Kenitra ( ar, القُنَيْطَرَة, , , ; ber, ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, Qniṭra; french: Kénitra) is a city in north western

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, formerly known as Port Lyautey from 1932 to 1956. It is a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

on the Sebou river, has a population in 2014 of 431,282, is one of the three main cities of the

Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Rabat-Salé-Kénitra ( ar, الرباط-سلا-القنيطرة, ar-ribāṭ salā al-qunayṭira; ber, ⴻⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ-ⵙⵍⴰ-ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, eṛṛbaṭ sla qniṭra) is one of the twelve administrative regions of Morocco. It is ...

region and the capital of the

Kenitra Province Kenitra ( ar, القُنَيْطَرَة, , , ; ber, ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, Qniṭra; french: Kénitra) is a city in north western Morocco, formerly known as Port Lyautey from 1932 to 1956. It is a port on the Sebou river, has a population in 201 ...

. During the Cold War Kenitra's U.S. Naval Air Facility served as a stopping point in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

History

Ancient history

The history of the city begins with the foundation of a trading-post by the Carthaginian, known back then as

Thamusida Thamusida was a Berber, Carthaginian, and Roman river port that was near the present-day towns of Kénitra and Mehdia in Morocco. Under the Roman Empire, it formed a part of the province of Mauretania Tingitana. Name The Punic form of the name ...

. Under the Antonine dynasty, a

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

temple was built there. Before the French protectorate, the

Kasbah Mahdiyya Kasbah Mahdiyya (; Berber: ⵇⵙⴱⴰ ⵎⴻⵀⴷⵉⵢⴰ) is a kasbah located near the city of Kenitra, Morocco. It is situated at the downstream of Sebou River in the vicinity of the Atlas Mountains, 12km from the city of Kneitra.Abd al-Hafid, signed the

Treaty of Fez The Treaty of Fes ( ar, معاهدة فاس, ), officially the Treaty Concluded Between France and Morocco on 30 March 1912, for the Organization of the French Protectorate in the Sherifien Empire (), was a treaty signed by Sultan Abd al-Hafid o ...

. Because of his growing unpopularity, the Sultan asked the French government for protection against the Berber rebel tribes surrounding Fez. France appointed

Hubert Lyautey Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. Early in ...

resident-general in Morocco. General Lyautey restored peace and order to the country after crushing the tribal uprising. After safely moving the Sultan from Fez to the current capital city, Rabat, Lyautey began his task of civilian administration. Sbou River - Corniche Kenitra

One of the first preoccupations of General Lyautey was to build ports along the inhabitable Atlantic coast where there were no natural harbors. He established Port Lyautey in 1912 as a French military

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

and town. Its port, at the mouth of the Sebou river, was opened in 1913. It soon became the best river port in Morocco. Kenitra draws its name from a culvert built at Fouarat lake upstream of the kasbah. This culvert was destroyed in 1928. In 1933, the French officially named the locale "Port Lyautey". It was renamed "Quneitra" in 1956 as Morocco gained its independence. The city has grown rapidly to be a shipping centre for agricultural produce (mainly fruit), fish, timber, and lead and zinc ores. The city's industrial area lies upstream of the port.

U.S. Naval Base

In November 1942, after Operation Torch, the Americans captured the Port Lyautey French fighter base as a military base, named Craw Field. For three months the 21st Engineer Aviation Regiment worked on the airfield. In February 1943 the Seabees of the 120th Naval Construction Battalion took over all construction activities. The Navy ran the base until 1947, when the State Department negotiated reversion of control to France. In 1950, a $23,000,000 expansion was authorized, but then the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

diverted resources. In the 1950s, nearly 10,000 people were on the base making it the largest aggregation of Americans in any one overseas base outside Japan. Later, the base in Kenitra was expanded to become a U.S. Naval Air Station. The base was shared by both the US and Morocco through the Cold War. A small Navy communications out-station in Sidi Yahia closed in the late 1970s. The Air Station was closed in 1991.

Climate

Kenitra has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Csa'').

Population

Areas and neighbourhoods

*Mdina ** ''Khabazate'' ** ''The Cigogne'' ** La cite *Modern city ** ''Mimosa'' ** ''La Ville Haute'' *Popular districts ** ''Saknia'' ** ''Ouled Oujih'' **''Maghrib al Arabi'' *Residential districts **''Bir Rami'' **''Ismailia'' **''Val fleury''

Education

Colleges and universities

* (UIT) *ENCG Kénitra () *HECI Kénitra (Hautes Etudes Commerciales et Informatiques) *ENSA Kénitra ( École nationale des sciences appliquées de Kénitra) *ENSC Kénitra ( �cole nationale supérieure de chimie de Kénitra

Transportation

*The National Route 1 and the A1 motorway pass through Kenitra and connect it to Rabat-

Salé Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran, ...

in the south-west and to

Larache Larache ( ar, العرايش, al-'Araysh) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast, where the Loukkos River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Larache is one of the most important cities of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region. Man ...

in the north-east. *The city is served by one

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

: ''Kenitra-Ville''. A shuttle

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

, TNR, connects the city, every 30 minutes, to Rabat and Casablanca. *A high-speed rail line to

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

was completed in 2018. (''See Kenitra–Tangier high-speed rail line''.)

Sports

Kenitra Athletic Club, KAC

In 1938, a group of Kenitra natives created KAC. This group of soccer lovers wanted to resist French domination in sports in Morocco. The team, made entirely of Kenitra natives, succeeded in reaching the premier Moroccan soccer league in 1956. In 1960, KAC won its first championship league of Morocco. KAC embarked in a journey of glories by winning the 1973-81-82 championship leagues and the 1961 throne cup. Ahmed Souiri was a long-time manager and coach. KAC has produced many international players. Noureddine Bouyahyaoui and

Labid Khalifa Labid Khalifa (born 1955) is a Moroccan football defender who played for Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean ...

were among the players who helped the Moroccan national soccer team qualify for the second round of the World Cup finals in Mexico in 1986. Mohammed Boussati still holds a national record of goals by scoring 25 goals in one soccer championship season in 1981–82.
Its home is the Kenitra Municipal Stadium which has a capacity of 15,000 people.

Basketball

The KAC Kénitra was a very successful basketball team during the 70s and 80s.

Natives from Kenitra

Kenitra was the birthplace of: * Saïd Aouita, Olympic athlete * Amina Aït Hammou, Olympic athlete * Youssef Chippo, International football player * Margie Cox, American R&B Singer * Mohamed Sijelmassi, writer and physician *

David Bitan David Hai Bitan ( he, דָּוִד בִּיטָן, born 8 April 1960) is an Israeli lawyer and politician. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset from the Likud party. During 2016-2017 he served as the Chairman of the Coalition and Chair ...

, Israeli politician * Nayef Aguerd – Moroccan footballer *

Sofian Chakla Soufiane "Sofian" Chakla (; born 2 September 1993) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Azerbaijan Premier League club Sabah. Club career Born in Kenitra, Chakla moved to Spain at the age of eight, and joined Mála ...

– Moroccan footballer * Zouhair Laaroubi - Moroccan footballer *

Tariq Chihab Tariq Chihab ( ar, طارق شهاب, born 22 November 1975) is a retired Morocco, Moroccan Football (soccer), footballer. Club career After leaving Moroccan club SC Chabab Mohammedia, Chihab began his Switzerland, Swiss career at Fussballclub Z� ...

- Former international footballer
Karl Stephan
- American artist and educator

Notes and references

External links

Entry in Lexicorient

Histoire de Kenitra / Port-Lyautey en images de 1911 au 1956
{{Authority control Port cities and towns on the Moroccan Atlantic Coast Populated places in Kénitra Province Municipalities of Morocco 1912 establishments in Morocco

Kenitra Kenitra ( ar, القُنَيْطَرَة, , , ; ber, ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, Qniṭra; french: Kénitra) is a city in north western Morocco, formerly known as Port Lyautey from 1932 to 1956. It is a port on the Sebou river, has a population in 201 ...