OUARGLA

also spelled (after 1981) Wargla, town, east-central Algeria. It is situated on the western edge of a sebkha (large, enclosed basin) in the Sahara. One of the oldest settlements in the Sahara was made by the Ibadiyah, a Muslim heretical sect, at nearby Sedrata in the 10th century (ruins remain). In the 11th century they were attacked by Sunnite Muslims and fled to Ghardaa, 118 miles (190 km) west-northwest. The Ouargla site was then settled by Berbers and black Africans. The town remained autonomous but for a brief period of Turkish control in the 16th century. The French gained possession in 1872, and the present town was built around Fort Lutaud to the south after 1928. Ouargla is dominated by a large mosque and is walled with six gates. It has an arcaded marketplace and a Saharan museum. The town is surrounded by date palm groves and fruit and vegetable gardens irrigated by numerous wells, tapped from the underground Wadi Mya. There is a trade in livestock, woolen carpets, and basketry. Nearby oil wells to the southwest and at Hassi Messaoud, 50 miles (80 km) east-southeast, with its valuable deposits of oil and natural gas, have boosted the local economy and population. The town also has an airport. Pop. (1977 prelim.) mun., 77,354.