Rachgoun Explained

Rachgoun
Native Name:تلمسان
Native Name Lang:ar
Settlement Type:City
Pushpin Map:Algeria
Pushpin Label Position:left
Pushpin Relief:yes
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Algeria
Coordinates:35.324°N -1.4798°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Algeria
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name1:Aïn Témouchent
Subdivision Name2:Beni Saf
Population Total:1,450
Population As Of:1998
Blank Name:Climate
Blank Info:Csa

Rachgoun is a town in northwestern Algeria, in the district of Béni-Saf.

It is a small coastal village at the mouth of the Tafna wadi, 7 km west of the commune capital and facing its eponymous island - Rachgoun Island - located 2 km offshore.

The village is organised around two sandy beaches, Rachgoun beach crossed by the stream which flows into it, and, further east, Madrid beach, a small beach in a cove, from which it is separated by a rocky promontory.

History

The site of an old Punic trading post,[1] it has been the subject of extensive excavations, on which Serge Lancel in particular worked. It is located not far from Siga, the Numidian capital of Syphax. In the Zianides era, Rachgun was a port. In 1836, the French set up a garrison on the island as well as a military establishment on the right bank of the mouth of the Tafna, southwest of the tip of the Tour Carrée.

References

  1. It is the island of Acra to the Carthaginians and the Portus sigensis to the Romans.

Bibliography

• Achour Cheurfi, Dictionnaire des localités algériennes, Algiers, Casbah Editions, 2011