Guerrara's ksar

El Guerrara or Guerrara is a commune in the wilaya of Ghardaïa in Algeria, located 115 km northeast of Ghardaïa. It is the second largest city in the wilaya.

The word Guerrara means in Arabic, a vast depression shaped like a basin where vegetation grows. It may also be an Arabized version of the Berber word “Tagrart,” which means the core, just as Ghardaïa is an Arabized version of the Berber name “Tagherdayt.”

The city was founded in 1631 by the Oulad Makha, who previously lived in Ghardaïa and Melika, because the old city of Ghardaïa was overcrowded. It lies on the caravan routes crossing the Sahara from east to west and from north to south.

The city, cut off from the bulk of the Ibadite community, welcomed other dissidents from the cities of the Mozabite pentapolis. Its population was divided between Berbers and Arabs, the former being the majority.

Far from the pentapolis, Guerrara presented itself as a dissident city and a privileged space for reform. It became the capital of the Mozabite reformist movement, which emerged within its walls from the end of the 19th century to the country’s independence. Sheikh Brahim Bayoud, a prominent figure in this reform, was born in the city; he emerged in the 1920s and led the El Hayat Institute, the first higher reformist institute founded in 1925.

El Guerrara has a religious education institute of Ibadite rite of global importance.

The Ksar of Guerrara has been classified as a national heritage site since 1998. It represents the first Mozabite transplant outside the Mzab valley. The region is home to many remnants of ksour predating the foundation of Guerrara, such as Ksar Lahmer and Lambarthakh.

The mosque of Guerrara was founded in the 17th century and has preserved the original mihrab arch in the middle of its prayer hall.

• Brahim Bayoud, a figure of the Mozabite reformist movement and politician, was born here in 1899.
• Mohamed Khobzi, a politician whose family originated from the city, lived here.

El Guerrara or Guerrara is a commune in the wilaya of Ghardaïa in Algeria, located 115 km northeast of Ghardaïa. It is the second largest city in the wilaya.

The word Guerrara means in Arabic, a vast depression shaped like a basin where vegetation grows. It may also be an Arabized version of the Berber word “Tagrart,” which means the core, just as Ghardaïa is an Arabized version of the Berber name “Tagherdayt.”

The city was founded in 1631 by the Oulad Makha, who previously lived in Ghardaïa and Melika, because the old city of Ghardaïa was overcrowded. It lies on the caravan routes crossing the Sahara from east to west and from north to south.

The city, cut off from the bulk of the Ibadite community, welcomed other dissidents from the cities of the Mozabite pentapolis. Its population was divided between Berbers and Arabs, the former being the majority.

Far from the pentapolis, Guerrara presented itself as a dissident city and a privileged space for reform. It became the capital of the Mozabite reformist movement, which emerged within its walls from the end of the 19th century to the country’s independence. Sheikh Brahim Bayoud, a prominent figure in this reform, was born in the city; he emerged in the 1920s and led the El Hayat Institute, the first higher reformist institute founded in 1925.

El Guerrara has a religious education institute of Ibadite rite of global importance.

The Ksar of Guerrara has been classified as a national heritage site since 1998. It represents the first Mozabite transplant outside the Mzab valley. The region is home to many remnants of ksour predating the foundation of Guerrara, such as Ksar Lahmer and Lambarthakh.

The mosque of Guerrara was founded in the 17th century and has preserved the original mihrab arch in the middle of its prayer hall.

• Brahim Bayoud, a figure of the Mozabite reformist movement and politician, was born here in 1899.
• Mohamed Khobzi, a politician whose family originated from the city, lived here.