HISTORIC INSIGHT

Prehistory:

   Several zones of Ghardaïa concealed vestiges dating from prehistory, in particular of the age of the first quaternary one. The vestiges of the prehistoric man were discovered in the area, thanks to the excavations undertaken by the professors: Pierre Roffo, YVES Bonnet, Joel Abonneau, Nadjib Ferhat, Malika Rachid… etc

A)-The industry of the stone:

- Site of the area of El-Menéa

- Site of the area of Metlili,

- Site of the area of Noumerate.

- Site of the area of Laâdira Ghardaïa

B) - funerary vestiges symbolic systems:

- Site Aâmud Laâmiyed Guerrara,

- Site Garat And-ttaâm Bounoura… etc

- Bouhraoua Site.

C) - the rock engravings disseminated in the areas of:

- Oukhira Site in El-Atteuf.

- Intiça Site and Moumou with Béni Isguène,

- Bouhraoua Site

- Site the old man ksar of Baba Saad in Ghardaïa,

- Site of Sidi Mbarek in Berriane… etc

- Site Atfat Al katba in Daïa Ben Dahoua.

- Like along two banks of Mzab valley.

According to scientific researches these engravings date between 18,000 years A.J.C and 5,000 years A.J.C from LYBYCO BERBER period in the Bronze Age.

- ROFFO. Pierre

   Paleolithic civilizations of Me Zab 1934

- YVES Bonnet

   Rupestral engravings of Me zab. 1962.  

- JOEL abonneau:

   The prehistory of Me zab 1986

- NADJIB Ferhat:

   Rupestral art integrated in an urban allotment (the case of the site of the View-point of Blessed - Isguène) 2001

The Middle Ages

     Ibadhites who were the pioneers of this civilization and the first builders of the valley of Me zab there elected residence after having chosen the way of the exile which led them town from TAHERT, capital of the Rostomide state, after its destruction in 909, and after an episode of galley and wandering chose in the final analysis to settle definitively in the M’ zab valley. however hostile to any kind of life, inhospitable, and characterized by the strong aridity of its ground as well as the scarcity of its water resources.

Ibadhites undertook the progressive urbanisation of this valley, consequently with the advent of the halqua of Azzaba ibadite from (10th century J.C.). By institutionalizing the cultural practice, by teaching the populations of the valley the importance of the institution and its primacy on the tribal or individual action and by establishing the standardization as bases of any action, the sheiks of the halqua succeeded in engaging a process of urbanisation of all the valley and beyond Mzab, which was spread out over more than ten centuries.

   Previously, the Mzab valley had known groupings tribal enguirlandement, dated between the 8th and the 10th century, it is the ruins of the first Berber ksours of the valley preceding the creation of the pentapole. The ksours fallen into ruin appear among the famous vestiges,.

As illustration, we can quote the vestiges of the following ksars:

- Ksar de Talazdit (wool ball) close to the dam El Atteuf.

- Ksar de Aoulawal (martyr) in the oasis of El Atteuf.

- Ksar de Tamezert in the palm grove of Bounoura

- Ksar of Agherm-ouadday in the south of the city of Mélika founded in 1012.

- Ksar de Baba Saâd which overoverlooks the town of Ghardaïa founded in 1004.  

- Ksar Taourirt of El-menéaa in 10th century.

- Ksour Tirichine, Agnounay, Tlat Moussa in the palm grove of Beni-Isguène

   With the advent of the halqua, the mozabites succeeded in setting the bases of a new life distinguished by a perfect urbanization, which led to the development of these refractory regions - at the origin - to an enduring establishment.

   This installation has given birth to five splendid cities equipped each one with its palm grove. These cities were built successively according to the same structural diagram during the period going from 1012 to 1353 along the bed of the Me zab valley.

 ------------------------

 www.opvm.dz

GENERAL PRESENTATION OF THE WILAYA GENERAL PRESENTATION OF THE WILAYA

Ghardaïa is located at the center of the Northern part of the Sahara. Result of the administrative division of the Algerian territory on 1984.

Wilaya of Ghardaïa is limited:

In North by Wilaya of Laghouat (200 km);

In North East by Wilaya of Djelfa (300 km);

In the East by Wilaya of Ouargla (200 km);

In the South by Wilaya of Tamanrasset (1,470 km);

In South-west by Wilaya of Adrar (400 km);

In the West by Wilaya of El-Bayadh (350 km).

Ghardaia covers a surface of 86,560 km2 being distributed as follows:

   It is characterized by plains in the Terminal Continental, of the sandy areas, the Chebka and the whole of the central region and extend from North in the South on approximately 450 km and, it Is in West on approximately 200 km.      

   The rock Escarpments and the oases determine the landscape in which the cities of the pentapole of Me Zab are localised and around of which revolve other oases (Berriane, Guerrara, Zelfana, Metlili and much more far in the South El-Ménéa).

GEOGRAPHICALOUTLINEOFTHEWILAYAOFGHARDAÏA

PHYSICAL DATA

   The geomorphologic unit on which the M’zab valley stands is a rock plate, the HAMADA, the landscape is characterized by a vast stony extent where a naked rock of brown and blackish color levels.

   This plate was masked by strong fluvial erosion of the early Quaternary that cut in its southern part of the flat-topped hills and formed valleys. The unit names the CHEBKA “Net” because of the tangle of its valleys. The M’ Zab valley crosses this net of 38,000 km2 of the North-West towards South-east.

   The Me Zab valley reached the height of GHARDAIA, an altitude of 500 meters. It is in the hollow of the M’Zab valley, on rock pitons, that set up the pentapole. Each of these five (05) quoted is surrounded by hills gullied by rain erosion.

CLIMATOLOGY

   The climate of the wilaya of Ghardaïa as in the other areas of the Sahara is characterized by summers with torrid heats and soft winters.

   Pluviometry:

   Precipitations are very weak and irregular. In Ghardaia, they vary between 13 and 68 mm over fifteen (15) days average duration a year.

   The temperature:

   The hot period starts in May and lasts until September.The average temperature recorded in July is of 36.3°C, the absolute maximum of this period reached 47 °C. For wintery time, the average temperature recorded in January does not exceed 9.2 °C, the absolute minimum of this period reached -1 °C.

   Winds:

   For certain periods of the year, in general in March and April.

The sand winds are very frequent in the area of El-Ménéa especially during spring, April, May and June.

As regards the Sirocco, in the zone of GHARDAIA , we can note an annual average of 11 days/ a year, for the period going from May to September.

 ------------------------

 www.opvm.dz

 DEFENSIVE BUILDINGS

Each Ksar, has a distinguished defensive system. In addition to the famous wall of Béni-Isguen, which is the first classed monument in Mzab on 1957, we will quote the front of the Ksar of Bounoura and the bulwark of Ghardaia. There are also garlanded ford towers, throughout the valley, some dwellings in the environment and the palm groves, including the famous gateway cities. The whole constitutes with the minaret of the mosque an integrated defensive system.

The next step after choosing the location of the city, is establishing the delimitation of its walls. These are interspersed with gateways and towers. The walls foreshadowed the outlines of the city. Once the houses walls were, in part, an element of defense infrastructure.

The cities are protected by ramparts and walls of houses, as well as defense watchtowers. The enclosure was monitored by bordj (tower)-shaped doors, forming the end point of the streets.

 ------------------------

 www.opvm.dz