Ghardaïa
Ghardaïa , town (1998 pop. 110,724), N Algeria. It is the chief town of the Mzab, a stony, barren valley of the N Sahara. Ghardaïa is a center of date production and of the manufacture of rugs and cloth. The city was founded in the 11th cent. by Muslim Kharijite sectaries fleeing persecution by the orthodox Muslims of the north. First occupied by French troops in 1854, Ghardaïa was not officially annexed to France until 1882.
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Mzab
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
...traders, they made the area a caravan junction. France occupied the Mzab in 1853 and annexed it formally in 1882. It was transferred to Algeria in 1962. Water is pumped from more than 4,000 wells and 6 dams. Ghardaïa is the region's principal town.
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