Sétif

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History

Sétif was the capital of the first Amazigh kingdom established after the destruction of Carthage. The French occupied the town in 1838. Sitifis was founded by the Romans, during the reign of Nerva, as a colony for veterans. The ruins of this are still visible."Setif & Djemila", "Morocco, Algeria & Tunisia", Geoff Crowther & Hugh Findlay, editors, Lonely Planet, April 1992, 2nd Edition, p. 296.] A Roman mausoleum may be found in the outskirts of the city as well as Byzantine ruins.

As the town grew, around 297 A.D, the province of Mauretania Sitifensis was established, with Sitifis as the central city. From this point on until the 19th century when the French occupied the area, almost no historical information can be found on the city. In 1838, a French garrison, or military post was established.

étif massacre

On May 8 1945, one day after the formal end of World War II in Europe, an uprising against the occupying French forces in Sétif and the nearby towns Guelma and Kherrata resulted in the deaths of 104 pied-noirs. The uprising was suppressed through what is now known as the Sétif massacre. Estimates of Algerian casualties vary widely from 2,000 to 40,000 (see Setif massacre for details).

Economy

The local economy deals both with trade and industries. The trade is mainly in grain and livestock from the surrounding region. Locally produced wheat is processed by local factories to produce semolina, couscous and noodles. Other industries are woodworking, manufacture of carpets and metal handicrafts. Zinc is extracted from nearby deposits and there are hydroelectric development to the north. It has become the commercial center of a region where textiles are made, phosphates are mined and cereals grown. A large amusement park is located in the center of the city where the city Zoo can be found. The center of the park has a man made lake where visitors can enjoy pedalos.

Climate

The fact that Sétif is located on the High Plateaus at an elevation of 1,096 metres, makes Sétif one of the coldest areas in Algeria. The Wilaya or province of Sétif endures some of the coldest weather in Algeria where it can snow up to 40 cms. Flash floods are rare but have recently occurred around the spring and fall seasons. The summer is fairly hot where extreme heat waves are common around the month of July where temperatures can sometimes even reach 40°C.