Morocco II - Volubilis & Meknes, October 2024

Volibilis.

Whoever heard of it?

Well, no one, not until the late 19th Century when ”the site was definitively identified as that of the ancient city of Volubilis.” Site Archéologique de Volubilis. “Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed for being ‘an exceptionally well preserved example of a large Roman colonial town on the fringes of the Empire’.” It was pretty much intact & uninhabited from the 11th Century until a mid 1700’s earthquake. The stone was then looted for building nearby Meknes. Under the French Protectorate & after, about half has been excavated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volubilis

I wish we could have spent more time there but we had many more kilometers to travel that day.

Dinner at the Karawan Riad in Fes.

The next morning we were up & out before breakfast was served. The staff had packed us a breakfast for the road.

Road Fes to Volubilis.

For the bikers out there, this was a fully loaded touring cyclist.

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In the distance the reservoir from the c. 1969 Al Wahda Dam, the largest in Morocco. After the Aswan Dam, it’s the 2nd largest in Africa. King Hassan ll (1929-1999) presciently ordered the building of dams. Morocco has just come out of six years of drought. Luckily the dams were there. This past September, torrential rains changed all that. You’ll see in the next blog; water in the Sahara Desert.

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Stork's nest. We didn't spot a stork until Marrakech.

This is a really fertile area of Morocco; barley, wheat, olives...

Green crescent vs. the green cross that one sees on pharmacies in Europe.

Site Archéologique de Volubilis.

Gotta love the argyle socks (like I've been partial to) of this guide at the Site Archéologique de Volubilis.

Plus his djellaba...

...is similar to the one I got in 1978 Morocco.

Basilica at Volubilis.

Site Archéologique de Volubilis.

Our guide lives in the village of Fertasse viewed through the arches of the Basilica at Volubilis.

Site Archéologique de Volubilis.

He's never left the area & learned English from tourists. He speaks several languages.

Mosaic of one of the Labours of Hercules.

Photo taken for Kim.

Site Archéologique de Volubilis.

Impresssive entrance way to someone's villa.

Moulay Idriss Serhoun seen from Site Archéologique de Volubilis.

“It is famous for being the site of the tomb of Idris I, the first major Islamic ruler of Morocco, after whom the town is named.”

The restrooms at Site Archéologique de Volubilis were overrun with tourists. Of course Youssef knew a spot with clean toilets. They were in Roman City, a restaurant across the highway. Youssef knew the owner.

Have you ever seen sinks like this in a public toilet?!

Waiting to take someone's load somewhere.

Farid drove us through a village that Youssef thought we’d find interesting to look at.

New meets old; texting on a donkey.

And, juxtaposition in 1978 Marrakech.

Don't know the name of this village but it was up a hill.

Meat grilled to order & he’s readying tajines for the lunch crowd.

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Meknes, main square.

A case of the contractor stopping work on restoring the city gates until he gets paid.

“Bab Mansur al-'Alj built in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Today it is one of the most famous and admired landmarks in the city.” Now under wraps for who knows how long.

In the tailoring souk of the Meknes medina. This man told Youssef that no, there was no one to take his place.

Zero in on the photo above his head. I’m pretty sure that’s the c. 1993 La Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Maroc.

DAR CHRIFAT PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL (BIMARISTANE) CREATED BY THE SULTAN ABOU INANE EL MAPINI WHICH IS CURRENTLY USED AS A HOSPICE FOR WOMEN.

Meknes medina.

Happy people at a stall in the food souk of the Meknes medina.

Enterprising young guy.

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He was handcrafting custom belts for caftans. We saw him twisting thread that he then used.

Meknes medina.

A friendly guy...

...who takes the meat you bought & grills it for you.

In our case camel meat Youssef & Farid had just bought at a stall around the corner.

I didn’t to ask what the condiments were.

The bread & tea came from different stalls in the souk. Another fellow sat down & joined us with the meat he had just had grilled. We weren’t introduced & the conversation was in, I assume, Moroccan.