Oujda

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Oujda (Berber: ⵡⴻⵊⴷⴰ,Wejda ; Arabic: وجدة‎‎) is the capital city of the Oriental region of eastern Morocco. It is located about 15 kilometres (9 miles) west of the Algerian border and about 55 km (34 miles) south of the Mediterranean Sea.

Etymology

There is a difference of opinion on the origin of Oujda's name, a group of researchers suggest that its name is derived from the Arabic word for units (وجدات) in reference to the ambushes carried out by Bashi-bazouks. However, it is likely that the name is linked to the hunt for Sulaiman Al-Chamakh who assassinated King Idris the first by order of the Abbasid Caliphate. They had sent him to kill the King who had established an emirate, independent of the Abbasid Caliphate, in today's Morocco. He poisoned the King before fleeing to the east. He was, however, tracked by the Moors who found and killed him in an area not far from current day Oujda. Ever since this event (which occurred around the same time Oujda became the capital of eastern Morocco) the city has been called Oujda.

History

There is some evidence of a settlement during the Roman occupation, which seems to have been under the control of Berbers rather than Romans.

Uqba ibn Nafi began the Umayyad-Arab conquest of the region, during the reign of the Umayyad Caliphate, a conquest which was completed in AD 705 by Musa bin Nusayr. The city was founded in 994 by Ziri ibn Atiyya, Berber king of the Zenata tribes. Further additions were made in 1048.

In the mid-11th century, Oujda acquired prominence through its strategic position on the road east from Sijilmasa. Throughout the history of the dynasties of the Muslim West, Oujda played an important strategic role among the Merinids, settled in Fes, in this case as a rear base in their conflict with the Abdalwadids of the Kingdom of Tlemcen.

The city was rebuilt in the 13th century by sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub. The city experienced great difficulty in making peace with its neighbours to the east, and sometimes to the west, because of its position in respect to the clashes between the Saadi dynasty and Turks. It was torn between the rulers of Fes and the disputed Tlemcen, and from the 16th century, it was contested by the Alaouite dynasty of Morocco and the Turks in Algiers. In 1692, Sultan Ismail[who?] led in the Turks, who established their hegemony on Algeria. Oujda fell again under Turkish rule in the following century for few weeks.

The French occupied it in 1844 and again in 1859. To the west of the city is the site of the major Franco-Moroccan Battle of Isly in 1844. The French had to withdraw because of the strong Moroccan resistance. In 1907 and 1908 Oujda was reconquered by General Bugeaud and Marshal Lyautey and used as a French military base to control eastern Morocco. The modern city owes much of its present form to the French, it developed along the roads built at that time.

The 1948 Anti-Jewish Riots in Oujda and Jerada occurred in this city. The crowd, sparked off by a minor incident, poured into the Jewish quarter. In the three hours that passed before the army could control the mob, five people (including one Frenchman) had been killed, thirty had been severely injured, shops and homes had been sacked.

In 2010, Rod Solaimani chronicled his trip to Oujda for MTV.

The Moroccan border with Algeria is just east of Oujda; on the other side of the border is the Algerian town of Maghnia. The border has been closed since 1994.

Geography

The city is located 60 km (37 mi) south of the Mediterranean sea and 15 km (9 mi) west of Algeria, with an estimated altitude of 450 metres (1,476 feet).

5 km (3 mi) south from city centre is located Jbel Hamra, a typical Mediterranean forest. Into the east of this forest is located Sidi Maafa park.

To the north of the city is the Rif area.

Architecture

The main characteristic of the city is having the old city in the centre. The old city maintains traditional features of the Moroccan architecture with its narrow and twisted alleys which leads to the houses and different markets such as jewelry market and the leather market.

Music

Gharnati refers to a variety of music originating in Andalusia. Its name is related, being derived from the Arabic name of the Spanish city of Granada.

Gharnati constitutes the musical mode most used in the Moroccan city of Oujda, where besides this musical kind is omnipresent and where one organizes each year in June the International Festival of the Gharnati music. Like Oran is Oujda the destination of raï.

Industry

Oujda has a cement works.

A techno-pole is under construction near the airport.

Transport

The city is served by Angads Airport, which has connecting flights to Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, Marseille and Paris.

The city is the endpoint of the main railroad from Casablanca via Fes and Taourirt before the border with Algeria. There are several day and night trains to and from the city, linking it to the western part of the country.

Apart from this rail link and many bus/coach services, the city also has Angads Airport offering both national and international destinations.

Town twinning

Since 2009, the city has been twinned with Trowbridge in England due to the huge number of diasporans, most of whom originate from villages close to Oujda. Trowbridge has the largest Moroccan community in the UK outside London.

• Trowbridge, UK, since 2009–10
• Lille, France
• Sevran, France
• Jouy-le-Moutier, France
• Aix-en-Provence, France (2007)
• Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• Sirte, Libya
• Oran, Algeria
• Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Belgium