Touggourt

Touggourt توقرت
City
Monument de Citroen, Touggourt
Location of Touggourt commune within Ouargla Province
Touggourt Location of Touggourt within Algeria
Coordinates: 33°06′N 6°04′E / 33.100°N 6.067°E / 33.100; 6.067Coordinates: 33°06′N 6°04′E / 33.100°N 6.067°E / 33.100; 6.067
Country	Algeria
Province	Ouargla
District	Touggourt
Area
• Total	216 km2 (83 sq mi)
Elevation	62 m (203 ft)
Population (2008)
• Total	143,270
• Density	660/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+01)
Postal code	30002

Touggourt (Arabic: ﺗﻮﻗﺮت‎‎; Berber: , lit. the gateway or the gate) is a city and commune, former sultanate and capital of Touggourt District, in Ouargla Province, Algeria, built next to an oasis in the Sahara. As of the 2008 census, the commune had a population of 39,409 people, up from 32,940 in 1998, and an annual growth rate of 1.8%. However, Touggourt's urban area includes the communes of Nezla, Tebesbest and Zaouia El Abidia, for a total population of 146,108.

Touggourt is notable for its date trees. It was formerly surrounded by a moat, which the French filled up. Bradt Travel Guides describe it as "largely a modern town of block architecture and as such is largely unattractive. The centre is quiet most of the day due to the heat but is more active at night when people take to the streets."

In 1414 the Sultanate of Tuggert was founded in southern Algeria. The known Sultans (and one Sultana) were:

In 1854 the sultanate was abolished by the French colonial authorities in Algeria. Touggourt, as it is now spelled, becomes one of the initially six (1902), then four (1905) autonomous administrative districts constituting the Territoires du Sud (Southern Territories), which in 1957 are first joint, then reorganized into two regular French départements; Tuggert becomes part of Oasis (prefecture seat Quargla).