Aïn El Turk
Encyclopedia
Ain el-Turck is a the capital of Ain el-Turck District Located about fifteen kilometers from Oran
, which contains nine municipalities. It now host an important seaside resort.
It also gives its name to one of the beaches in the region of Oran.
Over the centuries, the population of El Eurfa plain (known later as Ain el Turck) has significantly increased. Two types of people lived there and cohabited :
There were nomadic people who practice transhumance
, wandering between the plains of El Eurfa, Boutlelis and Messreghinn, except in some special cases they did not go beyond the Sabkha
in the South and the forest Madagh in the West, These nomadic tribes lived together and traded with sedentary or sedentarized tribes who practiced agriculture and beekeeping
around Ain el Turck. These sedentary people sold their products at Mers el-Kebir and Oran
, they also sold their products to nomadic tribes, but most of the time they swapped their products with sheeps as they supply them with meat and wool.
from the only major road, which was rather a road that connected les Andalouse and Mers-el-Kebir and Oran via Bousfer called "la Route des Crêtes" which was very rocky and took new directions at Ain Khadija (later, the road was named 'Ploteau road'), joining Ain el Turck at the small village Naqous, so named in Arabic because of the bells of the first church in the area "St. Anthony of Padua" (the word 'Naqous' means bell, in Arabic).
However, there were many other ways relied the village to St Roch, Cape Falcon, Coralès , to Les-Andalouses, the Daya and Bousfer.
Seaway has been used to link the city with Oran and Mers-el-Kebir, as there were links between these 2 cities when not at war, we know only that Turkish troops used the sea when coming to pick up the taxes
Forest trees especially pine and cedar are common south of the village down the mountain.
Indigenous people cultivated fruit trees such as almond, fig, the Jujubie, and vine also
But the most widespread plant was the pear used as a hedge of protection that had the triple advantage
You could find edible plants as a type of wild green asparagus, beautiful sea that was called "the wild white beans", chestnuts, the fennel, chicory, watercress.
There are also many mushrooms but they are not consumed (according to botanists, we could count on more than 30 species of which at least a dozen were edible)
Flowers were particularly numerous. Hawthorn and the arbutus, the aloe el the Asphodèles. The gladioli. Blueberries, worries, the bolts of gold, tulips and daisies wild vinaigrette , Lesjacinihes wild, the ephemeral poppy, lavender
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
, which contains nine municipalities. It now host an important seaside resort.
It also gives its name to one of the beaches in the region of Oran.
History
Centuries ago, Ain el Turck was a plain called El Eurfa which extends from St Roch till Les Andalouses.Over the centuries, the population of El Eurfa plain (known later as Ain el Turck) has significantly increased. Two types of people lived there and cohabited :
There were nomadic people who practice transhumance
Transhumance
Transhumance is the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and to lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Only the herds travel, with...
, wandering between the plains of El Eurfa, Boutlelis and Messreghinn, except in some special cases they did not go beyond the Sabkha
Sabkha
Sabkha is a transliteration of the Arabic word for a salt flat. Sabkhas are supratidal, forming along arid coastlines and are characterized by evaporite-carbonate deposits with some siliciclastics. Sabkhas form subaerial, prograding and shoaling-upward sequences that have an average thickness of a...
in the South and the forest Madagh in the West, These nomadic tribes lived together and traded with sedentary or sedentarized tribes who practiced agriculture and beekeeping
Beekeeping
Beekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper keeps bees in order to collect honey and other products of the hive , to pollinate crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers...
around Ain el Turck. These sedentary people sold their products at Mers el-Kebir and Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
, they also sold their products to nomadic tribes, but most of the time they swapped their products with sheeps as they supply them with meat and wool.
Seaway and Roads
In 1831, the area where the village would be built was a kind of a cul-de-sacCul-de-sac
A cul-de-sac is a word of French origin referring to a dead end, close, no through road or court meaning dead-end street with only one inlet/outlet...
from the only major road, which was rather a road that connected les Andalouse and Mers-el-Kebir and Oran via Bousfer called "la Route des Crêtes" which was very rocky and took new directions at Ain Khadija (later, the road was named 'Ploteau road'), joining Ain el Turck at the small village Naqous, so named in Arabic because of the bells of the first church in the area "St. Anthony of Padua" (the word 'Naqous' means bell, in Arabic).
However, there were many other ways relied the village to St Roch, Cape Falcon, Coralès , to Les-Andalouses, the Daya and Bousfer.
Seaway has been used to link the city with Oran and Mers-el-Kebir, as there were links between these 2 cities when not at war, we know only that Turkish troops used the sea when coming to pick up the taxes
Water Sources
There was in the plain of what will become Ain el Turck at least eight sources of water:- The two sources of Ain Ouzel and Cape Falcon
- Ain Ouansar near the farm Emeral
- Source of St Maurice
- Ain el Turck
- Ain Atrouss (farm Clairefontaine-Navarre)
- Bally source (barranco Bouisseville)
- St Rock source
Ecology
Apart from some woods and groves located down the hills, vegetation was predominantly dwarf palms (Duma), Alfa tufts, some diss, lentisk (especially at the dunes), juniper , thorns, herbs, agave , Reeds and a multitude of flowers and plants which were used as forage.Forest trees especially pine and cedar are common south of the village down the mountain.
Indigenous people cultivated fruit trees such as almond, fig, the Jujubie, and vine also
But the most widespread plant was the pear used as a hedge of protection that had the triple advantage
- Requires no maintenance
- Provide fruit
- Ensure effective protection of the house or the pen
You could find edible plants as a type of wild green asparagus, beautiful sea that was called "the wild white beans", chestnuts, the fennel, chicory, watercress.
There are also many mushrooms but they are not consumed (according to botanists, we could count on more than 30 species of which at least a dozen were edible)
Flowers were particularly numerous. Hawthorn and the arbutus, the aloe el the Asphodèles. The gladioli. Blueberries, worries, the bolts of gold, tulips and daisies wild vinaigrette , Lesjacinihes wild, the ephemeral poppy, lavender