View source for El Kala

{{Infobox settlement
| name =
| official_name = El Kala
| native_name = القالة
| native_name_lang = ar
| other_name =
| settlement_type = [[Town]]
| image_skyline = Eglise Saint Cyprien.jpg
| image_caption = The old fishing harbor at El Kala facing the decommissioned Saint Cyprien Church
| imagesize =
}}
'''El Kala''' ({{langx|ar|القالة}}, {{Langx|la|Thinisa in Numidia}}) is a seaport of [[Algeria]], in [[El Tarf Province]], 56 miles (90&nbsp;km) by rail east of [[Annaba]] and 10 miles (16&nbsp;km) west of the [[Tunisia|Tunisian ]]frontier. It is the centre of the Algerian and Tunisian [[coral]] fisheries and has an extensive industry in the curing of [[sardine]]s. 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 [[World Network of Biosphere Reserves|biosphere reserve]] by [[UNESCO]] in 1990.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/africa/algeria/el-kala/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214214741/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/africa/algeria/el-kala/ |archive-date=2015-02-14 |title=El Kala {{!}} United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization}}</ref>
==History==
[[File:Bastion de france El kala.JPG|thumb|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 [[:wikt:bishopric|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{{clarify|reason=What is a "trade bastion"? Literally a tower (see photo)/bulwark, or is it meant figuratively and it was a larger settlement? Fix photo caption too once clarified.|date=May 2021}} called "[[Bastion de France]]" by its [[Corsicans|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, Algeria|Constantine]] in 1816.
After the occupation of La Calle by the [[France|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.
[[File:Port de el kala.jpg|thumb|409x409px|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 [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Foggia-Bovino|Foggia–Bovino]])
* Laurent Chu Văn Minh, [[Auxiliary Bishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hà Nôi|Hanoi]] (Vietnam) (2008.10.15 – ''present'')
==See also==
*[[European enclaves in North Africa before 1830]]
*[[Lake Mellah]]
==References==
{{Portal|Algeria}}
{{Reflist}}
== Sources==
{{EB1911 |wstitle=La Calle |volume=16 |page=36}}
==External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://annaba.net.free.fr/html/kala.tourisme.htm El Kala]
* [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t1802.htm GigaCatholic, with titular incumbent biographical links]
{{Portal bar|Engineering}}
{{El Taref Province}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|36|54|N|8|27|E|region:DZ_type:city|display=title}}
[[Category:Mediterranean port cities and towns in Algeria]]
[[Category:Communes of El Taref Province]]
[[Category:El Taref Province]]
{{ElTaref-geo-stub}}