Oran

Oran (Arabic: وَهران, romanized: Wahrān)[a] is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is 432 km (268 mi) west-southwest from Algiers. The total population of the city was 803,329 in 2008,[6] while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000,[7] making it the second-largest city in Algeria.[8] The word Wahran comes from the Berber expression wa - iharan (place of lions).[9] A locally popular legend tells that in the period around AD 900, there were sightings of Barbary lions in the area. The last two lions were killed on a mountain near Oran, and it became known as la montagne des lions ("The Mountain of Lions").[10] Two giant lion statues stand in front of Oran's city hall, symbolizing the city. During the Roman Empire, a small settlement called Unica Colonia existed in the area of the current Oran, but this settlement disappeared as the Maghreb was conquered by a succession of regional powers, beginning with the Vandals in 435,[11] followed by the Berbers of the Mauro-Roman Kingdom,[12] and finally the Arabs around the start of the 8th century.[13]