Annaba

Annaba, informally known as Balad al-Unnâb, and Bona is a city in the north-eastern corner of Algeria near the Seybouse River, located in an eponymous province. With a population of 257,359, it is the fourth largest city in Algeria. It is a leading industrial centre in eastern Algeria.Annaba is a coastal city and has undergone significant growth. Annaba has a metropolitan area with a higher population density than the other metropolises of the Algerian coastline such as Oran and the capital Algiers. Much of eastern and southern Algeria seeks the services, equipment, and infrastructure of the city. Economically, it is the centre for various dynamic activities, such as industry, transport, finance and tourism.NamesPresent-day Annaba grew up on the site of Aphrodisium, the port of the Roman city. (The modern town has since expanded south over Hippo's ruins as well.) Its former names Bône and Bona derived from "Ubbo", a local form of the name Hippo. Its informal name Balad al-Unnâb—"town of the jujubes"—derives from that fruits' abundance in the area.HistoryThe vicinity of Annaba has yielded evidence of very early human occupation at Ain el Hanech, near Saïda, including artifacts that show remarkable tool-making craftsmanship. According to some sources, prehistoric Algeria was the site of the most advanced development of flake-tool techniques in the Middle Early Stone Age .