Wargla

Wargla, city, east-central Algeria. It is situated on the western edge of a sabkha (large, enclosed basin) in the Sahara. One of the oldest settlements in the Sahara was made by the Ibāḍiyyah, 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 Ghardaïa, 118 miles (190 km) west-northwest. The Wargla site was then settled by Berber (Amazigh) and black African peoples. The town remained autonomous except for a brief period of Turkish control in the 16th century. The French gained possession in 1872, and the present city was built around Fort Lutaud to the south after 1928.

Wargla is dominated by a large mosque and is walled with six gates. It has an arcaded marketplace and a Saharan museum. The city 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 city also has an airport. Pop. (2008) 187,145.