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Djelfa
Arabic:
jalfa
City in north-central Algeria with 170,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate), in the Ouled Nail Mountains at an elevation of 1,138 metres, in an area between the salt lakes and the Sahara.
It is the capital of Djelfa province with 890,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate) and an area of 66,415 km².
Djelfa is the only large city within a radius of more than 100 km, and it serves as a market centre for livestock raised by the seminomadic Arab Ouled Naïl confederation. The Ouled Naïl claim descent from the prophet Muhammad.
Djelfa is well-connected to other urban centres by road. Bou Saada lies 120 km northeast and Laghouat 110 km southwest.
North of Djelfa lies the impressive Salt Rock, while Megalithic funerary structures are found to the west.
HISTORY
7000 BCE: Beginning of a Neolithic settlements, leaving behind a wealth of rock carvings.
1852: Founded by the French as a military outpost.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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