Sidi Kacem () is a city in

Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Rabat-Salé-Kénitra () is one of twelve administrative regions of Morocco. It is situated in north-western Morocco and has a population of 5,132,639 (2024 census). The capital is Rabat. History Rabat-Salé-Kenitra was formed in September 201 ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. 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. The French started oil drilling exploration in the vicinity of Sidi Kacem in 1934; production of crude oil began locally in 1939. Slightly to the south of Sidi Kacem lies

Volubilis Volubilis (; ; ) is a partly excavated Berber-Roman city in Morocco, situated near the city of Meknes, that may have been the capital of the Kingdom of Mauretania, at least from the time of King Juba II. Before Volubilis, the capital of the kin ...

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

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. It was built on the site of a previous

Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It extended from central present-day Algeria to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, encompassing northern present-day Morocco, and from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean in the ...

n settlement 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 (, , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is a port on the Sebou River with a population of 507,736 as of 2024. It is one of the three main cities of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region and the capital of the similarly named Kénitra ...

, 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''; ''al-Maktab al-Waṭaniyy lis-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah''; ''Moroccan National Railways Office'') is Morocco's national railway operator. ONCF is a state-owned company that is under the c ...

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 (; born 2 April 1959), nicknamed Zaki, is a Moroccan football coach and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He manages the Niger national team. Playing career Born in Sidi Kacem, Zaki represented AS Salé, Wyda ...

- Former international goalkeeper and former manager * Salaheddine Sbaï - Former international footballer * Rachid Taoussi - Former footballer and current manager

References

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