Chlef Province

Chlef (Arabic: ولاية الشلف‎, Berber: Tamnaḍt n Clef) is a province (wilaya) in Algeria, and has about 1 million inhabitants. Its capital is Chlef. Another locality is Ténès, on the Mediterranean Sea.

Geography

Location

The province of Chlef is located at the Western Tell at 200 km west of Algiers.

Administrative divisions

The province is divided into 13 districts (daïras), which are further divided into 35 communes or municipalities.

Districts

Communes

References

Chlef

Chlef (Arabic: الشلف‎) is the capital of Chlef 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 of Roman Castellum Tingitanum. In 1962, it was renamed Al-Asnam. The present name, Chlef, which it bears since 1980, is derived from the name of the longest river in Algeria.

It is home to the soccer club ASO Chlef, the Hassiba Ben Bouali university, and the ruins of the basilica of Reparatus, who was bishop of Castellum Tingitanum from 465 to 475. A corner of the flooring of the basilica contained a mosaic labyrinth, the oldest known example of Christian use of this motif.

Geography

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.

History

Ancient Castellum Tingitii

The Roman citadel, Castellum Tingitanum, was a city of the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis. The site became known in the Arab era as Al-Asnam (Arabic for "sculptures") for an area of 600 by 300 metres (1,970 by 980 feet) containing many statues.