City in western Algeria with 860,000 inhabitants (2003 estimate),
situated on the Gulf of Oran, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea.
It
is the capital of Oran province with 1.4 million inhabitants (2005
estimate) and an area of 2,121 km².
Oran
has a busy port shipping natural petroleum and natural gas, and many
industrial products, as well as importing an even wider range of
products. Together with the fishing port of Mers el-Kebir does it form
the second largest port in Algeria, second only to Algiers. Oran has a
much small-scale industries, located to the southeastern districts. Oran
produces plastic items, chemicals and processed food. From the local
agriculture, the dominating products are wine, cereals, vegetables and
fruit.
Oran
has excellent connections with other urban centres of Algeria by rail
and road. There is an international airport 20 km to the south, as well
as ferry connections with Marseilles and Sète in France and Alicante in
Spain.
Oran
has two parts, the old one with buildings from the Arab, Berber, Ottoman
and Spanish periods, and the new one which was built by the French since
1831. In the old town, the Spanish and Ottoman quarters can easily be
distinguished. The Cathedral of Saint-Louis lies in the Spanish, while
the Ottoman is dominated by the late 18th century Great Mosque. The
Kasbah lies next to the Spanish town. The French town is the centre for
companies and governmental offices. Most apartments are located here as
well.
Oran
has two universities, The University of Oran established in 1965 and the
University of Science and Technology of Oran, established in 1975. There
are also higher learning institutions for music, dramatic arts,
meteorology and telecommunications |
