Sidi Kacem Explained

Official Name:Sidi Kacem, Morocco
Sidi Kacem
Native Name:سيدي قاسم
Settlement Type:Town
Pushpin Map:Morocco#Africa
Pushpin Relief:1
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Mapsize:300
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Morocco
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Morocco
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Rabat-Salé-Kénitra
Subdivision Type2:Province
Subdivision Name2:Sidi Kacem
Government Type:Governor, Pacha, Mayor
Leader Title1:Governor
Leader Name1:El Habib Nadir
Leader Title3:Mayor
Leader Name3:Abdelilah Ouaissa
Population As Of:2014
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:75672
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:WET
Utc Offset:+0
Timezone Dst:WEST
Utc Offset Dst:+1
Coordinates:34.2167°N -47°W
Elevation M:194
Elevation Ft:636.5
Postal Code:16000
Area Code:212

Sidi Kacem (Arabic: سيدي قاسم|sidi qasəm) is a city in Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Morocco. 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.[2]

Slightly to the south of Sidi Kacem lies Volubilis, which was in antiquity an important Roman town near the westernmost border of the Roman Empire. It was built on the site of a previous Mauretanian settlement from the third century BC, if not earlier.[3]

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, 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 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

Notable people

Notes and References

  1. Web site: POPULATION LÉGALE DES RÉGIONS, PROVINCES, PRÉFECTURES, MUNICIPALITÉS, ARRONDISSEMENTS ET COMMUNES DU ROYAUME D'APRÈS LES RÉSULTATS DU RGPH 2014 . ar, fr . . 8 April 2015 . 29 September 2017.
  2. British Petroleum Company, Our Industry, Petroleum: A Handbook, published 1977, 600 pages
  3. http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=14906 C.Michael Hogan, Volubilis, Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham (2007)