El-Aaiún (also transliterated "Laâyoune" or "El Ayún"; Arabic: العيون, transliterated al-ˁuyūn, lit. "The Springs"), is a city in Western Sahara founded by the Spanish in 1928. It has been administered by Morocco, which considers Western Sahara a part of its territory, since 1976. El-Aaiún is the capital Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra region. The Polisario front, which claims Western Sahara as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, considers the city its capital. The town is divided in two by the dry river of "Saguia el Hamra". On the south side is the old lower town, constructed by the Spanish. A cathedral from that era is still in operation, with priests dividing their time between this town and Dakhla further south.