Sidi Okba Explained

Official Name:Sidi Okba
Native Name:سيدي عقبة
Settlement Type:Commune
Mapsize:180
Pushpin Map:Algeria
Pushpin Mapsize:300px
Pushpin Label Position:above
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Algeria
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Algeria
Subdivision Name1:Biskra Province
Subdivision Type2:District
Area Total Km2:254,55
Population As Of:2008
Population Total:33,509
Population Density Km2:132
Utc Offset:+1
Coordinates:34.75°N 59°W

Sidi Okba (Arabic: سيدي عقبة) is a commune in the Biskra Province, Algeria. It was named after the Muslim General Uqba ibn Nafi who died there in 683 AD. The nearest big city is Biskra which is located 18 km away.

Sidi Okba sits on an oasis. In 1911 it was described by Baedeker as "the religious center of the Zab". Baedeker stated that the town founded by pilgrims visiting the tomb of Sidi Okba who died in a nearby town called Thouda. The Sidi Okba Mosque, which was built around Okba's tomb, is the oldest Islamic monument in the country.[1]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Jean Paul Charnay. La vie musulmane en Algérie: d'après la jurisprudence de la première moitié du XXe siècle. 1965. Pr. Univ. de France. 355.