Skikda
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Skikda (Arabic: سكيكدة ) is a city in north eastern Algeria and a port on the Gulf of Stora, the ancient Sinus Numidicus. It was known as Philippeville until the end of the Algerian War of Independence in 1962.
It is located in Skikida Province.
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[edit] History
Skikda was founded in 1838 by the French on the ruins of an ancient Phoenician city which later flourished as a large Roman city called Rusicade, a Punic word which means "Promontory of fire". In the 5th century, the Roman port was destroyed by the Vandals.
An armed uprising in 1955 during the war of Independence left around 123 people dead, mainly French and those suspected of collaboration[1]. Reprisals by French forces may have killed 12,000 Algerians[2], though French sources put the number at 1,200.
[edit] Modern Skikda
The city had a population of 152,355 in 1998 (census figures).Natural gas, oil refining, and petrochemical industries were developed in the 1970s and pipelines have been built for their transportation. The city hall (a neo-moorish style palace) and the railroad station were designed by the Le Corbusier.
The city flag colours are blue and white. The current zip code is 21000. The incomes of the Municipality of Skikda are among the highest in North Africa. Skikda has the third largest commercial port in Algeria after Algiers and Oran. It has also a petrochemical terminal port and a smaller fishing port in Stora, and there are many beaches along the natural Mediterranean coastline.Тhere is also an airport.
[edit] References
- ^ Ben Abro, Assassination! July 14, University of Nebraska Press (2001), p251
- ^ K Gajendra Singh, Occupation case studies: Algeria and Turkey
[edit] Externals Links
- Skikda's Official Website
- [1]Skikda.info
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