El Hamel
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name =El Hamel
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|settlement_type =Commune and town
|motto =
|image_skyline = El Hamel.jpg
|imagesize =
|image_caption = View of the northern side of the Ouled Naïl Range
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|image_map = DZ- 28 - El Hamel.svg
|mapsize = 180px
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|pushpin_map =Algeria
|pushpin_label_position =bottom
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|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = {{flag|Algeria}}
|subdivision_type1 = Province
|subdivision_name1 = M'Sila Province
|subdivision_type2 = District
|subdivision_name2 = Bou Saâda District
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|population_as_of = 2008
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|population_total =11018
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|timezone = CET
|utc_offset = +1
|coordinates = {{coord|35|8|N|4|5|E|display=inline}}
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El Hamel is a town and commune in M'Sila Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 10,195.[http://www.statoids.com/ydz.html Statoids]
El Hamel was built in the 11th century on two hills at the foot of Mount Omrane; Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the city resembles a medieval citadel below which flows the Great Oued. The village of the Saharan type, on a hill, while the zaouïa whose appearance resembles a fortress (ribât) rises on the second.
History
Many of the inhabitants descend from the so-called Hedjadjs (pilgrim) of El-Hamel who, returning from the Hajj pilgrimage settled here. The first of these inhabitants were the children of the noble Sidi Bouzid Ben Ali Ach'Charif Al-Hassani, from whom descend all Sharifs (descendants of MuhammadMA Cook, Muhammad, (Oxford University Press), 1983) p 13.) from the central Maghreb.
Description of the town
The old village of El-Hamel is built around Ain-Et'Touta (the Fountain of the Mulberry tree) is a ksar whose buildings recall those of the Kasbah of Algiers and the ksour of Ghardaïa and the old Bou-Saâda. The houses are juxtaposed. They communicate with one another through beautiful Sakifates; A sort of narrow streets crossed here and there by Ghorfates or suspended verandas that rest on old tree trunks, forming small tunnels that bring shelter, charm, and freshness.
File: Zaouïa El Hamel.JPG (Sufi) Mosquein Hamel]]Built on the left bank of the Oued Bou-Saâda, its imposing mass whose appearance is that of a fortress seems to watch over the village located below.
Zawiya
{{Main|Zawiyas in Algeria}}
{{See also|Rahmaniyya|Algerian Islamic reference|Malikism in Algeria|Sufism in Algeria}}
The creation of the Zaouïa complex dates back to the 19th century, founded by {{illm|Cheikh El Qasimi|ar|محمد بن أبي القاسم الهاملي|lt=Sidi Mohammed Ben Belqacem}} born in 1823 in the vicinity of Hassi Bahbah in the Djelfa Province. After he died in 1897, his daughter Lalla Zaynab succeeded him until 1904.
The zaouïa consists of a mosque, a Koranic school, and the mausoleum where the founder and his successors rest.
References
{{Portal|Algeria}}
{{reflist}}
{{M'Sila Province}}
{{coord|35|08|N|4|05|E|display=title|region:DZ_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}
Category:Communes of M'Sila Province
{{M'Sila-geo-stub}}