El Kala

El Kala القالة
Town
The old fishing harbor at El Kala facing the decommissioned Saint Cyprien Church

El Kala (Arabic: القالة, Latin: Thinisa in Numidia) is a seaport of Algeria, in El Tarf Province, 56 miles (90 km) by rail east of Annaba and 10 miles (16 km) west of the Tunisian frontier. It is the centre of the Algerian and Tunisian coral fisheries and has an extensive industry in the curing of sardines. The harbor is small and exposed to the northeast and west winds.

El Kala attracts tourists from within and outside the country, especially during the summer. It is home to an exceptional ecosystem and was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1990.

History

Ruins of Bastion de France. A popularly frequented beach adjacent to the ruins of the bastion is named "La Vielle Calle."

Thinisa in Numidia was an ancient city in the Roman province of Numidia. It was important enough to become a bishopric. The old fortified town was built on a rocky peninsula about 400 metres long, connected with the mainland by a sand bank.

French and Italian coral fishing companies were interested in the area from as early as 1553. A trade bastion called "Bastion de France" by its Corsican founders was established during that period principally for the exploitation of red coral and also to facilitate trade between southern France and that part of northern Algeria. The bastion was shut down and returned to the rule of the Bey of Constantine in 1816.

After the occupation of La Calle by the French in 1836, a new town was built up along the coast.

Titular see of Thinisa in Numidia

In 1933, the Ancient diocese of Thinisa in Numidia was nominally restored as a Catholic titular see of the lowest (episcopal) rank.

The old fishing harbor of El Kala by night. A trade-oriented harbor is under construction in the western side of town.

It has had the following incumbents:

• Francesco Venanzio Filippini, Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (1933.05.23 – 1973.03.31)
• Mario Revollo Bravo (1973.11.13 – 1978.02.28) (later Cardinal)
• Javier Lozano Barragán (1979.06.05 – 1984.10.28) (later Cardinal)
• Mario Picchi, Salesians (S.D.B.) (1989.06.19 – 1997.03.29)
• Vincenzo Pelvi (1999.12.11 – 2006.10.14) (later Archbishop of Foggia–Bovino)
• Laurent Chu Văn Minh, Auxiliary Bishop of Hanoi (Vietnam) (2008.10.15 – present)

See also

• European enclaves in North Africa before 1830
• Lake Mellah

Sources

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "La Calle". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 36.

External links

• El Kala
• GigaCatholic, with titular incumbent biographical links