Also called Colomb-Bechar, Oasis town with a picturesque fort, in the north-west Algerian Sahara, 468km (290 miles) south-west of Oran and close to the Moroccan border. Surrounded by date-palm groves watered by the Wadi Béchar, the town is noted for its leatherwork and jewelry. Bechar is an administrative center at the begining of the Route du Tanezrouft, one of the main trans-Saharan routes to the south, and also the start of the western trans-Saharan route to Tindouf and Mauritania. Béchar's former European quarter contains a military station and has modern buildings, while the traditional quarter has covered, narrow streets. The town is served by air and rail; the railway ends just beyond Bechar at Kenadsa.

The surrounding region presents a varied landscape. Near the Moroccan border the land is composed primarily of flat, stony sandstone plateaus (hamada). To the southeast the landscape is typified by ergs (sand dunes), specifically, parts of the Grand Erg Occidental, the Erg er-Raoui, and the Erg Iguidi. The region is bisected in the north by the Wadi Saoura, which forms the valley where lies the oasis town of Beni Abbes (Béni-Abbas). Along the Saoura (known as Wadi Messaoud farther south), date-palm groves extend about 200 miles (320 km). To the west the region is crisscrossed by numerous wadis and ravines, forming a landscape known as chebka. Locally important crops include dates, cereals, vegetables, figs, and almonds. Bituminous-coal reserves in the region are exploited minimally because of high transportation costs.

Population : (estimated) 200.000