Oran Summary - Algeria.com
Founded by Moorish Andalusian traders around AD 937, the city has been around a long time. Due to its position on the coast, it quickly developed into a city with a thriving trade industry and developed strong business ties with Spain. Unfortunately it wasn't too long before the Spanish took occupation of Oran. This soon changed when invading Ottoman forces captured the city but the Spanish rose to reclaim the city two years later, only to abandon it when it suffered from an earthquake in 1790. Much of the development and progress evident in Oran today is largely due to the French who eventually occupied the city in the 19th century. Oran is a lot larger than many think. The second largest city in Algeria, it is an industrial, cultural and educational centre for the country. Though part of it is covered by high-rise apartment buildings and fairly unattractive homes, there are older parts which make for interesting sight seeing. The Great Mosque built in 1769 is a good place to start. It is open to the public which is quite unusual in this part of the world. The Marabout Sidi Mohammed El Haouri is a very good example of Andalusian architecture. For all things historical, the Demaegth Museum has exhibitions which span thousands of years. The Cathedral de Sacre Coeur is a beautiful old building which has been converted into a public library. Though Oran is a costal town, the beaches in the immediate vicinity of the city are not terribly good. However a short trip away from the hustle and bustle will leave you with miles of beautiful sand and refreshing sea water. It may be a bit out of the way, but Oran is a great place to visit while traveling Algeria.
Oran Summary - Columbia Encyclopedia
Oran (ôräN') , city (1998 population 692,516), capital of
Oran prov., NW Algeria, a port on the Gulf of Oran of the
Mediterranean Sea. One of the country's leading ports, it
ships wheat, wine, alcohol, vegetables, meat, wool,
cigarettes, and iron ore. The city, surrounded by vineyards
and market gardens, is a commercial, industrial, and
financial center. Oran is divided into a modern,
French-style section and an old Spanish-type quarter with a
casbah (fortress). Its frequently visited 18th-century
mosque was bombed in 1995 by Islamist militants who objected
to the adoration of saints, a practice forbidden by Islam.
The site of modern Oran has been inhabited since prehistoric
times, but the city's founding is generally attributed to
Moorish Andalusian traders in the 10th cent. Oran's
subsequent prosperity, based on commerce, was interrupted
when the Moors began to engage in piracy, thus provoking
reprisals from Spain. Spanish forces captured and fortified
the city in 1509 and held it until the Turks arrived in
1708. Spain recovered Oran in 1732. The city was
successfully besieged (1791) by the district governor of
Mascara and was made a provincial capital of the Ottoman
Empire. French troops captured Oran in 1831 and began to
develop it as a naval base, along with nearby Mers-el-Kebir.
The building of the port and the construction of railroads
linking Oran with the interior made the city the economic
capital of W Algeria in the late 19th cent. Oran, held by
Vichy France during World War II, fell to the Allied forces
in Nov., 1942. Civil strife ravaged the city in the late
1950s; the French terrorist OAS (Secret Army Organization)
and the Algerian nationalist FLN (Front for National
Liberation) perpetrated violence against civilians. There
followed a general exodus of the European population, which
had been the largest, proportionally, of any North African
city. The city provided the setting for Albert Camus's novel
The Plague.