The Pearl of the Desert

After the press articles and novels, the author presents here, eight historical stories which took place in the south-west region of Oran and in particular in Aïn-Sefra which was once nicknamed: The Pearl of the desert.The region dates back to the last period of prehistory, the Neolithic which is a key era in the history of humanity. It is located between 10,000 and 2500 years before our era when stone tools were used. Evidence of this presence is provided to us by rock carvings representing hunters, elephants, rams, lions... and also the discovery of tumulus and bones of vegetarian dinosaurs.The southwest region was Islamized at the beginning of the 8th century. In the 13th century, the Béni-Amer became the owners of the lands of Aïn-Sefra and its surroundings. Around 1515, Sidi Mohammed Ben Houcine ben Choïb, known as Abou Dakhil, came from Zemmoura (Relizane) and settled at the Ksar of Rba. When he died around 1565, his son Sidi Mohammed Lokmane bought the ksar of Aïn-Sefra and a strip of land of several hundred hectares from the Béni-Amer who moved to settle around Sidi Bel-Abbès.