Bouïra

Bouïra lies south of the Djurdjura mountains, on routes between Kabylia and the inland plains of Algeria. In the medieval period the area was known as Souk Hamza, a market linked with other towns of the region. Under Ottoman rule, the fort of Bordj Hamza guarded a strategic passage between Algiers and the eastern beylik. A garrison occupied the fort while the surrounding mountain communities retained their own local power.