Rabat

The name Rabat comes from the Arabic word (a-Ribāṭ) meaning the ribat, an Islamic base or fortification. This name is short for (Ribāṭu al-Fatḥ) meaning the ribat of conquest or stronghold of victory—a title given by the Almohads when they established the city as a naval base in 1170. == History ==

Ancient Sala In the first millennium BC the Phoenicians founded several trading colonies along the Atlantic coast of what is now Morocco, but the existence of a Phoenician settlement in the area, called Sala or Shallat, has been debated by archeologists. By the first century BC the local inhabitants were still writing in the neo-Punic language, but the region came under the influence of Rome. It was controlled by the ancient Berber Mauretanian Kingdom until it was formally annexed by Rome in the first century BC. On the site now known as Chellah, just south of the walled city today, the Romans built a city named Sala Colonia. Excavations have revealed that older Mauretanian structures existed on the site before Roman structures were built over them. Archaeological objects of Visigothic and Byzantine origin found in the area attest to the persistence of commercial or political contacts between Sala and Roman Europe, up to the establishment of a Byzantine presence in North Africa during the 7th century. However, Sala began to be abandoned in the 5th century and was mostly in ruins when the Muslim Arabs arrived in the 7th century and established Islamic influence in the region. Medieval Islamic period , the citadel built by the Almohads on the site of earlier ribats|left In the 10th century the Umayyads of Cordoba, or their Zenata Berber allies in the region, founded a ribat or fortified monastery/outpost in this area, to defend against the Barghawata Berbers who had established a Kharijite state to the south. This ribat was most likely on the same site as the current Kasbah of the Udayas, but its location has not been confirmed by historians. One of the last Almoravid emirs, Tashfin ibn Ali (r. 1143–1145) built a new ribat on the site of the current kasbah as part of his efforts to hold back the Almohads. Almohads nonetheless defeated the Almoravids and destroyed the ribat shortly after. In 1150 or 1151 the Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu'min built a new kasbah (citadel) to replace the former ribat, within which he included a palace and a mosque. This project also included the construction of an enormous mosque (the remains of which include the Hassan Tower) and of new grand gateways such as Bab er-Rouah and the main gate of the kasbah, now known as Bab Udaya or Bab al-Kbir. After al-Mansur's death in 1199 the mosque and the capital remained unfinished and his successors lacked the resources or the will to finish it. This autonomous republic became a base for corsairs: pirates, also known as the "Salé Rovers", who preyed on merchant ships around the shores of Western Europe. today, added inside the Almohad walled enclosure during the 17th century During this time, the area below the kasbah on the south bank became more heavily populated due to the Morisco and Andalusi refugees. A new "Andalusian Wall" was built to delimit this area in the northern part of the former Almohad walled city. What is now known as the Street of the Consuls became an important road artery even at this time. 20th century French colonial rule building in central Rabat, completed in 1930 under French colonial rule The French invasion of Morocco began in the east with General Hubert Lyautey's occupation of Oujda in March 1907 and in the west with the Bombardment of Casablanca in August 1907. The Treaty of Fes established the protectorate in March 1912. Acting as French administrator of Morocco, Lyautey decided to relocate the country's capital from Fez to Rabat after the riots of 1912 following the Treaty of Fes. Lyautey appears to have had a personal affinity for Rabat. He argued that its coastal location was more pleasant and more accessible, and that its proximity to Casablanca, which he estimated would become the major economic center, would be advantageous. The United States agreed to leave as of December 1959, and was fully out of Morocco by 1963. SAC felt the Moroccan bases were much less critical with the long range capability of the B-52 Stratofortresses that were replacing the B-47s and with the completion of the USAF installations in Spain in 1959. With the USAF withdrawal from Rabat-Salé in the 1960s, the facility became a primary facility for the Royal Moroccan Air Force known as Air Base Nº 1, a status it continues to hold. The fifth Arab League summit took place in Rabat in 1969 to discuss the arson of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Australian citizen Denis Michael Rohan. In the same year, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, an organization that aims to protect the interests of the Muslim world, was founded at a summit in Rabat. The 1974 Arab League summit was also held in Rabat. The summit recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. In 1985, the sixth edition of the Pan Arab Games was held in Rabat. In 2015, the city became part of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra administrative region. On 28 February 2024, Asmaa Rhlalou declared her resignation, months after she sparked a controversy that called into doubt her authority and validity within the City Council. ==Geography==

Neighbourhoods of Rabat Rabat is an administrative city. It has many shopping districts and residential neighbourhoods. The geographically spread out neighbourhoods are as follows: The heart of the city consists of three parts: the Medina (old town); the Oudayas and Hassan both located to meet the Bou Regreg; and the Atlantic Ocean. To the west, and along the waterfront, there is a succession of neighbourhoods. First, around the ramparts, there are the old neighbourhoods, Quartier l'Océan and Quartier les Orangers. Beyond that, a succession of mostly working-class districts: Diour Jamaa, Akkari, Yacoub El Mansour, Massira and Hay el Fath are the main parts of this axis. Hay el Fath, which ends this sequence, evolves into a middle-class neighbourhood. To the east, along the Bou Regreg, the Youssoufia region (working and middle class) : Mabella; Taqaddoum; Hay Nahda (mostly middle class); Aviation (middle and upper middle class); and Rommani. Between the two axes, from north to south, there are three main neighbourhoods (middle class to affluent): Agdal (Ward Building; a lively mix of residential and commercial buildings. The residents are predominantly upper middle class); Hay Riad (affluent villas; this neighbourhood has experienced a surge of momentum since the 2000s); and Souissi (lavish villas, embassies, well-off residential neighborhood). On the outskirts of Souissi are a number of less dense regions mainly comprising large private houses to areas that seem out of the city. File:Riad District.jpg|Riad District File:Pietri Square.jpg|Pietri Square File:Boulevard Rabat.JPG|Rabat Hassan File:Mohamed V.jpg|Avenue Mohammed V Subdivisions The prefecture is divided administratively into the following: Climate Rabat features a Mediterranean climate (Csa) with warm to hot, dry summers and mild, damp winters. Located along the Atlantic Ocean, Rabat has a mild, temperate climate, shifting from cool in winter to warm days in the summer months. The nights are always cool (or cold in winter, it can reach sub sometimes), with daytime temperatures generally rising about . The winter highs typically reach only in December–February. Summer daytime highs usually hover around , but may occasionally exceed during heat waves. Summer nights are usually pleasant and cool, ranging between and rarely exceeding . Rabat belongs to the sub-humid bioclimatic zone with an average annual precipitation of . The airport station is located about from the coastline, which will somewhat warm afternoons and cool nights down compared to a seaside location. == Culture ==

The biggest place for theatre is the Mohammed V Theatre in the centre of the town, which was opened in 1962. Construction on a new performing arts center, the Grand Theatre of Rabat, began in 2014. Designed by Zaha Hadid, it would reportedly be the largest theater in the Arab world and in Africa. Construction was completed in 2021, though as of October 2024, the building remained closed to the public. Many organizations are active in cultural and social issues. Orient-Occident Foundation and ONA Foundation are the biggest of these. An independent art scene is active in the city. L'appartement 22, which is the first independent space for visual arts created by Abdellah Karroum, opened in 2002 and introduced international and local artists. Other independent spaces opened few years after, such as Le Cube, also set up in a private space. Mawazine Mawazine is a music festival in Rabat organized under the auspices of King Mohammed VI of Morocco. The festival was first held in 2001, with music groups, fans and spectators coming together in a week-long celebration of culture and music both locally and internationally. Musicians such as Scorpions, The Weeknd, Jennifer Lopez, Kanye West, Pitbull, Rihanna, Elton John, Stromae and many others have performed at the festival. Mawazine was host to more than 2,500,000 people in 2013. Workshops are available for teaching dances and other arts. The festival is free. However, while most areas are free, there are those that require payment, specifically the smaller stages being the historical site of Chellah, the Mohammed V National Theater, and the Renaissance Cultural Center. Places of worship The places of worship are predominantly Muslim mosques. The oldest mosque in the city is the "Old Mosque" (''Jama' al-'Atiqa'') in the Kasbah of the Udayas. It was originally founded during Abd al-Mu'min's construction of the kasbah in 1150, though its current form mostly dates from an 18th-century restoration. Other important mosques include the Great Mosque in the old medina, also known as the el-Kharrazin Mosque, and the As-Sunna Mosque in central Rabat, originally completed in 1785 by Sultan Muhammad ibn Abdallah. There are also Christian churches and temples, including an Evangelical church and St. Peter's Cathedral (Cathédrale de Saint-Pierre), which hosts the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rabat. File:Sunna Mosque, Rabat (4316777665).jpg|Sunnah Mosque, built in 1785 under Sultan Muhammad III File:Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rabat.JPG|Saint-Pierre Cathedral File:Synagogue Rabbi Chalom Zaoui Rabat 08112020 015.jpg|Rabbi Shalom Zaoui synagogue Museums and parks s) at the Rabat Zoo The Oudayas Museum (also formerly known as the National Museum of Jewellery) is housed in a pavilion residence built by Sultan Moulay Isma'il (r. 1672–1727) inside the Kasbah of the Udayas. It was first opened in 1915, making it one of the oldest public museums in Morocco. Its collections, augmented by private donations, feature diverse objects from throughout Morocco, mostly from the 18th to 20th centuries. In 2006 it became the National Museum of Jewellery, with exhibits focusing on the history of Moroccan jewellery. The Museum of History and Civilizations (formerly the National Archeological Museum) showcases the history of Morocco through a collection of archeological artifacts from the Punic, Mauretanian, Roman, and Islamic periods. This includes a collection of ancient Roman bronze and marble statuary from sites such as Lixus, Volubilis, and Chellah, as well as coins, ceramics, and architectural fragments from the Islamic period. The Rabat Zoo (officially called the Zoological Garden of Rabat) was opened in 1973, in part to house the lions that were previously kept at the Royal Palace. The lions are descended from the now-extinct Barbary lions. Since then the zoo has expanded to house some 1800 animals and has engaged in conservation efforts. The Bank al-Maghrib Museum was inaugurated in 2002 and is housed at the Bank al-Maghrib building downtown. Its main exhibits include a collection of coins and currency from ancient times to the modern era, as well as a gallery of Orientialist art. The Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art was inaugurated in 2014. Historic monuments The Kasbah of the Udayas (also spelled "Kasbah of the Oudaias") is the oldest part of the present-day city, built by the Almohads in the 12th century. It was later refortified and expanded by the corsairs and the 'Alawi dynasty in the 17th and 18th centuries. The kasbah is now a residential district with traditional houses painted white and blue on the outside. Its southern section includes the "Andalusian Garden", landscaped in the 20th century. The city's historic walls were first built by the Almohad caliph Ya'qub al-Mansur and completed in 1197, with later additions in the 17th and 19th centuries. Overlooking the shores of the river is the Hassan Tower, a monumental unfinished minaret constructed by Ya'qub al-Mansur in the late 12th century. It was built for an enormous mosque planned as part of the larger city al-Mansur was constructing. Across from the tower today, at the southern end of the mosque's remains, is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V (d. 1961), which houses the remains of King Mohammed V and King Hassan II. The mausoleum, completed in 1971, was designed in a neo-Moorish or Moroccan revivalist style by Vietnamese architect Cong Vo Toan. A short distance south of the historic city walls is the archeological site of Chellah, a walled enclosure containing a 13th to 14th-century Marinid funerary and religious complex as well as the ruins of the Roman city of Sala Colonia. File:Marrocos-Kasbah-Oudaya-Rabat-Luis-Filipe-Gaspar.jpg|The Kasbah of the Udayas, seen from the river File:Une ruelle de la Kasbah des Oudayas.jpg|Typical street and houses inside the Kasbah File:Rue des consuls Rabat 2020.jpg|Rue des Consuls, one of the main streets of the medina File:Morocco - Rabat (31387809034).jpg|City walls, including Bab al-Had (left) File:باب الرواح.jpg|Bab ar-Rouah File:Moroccan Parliament Building.jpg|Parliament of Morocco File:Rabat, Telegraphe Poste Telephone.jpg|Central Post Office File:Gate of Chellah, 2019.jpg|Gates of Chellah File:Honor guard at Mausoleum of Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco.jpg|Honor guard at Mausoleum of Mohammed V File:Rabat Lighthouse (fort Borj Sirat, برج الصراط).jpg|Rabat Lighthouse and (Fortress) Borj Sirat == Education ==

Colleges and universities Public: • Mohammed V University was founded in 1957 • National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics was founded 1961 • National School of Architecture (1980) Private: • HEM Business School, founded 1993 ==Transport==

Air Rabat's main airport is Rabat–Salé Airport. Trains Rabat is served by two principal railway stations (Rabat-Agdal and Rabat Ville), and a local station Rabat Riad located in the Hay Riad district, inaugurated in late 2025 run by the national rail service ONCF. Rabat-Ville and Rabat Agdal are the two main inter-city stations, from which trains run south to Casablanca, Marrakesh and El Jadida, north to Tangier, or east to Meknes, Fez, Taza and Oujda. ONCF operates the Le Bouregreg urban rail for Rabat-Salé agglomeration. Marrakesh is a 4 hr journey, Fez 2 hr on an express train and 3 hr on other trains and Casablanca 1 hr. Tram The Rabat–Salé tramway was the first tramway network in Morocco and connects Rabat with Salé across the river. It was opened on 11 May 2011 after a construction cost of 3.6 billion MAD. The network was constructed by Alstom Citadis and is operated by Transdev. As of February 2022, the network had two lines with a total length of and 43 stations. In 2023, an extension of the network was being planned and is due to be completed by 2028. == Sport ==

The Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium (Arabic: ملعب الأمير مولاي عبد لله) is a multi-purpose stadium. The new venue as of 2025 replaced the original Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium on the same site. The first stadium was built in 1983 and was the home ground of ASFAR (football club) and was mostly used for football matches, and it can also stage athletics competitions. The 1983 stadium held 52,000 spectators, whilst the new stadium has a seating capacity of 67,800 and will be used as a multi-purpose venue to host cultural events as well as sports. Since 2008, the 1983 stadium hosted the Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athlétisme de Rabat. It is named after Prince Moulay Abdellah of Morocco. Rabat hosted the 2019 African Games after Malabo, Equatorial Guinea was stripped of hosting due to economic matters. It was the first time the African Games were hosted by Morocco. It is one of the host cities for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Football Rabat's most popular sport club is the association football clubs AS FAR and FUS de Rabat. Well known in the continental competitions. AS FAR have won 2 major African titles, including 1 CAF Champions League and 1 CAF Confederation Cup. While Fus de Rabat has only managed to win one major African title, 1 CAF Confederation Cup. The local football teams are: • ASFAR (football club) • ASFAR (women) • FUS de Rabat • Stade Marocain • Hilal de Rabat • Union de Touarga • Youssoufia Club de Rabat Handball • ASFAR • FUS de Rabat • Le Stade Marocain Basketball The local basketball teams are: • ASFAR • FUS de Rabat • Moghreb de Rabat • FAR Volleyball • ASFAR • FUS de Rabat • Crédit agricole Rabat ==Notable people==

Politicians: • Reuven Abergel, Moroccan-Israeli social-political activist • Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, French judge and diplomat • Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister of France • Richard Dell'Agnola, French politician • Omar El Bahraoui, former mayor of Rabat • David Levy, Israeli politician • Maxim Levy, Israeli politician • Bernard Squarcini, French counter-terrorism director • Asmaa Rhlalou, mayor of Rabat Scientists, writers and philosophers: • Abdellah Taïa, writer • Mehdi Elmanjra, scholar • Robert Assaraf, historian • Alain Badiou, French philosopher • Mohammed Suerte Bennani, Moroccan novelist • Mohammed Berrada, Moroccan novelist, literary critic, and translator • Helene Hagan, Franco-American writer anthropologist • Abdelfattah Kilito, Moroccan writer • Bahaa Trabelsi, Moroccan novelist • Mohammad Naciri, Regional Director for the Arab States and Asia Pacific for the UN Women Artists: • Samira Said, Moroccan singer and actress • Saad Lamjarred, Moroccan singer and actor • Hajib, Moroccan Chaabi singer • Shlomo Bar, Israeli musician • Fabienne Égal, French announcer and television host • Roland Giraud, French actor • Macha Méril, French actress and writer • Daniel Siboni, French photographer • Stormy (rapper), Moroccan rapper and songwriter • Bryce Hudson, American painter and photographer Sports: • Saïd Aït-Bahi, Moroccan footballer • Rachid Benmahmoud, Former footballer • Bouabid Bouden, Moroccan footballer • Custodio Dos Reis, French road bicycle racer • Younes El Aynaoui, Moroccan tennis player • Adam Ennafati, footballer • Younes Khattabi, Moroccan rugby league player • Ait Hammi Miloud, Moroccan Olympic boxer • Jean Patrick Lesobre, French Rugby Union player • Younès Moudrik, Moroccan long jumper • Youssef Rabeh, Former footballer • Brahim Taleb, Moroccan long-distance runner Royal descendants: • Mohammed VI of Morocco, King of Morocco • Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco • Princess Lalla Aicha of Morocco ==Twin towns – sister cities==

Rabat is twinned with: • Cairo, Egypt • Guangzhou, China • Honolulu, United States • Istanbul, Turkey • Lisbon, Portugal • Lyon, France • Madrid, Spain • Nablus, Palestine • Tunis, Tunisia ==References==