Salé (Arabic: سلا, romanized: salā, [salaː])[a] is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town.

[2] The city still preserves its historic medina (old town), with many major monuments dating from the Marinid period (13th–15th centuries).

[9] The town of Salé proper was probably founded in the 11th century by families from al-Andalus (present-day Spain and Portugal), most importantly the Banu 'Ashara.

[9][10] The latter family included learned jurists (faqihs) and judges (qadis) and they became the city's de facto rulers.

[13][14] The Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd Al-Haqq (r. 1258–1286) reconquered the town and afterwards helped to rebuild the city walls.

[10] The Marinids added new religious and charitable constructions, including the Madrasa of Abu al-Hasan, the Zawiya al-Nussak, and a maristan (hospital for the mentally ill).

[16] Ibn Ashir later became the patron saint of the city[9] and his mausoleum dominates the large seaside cemetery of the medina.

This period helped develop the political awareness and activism that would lead fourteen years later to the signing of the Manifest of Independence of Morocco on 11 January 1944 by many "Slawi" activists and leaders.

[25] The prefecture is divided administratively into the following:[26] Salé has a Mediterranean climate (Csa) with warm to hot dry summers and mild damp winters.

Located along the Atlantic Ocean, Salé has a mild, temperate climate, shifting from cool in winter to warm days in the summer months.

The historic old city (medina) of Salé occupies a large area near the mouth of the Bou Regreg river.

It is enclosed by defensive walls pierced with several entrances, the most notable of which is Bab el-Mrisa ('Gate of the Little Port'), a monumental gate on the southeast side of the city, dating to the 1270s.

[32][10] A number of tombs and zawiyas are also located in the area near the Great Mosque and in the large seaside cemetery occupying the southwestern corner of the medina.

The mausoleum complex of Sidi Abdallah ibn Hassun, one of the two patron saints of the city, is located just west of the mosque.

[31] A short distance east of the city walls is the Zawiya al-Nussak, originally built in 1356 by Abu Inan, most likely as a lodge for Sufis.

Salé-Ville is the main inter-city station, from which trains run south to Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech and El Jadida, north to Tanger, or east to Meknes, Fes, Taza and Oujda.

[41] Much of the city used to rely upon communal standpipes, which were often shut down, depriving some neighbourhoods of safe drinking water[41] for indefinite periods of time.