Chlef الشلف | |
|---|---|
      Clockwise from top: Wilaya headquartersChlef Province, Ibn Badis Street, Solidarity place in downtown Chlef, The Islamic Cultural Center in downtown Chlef, Mirador Hotel, Train station street, Train station in Chlef. | |
 Location of Chlef, Algeria withinChlef Province | |
  Chlef | |
| Coordinates:36°09′53″N01°19′54″E / 36.16472°N 1.33167°E /36.16472; 1.33167 | |
| Country |  Algeria |
| Province | Chlef |
| District | Chlef |
| Elevation | 114 m (374 ft) |
| Population (2008)[1] | |
• Total | 178,616 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| Postal code | 02000 |
| Climate | Csa |
Chlef (Arabic:الشلف) is thecapital ofChlef Province,Algeria. Located in the north of Algeria, 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of the capital,Algiers, it was founded in 1843, as Orléansville, on the ruins ofRomanCastellum Tingitanum. In 1962, it was renamed al-Asnam, but after thedevastating earthquake on October 10, 1980,[2] it has borne its present name, Chlef, which is derived from the name of theChelif River, the longest river in Algeria.
It is home to the soccer clubASO Chlef, theHassiba Ben Bouali university, and the ruins of thebasilica of Reparatus, who was bishop of Castellum Tingitanum from 465 to 475. A corner of the flooring of the basilica contained a mosaiclabyrinth, the oldest known example of Christian use of this motif.
TheRoman citadel, Castellum Tingitanum, was a city of the Roman province ofMauretania Caesariensis.The site became known as Al-Asnam (Arabic for "sculptures") during theUmayyad Caliphate period. It covered an area of 600 by 300 metres (1,970 by 980 feet) and contained many statues.
A Christianbasilica dating back to the reign of theEmperor Constantine was discovered here, with an elaborate mosaic. This is the oldest church to be found in Africa.[3]The Bishop Felix (Italian: Felice), was among the Catholic prelates summoned to theCouncil of Carthage (484) by theArian Vandal kingHuneric before he wasexiled.No other details are known about the ancient bishopric.
It was revived nominally as a Roman Catholictitular see in 1965, and was filled regularly since.
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_-_wilaya_de_Chlef_-_panoramio.jpg)
Chellif Valley was from the 15th century the territory of theBedouin Ouled Kosseir, who settled there under the leadership of Hamou El Kosseir (H'ammü'l-Quççayri) having displaced the indigenous Berber tribes. This tribe is a tribal Djouadi (military nobility). If they even call themselves descendants of the Beni Makhzum (Either Khaled Ibn El Walid).[clarification needed] Some historians believe that it belongs to the Confederation of Ibn Suwayd Zoghba of Beni Hillal and therefore cousins of Mehal, other military nobility.
Documents of theFrench army and other historians speak of "most powerful and wealthy tribes' in the Chellif Valley in 1830,[citation needed] with more than 500,000 hectares of very fertile land and more than 19,000 soldiers. The Ouled Kosseir participated in the moubayâa[clarification needed] of theEmir Abdelkader, and their territory was granted under theTreaty of Tafna.
After the defeat of the Emir and his allies, their lands were in large part confiscated and distributed among settlers and otherindigenous people, including Medjadja,marabouts who supported the French army on arrival.
The French Administration of Napoleon III, under the "Arab kingdom", tried to honour the leaders of the Ouled Kosseir with Djouadi[clarification needed]. As such, some were decorated with the Legion of Honour (or Med Foudad Kharoubi Ben Ben Bia[clarification needed]).
The lastKaid (tribal leader) after the arrival of the French army was Foudad Ben Adda, who served during 1867 on the city council of the municipality of Orleansville. He was also a member of the General Council of Algiers until his death in 1869.
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In 1843Maréchal Bugeaud founded the city of Orléansville at the modern site of Chlef.
The town was located at the confluence of the Chlef River and the Tsighaout River. The town developed due to the harsh climate, one of the hottest in northern Algeria.
The 6.7 Mw Chlef earthquake shook northernAlgeria on 9 September 1954 with a maximumMercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). At least 1,243 people were killed and 5,000 were injured.
At that time the town had a population of 44,400 inhabitants.[citation needed] It was the home of theAlgerian Division of the artistic groupLettrist International (LI), some of whom died in the earthquake. Mohamed Dahou survived and went on to become involved in theSituationist International. TheLI described the town as "the mostlettrist city in the world".[citation needed]
In the 2018 census the province of Chlef had just over 1 million inhabitants, of which 178,616 were living in the provincial capital Chlef.[4]
Chlef lies in a valley at an elevation of 114 metres (374 ft) between two ranges of hills to the north and west. The city is surrounded by farmland; there are scattered trees both in the valley and on the hills.
Chlef has ahot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classificationBSh) bordering aMediterranean climate (Csa), with very hot, dry summers and mild, moist winters.
| Climate data for Chlef (1991-2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 25.3 (77.5) | 30.4 (86.7) | 36.0 (96.8) | 41.5 (106.7) | 43.8 (110.8) | 45.7 (114.3) | 48.3 (118.9) | 46.9 (116.4) | 44.0 (111.2) | 40.5 (104.9) | 32.2 (90.0) | 26.0 (78.8) | 48.3 (118.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 15.6 (60.1) | 17.3 (63.1) | 19.5 (67.1) | 22.2 (72.0) | 26.9 (80.4) | 32.3 (90.1) | 37.3 (99.1) | 37.1 (98.8) | 32.9 (91.2) | 26.5 (79.7) | 20.2 (68.4) | 16.0 (60.8) | 25.3 (77.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 10.6 (51.1) | 11.8 (53.2) | 13.3 (55.9) | 15.9 (60.6) | 20.1 (68.2) | 24.8 (76.6) | 29.0 (84.2) | 29.0 (84.2) | 25.5 (77.9) | 20.3 (68.5) | 14.8 (58.6) | 11.2 (52.2) | 18.9 (65.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) | 6.2 (43.2) | 7.1 (44.8) | 9.5 (49.1) | 13.1 (55.6) | 17.3 (63.1) | 20.6 (69.1) | 20.8 (69.4) | 18.1 (64.6) | 14.0 (57.2) | 9.3 (48.7) | 6.3 (43.3) | 12.3 (54.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −1.5 (29.3) | −1.5 (29.3) | 0.0 (32.0) | 1.4 (34.5) | 3.6 (38.5) | 10.3 (50.5) | 15.0 (59.0) | 13.4 (56.1) | 11.5 (52.7) | 6.0 (42.8) | 2.0 (35.6) | 0.0 (32.0) | −1.5 (29.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 52.5 (2.07) | 53.5 (2.11) | 42.0 (1.65) | 45.5 (1.79) | 27.8 (1.09) | 6.7 (0.26) | 1.7 (0.07) | 4.1 (0.16) | 20.8 (0.82) | 31.2 (1.23) | 58.1 (2.29) | 44.9 (1.77) | 388.8 (15.31) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1 mm) | 7.5 | 7.2 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 7.6 | 6.3 | 53.5 |
| Source 1:NOAA[5] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:NOAA (mean temperatures 1961-1990)[6] | |||||||||||||
Chlef has a station on the Algiers-Oran railway line. The city is served byChlef International Airport.
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
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