Set more or less in the middle of Morocco's Atlantic coastline on the left bank of the mouth of Bou Regreg River, Rabat is Morocco's political and administrative capital and the official residence of the King. All ministries and embassies are located in Rabat.
Apart from its governmental activities, Rabat is one of the country's main industrial centres where, among other things, textiles, processed food, and building materials are manufactured.
 Facing Rabat, directly across the Bou Regreg River on its left bank, lies the town of Salé. Rabat and Salé are sister cities spanned by a bridge across the river which was constructed in 1957. Their combined population of around 2 million makes Rabat/Salé the second-largest urban centre in Morocco after Casablanca.Rabat was founded as an Arab army outpost in the 12th century and given the generic name for military encampment, Ribat, which is still in use today.
The city was developed in the 13th century by the Merinids who made it the site of the Chellah necropolis which was built upon the remains of the ancient Roman town of Sala. In the early 17th century it became a centre of anti-European piracy centred at the stronghold of the Kasbah des Oudaias.
Rabat was first made a modern capital in 1912 by Morocco's French overlords and remained the nation's capital after independence in 1956 and the residence of the royal family. | 
Other Moroccan Towns: