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Cemetery at Orleansville, Algeria
Although, in 1844, the Jewish community of Orléansville numbered only ten members--approximately half of whom came from Miliana, a town 70 kilometers up river--they played a large role in the town's economic and commercial success. By 1941 their number had grown to 662. This cemetery would have been the burial site of the Jews who died in Orléansville's 1954 and 1980 earthquakes, as well as the 1954 to 1962 Algerian war for Independence [1]. Although the exact location of the Jewish cemetery at Orléansville is unknown, nearby cemeteries include Cimetière de Sidi Yahia Bouâllach, Cimetière Sidi Laroussi, Cimetière Sidi Ameur, Cimetière des Ouled Sidi Bouali, and Cimetière de Zbabedja [2].
Description
Orléansville, or Ech-Cheliff, is a northern Algerian town situated along the Chelif River and south of Ténès. Founded by the French in 1843, Orléansville was built upon the site of the ancient Roman settlement of Castellum Tingitanum. Today, Orléansville is an agricultural center, best known for its wheat and barley crops, as well as a rail junction between Algiers and Oran. Orléansville experienced two major earthquakes in 1954 and 1980: the 1980 earthquake registered at a magnitude of 7.3 and destroyed over half of the city’s buildings. As such, the town changed its name from El-Asnam to Ech-Cheliff or Orléansville in order to avoid associations with the devastating earthquakes [3].
Sources
[1] Richard Ayoun, "Orléansville (El Asnam, Ech-Chelif, Ar. al-Shalif)," Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman, Brill Online, 2014, Reference, Wellesley College, 19 June 2014 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/orleansville-el-asnam-ech-chelif-ar-al-shalif-SIM_000132>.
[2] "Cemetery near Chlef, Algeria," Google Maps, N.d., accessed June 19, 2014, https://www.google.com/maps/search/cemetery+near+Chlef,+Algeria/@36.1691589,1.3551378,20556m/data=!3m1!1e3.
[3] "Ech-Cheliff." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2014. Web. 10 Jun. 2014. <http://0-school.eb.com.albert.aa.edu/levels/high/article/22759>.
Photos
صور قديمة لبلدية الشلف. AlgeriaEarth.Blogspot.com. N.d. Accessed July 18, 2014, http://stock.encyclopedie-afn.org/h/av/orleansville/avion.jpg.
"Avion orleansville S." Chlef Photos. VitamineDZ.com. N.d. Accessed July 18, 2014, http://www.vitaminedz.com/photos/132/132049-avion-orleansville-s.jpg.
