Meknes, Volubilis, and Moulay Idriss (June 19-June 22, 2011)

Meknes, about 60 kilometers west of Fes, was meant only to be a stopover, allowing us to explore the Roman ruins at Volubilis (more on that later), before continuing south. We found, however, that our hotel was peaceful and the city was much more relaxed than the hustle-and-bustle of Fes, so we spent a full day exploring its Medina.

On our first night in town, we encountered an enthusiastic pro-Morocco crowd parading down the street singing, dancing, playing music and waving Moroccan flags. We followed them to the city’s main square (Place El Hadim), where a large concert was going on. The next day, we explored the Meknes medina. Much smaller than Fes, the Medina markets were easier to navigate, and because the city sees far fewer tourists, we didn’t experience the hustle we had in Fes and goods seemed to be less expensive. We even found a salt souk, where there was a makeshift lean-to with some large salt rocks laying under it that were being broken down into progressively smaller pieces until they were hand ground into a fine powdered salt that was being sold by several different dealers.

We spent the next day exploring the Roman ruins at Volubilis and the small town of Moulay Idriss. Volubilis was one of the Roman Empire’s farthest outposts, although Roman rule lasted only about 200 years. A major olive oil producing region, Volubilis and the surrounding area also apparently supplied Rome with the majority of its exotic animals (namely lions, used in Roman games) and during Rome’s short reign, lions, elephants, and bears were all wiped out from the region.

The site is known for the well preserved mosaics in many of the homes, and some of these were magnificent. The opulence of many of the town’s inhabitants is clear in the ruins of solariums, extravagant baths, and colonnaded entry ways. Despite the site’s proximity to Fes, there were few other tourists so we had it largely to ourselves as we explored. We both thought the ruins, particularly the mosaics, were spectacular and that perhaps closer to Rome, this site would be teaming with tourists.

Moulay Idriss is one of the holiest sites in Morocco, founded by a great-grandson of Mohammad, and is a site of pilgrimage for Moroccan Muslims. As non-Muslims we aren’t allowed to enter any of the mosques or religious buildings in the country, but we still thought this was a nice place for a short walk. The town is perched on two steep hills towering over a river valley and the surrounding plains. From the top of the town the views into the valley and back toward Volubilis were lovely. Few non-Muslim tourists seem to visit here, so the people, particularly the children, were friendly and interested in what we were doing. A group of young girls took to Patrick and tried to practice their French on him yelling “bonjour!” and asking him his name.

Click the photo below for our Meknes, Volubilis, and Moulay Idriss album.