Rabat, population 787,745 (1994), is the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Bou Regreg estuary. Unfortunately, silting problems have diminished the city's role as a port, but it maintains an important textile industry.
There have been settlements on the site since ancient times. It became a Muslim fortress circa 700. Prior to Moroccan independence in 1956, Rabat was capital of the French protectorate of Morocco.
