Smāra (also romanized Semara, Arabic: السمارة, Hassaniyya: [(ə)s.smaːra] ; Spanish: Esmara) is a city in the Moroccan-occupied part of Western Sahara, with a population of 57,035 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is served by Smara Airport and Smara bus station.
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👉 Smara in the context of Bir Lehlou
Bir Lehlou (also transliterated Bir Lahlou, Bir Lehlu Arabic: بئر الحلو) is an oasis town in north-eastern Western Sahara, 236 km from Smara, near the Mauritanian border and east of the border wall, in Polisario Front-held territory. It has a pharmacy, a school and a mosque. It is the head of the 5th military region of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and was the factual temporary capital of SADR until Tifariti became the temporary capital in 2008. It is also the name of a Daïra of the Wilaya of Smara, in the Sahrawi refugee camps.
The name "Bir Lehlou" is transcribed from Maghrebi Arabic, and means "the sweet (meaning palatable or non-salty) water well". The Modern Standard Arabic transcription would be "bir al Halū" (بئر الحلو).
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Smara in the context of Tifariti
Tifariti (Arabic: تيفاريتي) is an oasis town and the temporary capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, located in north-eastern Western Sahara, east of the Moroccan Berm, 138 km (86 mi) from Smara and 15 km (9 mi) north of the border with Mauritania. It is part of what Polisario Front calls the Liberated Territories and Morocco call the Buffer Zone. It has been the de facto temporary capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic since the government moved there in 2008 from Bir Lehlou. It is the headquarters of the 2nd military region of the SADR.
It is also the name of a daïra of the wilaya of Smara, in the Sahrawi refugee camps.
Smara in the context of Char Bouba war
The Char Bouba war (variously transliterated as Sharr Bubba, Shar Buba), also known as the Mauritanian Thirty Years' War or the Marabout War, took place between 1644 and 1674 in the tribal areas of what is today Mauritania and Western Sahara as well as in the Senegal river valley. It was fought between the Sanhadja Berber tribes and Muslim populations in the river valley, led by Lamtuna Imam Nasr ad-Din, on one hand; and the Maqil Arab immigrant tribes, foremost of which was the Beni Hassan, as well as the traditional aristocracies of the Wolof states on the other, supported by the French.
The war was led by Sidi Ibrahim Al Aroussi, son of the famous Cheikh Sidi Ahmed Al Aroussi (died in 1593, near to Smara, in Western Sahara). Al Aroussi, with his two sons Shanan Al Aroussi and Sidi Tounsi Al Aroussi, led a powerful force of the Hassani tribe, the Aroussi Army, to conquer the Berber Imarat in current Mauritania and gain access to Bilad as-Sudan ("the Land of the Blacks", in Senegal and Mali).
Smara in the context of Smara Airport
Smara Airport (IATA: SMW, ICAO: GMMA/GSMA) is an airport in Smara (also known as Semara), a city in Western Sahara (occupied by Morocco).