El-Harrach

El-Harrach is a commune of the wilaya of Algiers, in the El Harrach valley. It is the seat of the El-Harrach circonscription administrative, which also includes Bourouba, Bachdjerrah, Oued Smar and Mohammadia. Under French rule the town was called Maison-Carrée, and it took the name El-Harrach after independence. The French name came from a square Ottoman military building that overlooked the El Harrach valley. El-Harrach had 48,869 inhabitants at the 2008 census (ONS).