Laayoune
Laayoune (also written El Aaiún, meaning "The Springs" in Arabic) is the largest city in Western Sahara, founded by a Spanish captain in 1938 and later the administrative capital of Spanish Sahara. Today it sits at the centre of a long-running territorial dispute: it is the de jure capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic while remaining under Moroccan administration and UN monitoring. The Spanish-era St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral remains active, and the old lower town built during the colonial period stands south of the dry Saguia el-Hamra riverbed.
Description drafted with AI from public sources such as Wikipedia and OpenStreetMap. How this works
- Population262,791
- Nearest water from center 2.6 km1.6 mi
- Nearest mountain from center 4.5 km2.8 mi
Nearest airports
Laayoune: quick answers
Where is Laayoune?
Laayoune is in Algeria.
How do you get to Laayoune?
The nearest airport is Tiaret (TID), about 1 hr 47 min away by road.
What's the weather like in Laayoune?
The warmest month is July, averaging 28°C82°F across day and night; the coolest is January, at 7°C44°F. The wettest month is April, with about 57 mm2.3 in of precipitation. (Monthly averages, 1991–2020.)
What's in Laayoune?
OpenStreetMap lists 2 restaurants and 3 places of worship within 2 km of the centre.