Editing Rabat (section)

== Culture ==
The biggest place for theatre is the Mohammed V Theatre in the centre of the town, which was opened in 1962.<ref>{{Cite web |last=V |first=Théâtre Mohammed |title=Théâtre National Mohammed V {{!}} Théâtre Mohammed V |url=https://tm5.ma/info-theatre/ |access-date=2022-04-21 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Theatre National Mohammed V, Rabat, Maroc, Concert, Musique, Humour |url=http://www.babelfan.ma/tous-les-lieux/details/0/2/theatre-national-mohammed-v.html |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=www.babelfan.ma |language=fr-fr |archive-date=2022-05-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522084907/http://www.babelfan.ma/tous-les-lieux/details/0/2/theatre-national-mohammed-v.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Construction on a new performing arts center, the [[Grand Theatre of Rabat]], began in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archnet |url=https://www.archnet.org/sites/19802 |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=www.archnet.org}}</ref> Designed by [[Zaha Hadid]], it will reportedly be the largest theater in the [[Arab world]] and in Africa. It was scheduled to open in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grand Théâtre de Rabat {{!}} Rabat, Morocco Attractions |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/morocco/rabat/attractions/grand-theatre-de-rabat/a/poi-sig/1633565/355499 |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Lonely Planet |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 August 2020 |title=Grand Theatre of Rabat soon to open as the largest in Arab world, Africa {{!}} |url=https://thearabweekly.com/grand-theatre-rabat-soon-open-largest-arab-world-africa |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=AW |language=en}}</ref>

Many organizations are active in cultural and social issues. Orient-Occident Foundation and ONA Foundation are the biggest of these. An independent art scene is active in the city. L'appartement 22, which is the first independent space for visual arts created by Abdellah Karroum, opened in 2002 and introduced international and local artists. Other independent spaces opened few years after, such as Le Cube, also set up in a private space.

===Mawazine===
{{Main|Mawazine}}

Mawazine is a music festival in Rabat organized under the auspices of King [[Mohammed VI of Morocco|Mohammed VI]] of Morocco, that started in 2001 where music groups, fans and spectators come together in a week-long celebration of culture and music both locally and internationally. Musicians such as [[Scorpions (band)|Scorpions]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Morocco hosts musicians — and imprisons its own |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna47575640 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421170830/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna47575640 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 21, 2023 |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=NBC News |date=26 May 2012 |language=en}}</ref> [[The Weeknd]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Senoussi |first=Zoubida |date=14 May 2018 |title=The Weeknd to Perform at Morocco's Mawazine Festival |url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/05/246285/the-weeknd-mawazine-festival |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=Morocco World News |language=en}}</ref> [[Jennifer Lopez]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-06-02 |title=Jennifer Lopez Moroccan concert sparks calls for minister's resignation |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32979805 |access-date=2023-04-21}}</ref> [[Kanye West]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kanye West performs at Mawazine Festival |url=https://www.ajc.com/entertainment/music/kanye-west-performs-mawazine-festival/AFCQ9D2vsPmPL4BEc1xHzH/ |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=ajc |language=English}}</ref> [[Pitbull (rapper)|Pitbull]],<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=23 May 2016 |title=Pitbull At Mawazine Festival…. Again |url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/187245/pitbull-at-mawazine-festival-again |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=Morocco World News |language=en}}</ref> [[Rihanna]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rihanna Kicks Off Morocco's Mawazine Global Music Fest |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/w0yju9/rihanna-kicks-off-moroccos-mawazine-global-music-fest |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421170830/https://www.mtv.com/news/w0yju9/rihanna-kicks-off-moroccos-mawazine-global-music-fest |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 21, 2023 |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=MTV |language=en}}</ref> [[Elton John]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-05-27 |title=Elton John performs in Morocco despite protest |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/10170338 |access-date=2023-04-21}}</ref> [[Stromae]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maroc: Stromae explose le record d'affluence de Mawazine – Jeune Afrique |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/depeches/16264/politique/maroc-stromae-explose-le-record-daffluence-de-mawazine/ |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=JeuneAfrique.com |language=fr-FR}}</ref> and many others have performed at the festival.

Mawazine was host to more than 2,500,000 in 2013. Workshops are available for teaching dances and other arts. The festival is free. However, while most areas are free, there are those that require payment, specifically the smaller stages being the historical site of [[Chellah]], the Mohammed V National Theater, and the Renaissance Cultural Center.<ref>Bill K. Anderson, [http://digitaljournal.com/a-and-e/music/mawazine-the-binding-of-cultures-the-channeling-of-acceptance/article/385686 Mawazine — The binding of cultures, the channeling of acceptance], ''http://digitaljournal.com/'', 5 June 2014</ref>

=== Places of worship ===
The [[places of worship]] are predominantly [[Islam|Muslim]] mosques.<ref>J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, ‘‘Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices’’, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 1959</ref> The oldest mosque in the city is the "[[Kasbah of the Udayas#The Old Mosque (Mosque of the Kasbah)|Old Mosque]]" (''Jama' al-'Atiqa'') in the [[Kasbah of the Udayas]]. It was originally founded during Abd al-Mu'min's construction of the kasbah in 1150, though its current form mostly dates from an 18th-century restoration.<ref name="Touri-2010" /><ref name="Parker-1981" /><ref name="France-2020">{{Cite web |last=France |first=PASS Technologie, 26, rue Louis Braille, 75012 Paris |title=Al masjid al-Atiq (Kasbah des Oudaïa) |url=http://www.idpc.ma/view/pc_architecture/sanae:300308?f_id_region=10&num=5 |access-date=2020-01-02 |website=www.idpc.ma |language=fr-FR |archive-date=2020-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102185859/http://www.idpc.ma/view/pc_architecture/sanae:300308%3Ff_id_region%3D10%26num%3D5 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other important mosques include the [[Great Mosque, Rabat|Great Mosque]] in the old medina, also known as the el-Kharrazin Mosque, and the As-Sunna Mosque in central Rabat, originally completed in 1785 by Sultan Muhammad ibn Abdallah.<ref name="Marcais-1954">{{Cite book |last=Marçais |first=Georges |title=L'architecture musulmane d'Occident |publisher=Arts et métiers graphiques |year=1954 |location=Paris |pages=391}}</ref><ref name="El Mghari-2017">{{Cite journal |last=El Mghari |first=Mina |date=2017 |title=Tendances architecturales de la mosquée marocaine (XVIIème-XIXème siècles) |journal=Hespéris-Tamuda |volume=LII (3) |pages=229–254}}</ref><ref name="Touri-2010" />

The last remaining [[Moroccan Jews|synagogues]] in Rabat are the [[Rabbi Shalom Zaoui synagogue]] and the Talmud Torah Synagogue.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/24805/plus-belles-synagogues-maroc.html|title=Les 10 plus belles synagogues du Maroc|last=Yabiladi.com|website=www.yabiladi.com|language=fr|access-date=2019-10-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gross |first=Judah Ari |title=Gantz meets with Moroccan Jews at Rabat synagogue |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gantz-meets-with-moroccan-jews-at-rabat-synagogue/ |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}</ref> There are also [[Christianity|Christian]] churches and temples, including an [[Evangelical Church in Morocco|Evangelical]] church and [[St. Peter's Cathedral, Rabat|St. Peter's Cathedral]] (''Cathédrale de Saint-Pierre''), which hosts the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rabat]].<gallery mode="packed" heights="134">
File:Sunna Mosque, Rabat (4316777665).jpg|[[As-Sunna Mosque (Rabat)|Sunnah Mosque]], built in 1785 under Sultan [[Mohammed ben Abdallah|Muhammad III]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=جامع السنة |url=http://www.habous.gov.ma/map-mosquee/1984-جامع-السنة.html |access-date=2019-10-11 |website=www.habous.gov.ma |language=en-gb}}</ref>
File:Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rabat.JPG|[[St. Peter's Cathedral, Rabat|Saint-Pierre Cathedral]]
File:Synagogue Rabbi Chalom Zaoui Rabat 08112020 015.jpg|[[Rabbi Shalom Zaoui synagogue]]
</gallery>

=== Museums and parks ===
[[File:Lion and lioness at the zoo of Rabat, Morocco.jpg|thumb|Lions (possible descendants of [[Barbary lion]]s) at the [[Rabat Zoo]]]]
The Oudayas Museum (also formerly known as the National Museum of Jewellery) is housed in a pavilion residence built by Sultan Moulay Isma'il (r. 1672–1727) inside the Kasbah of the Udayas. It was first opened in 1915, making it one of the oldest public museums in Morocco. Its collections, augmented by private donations, feature diverse objects from throughout Morocco, mostly from the 18th to 20th centuries.<ref name="FNM-2022">{{Cite web |title=MUSÉE DES OUDAYAS – FNM |url=https://fnm.ma/musees-en-cours-de-restauration/musee-des-oudayas/ |access-date=2022-04-21 |language=fr-FR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Udayas Museum (National Museum of Jewellery) |url=https://www.museumwnf.org/partner.php?id=Mus01_B;ma&theme=ISL&tye=museum |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=MWNF - Museum With No Frontiers}}</ref> In 2006 it became the National Museum of Jewellery, with exhibits focusing on the history of Moroccan jewellery.<ref name="FNM-2022" /> As of 2019 it was under renovations to be transformed into a new museum to be called ''Musée du caftan et de la parure'' ('Museum of the [[Kaftan|caftan]] and adornment').<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-05-17 |title=Rénovation des musées : Le chantier démarre en juillet |url=https://leseco.ma/archives/renovation-des-musees-le-chantier-demarre-en-juillet.html |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=LesEco.ma |language=fr-FR}}</ref>

The [[Museum of History and Civilizations]] (formerly the National Archeological Museum) showcases the history of Morocco through a collection of archeological artifacts from the Punic, Mauretanian, Roman, and Islamic periods. This includes a collection of ancient Roman bronze and marble statuary from sites such as Lixus, [[Volubilis]], and Chellah, as well as coins, ceramics, and architectural fragments from the Islamic period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rabat Archaeological Museum |url=https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/pm_partner.php?theme=ISL&id=Mus01;ma |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Discover Islamic Art - Virtual Museum}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Museum of History & Civilisation {{!}} Rabat, Morocco Attractions |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/morocco/rabat/attractions/museum-of-history-civilisation/a/poi-sig/1141807/355499 |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Lonely Planet |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=14 April 2017 |title=Welcome to the Moroccan History and Civilizations Museum |url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/04/213954/welcome-to-the-moroccan-history-and-civilizations-museum |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Morocco World News |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Rabat Zoo]] (officially called the Zoological Garden of Rabat) was opened in 1973, in part to house the lions that were previously kept at the Royal Palace.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MATIN |first=LE |title=Un nouveau parc zoologique à Rabat |url=https://lematin.ma/journal/2006/Conservation-des-especes-menacees_Un-nouveau-parc-zoologique-a-Rabat/76025.html |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Le Matin |date=September 2007 |language=fr}}</ref> The lions are descended from the now-extinct [[Barbary lion]]s.<ref name="EJOWR2006">{{cite journal |last1=Burger |first1=J. |last2=Hemmer |first2=H. |year=2006 |title=Urgent call for further breeding of the relic zoo population of the critically endangered Barbary lion (''Panthera leo leo'' Linnaeus 1758) |url=http://www.uni-mainz.de/FB/Biologie/Anthropologie/MolA/Download/Burger%20Hemmer%202006.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=European Journal of Wildlife Research |volume=52 |pages=54–58 |doi=10.1007/s10344-005-0009-z |s2cid=30407194 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703152826/http://www.uni-mainz.de/FB/Biologie/Anthropologie/MolA/Download/Burger%20Hemmer%202006.pdf |archive-date=3 July 2007 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="Black et al., 2010">{{cite journal |last1=Black |first1=S. |last2=Yamaguchi |first2=N. |last3=Harland |first3=A. |last4=Groombridge |first4=J. |year=2010 |title=Maintaining the genetic health of putative Barbary lions in captivity: an analysis of Moroccan Royal Lions |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00535229/document |journal=European Journal of Wildlife Research |volume=56 |pages=21–31 |doi=10.1007/s10344-009-0280-5|s2cid=44941372 }}</ref> Since then the zoo has expanded to house some 1800 animals and has engaged in conservation efforts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 November 2017 |title=Jardin Zoologique de Rabat : immersion dans le monde animal… - La Vie éco |url=https://www.lavieeco.com/societe/jardin-zoologique-de-rabat-immersion-dans-le-monde-animal/ |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=La Vie Éco |language=fr-FR}}</ref>

The Bank al-Maghrib Museum was inaugurated in 2002 and is housed at the Bank al-Maghrib building downtown. Its main exhibits include a collection of coins and currency from ancient times to the modern era, as well as a gallery of Orientialist art.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sharing the history of an institution and the heritage of a country |url=https://www.bkam.ma/museum/About-the-museum/Museum/Sharing-the-history-of-an-institution-and-the-heritage-of-a-country |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=Bank al-Maghrib}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Bank Al Maghrib Museum |url=https://www.visitrabat.com/en/lieux/musee-bank-al-maghrib/ |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=Visit Rabat |publisher=Conseil Régional du Tourisme - Rabat-Salé-Kenitra |language=en}}</ref> The [[Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art]] was inaugurated in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MUSÉE MOHAMMED VI D'ART MODERNE ET CONTEMPORAIN, RABAT – FNM |url=https://fnm.ma/musees-ouverts/musee-mohammed-vi-dart-moderne-et-contemporain/ |access-date=2022-04-21 |language=fr-FR}}</ref>

=== Historic monuments ===
[[File:Hassan Tower.jpg|thumb|[[Hassan Tower]]]]

The Kasbah of the Udayas (also spelled "Kasbah of the Oudaias") is the oldest part of the present-day city, built by the Almohads in the 12th century. It was later refortified and expanded by the corsairs and the 'Alawi dynasty in the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref name="Touri-2010" /><ref name="Parker-1981" /><ref name="Bennison-2016" /><ref name="Kingdom of Morocco-2011">{{Cite book |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1401/documents/ |title=Rabat, capitale moderne et ville historique: un patrimoine en partage |publisher=Royaume du Maroc (state submission to UNESCO for World Heritage Site nomination) |year=2011 |at=(see "Nomination text" at linked page)}}</ref>{{Rp|171}} The kasbah is now a residential district with traditional houses painted white and blue on the outside. Its southern section includes the "Andalusian Garden", landscaped in the 20th century.<ref name="Touri-2010" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-05 |title=Jardin Andalou des Oudayas – 2ème partie |url=http://www.rabat-maroc.net/le-jardin-des-oudayas-2/ |access-date=2019-12-24 |website=Rabat-Maroc.net |language=fr-FR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kasbah des Oudaias {{!}} Rabat, Morocco Attractions |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/morocco/rabat/attractions/kasbah-des-oudaias/a/poi-sig/423799/355499 |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Lonely Planet |language=en}}</ref>

The city's historic walls were first built by the Almohad caliph Ya'qub al-Mansur and completed in 1197, with later additions in the 17th and 19th centuries.<ref name="Mouline-2008" /><ref name="Touri-2010" /> A number of monumental gates are found along the walls, the most notable being [[Bab er-Rouah]]. The other Almohad-era gates are Bab el-Had, Bab al-Alou, Bab Zaers, and Bab al-Hadid, though many of them were modified in more recent periods.<ref name="Touri-2010" /> The 17th-century Andalusian Wall, which divides the zone inside the Almohad walls, has five more gates: Bab Jdid (formerly Bab Teben, mostly demolished), Bab al-Bouiba, Bab Chellah, Bab Mellah, and Bab Diouana.<ref name="Touri-2010" />

The old medina, located below the kasbah and above the line of the Andalusian Wall, contains many historic mosques and traditional houses. The rest of the area within the Almohad walls but south of the Andalusian Wall was largely built up in the 20th century when Rabat became the capital during the French Protectorate.<ref name="Abu-Lughod20142" /> These districts contain numerous public buildings and apartment blocs built in contemporary styles of that period, such as [[Moorish Revival architecture|neo-Moorish]] (known as ''néo-Mauresque'' or ''arabisant'' in French), [[Art Nouveau]], [[Art Deco]], and [[modern architecture]].<ref name="Kingdom of Morocco-2011" />{{Rp|pages=38–42}} Examples of these include the [[Bank Al-Maghrib|Bank al-Maghrib]] building (built in the 1920s), the Central Post Office building (circa 1921, expanded in 1930s), the [[Parliament of Morocco|Parliament]] building (built in the 1920s), St.-Peter's Cathedral (inaugurated in 1921, with later additions), the Rabat-Ville train station (early 1920s), and some of the apartment blocs on ''Rue Gaza'' (built or begun in the 1930s), among others.<ref name="Kingdom of Morocco-2011" />{{Rp|pages=44–55}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archnet |url=https://www.archnet.org/sites/18013 |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=www.archnet.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Archnet |url=https://www.archnet.org/sites/18014 |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=www.archnet.org}}</ref><ref name="Abu-Lughod20142" />{{Rp|page=199}}<ref name="Bloom-2009">{{Cite book |last= |first= |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780195309911 |editor-last=M. Bloom |editor-first=Jonathan |location= |pages= |chapter=Morocco, Kingdom of |editor-last2=S. Blair |editor-first2=Sheila}}</ref>

Overlooking the shores of the river is the [[Hassan Tower]], a monumental unfinished [[minaret]] constructed by Ya'qub al-Mansur in the late 12th century. It was built for an enormous mosque planned as part of the larger city al-Mansur was constructing. Across from the tower today, at the southern end of the mosque's remains, is the [[Mausoleum of Mohammed V]] (d. 1961), which houses the remains of King Mohammed V and [[Hassan II of Morocco|King Hassan II]]. The mausoleum, completed in 1971, was designed in a neo-Moorish or Moroccan revivalist style by [[Vietnam]]ese architect Cong Vo Toan.<ref name="Bloom-2020">{{Cite book |last=Bloom |first=Jonathan M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRHbDwAAQBAJ&q=Architecture+of+the+Islamic+West%3A+North+Africa+and+the+Iberian+Peninsula%2C+700-1800&pg=PP1 |title=Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700–1800 |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0300218701 |location= |pages=275–276}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dardar |first=Wissal |title=5 Historical Mausoleums You Should Visit in Morocco |url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2021/01/332072/5-historical-mausoleums-you-should-visit-in-morocco |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=moroccoworldnews |language=en}}</ref>

A short distance south of the historic city walls is the archeological site of Chellah, a walled enclosure containing a 13th to 14th-century Marinid funerary and religious complex as well as the ruins of the Roman city of Sala Colonia.<ref name="Touri-2010" /> Across the river is the city of Salé, which also preserves a historic medina. The medina of Salé includes monuments from the Marinid period such as [[Bab el-Mrissa|Bab Mrissa]] and the [[Madrasa of Abu al-Hasan]] as well as landmarks from later periods.<ref name="Touri-2010a">{{Cite book |last1=Touri |first1=Abdelaziz |title=Le Maroc andalou : à la découverte d'un art de vivre |last2=Benaboud |first2=Mhammad |last3=Boujibar El-Khatib |first3=Naïma |last4=Lakhdar |first4=Kamal |last5=Mezzine |first5=Mohamed |publisher=Ministère des Affaires Culturelles du Royaume du Maroc & Museum With No Frontiers |year=2010 |isbn=978-3902782311 |edition=2 |chapter=VIII.2. Salé}}</ref><gallery mode="packed" widths="150" caption="Historic sites and landmarks">
File:Marrocos-Kasbah-Oudaya-Rabat-Luis-Filipe-Gaspar.jpg|The [[Kasbah of the Udayas]], seen from the river
File:Une ruelle de la Kasbah des Oudayas.jpg|Typical street and houses inside the Kasbah
File:Rue des consuls Rabat 2020.jpg|''Rue des Consuls'', one of the main streets of the medina
File:Morocco - Rabat (31387809034).jpg|City walls, including Bab al-Had (left)
File:باب الرواح.jpg|[[Bab er-Rouah|Bab ar-Rouah]]
File:Moroccan Parliament Building.jpg|[[Parliament of Morocco]]
File:Rabat, Telegraphe Poste Telephone.jpg|Central Post Office
File:Gate of Chellah, 2019.jpg|Gates of [[Chellah]]
File:Honor guard at Mausoleum of Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco.jpg|Honor guard at [[Mausoleum of Mohammed&nbsp;V]]
File:Rabat Lighthouse (fort Borj Sirat, برج الصراط).jpg|Rabat Lighthouse and (Fortress) Borj Sirat
</gallery>