Ghardaïa

Ghardaia is the capital of Ghardaia Province in Algeria, a Saharan city in the Wadi Mzab valley with a commune population of 93,423 recorded in 2008. Founded around 1048 by the Mozabites, an Ibadi Berber Muslim sect, it forms part of a pentapolis of five fortified hilltop towns built nearly a thousand years ago, and the M'Zab Valley was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982 for its distinctive settlement pattern and cultural values. The city is a major center of date production, with roughly 60,000 palm trees under cultivation, and is also known for rug and textile manufacturing.