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   Algeria / Cities and Towns /
Aïn Beïda
Arabic:
'al-¢aīn al-baydā'
City in northeastern Algeria with 100,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate), on a plateau east of the Setif plains, in the Oum el Bouaghi province.
Aïn Beïda's economy is mainly based upon the local agriculture with grain as the main crop. Local mining extracts phosphates and salt.
Aïn Beïda is well-connected with other urban centres by road and rail. Constantine is 110 km northwest, Tebessa 90 km southeast, Guelma 110 km north and Batna 150 km west.
The centre of Aïn Beïda is French in style, with Algerian-style suburbs. The plateau around Aïn Beïda is full of shallow salt lakes, and the mountainous area to the east is dominated by forests.
History
Aïn Beïda was the site of a Roman settlement of which historians and archaeologists know little.
1848: The French establish a military post here, in order to control the Harakta tribe.
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