Le chemin qui conduit vers des êtres chers, n’a pas d’épines (Proverbe Douala – Cameroun).
The path which takes to loved ones, does not have thorns (Duala Proverb – Cameroon).
Tag: Algiers
Why the Name: Oran?
Oran, “the radiant,” is the name often given to the second most populous city of Algeria. In the past, I used to think that the name Oran had something to do with orient, the east. So from “radiant” to “orient”, which is true? or is there another meaning to the name of this beautiful Algerian city?
The name Oran comes from Wahran, which comes from the Berber word Uharu for Lion. One of the known forms of the word, Wadaharan, could come from “Wad + Aharan“, or “the river of Lions.”
Several legends link the name of the city to lions. Legend says that in 900 AD, there were still lions in the area; in the mystic legend, a lion had appeared on the grave of the saint patron Sidi El Hourari. The most common tradition traces the name of the city to the dream of the son of the Vizier of Cordoba, who was running away by sea from the tyranny of his father who opposed his marriage to the woman he loved. On his way, a storm arose, and he had a vision of two lion cubs, and a shipwreck on La Plage des Andalouses in Oran.
Either way, the last two lions were hunted on a mountain near Oran referred to as “mountain of lions,” also known as Djebel Kar, the mountain of rubbles. The French name, Mountain of lions, indicates that there were still lions living in that area at the beginning of the 19th century. Two giant lion statues stand in front of Oran’s city hall, symbolizing the city.
During the Roman empire, the region of Oran was a small settlement called Unica Colonia, which disappeared after the Arab conquest of the Maghreb. Founded in 902 by Moorish Andalusi traders, Oran saw a succession of Arab-Berber dynasties. It was captured by the Spanish under Cardinal Cisneros in 1509, Spanish sovereignty lasted until 1708, when the city was conquered by the Ottomans. Spain recaptured the city in 1732. However, its value as a trading post had decreased greatly, so King Charles IV sold the city to the Turks in 1792 (some sources say that it was conquered, rather than sold to the Bey Mohamed El Kebir). Ottoman rule lasted until 1831, when it fell to the French. During French colonization, Oran saw a rapid development and became Algeria‘s second city.
After independence in 1962, Oran remained the capital of the West of the country, and its principal financial, commercial, and industrial center. It is today one of the most important cities of the Maghreb. It is a port city on the Mediterranean sea, located in the northwest of Algeria, 432 km from the capital Algiers, and is the capital of the Oran Province in the gulf of Oran. Oran is a major port and a commercial centre, with three major universities. It is also the birthplace of the Raï, the Algerian folk music made popular by singers such as Cheb Khaled, Cheb Mami, Raïna Raï, and others.
Please enjoy this video of Oran, the city of Lions, Oran the radiant, the city of Raï.
Share this:
Why the name: Algiers?
I have often wondered what the name, Algiers, for the capital of Algeria meant. I always thought it interesting for a capital, and a country to have the same name: Alger (in French) the capital and Algeria, the country.
For starters Alger (in French) or Algiers (in English) is a name deriving from the Catalan Alguère, which itself comes from Djezaïr, name given by Bologhine ibn Ziri, founder of the Berber Zirid dynasty who built the city in 944 on the ruins of the ancient Roman city Icosium (or the seagull island), Djezaïr Beni Mezghenna. The name, as given by Bologhine ibn Ziri, referred to the four islands which laid off the city’s coast until becoming part of the mainland in 1525. In Arabic, Al-Djaza’ir (الجزائر), “les Îlots” (the Islands), in French “les Iles de Mezghenna” or the islands of Mezghanna (جزاير بني مزغنا Djezaïr Beni Mezghenna). According to Middle Ages Muslim geographers, the term island could also refer to the fertile coast of Algeria stuck between the vast Sahara, and the Mediterranean Sea, appearing as an island of life, Al-Jaza’ir.
Algiers is often nicknamed El-Behdja (البهجة, the joyous), El Mahroussa (the well-kept) or alternatively Alger la Blanche (“Algiers the White”) for the glistening white of its buildings as seen rising up from the sea. Algiers is located on the west side of a bay of the Mediterranean Sea, also known as the Algiers bay. The modern part of the city is built on the level ground by the seashore; while the old part, the ancient city of the deys, the Ottoman rulers, climbs the steep hill behind the modern town and is crowned by the casbah or citadel, 122 metres (400 ft) above the sea. The casbah, which is an ancient neighborhood of Algiers (and a UNESCO World Heritage site), was built on the side of one of the hills that points west of
the Algiers bay; the casbah and the two quays form a triangle. Under Ottoman rule, from 1510 to early 1800s, new neighborhoods arose on the hills overseeing the bay. Algiers and Algeria later fell into French rule in the 1830s, and Algeria became independent on 5 July 1962.
Today, ‘Algiers the White’ is an important vibrant city of almost 4 million inhabitants in North Africa. It is in essence a joyous city with a glistening white essence on the Mediterranean sea. Enjoy this video on Algiers.
Share this:
Tunis: Why the Name?
Today, we will be talking about the beautiful city of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. Where does the name Tunis come from? Is Tunisia, the name of the country whose capital is Tunis, just a derivative of the name Tunis?
Well for starters the city of Tunis is built on a set of hills that go down towards the lake of Tunis. Tunis was born at the crossroads between the basins of lake Tunis and the Séjoumi. Situated on a large Mediterranean Sea gulf (the Gulf of Tunis), behind the Lake of Tunis and the port of La Goulette (Halq al Wadi), the city extends along the coastal plain and the hills that surround it. At the centre of more modern development (from the colonial era and later) lies the old medina. Beyond this district lie the suburbs of Carthage, La Marsa, and Sidi Bou Said.
Tunis is the French transcription of a name, which is pronounced tûnus, tûnas or tûnis (with û sounding like an ‘ou’ in French) in Arabic. The three pronunciations were indicated by the arab geographer Yaqout al-Rumi in his book Mu’jam al-Buldan (Dictionary of countries). The last pronunciation tûnis is the most used of the city’s name tûnisi ou tûnusi. This vocable is defined to mean “to lie down” or “lying down”, and by extension “spending the night,” or “spending the night at”, or “getting somewhere and spending the night.” Among many of the derivatives of this term, one can find tinés (pluriel de ténésé) which indicate “the idea of lying down,” and by extension “the fact of spending the night.”
Thus the name Tunis probably had the meaning of “night camp” or “bivouac” or “stop.” In the ancient toponymy of Roman Africa, several towns carry similar names such as: Tuniza (modern-day El Kala), Thunusuda (modern-day Sidi Meskine), Thinissut (modern-day Bir Bouregba), Thunisa (modern-day Ras Jebel) or Cartennae (modern-day Ténès in Algeria). All these berber localities were located on roman roads, and probably served as road houses, or stops. From the name Tunis, arose the country name Tunisia. The name gained prominence among French historians and geographers, by analogy with the word Algeria derived from Algiers. Today Tunis is well-known for its beauty, its people, and its sunny days; it is one of Africa’s best touristic spots. Enjoy the video below, which gives a quick historical view of Tunis and Tunisia.
African Heritage 