Rabat
It is also the capital of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer region.
The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg. On the facing shore of the river lies Salé, Rabat's bedroom community.
Together the two cities with Témara account for a population of 2 million. Unfortunately, silting problems have diminished the city's role as a port; however, Rabat and Salé still maintain relatively important textile, food processing and construction industries; some are from sweatshop labor by major multinational corporations (see Salé).
In addition, tourism and the presence of all foreign embassies in Morocco serve to make Rabat the second most important city in the country after the larger and more economically significant Casablanca.
History
Rabat's history began with a settlement, known as Chellah on the banks of the Oued Bou Regreg in the third century BC.
In 40 AD, Romans took over Chellah and converted it to the Roman settlement of Sala Colonia. Rome held the colony until 250 AD when they abandoned it to rulers.
In 1146, the Almohad ruler Abd al-Mu'min turned Rabat's ribat into a full scale fortress to use as a launching point for attacks on Spain. In 1170, due to its military importance, Rabat acquired the title Ribatu l-Fath, meaning "stronghold of victory," from which it derives its current name.
Yaqub al-Mansur (known as Moulay Yacoub in Morocco), another Almohad Caliph, moved the capital of his empire to Rabat. He built Rabat's city walls, the Kasbah of the Udayas and began construction on what would have been the world's largest mosque.
The ruins of the unfinished mosque, along with the Hassan Tower, still stand today.
Yaqub's death initiated a period of decline. In 1515 a Moorish explorer, El Wassan, reported that Rabat had declined so much that only 100 inhabited houses remained.
An influx of Moriscos, who had been expelled from Spain, in the early 17th century helped boost Rabat's growth (principal families: Mouline , Bargach , Balafrej , Moreno, Baena, Olivares ,...).
Rabat and neighboring Salé united to form the Republic of Bou Regreg in 1627. The republic was run by Barbary pirates who used the two cities as base ports for launching attacks on shipping.
The pirates did not have to contend with any central authority until the Alaouite Dynasty united Morocco in 1666. Even after the republic's collapse, pirates continued to use the port of Rabat, which led to the shelling of the city by Austria in 1829 after an Austrian ship had been lost to a pirate attack.
The French invaded Morocco in 1912 and established a protectorate.
Sultan Moulay Youssef followed the decision of the French and moved his residence to Rabat. Lyautey hired Henri Prost who designed the Ville Nouvelle (Rabat's modern quarter) as an administrative sector.
By the early 1950s, Rabat Salé Air Base was a U.S. With the destabilization of French government in Morocco, and Moroccan independence in 1956, the government of Mohammed V wanted the U.S.
Air Force to pull out of the SAC bases in Morocco, insisting on such action after American intervention in Lebanon in 1958. The United States agreed to leave as of December 1959, and was fully out of Morocco by 1963.
Orient-Occident Foundation and ONA Foundation are the biggest ones and have important places for meetings and educative workshops. An independent art scene is very active in town with L'appartement 22 which is the first independent space for visual arts opened in 2002 by Abdellah Karroum.
Main Sights
Royal Palace
Mausoleum of Mohammed V
Mohammed V University is located in the city.
Hassan Tower
Chellah necropolis
Kasbah of the Udayas
Gallery
Twin towns - Sister cities
Rabat is twinned with:
Tunis Tunisia (since 1987)
Honolulu U.S.
Stockholm, Sweden
Athens, Greece
Istanbul, Turkey
Madrid, Spain
Climate
Located along the Atlantic Ocean, Rabat has a mild, temperate climate, shifting from cool in winter to warm days in the summer months.