Rabat الرباط (ar-Ribat)
The capital of Morocco is a cool, laid-back city, and will soon be a major tourist center.
Overview
Rabat is the capital of Morocco, counting over 1,600,000 inhabitants. The Kingdom's political centre is looking over the Atlantic ocean and the city of Salé, which lies just across the river Bou Regreg.
Rabat is a very spread-out city, made of big districts: there is the medina (one of the youngest in Morocco, dating from the 17th century), city centre built by the French, the Royal palace, the modern, western-looking Agdal, the chic Hay Riad with its villas, and of course many quartiers populaires, the plain neighbourhoods for Rbati commoners.
Rabat is home to all the Moroccan ministries, the Parliament, the Mohammed V University and some beautiful monuments. It is a cosmopolitan city, with a relaxed atmosphere and almost no hustlers at all, unlike Marrakech for example, because it has yet to become a tourist destination.