Sidi Kacem ( Berber: ⵙⵉⴷⵉ ⵇⴰⵙⴰⵎ, ary, سيدي قاسم, sidi qasəm) is a city in

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 ...

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 ...

. It is the capital of Sidi Kacem Province.

History

During the French period the city was called Petitjean, in reference to a French captain who was killed in May 1911 during the "pacification" of Morocco. Oil drilling exploration commenced in the vicinity of Sidi Kacem by the French in 1934; production of crude oil began locally in 1939. Slightly to the south of Sidi Kacem lies

Volubilis Volubilis (; ar, وليلي, walīlī; ber, ⵡⵍⵉⵍⵉ, wlili) is a partly excavated Berber-Roman city in Morocco situated near the city of Meknes, and may have been the capital of the kingdom of Mauretania, at least from the time of Kin ...

, which was in antiquity an important Roman town near the westernmost border of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. It was built on the site of a previous Mauretanian

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

from the third century BC, if not earlier.C.Michael Hogan, ''Volubilis'', Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham (2007)
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Weather

Summers are hot to very hot, highs clock between . Winters in the other hand are comparatively chilly, especially at night, and lows usually go beyond the freezing point. During the winter it rains with an average precipitation of . It does not snow in Sidi Kacem.

Education

There are no universities in Sidi Kacem, and the only higher education available is in the Prince Moulay Abdellah Technical High School, where students can get a Higher Diploma in Electrical studies. Most residents of the city who seek higher education travel to

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 ...

, where they can attend Ibn Tofail University, or other larger cities.

Transportation

Sidi Kacem's small taxis have fixed tolls depending on from where you are going and your destination. Add 50% of the toll at night. Sidi Kacem is located along Morocco's national

ONCF ONCF (from French: ''Office National des Chemins de Fer''; ar, المكتب الوطني للسكك الحديدية ''Al-Maktab al-Waṭaniy lil-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah''; ''Moroccan National Railways Office'') is Morocco's national railway ope ...

railway line and was considered a crossroads because passengers going to the North had to switch trains in its station. This is not longer the case as the ONCF has constructed a direct railway which doesn't cross Sidi Kacem. The town has a local bus station, which serves all the regions of the country, in addition to multiple grand-taxis stations, for the nearest cities and villages.

Points of interest

* Sidi Kacem's tomb located in Zaouia. * Oil refinery.

Notable people

Ezzaki Badou Ezzaki Badou ( ar, الزاكي بادو; born 2 April 1959), nicknamed Zaki, is a Moroccan football coach and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He manages CS Chebba. Playing career Born in Sidi Kacem, Zaki represented AS ...

- Former international goalkeeper and current manager *

Salaheddine Sbaï Salaheddine Sbaï (born 21 August 1985 in Sidi Kacem) is a Moroccan former professional footballer. Club career Sbaï began his career for the youth side at Charleroi and was loaned out for the 2004/2005 season to Ronse. After only five games i ...

- Former international footballer *

Rachid Taoussi Rachid Taoussi ( ar, رشيد الطاوسي – born 1959, Sidi Kacem) is a former Moroccan football player and manager. Club career Born in Sidi Kacem, Taoussi began his career at age 17 with Union Sidi Kacem as a midfielder. Coaching c ...

- Former footballer and current manager

References

Municipalities of Morocco Populated places in Sidi Kacem Province Sidi Kacem {{RabatSaléKénitra-geo-stub