Title: QASR OUARGLA IN THE ALGERIAN DESERT: A
HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL STUDY
Author(s): Mohamed Elsayed ABOREHAB
Journal: SHEDET(Annual Peer-Reviewed Journal Issued
By The Faculty Of Archaeology, Fayoum University)
Issue: 3 Date: 2016
Pages: 122-170
Cite as: Mohamed Elsayed ABOREHAB. (2016).
QasrOuargla in the Algerian desert: A historical and architectural study.
SHEDET(Annual Peer-Reviewed Journal Issued By The Faculty Of Archaeology, Fayoum
University), 3 (2016) pp. 122-170. https://doi.org/10.36816/shedet.003.10
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QASR OUARGLA IN THE ALGERIAN DESERT:
A HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL STUDY
Mohamed Elsayed ABOREHAB
Before Islam, the African Sahara, had witnessed the spread of significant types
of desert architectural constructions, namely residential fortified settlements
known as "Qusur". The spread of Islam in Maghreb countries had a positive effect
on the commercial activity between the north and south of the African Sahara.
Consequently, these residential settlements or "Qusur" have turned into active
trade centers that extended along this Sahara.Al-Qusur Al-Sahrawiyahhave
received particular attention on the part of many researchers in the field of
the history of architecture. This attention was developed within the framework
of descriptive analytical and comparative studies of the layout and planning of
this type of constructions that sought to highlight the similarities and
differences among them. However, it is noticed that these studies covered only a
small number of those constructions compared to their great number as they
spread throughout the Algerian Desert and other regions of the African
Sahara.Therefore, the present paper reviews the features of the urban planning
of QasrOuargla in the South-East of the Middle Maghreb Desert as one of the most
important desert urban settlements. These settlements played significant roles
in the history of this region and Algeria in general all over the stages of its
Islamic history up till now. This Qasr has incorporated all the essential
elements of urbanization, as it had all means of fortification such as trenches,
walls, towers and gates. Furthermore, the Qasr had a government headquarter,
military garrison fortress represented by the "Qasaba" and a mint. It was also
an outstanding trade and economic center among Al-Qusur Al-Sahrawiyah in
Algeria. This study is particularly significant as this Qasr still maintains a
great deal of its architectural constructions and it is still populated while
many other Al-Qusur Al-Sahrawiyah have been deserted and become extinct.