The road and railway run side by side, south across the plains from Casa to Marrakesh . To the east lies the desolate and dusty phosphate-mining region, the Plateau des Phosphates. To the west, the land is more fertile and watered by Morocco's greatest river, the Oum Er Rbia, and its tributaries, inevitably dammed wherever convenient for irrigation and hydroelectricity.

 

SETTAT , 60km south of Casablanca, is the major city on the way to Marrakesh - a sizeable town and still growing. Though the bulk of new investment is in the Casablanca area, Kenitra and Settat are joint second, with the Rabat-Salé area representing only a small percentage of new investment. Already, Settat is the centre of the Moroccan cotton industry : spinning, weaving and ready-made clothes. In 1992, the Spanish company Tavex, a leading European producer of denim cloth, built a factory here and it now produces half the denim needed for Morocco's clothing industry.

The wealth of Settat is to be seen in its civic architecture and commercial edifices, mostly banks. The entry to the town follows a wall-watered valley; green lawns and trees on both sides and you'll pass the university and the nine-hole Settat University Golf Club (tel 02/340 2131, fax 340 2099). There's also the luxurious Hôtel du Parc (tel 02/340 3941, fax 340 4208; over 800dh). In the town itself there are two adequate hotels, both on Place Mohammed V; Hôtel de la Place (tel 02/340 3062; 40-100dh) and Hôtel Al Massira (tel 02/340 4072, fax 340 1092; 150-200dh).