Thénia
Encyclopedia
Thénia with around 40,000 inhabitants, is the chief town in the daïra
of the same name, in the wilaya of Boumerdès
, in Kabylie
in northern Algeria
. The name derives from the Berber
phrase Tizi n At Aycha (via the Arabic, Theniet Beni Aicha), which means "the mountain pass of the Aycha tribe" -- the prefix "At" means "tribe" in Berber. The steep-sided pass, which is only about 800 metres wide at its narrowest point, marks the transition between the Mitidja and the Grande Kabylie.
During the French occupation, the town was renamed Ménerville
, after Charles-Louis Pinson de Ménerville
(1808-1876), the first president of the court of appeals in Algiers
. It resumed the name of Thénia a few years after independence in 1962.
Thénia is located on the main road from Algiers to Constantine
, about forty kilometres east of Algiers, about ten kilometres inland from the coast, at an altitude of 300 metres—an excerpt from the 1962 Michelin map of Algeria showing the location can be seen here. Between the town and the coast, the scrub-covered Djebel bou Arous rises to a height of around 400 metres and then falls more gently to the coast. South and east is the valley of the Oued Isser, whose sides rise to around 600 metres and are deeply incised by streams; in many places the slopes are covered with vineyards and olive-groves.
In 1944, the town had 2,656 inhabitants, of which the majority, 1,929, were European pieds noirs while the commune or district had 12,755, of which 2,640 were pieds noirs.
At least four people were killed and around twenty injured by a car bomb outside a police station in the town on 29 January 2008.
Daïra
A daïra |circle]]; plural dawaïr) is an administrative division of a wilaya in Algeria and in Western Sahara. Another transliteration of the word is Daerah.*Daïra of Algeria*Daïra of Western Sahara-See also:* Provinces of Algeria...
of the same name, in the wilaya of Boumerdès
Boumerdès
Boumerdès is the capital city of Boumerdès Province, Algeria. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea. It had a population of 28,500 in 1998 and 15,000 in 1987....
, in Kabylie
Kabylie
Kabylie or Kabylia , is a region in the north of Algeria.It is part of the Tell Atlas and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Kabylia covers several provinces of Algeria: the whole of Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia , most of Bouira and parts of the wilayas of Bordj Bou Arreridj, Jijel,...
in northern Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. The name derives from the Berber
Kabyle language
Kabyle or Kabylian is a Berber language spoken by the Kabyle people north and northeast of Algeria. Estimates about the number of speakers range from 5 million to about 7 million speakers worldwide, the majority in Algeria.-Classification:The classification of Kabyle is Afro-Asiatic, Berber and...
phrase Tizi n At Aycha (via the Arabic, Theniet Beni Aicha), which means "the mountain pass of the Aycha tribe" -- the prefix "At" means "tribe" in Berber. The steep-sided pass, which is only about 800 metres wide at its narrowest point, marks the transition between the Mitidja and the Grande Kabylie.
During the French occupation, the town was renamed Ménerville
Ménerville
Ménerville is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-References:*...
, after Charles-Louis Pinson de Ménerville
Charles-Louis Pinson de Ménerville
Charles-Louis Pinson de Ménerville , the first president of the court of appeals in Algiers, was born in Paris on April 8, 1808.In 1831, just after the French conquest of Algeria, Ménerville was appointed secretary of the health department of the port of Algiers. In 1834, he became a defence...
(1808-1876), the first president of the court of appeals in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. It resumed the name of Thénia a few years after independence in 1962.
Thénia is located on the main road from Algiers to Constantine
Constantine, Algeria
Constantine is the capital of Constantine Province in north-eastern Algeria. It was the capital of the same-named French département until 1962. Slightly inland, it is about 80 kilometres from the Mediterranean coast, on the banks of Rhumel river...
, about forty kilometres east of Algiers, about ten kilometres inland from the coast, at an altitude of 300 metres—an excerpt from the 1962 Michelin map of Algeria showing the location can be seen here. Between the town and the coast, the scrub-covered Djebel bou Arous rises to a height of around 400 metres and then falls more gently to the coast. South and east is the valley of the Oued Isser, whose sides rise to around 600 metres and are deeply incised by streams; in many places the slopes are covered with vineyards and olive-groves.
In 1944, the town had 2,656 inhabitants, of which the majority, 1,929, were European pieds noirs while the commune or district had 12,755, of which 2,640 were pieds noirs.
At least four people were killed and around twenty injured by a car bomb outside a police station in the town on 29 January 2008.