Salé

Salé, Arabic Sla, old walled city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, at the mouth of the Wadi Bou Regreg. The wadi separates Salé from Rabat, Morocco’s capital city, of which Salé has become a bedroom community. Salé was founded in the 10th century and reached its zenith as a medieval merchant port and entrepôt. After 1627 Salé became the home of the republic of Bou Regreg and the base for the Barbary pirates (or corsairs) known in the West as the “Sallee Rovers.” Because of this, the city was frequently bombarded by European naval squadrons. Salé and Rabat grew together until the right bank of the Wadi Bou Regreg silted up and the Salé port was closed. The city is a concentration of mosques and mausoleums; the most venerated sanctuary is the tomb of Sīdī ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥasan, Salé’s patron saint. Pop. (2004) city, 760,186; Rabat-Salé metro. area, 1,622,860.