Salé
- For the Canadian figure skater, see Jamie Salé.
| Salé | |||
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 Salé
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| Coordinates: 34°02′N 6°48′W / 34.033°N 6.8°W | |||
| Country |  Morocco |
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| Region | Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Monarchy | ||
| • Ruler | Mohammed VI | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 800 000 | ||
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | WEST (UTC+1) | ||
Salé (Berber: Sla / ⵙⵍⴰ, Arabic: سلا; from the Berber word asla, meaning "rock") is a city in north-western 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 antiquity as a Phoenician colony, it became a haven for pirates as an independent republic before being incorporated into Alaouite Morocco.
The city's name is sometimes transliterated as Salli or Sallee. The National Route 6 connects it to Fes and Meknes in the east. Its population is approximately 800,000.
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[edit] History
It is the oldest city in the atlantic coast, as it was founded by the phoenicians and was known back then as Sala (modern challah); it was completed since then from the other side of the river of bou regreg by the Banu Ifren dynasty. During the 17th century, Rabat was known as New Salé, or Salé la neuve (in French) which explains Salé as the oldest city on the river.. In the 10th century the Banu Ifran Berber tribe settled the area and constructed a settlement where the city currently stands. These Banu Ifran were also the builders of the 'Great Mosque of Salé'.
In Pirate Utopias, Peter Lamborn Wilson says:
Salé... dates back at least to Carthaginian times (around 7th century BC). The Romans called the place Sala Colonia, part of their province of Mauritania Tingitane. Pliny the Elder mentions it (as a desert town infested with elephants!). The Vandals captured the area in the 5th century AD and left behind a number of blonde, blue-eyed Berbers. The Arabs (7th century) kept the old name and believed it derived from "Sala" (sic., his name is actually Salah), son of Ham, son of Noah; they said that Salé was the first city ever built by the Berbers.[1]
[edit] Republic of Salé
In the 17th century, Salé became a haven for Moriscos-turned-Barbary pirates. Salé pirates (the well-known "Salé Rovers") roamed the seas as far as the shores of the Americas, bringing back loot and slaves. They formed the Republic of Salé. There is an American family, van Salee, descended from a Salé Rover, Jan Janszoon.
The city of Salé was bombarded by the French Admiral Isaac de Razilly on 20 July 1629 with a fleet composed of the ships Licorne, Saint-Louis, Griffon, Catherine, Hambourg, Sainte-Anne, Saint-Jean. He bombarded the city and destroyed 3 corsair ships.[2]
[edit] Politic
Salé has acquired its title of nobility during the French protectorate. During the decades preceding independence of Morocco, the city was the stronghold of national resistance movements. The call to "latif" launched in Sale, relayed in the main cities of Morocco, and the petition against the Berber Dahir given to Sultan Mohamed V and Resident General of France will lead to the withdrawal of the Dahir of May 1930, collected by intellectuals of the time as an attempt to divide the Moroccan people. This text has led to the first reaction Moroccan nationalist elites against the occupier and devoted their will to resist. Many admit now that this episode was the founding act of political awareness that would lead fourteen years later the signing of the Manifest of Independence January 11, 1944 by many "Slaoui". Salé has also been deemed to have been the stronghold of the Moroccan left for many decades, where many leaders have resided.
[edit] Culture
Salé has played a rich and important part in Moroccan history. The first demonstrations for independence against the French, for example, sparked off in Salé. A good number of government officials, decision makers and royal advisers of Morocco were born in Salé. Salé people, the Slawis, have always had a "tribal" sense of belonging, a sense of pride that developed into a feeling of superiority towards the "berranis", i.e. Outsiders.
[edit] Modern city
Modern Salé is a highly polluted, badly planned, rapidly expanding town because of rural exodus. The city is now a large "dormitory town" with little community life, devoid of a "centre" of its own. Most of its influential and wealthy inhabitants have departed to live in Rabat on the other side of the river. Physical remnants of Salé's historical heritage are totally decrepit, pollution is prevalent and insecurity is high. However, both its geographical situation and its "melting pot" aspect make it a town with a lot of potential that so far remains untapped by the local authorities. Recent developments, including the new bridge connecting to Rabat, the new Salé-Rabat tram system, marina and coastal development, all show that this is changing with the government and private development companies such as Emaar Properties pouring money into the area.
Water supply and wastewater collection in Salé was irregular, with poorer and illegal housing units suffering the highest costs and most acute scarcities.[3] Much of the city used to rely upon communal standpipes, which was often shut down, depriving some neighbourhoods of safe drinking water[3] for indefinite periods of time. Nevertheless, Salé fared better than inland Moroccan locations, where water scarcity is even more acute.[3] Recent improvements from the government, local business's and Redal has meant that this situation has improved drastically in recent times. High un-employment used to be a serious issue to the Sale area with many textile factorys being located in this area being the only real source of work, this is recently diversing into other areas such as international call centres, electronics and recently a new "techno park" was opened, which was modeled on the Casablanca techno centre success.
The A.S.S. is the football club of the city, and the president is Abderrahmane Chokri.[citation needed]
[edit] Popular culture
The film Black Hawk Down was partially filmed in Salé, in particular the wide angle aerial shots with helicopters flying down the coastline.
The character Robinson Crusoe, in Daniel Defoe's novel by the same name, spends time in captivity of the local pirates, the Salé Rovers, and at last sails off to liberty from the mouth of the Salé river.
[edit] Partner cities
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Salé |
[edit] References
- ^ Wilson, Peter (1995). Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes. Autonomedia. ISBN 1570271585.
- ^ E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936, Volume 9 by Martijn Theodoor Houtsma p.549
- ^ a b c Guillaume Benoit and Aline Comeau, A Sustainable Future for the Mediterranean (2005) 640 pages
Coordinates: 34°02′N 6°48′W / 34.033°N 6.8°W
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