Dahla ( Arabic: الداخلة ) is a city in Morocco -controlled parts of Western Sahara . The population according to the 2004 census is 58 104 people [2] . It is located 550 km south of El Ayun , on a narrow peninsula off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean . The city is also the administrative center of the Wadi al-Dahab al-Kuwira region .
| City | |||
| Dahla | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| الداخلة | |||
 | |||
| |||
| A country | Morocco [1] / Sahara Arab Democratic Republic [1] | ||
| History and Geography | |||
| Founded | 1502 | ||
| Former names | Villa Cisneros | ||
| Center height | |||
| Timezone | UTC + 0 | ||
| Population | |||
| Population | 58 104 people ( 2004 ) | ||
| Official language | arabic, berber | ||
| Digital identifiers | |||
| Postcode | |||
Dakhla was founded in 1502 by Spanish colonists under the name Villa Cisneros ( Spanish: Villa Cisneros ). During the colonial period, the Spanish authorities made the city on the Rio de Oro Peninsula the center of the province of the same name , one of the two provinces of Spanish Sahara . They built a military fortress and a Catholic church, which became local attractions. During the Spanish Civil War , there was a prison in the city, one of the prisoners of which was the writer Pedro Garcia Cabrera .
During the 1960s , during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco , one of the three airports in Western Sahara, Dakhla, was built in the city. From 1976 to 1979 , Dakhla was the center of the Moorish province of Tiris al-Garbia . Since 1979, controlled by the authorities of Morocco.
The basis of the city’s economy is fishing . The Moroccan authorities are making some efforts to give the city the status of a tourist center. This is facilitated by the unique geography of the peninsula, which protects an extended bay from ocean waves, but does not impede the penetration of winds, which creates favorable conditions for kitesurfing and windsurfing .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 This settlement is located in the part of Western Sahara controlled by Morocco . According to the Constitution of the Sahara Arab Democratic Republic , these lands are located on the territory of the Sahara Arab Democratic Republic . In fact, part of the region is not controlled by the Sahara Arab Democratic Republic .
- ↑ World Gazetteer. "Western Sahara: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population . " (eng.)