Oran

a city in northwestern Algeria and capital of the Oran wilaya. Main industrial, commercial, and transportation center of Algeria’s northwest. Population, 440,000 (1970, including suburbs).

In 1971, Oran’s seaport handled 1,900,000 tons, including such goods for export as wine, early vegetables and fruits (mainly artichokes and oranges), and esparto grass. Oran is a major railroad and highway junction, and the La Senia Airport is nearby.

Oran has food-processing and metalworking plants and chemical enterprises, including a large superphosphate plant. It also has a steel-smelting and pipe-rolling mill. Industries include textiles and the production of glass, cement, and other construction materials. There is a thermoelectric power plant in the city. Local craftsmen make handmade leather footwear and woolen articles.

Oran has a university. The municipal museum displays archaeological, ethnographic, and zoological materials. The Tlemcen Museum has a collection of Islamic art. Oran was founded in the tenth century.