Privince of Mostaghanem
Mostaganem (Arabic: mostaghanem), a city in north-western Algeria, situated on the Mediterranean Sea, on the Gulf of Arzew. It is the capital of Mostaganem province with 800,000 inhabitants (2008 estimate) and an area of 2,175 km². Mostaganem is the centre of an agricultural region and it also has some industries and tourism. Mostaganem is connected to other urban centres by road alone. Oran lies 80 km to the west and Algiers 350 km to the east.
The city is divided into two parts by a ravine of the seasonal river, Ain Sefra. To the southwest lie the modern quarters, and to the northeast, the old popular city which is called Tigdit. The coast line has both port facilities and, to the southwest, attractive beaches. Mostaganem has a university with 25,000 students.
The city was founded in the 11th century as Mustaghanem but has origins going back to Punic and Roman times, when it had the name Murustaga and Cartenna. There is an Almoravid citadel called Bordj el Mehal. In 1516 it was a commercial port in the Mediterranean sea. By 1700 it had come under Ottoman rule and in 1833 the city was taken by France. Algeria became independent in 1962.
Townships: Abdelmalek Ramdane, Achaacha, Ain Boudinar, Ain Nouissi, Ain Sidi Cherif, Ain Tedeles, Bled Touahria, Bouguirat, El Hassiane, Fornaka, Hadjadj, Hassi Mameche, Khadra, Kheireddine, Mansourah, Mesra, Mazagran, Mostaganem, Nekmaria, Ouled Boughalem, Oued el Kheir, Ouled Maallah, Ourea, Safsaf, Sayada, Sidi Ali, Sidi Belattar, Sidi Lakhdar, Sirat, Souaflia, Sour, Stidia, Tazgait.