| Abalessa بلدية أباليسة |
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| — Municipality — | |
| Commune of Abalessa | |
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Abalessa
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Algeria |
| Province | Tamanrasset |
| District | Abalessa (coextensive) |
| Government | |
| • PMA Seats | 7 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 74,563 km2 (28,788.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 909 m (2,982 ft) |
| Population (1998) | |
| • Total | 6,484 |
| • Density | 0.1/km2 (0.2/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+01) |
| Postal code | 11120 |
| ONS code | 1102 |
Abalessa is a municipality in Tamanrasset Province, in southern Algeria, coextensive with the district of the same name. It has 6,500 inhabitants (1998). Abalessa is located along the ancient Trans-Saharan trade route, 80 km west of the city of Tamanrasset, the capital of the wilaya. The postcode of the town is 11,120.
The former capital of the Ahaggar, Abalessa is famous for the Tomb of Tin Hinan, the queen and mythical ancestor of the Tuareg people. Tin Hinan supposedly arrived in the Ahaggar Mountains area and lived there in the fourth or fifth century AD. On 18 October 1927 Byron Khun de Prorok, discovered a vault near Abalessa containing a skeleton, belonging to a woman, and her furniture. In his book Mysterious Sahara: The Land of Gold, of Sand, and of Ruin Khun de Prorok attributed the skeleton to Tin Hinan. Today, the skeleton is on display at the Bardo Museum in Algiers, while the monument where it was discovered continues to be a popular tourist attraction in Abalessa among visitors to the Tamanrasset.
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