Sidi Slimane (Morocco)
| Sidi Slimane سيدي سليمان ⵙⵉⴷⵉ ⵙⵍⵉⵎⴰⵏ |
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Rabat-Salé-Kénitra | ||||
| Province : | Sidi Slimane | ||||
| Coordinates | 34 ° 16 ′ N , 5 ° 56 ′ W | ||||
| Residents : | 92,989 (2014) | ||||
| Area : | 12.2 km² | ||||
| Population density : | 7,622 inhabitants per km² | ||||
| Height : | 32 m | ||||
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Sidi Slimane ( Arabic سيدي سليمان; Central Atlas Tamazight ⵙⵉⴷⵉ ⵙⵍⵉⵎⴰⵏ Sidi Sliman ) is a large Moroccan city with around 105,000 inhabitants; it is the capital of the province of the same name in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region .
location
The town of Sidi Slimane is located on the Oued Beht , a tributary of the Sebou , on the southern edge of the Gharb plain at an altitude of about 30 to 40 m . The coastal cities of Kénitra and Rabat are a good 65 km (driving distance) to the west and about 117 km to the southwest. In the southeast are the cities of Fès (approx. 115 km) and Meknes (approx. 67 km). The climate is generally temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 450 mm / year) falls almost exclusively in the winter half-year.
population
| year | 1994 | 2004 | 2014 |
| Residents | 69,645 | 78.060 | 92,989 |
Most of the inhabitants who immigrated from the surrounding villages and mountain regions of the Middle and High Atlas in the second half of the 20th century are mostly of Berber descent. However, the colloquial language is usually Moroccan Arabic .
economy
In the villages around Sidi Slimane there is a large amount of agriculture; Animal husbandry (sheep, goats, chickens), on the other hand, has become rather rare. The city itself functions as a regional craft, trade and service center and offers the training facilities and health centers that are important for the region.
About 10 km to the west is the Sidi Slimane Air Base (s) , which was also used by NATO countries during the Cold War.
history
As is common in the Berber regions of the Maghreb , there are no written records of the earlier history of the place . Some researchers locate here the around the year 30 BC. Babba Iulia Campestris , a veteran colony founded by Augustus in the 4th century BC , which others locate near Ksar-el-Kebir or elsewhere. At the beginning of the French protectorate (1912), Sidi Slimane was just a larger village with around 2,500 inhabitants and a regionally important marabout tomb; The place gained its current importance under the French, who called it Petit Paris ("Little Paris"), and especially after the independence of Morocco (1956).
On January 31, 1958, a USAF B-47 with an atomic bomb on board crashed shortly after take-off at the Sidi Slimane military base, about 90 km northeast of Rabat, and burned out for about 7 hours. There was no nuclear explosion, but the area was widely contaminated, so that the population in the area had to be evacuated.
Attractions
- The cityscape with its straight road network gives an overall modern look.
Web links
- Sidi Slimane - photos + brief information (French)
- Sidi Slimane - historical photos + brief information (French)