French Period

During the first French incursions in the middle of the 19th century, the majority of "Chorfa" families left the ksar as refugees, mainly to Tlemcen and Fez.

The modern city dates back to the French colonial era. Initially, in 1882, a strategic military garrison post consequent to the revolt of Sheikh Bouamama left their bastion of Figuig. French troops have instead established a military post at the site of Aïn-Séfra, to control "The Gateway to the Sahara".^[1] A railway reached Aïn-Séfra as early as 1887, and it extended to Bechar and Kenadsa in 1906, both for economic and strategic reasons.

During the colonial period, it was an important sub-prefecture and a military territory, but also a region of cultural, economic and political importance. The region where Aïn-Séfra is located was one of the bastions of the popular resistance against the French colonial conquest, south of Oran.

Climate

Aïn Séfra has a cold arid climate (Köppen BWk) with hot to sweltering summers and, owing to its elevation, cool to relatively cold winters, despite its location in the Sahara Desert.

Snow has been recorded on rare occasions. It lightly snowed on 18 February 1979^[2] for the first time in recorded history, and again on 16 December 2016 ^[3] and in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022.^[1] and 2017/2018. An unusual blizzard hit the area on 20 January 2017, dumping snow in the municipality up to a meter thick in some places. This was the largest snowfall in residents' memories and caused travel disruptions due to iced roads.^[4]

Traditional wedding custom

Traditionally wedding parties took place over 7 days. Nowadays, weddings last a maximum of 3 days.

For the first lunch, the relatives are invited for a meal with "merga" (dish in sauce). Subsequently, a couscous is served to the guests for the following meals.

Throughout the wedding, the bride would not leave her new home. Once the marriage ceremony was over, she would take her bucket, go out to fill it at the source and bring it home. Meanwhile, the groom would buy fruit and vegetables at the market without bags or baskets. He would then carry them in his burnous and give them to the bride, who would then give them to the cooks.