Capital of Southern Algeria: the oasis town of Ouargla, between image, staging and urban landscape during French colonization (1854-1962)
Capital of Southern Algeria: the oasis town of Ouargla, between image, staging and urban landscape during French colonization (1854-1962)

Summary/Abstract: Through the years, the Algerian Sahara space have had different status: a nomadic space, a scientific space (as a privileged field of research and study expeditions), and then industrial space with the discovery and the exploitation of oil deposits in Ouargla (1956). Today, the Sahara is mainly a touristic destination. Therefore, this paper aims to review the meanders of a particular course of change of status that the capital of the Algerian South, the oasis city of Ouargla, has known since its initial historic centre’s formation until the Algerian Independence (1962). Our approach is based on the study of the successive transformations of Ouargla’s image and its urban landscape, mainly during the period of the French occupation of this region (1854-1962)1 , in order to enhance its "traditional" and "integrated" built environment which was staged during the first half of the 20th century. This time frame has undoubtedly contributed to the transformation and enhancement of the urban space of Ouargla, and has changed the image of the city by making it more attractive acquiring a new status accordingly: a popular Saharan touristic destination. This status is unfortunately lost today due to the effects of globalization and mismanagement. In this paper, we will try to define the image of the city and to draw its portrait using the urban and architectural characteristics presented in the valuable iconography of the time (photographs, maps, postcards, drawings, engravings, etc.) depicting the urban and Saharan landscape of Ouargla in order to proceed to the reconquest of this lost touristic status through a new and more adequate image.

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