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Médéa المدية | |
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  Médéa | |
| Coordinates:36°16′3″N2°45′0″E / 36.26750°N 2.75000°E /36.26750; 2.75000 | |
| Country |  Algeria |
| Province | Médéa Province |
| District | Médéa District |
| Area | |
• Total | 63.5 km2 (24.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,036 m (3,399 ft) |
| Population (2008 census) | |
• Total | 145,441 |
| • Density | 2,290/km2 (5,930/sq mi) |
| Postal code | 26000 |
Médéa (Arabic:المدية,romanized: al-Madiya) is the capital city ofMédéa Province,Algeria. It is located roughly 68 km south ofAlgiers. The present-day city is situated on the site of anancient Roman military post and has a history dating back to the 10th century. The town isFrench in character, with a rectangular city plan, red tile-roofed buildings, and beautiful public gardens. The hills surrounding Médéa are covered with vineyards, orchards, and farms that yield abundantgrain. Médéa's chief products are wines, irrigation equipment, and various handicrafts.
Medea is a Roman city named adMedix orMedia ("halfway" in Latin), so called because it was equidistant from Tirinadi (Berrouaghia) and Sufnsar (Amourah) rest house ofMauretania caesarean on the road linking the capital Caesarea (Cherchell) to the colony Auzia (Aumale).[2]
During theRoman Empire there was a settlement calledLamdia at Médéa.Lamdia[3] was theseat of anancient Christianbishopric of theRoman province ofMauretania Caesariensis.[4] Only one bishop of the town is known. TheDonatist Felix attended the411 Conference of Carthage. The town at that time had no Catholic bishops. Today Lamdia survives as atitular bishopric of theRoman Church and the current bishop isMarian Eleganti,bishop of Chur.
Following the defeat of theBerbers in the 11th century,Arab tribes ofHilal andSulaym descent were settled in the region, mixing with and Arabicizing the local Berbers.[5]
Médéa was the capital of theBeylik of Titteri; a Bey, deputy of the Dey of Algiers, was resident there. The beylik of Titteri (chief Medea) was established in 1548. The last Bey, Mostefa Boumezrag, ran it from 1819 to 1830, when the French arrived. In 1837, after theTreaty of Tafna, Medea became one of the capitals of the part of Algeria ruled byAbdelkader El Djezairi, but was occupied by the French when they eventually took possession of the whole of Algeria. Until 1962 Médéa was a garrison town for the French army.[6]
In the nearby village of Tibhirine is theAbbey of Our Lady of Atlas. The monastery was from 1935 to 1996 home to aTrappist community when most of them were abducted by theArmed Islamic Group on 27 March 1997. Two months later, the group announced their deaths and their heads were found though it remains uncertain as to who wasresponsible for their deaths.[7][8] The monastery buildings were then turned over toChemin Neuf Community, a Catholic community originally from Lyon, France.[9]
| Climate data for Médéa (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 23.3 (73.9) | 23.0 (73.4) | 28.0 (82.4) | 29.2 (84.6) | 36.0 (96.8) | 40.2 (104.4) | 41.9 (107.4) | 40.9 (105.6) | 38.7 (101.7) | 33.5 (92.3) | 26.3 (79.3) | 23.4 (74.1) | 41.9 (107.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.3 (48.7) | 10.0 (50.0) | 13.4 (56.1) | 16.3 (61.3) | 21.3 (70.3) | 27.4 (81.3) | 31.9 (89.4) | 31.6 (88.9) | 25.9 (78.6) | 20.7 (69.3) | 13.6 (56.5) | 10.2 (50.4) | 19.3 (66.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 6.6 (43.9) | 7.1 (44.8) | 9.9 (49.8) | 12.4 (54.3) | 17.0 (62.6) | 22.5 (72.5) | 26.7 (80.1) | 26.5 (79.7) | 21.3 (70.3) | 16.9 (62.4) | 10.8 (51.4) | 7.7 (45.9) | 15.4 (59.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 4.0 (39.2) | 4.1 (39.4) | 6.4 (43.5) | 8.5 (47.3) | 12.7 (54.9) | 17.5 (63.5) | 21.5 (70.7) | 21.3 (70.3) | 16.7 (62.1) | 13.0 (55.4) | 7.9 (46.2) | 5.1 (41.2) | 11.6 (52.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −6.4 (20.5) | −7.0 (19.4) | −4.0 (24.8) | −0.3 (31.5) | 0.8 (33.4) | 7.4 (45.3) | 12.4 (54.3) | 11.0 (51.8) | 7.4 (45.3) | 0.2 (32.4) | −2.4 (27.7) | −3.2 (26.2) | −7.0 (19.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 112.1 (4.41) | 85.0 (3.35) | 77.2 (3.04) | 75.0 (2.95) | 51.2 (2.02) | 10.8 (0.43) | 3.3 (0.13) | 8.4 (0.33) | 37.8 (1.49) | 52.8 (2.08) | 94.2 (3.71) | 92.7 (3.65) | 700.5 (27.58) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 10.3 | 9.1 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 5.7 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 4.5 | 6.2 | 9.2 | 9.5 | 73.9 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 161.8 | 164.4 | 214.7 | 241.5 | 280.9 | 328.4 | 356.3 | 331.8 | 261.9 | 231.7 | 162.6 | 149.0 | 2,885 |
| Source:NOAA[10] | |||||||||||||
One of the largest pharmaceutical production units in Algeria (Saidal-Antibiotical) is located in Medea.
Shoe factories also established in Takbou and M'Salah.
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