Jijel:
Coordinates: 36°48′N 5°46′E / 36.8, 5.767
Location of Jijel Province in Algeria
Location of the Jijel district-municipality in Jijel Province
Jijel (formerly known as Djidjelli, Gigeri or Gigery) is the capital of Jijel Province in northeastern Algeria. It is flanked by the Mediterranean Sea in the region of Corniche jijelienne, and has an estimated population of 148,000 inhabitants (2007).[citation needed]
Jijel is the administrative and trade centre for a region specializing in cork processing, leather tanning and steel-making. Local agriculture produces especially citrus fruits and grains. Fishing is also of great importance. Tourists (mainly Algerians) are attracted to Jijel for its landscapes and fine sand beaches. Being a resort town, Jijel can be a nice place for a vacation on the Mediterranean sea shore with many hotels and places to eat. There are Phoenician tombs nearby.
Due to the rugged landscape, Jijel is slightly isolated. However, it is connected by road to large cities like Bejaïa (90 km west), Setif (135 km southwest) and Constantine (150 km southeast). The city also has its own airport Jijel Ferhat Abbas Airport.
Jijel is built along modern patterns with wide streets framed by trees. The surroundings consist largely of dense cork-oak forest. A peninsula lies right out from the coast and there is a citadel to the north. There is a hospital, previously a catholic church (but which was demolished), mosques and The Jijel University.
Originally a Phoenician trading post, the city passed successively to the Romans (as Igilgili), the Vandals, the Arabs, the Genoese and, in the 16th century, to the Ottoman corsair Hayreddin Barbarossa. In July 1864, the French took the city. Resistance was organized under the direction of Shaban Aga and the French were driven out in October of the same year. Jijel remained a Corsair stronghold until captured by the French in 1839. Strong local resistance, finally subdued in 1851, resulted in the construction of three forts along its southern fringe as well as minimal colonization. The original town was devastated by an earthquake in 1856.
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