Tlemcen

Tlemcen (tlɛmˈsɛn; تلمسان) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of 140,158 during the 2008 census. Former capital of the Central Maghreb, the city is a mix of Berber, Arab, 'Āndalusī, Ottoman, and Western influences. From this mosaic of influences, the city derives the title of capital of Andalusian art in Algeria. According to the author Dominique Mataillet, various titles are attributed to the city including "the pearl of the Maghreb", "the African Granada" and "the Medina of the West". The name Tlemcen (Tilimsān) was given by the Zayyanid King Yaghmurasen Ibn Zyan. One possible etymology is that it comes from a Berber word tilmas, meaning "spring, water-hole", or from the combination of the Berber words tala ("fountain"), the preposition m-, and sān ("two"), thus meaning "two fountains". Another proposed etymology is from the Zanata words talam ("junction") and sān ("two"), referring to the town's geographic position which links the desert regions to the south with the mountainous regions to the north. The areas surrounding Tlemcen were inhabited during the Neolithic period, as evidenced by the discovery of polished axes in the caves of Boudghene by Gustave-Marie Bleicher in 1875. There are three important prehistoric sites in the region: lake Karar, located one kilometer south of Remchi; the rock shelters of Mouilah, 5 km north of Maghnia; and the deposit called "d'Ouzidan", 2 km west of Aïn El Hout. The shelters found at the Mouilah and Boudghene sites present favorable habitat conditions for prehistoric man, who settled in the area for a long time. In AD 17, Tacfarinas led the Gaetuli to revolt against the Romans. Tlemcen became a military outpost of Ancient Rome in the 2nd century CE under the name of Pomaria. It was then an important city in the North Africa see of the Roman Catholic Church, where it was the center of a diocese.