Overview
Kenitra is a city in western Morocco, formerly known as Port Lyautey from 1932 to 1956. It is a port on the Sbu river, has a population in 2014 of 431,282, is one of the three main cities of the Rabat-Sale-Quneitra region and the capital of Kenitra.
Description
Kenitra, formerly (1932–58) Port-Lyautey, port city, northern Morocco. It is situated 10 miles (16 km) above the mouth of the Sebou River. Before the French protectorate was established, Kenitra (Arabic: Al-Qunayṭirah, “Little Bridge”) was a fort; the settlement and port, built by order of Marshal L.-H.-G. Lyautey, date from 1913. Kenitra is a shipping centre for agricultural produce (mainly fruit), fish, timber, and lead and zinc ores. The city’s industrial area lies upstream of the port. Kenitra is 6 miles (10 km) east of the Mehdiya ruins, a site of foreign occupation dating back to the Carthaginian period. The city is connected by railway and road with Sidi Kacem and Meknès and by road with Casablanca and Larache.