Current Time in Blida, Algeria

Blida is a city in northern Algeria, capital of the province of the same name, lying about forty-five kilometres south-west of Algiers. It occupies a superb position on the southern edge of the Mitidja plain, right where the fertile farmland meets the steep slopes of the Blidean Atlas. Mountains rise directly behind the city to heights of over sixteen hundred metres, and streams descending from them have watered its gardens for centuries. The setting has earned Blida its enduring nickname, the city of roses.

Around three hundred and fifty thousand people live in the city, with many more in the surrounding communes, making the province one of the most populous in Algeria. Blida is the agricultural heart of the country, and the orchards of the Mitidja produce oranges, lemons, olives and vegetables on a scale that supplies much of the capital region. Food processing, pharmaceuticals, textiles and light industry add to the economy, and the city's proximity to Algiers has made it an important residential and commercial satellite.

The town was founded in the sixteenth century by Andalusian refugees expelled from Spain, who settled here under the patronage of the local holy man Sidi Ahmed El Kebir and brought with them irrigation techniques and horticultural knowledge that transformed the plain. Under Ottoman rule Blida prospered as a market town, though it was devastated by earthquakes in 1825 and again in 1867. The French occupied the city in the 1830s, rebuilt it on a regular plan and made it a garrison and administrative centre. After independence in 1962 it grew rapidly, and during the difficult years of the 1990s it stood at the centre of the country's internal conflict, a period from which it has since recovered.

The Place du Premier Novembre, shaded by plane trees and lined with cafés, is the social heart of the city, close to the Ottoman-era great mosque and the covered market. The shrine of Sidi Ahmed El Kebir remains a place of pilgrimage, and the old quarter preserves narrow streets and courtyards. The Bois Sacré, an ancient olive grove on the edge of town, offers shade and quiet.

Blida's greatest asset is the mountain above it. Chréa National Park, reached by a winding road or a cable car, protects cedar forest and the endangered Barbary macaque, and its village becomes a modest ski resort in winter, an unusual sight in North Africa. Waterfalls, gorges and viewpoints over the plain make it a favourite weekend escape for people from Algiers.

Cultural life reflects the Andalusian heritage, with classical Arab-Andalusian music particularly cherished here, alongside poetry and a lively café tradition. Local pastries and citrus-scented dishes are regional specialities.

Transport is good, with a motorway and a modern electrified railway connecting to Algiers in under an hour, plus regional roads across the plain. Saad Dahlab University of Blida is one of Algeria's larger institutions, strong in engineering, medicine and agronomy, and the city also hosts military and aeronautical academies.

Blida is popular for its climate, its gardens and its mountain backdrop, and it remains one of the most attractive and important provincial cities in Algeria.