Travel Guide Mers-El-Kebir
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Located on the seaside on the Gulf of Oran, Sea-el-Kébir is a port town 7 km northwest of Oran. It was Oran's main port until mid-nineteenth century. Moreover, the name of the city means word to word "the great port" in Arabic. Thanks to its large bay, Sea-el-Kébir welcomes even from the antiquity of many boats and bears the name of Portus Divini (the port of the Gods).Because of its strategic position, the port of Mers-el-Kébir is subsequently the scene of numerous battles between the various dynasties in the Maghreb, from the Middle Ages. In order to conquer Oran, the Spaniards had to take first of all of Mers-el-Kébir.Much later, on July 3, 1940, a new battle took place there: the French fleet is being bombed by the Royal Navy. This is a real tragedy for France, as 1 297 sailors are dead. This attack, decided by Winston Churchill himself, ran short of the French fleet and the large number of victims. It was for the British to prevent any possible attack on this fleet against the Royal Navy, a potentially plausible attack since France had recently collaborated with Hitler who had the project to seize Britain…The 75 th anniversary of the tragedy of the Sea-El-Kébir was celebrated with particular distinction, chaired by the Ambassador of France, Bernard Emié, in the presence of the Chargé d 'affaires of the United Kingdom Embassy, and a large delegation of the Association of Children and Parents of the victims of the bombing. Admiral Yves Joly, maritime prefect of Toulon, commander of the Mediterranean and Black Sea, made the trip especially. The ceremony continued with a depot at the military necropolis of Petit-Lac.From the 1950 s, the port of Mers-El-Kébir was used by the French army as a base for its atomic tests until 1968.Today, Mers-el-Kébir is the base of the Algerian naval forces and a very quiet city.
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