Ténès

Ténès

within the Chlef wilaya
Coordinates: 36°30′44″N 1°18′16″E / 36.51222°N 1.30444°E / 36.51222; 1.30444Coordinates: 36°30′44″N 1°18′16″E / 36.51222°N 1.30444°E / 36.51222; 1.30444
Area
 • Total 101 km2 (39 sq mi)
Elevation 779 m (2,556 ft)
Population (2008)
 • Total 35,459
 • Density 350/km2 (910/sq mi)
Cap Ténès Lighthouse
Algeria
Location Cap Ténès
Ténès
Algeria
Coordinates 36°32′58.87″N 1°20′26.12″E / 36.5496861°N 1.3405889°E / 36.5496861; 1.3405889
Year first constructed 1861[1]
Foundation stone base
Construction stone tower
Tower shape quadrangular tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern white lantern, dark green lantern
Height 31.50 metres (103.3 ft)[1]
Focal height 94.50 metres (310.0 ft)[1]
Light source mains power
Intensity 1,000 W
Range 29 nautical miles (54 km; 33 mi)[1]
Characteristic Fl (2) W 10s.[2]
Admiralty number E6646
NGA number 22488
ARLHS number ALG-018[3]
Managing agent Office Nationale de Signalisation Maritime

Ténès (Berber languages: Tinas; Arabic: تنس‎) is a town in Algeria located around 200 kilometers west of the capital Algiers. As of 2000, it has a population of 35,000 people.

History

Ruins in Ténès

Ténès is an ancient Berber-Punic-Roman town which has existed since the 8th century BC. The city was founded on the site of an old Phoenician colony. During the Roman period, it was known as Cartenna. According to Ptolemy, the area was inhabited by the Bakoyta, a native Berber group.[4] The Romans occupied the city for around five centuries.

Later the town was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate for a short period. Under Islamic Umayyad rule, Ténès was an independent monarchy. The Sultan Hamid El Abd was the last ruler of the monarchy of Ténès. After the Berbers removed the Umayyad occupation during the Great Berber Revolt, the Kharijite Islamic denomination spread in the city and later Shia Islam dominated during the Fatimids rule. The city was conquered by the Sunni Muslim Berber empire of the Almohad Caliphate coming from present-day Morocco.

The Ottoman Empire attacked Ténès, defeated its army and annexed it to their vast empire in 1512. From that time Ténès lost its fame and importance and became an isolated town. Ténès Al-Atiqa (old-Ténès or the lighthouse of Sufism) was built by the Moors who escaped from Spanish persecution in the 15th century after the collapse of the Moorish states in Spain.

In 1843, Ténès was occupied by the French, who declared it a township and rebuilt the ancient Cartenna some two kilometers to the north of Ténès-al-Atiqa.

Present

At the present time Ténès is a small tourist town with five small hotels, two hospitals, a local museum, a port and a lighthouse. It has some antique sites such as the Phoenician and Roman tombs, the prehistoric caves in Sidi Merouane, the Great Mosque of Sidi Ahmed Boumaza[5] (built some 11 centuries ago), Bab El Bahr, Notre Dame de Ténès, The French cannons, along with many others.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Cap Tenes". Office Nationale de Signalisation Maritime. Ministere des Travaux Publics. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  2. ↑ List of Lights, Pub. 113: The West Coasts of Europe and Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Azovskoye More (Sea of Azov) (PDF). List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2015.
  3. ↑ "Western Algeria". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  4. ↑ Playfair, Robert Lambert (1891). Handbook for Travellers in Algeria and Tunis. J. Murray. pp. 246–247. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  5. ↑
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