from the original on 15 March 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2022.