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This section takes in almost five hundred kilometres of Atlantic coastline, from Kenitra in the north to the popular resort of Essaouira in the south, and ranges through long stretches of scarcely developed lagoons and sands to Morocco's urban heartland. This latter comprises the cities of Rabat and Casablanca - the respective seats of government and of industry and commerce - and the neighbouring towns of Kenitra, Sale (alongside Rabat) and Mohammedia (alongside Casablanca). Together, these have a population of around five million - close on a fifth of the country's total. It's an astonishingly recent growth along what was, until the French Protectorate, a neglected strip of coast. At the turn of the last century, Rabat was a straggling port with a population of 30,000 (today it's 900,000), while Casablanca (modern population 3,500,000), had just 20,000 inhabitants. In Morocco now, the bulk of new investment is in the Casablanca and Kenitra areas - and around Settat, 68km from Casablanca, on the road to Marrakesh. Inevitably, it is French and post-colonial influences that are dominant in the main coastal cities. Don't go to Casa - as Casablanca is popularly known - expecting some exotic movie location; it's a modern city that looks very much like Marseilles. Rabat , too, which the French developed as a capital in place of the old imperial centres of Fes and Marrakesh, looks markedly European, with its cafes and boulevards, though it also has some of Morocco's finest and oldest monuments, dating from the Almohad and Merenid dynasties. If you're on a first trip to Morocco, Rabat is an ideal place to get to grips with the country. Its westernized streets make an easy cultural shift and it's an excellent transport hub, well connected by train with Tangier, Fes and Marrakesh. Casa is maybe more interesting after you've spent a while in the country, when you'll appreciate both its differences and its fundamentally Moroccan character. South along the coast , populations and towns thin out, as the road skirts a series of beaches and dunes, with the odd detour inland when cliffs take hold. El Jadida , established as a beach resort by the French, now fulfils the same function for middle-class Casablanca. Oualidia , to its south, has a similar, though rather more relaxed and small-scale style. Safi , between Oualidia and Essaouira, is a predominantly industrial town, but a friendly place, with some excellent beaches nearby. Finally, there is Essaouira , which is also easily accessible from Marrakesh, and is, to put it simply, Morocco's most enjoyable resort. A beautiful walled town, with an active fishing port, long sandy beaches and a very relaxed feel, its only drawback is the wind, which can blow incessantly in spring and early summer (September to November is the best time to visit). However, even this wind has been used to help promote the town as Morocco's chief windsurfing resort.
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