Travel Guide Touggourt

On the northern edge of the Grand Erg Oriental, 165 km northeast of Ouargla, Touggourt is the most important city on the Oued R'hir, a fossil river. Capital of the Ouled Djellab dynasty, the city is famous for its dates and its ksar with alleys covered with portions of palm tree trunks. It was the starting point of the Black Cruise that led Citroën vehicles to Timbuktu in 1923. A column erected on the main square of the city recalls this sacred "rally". Also to be seen, in the city's cemetery, the tombs of the Kings, stone "milestones" sheltered under the beautiful dome of a koubba. South of Touggourt, about ten kilometers away, Temacine stands on a hill, surrounded by a protection of palm trunks. Further on, Tamelhat is a small oasis known for its zaouïa of the Tidjani brotherhood. Its 13th century mosque houses the tomb of Sidi el-Hadj Ali, the founder of the city. Also worth seeing, the ksar abandoned in the early 1990s after rains ravaged the mud brick houses. Near Temacine, the sacred lake of Merdjedja, with very salty waters, hosts a festival every August 20.