Djelfa
Algeria · Africa
About Djelfa
Djelfa (Arabic: الجلفة, romanized: al-Ǧilfah) is the capital city of Djelfa Province, Algeria and the site of ancient city and former bishopric Fallaba, which remains a Latin catholic titular see.
It has a population of 520,622 (2019 census). The city lies at the junction of the N1 and the N46 roads.
The area is notable for its abundance of Neolithic rock carvings dating from 7000 to 5000 BC. North of Djelfa town there is an imposing physical feature known as Rocher de Sel (English: Salt Rock) that resulted from the erosion of rock salts and marls by rain. To the west of the town Megalithic funerary structures are found.
During the Roman Empire, a Roman town called Fallaba was built on the site of Djelfa. That town lasted unto late antiquity.
In the 11th century, the Fatimids sent the Banu Hilal to the Tripolitania, Tunisia and Constantine areas against the Zirids. The town became an important trading post during the Hafsid era.
During Philippe Pétain's period, a concentration camp was placed in Djelfa.
Djelfa is located at an elevation of 3,734 feet (1,138 m) in the Ouled Naïl Range of north-central Algeria, between the towns of Bousaada and Laghouat...
Djelfa travel guide
Getting there
There are daily high-speed trains from Algiers.
1 Djelfa railway station. (updated May 2023)
See
1 Rock art. The area surrounding Djelfa is rich in archeological sites, in particular rock art. Around a thousand rock engravings and paintings have been found, some dating to nearly 10,000 years. Animals depicted in the rock art include antelope, rhinos and ostriches. (updated Sep 2021) 2 Rocher de Sel. A large rock salt massif, almost 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in diameter and 105 m (344 ft) tall. (updated Sep 2021)
Eat
1 Centre Food Djelfa, ☏ +213 660 21 22 22. Pizza shop. Has takeaway options. (updated Sep 2021)
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.