It’s a shame that Christi continues to feel under the weather because Morocco and its cuisine was supposed to be a highlight of her Year of Wonder. She continues to drag her aching body around Morocco, though, and today it’s the Roman ruins of Volubilis. The site is 33 km north of Meknes, which means getting there will be a little complicated. In the end we take the train from Fes back to Meknes and hire a Grand Taxi (which in reality is a rather decrepit Mercedes station wagon). For 350D (about US$35) the taxi driver agrees to take us to Volubilis, wait while explore, and then bring us back to Meknes train station. The taxi driver insists we stop for lunch in the nearby town of Moulay Idriss. It’s another key tourist site he says and the price is the same either way, so we meekly agree. It’s been my experience that Arab people really do like to negotiate a specific price for a specific itinerary ahead of time. What they don’t like are changes to an itinerary – and certainly not if there is no more money forthcoming. But whatever you do, don’t pay until the tour is complete.
This is true even of the tour guide we engage at the ruins of Volubilis. Mornings is rush hour at the ruins, apparently, so tours are brief because the guide wants to cram in as much business as possible before the tourists depart for Fes or Meknes. Come in the afternoon, on the other hand, and the guide will bore the pants off you with historical minutiae. We arrive at the peak of the rush hour crush and Abdul, our guide, is frothing at the mouth. Initially, I thought this was from enthusiasm to impart his knowledge, now I think he has rabies. He rushes us from ruin to ruin, never allowing Christi a moment to take a sip from her water bottle or me to take a photo. And not only does he hold out his hand at the end of the tour demanding his 150D fee, he’s visibly displeased when we don’t give him a tip. He even asks, ‘Where’s my tip?’ to which I reply ‘Where’s our tour?’ He leaves in a huff and we return to the ruins with our trusty Lonely Planet guide-book.
In keeping with virtually every place we have visited on our Year of Wonder, Volubilis is a UNESCO World Heritage site (since 1997). A settlement has existed at Volubilis since the third century BC, but it was not until the arrival of the Roman Empire in 40AD that the town took off. Over the next two centuries major monuments including the triumphal arch, basilica, capitol, and baths were erected (which is a long time to wait for a soak in the tub). Most impressive of all, though, are the floor mosaics, including those depicting the 12 tasks of Hercules, Dionysus, a desultor athlete, and Bacchus getting frisky with new flame Ariadne. The Romans remained in control of Volubilis until 280AD when the city was abandoned to the Berbers. The city continued to be inhabited until the 18th century when Moulay Ismail the Bloodthirsty plundered the site for marble to build his palace in Meknes. Many of the remaining antiquities have been removed to museums in Rabat and even the Louvre, but Volubilis is still a great place to visit.
Five kilometers east of Volubilis is the laid-back hill town of Moulay Idriss where we stop for a late lunch. The town is named after Moulay Idriss who arrived in 789 AD from Mecca. Indeed, Moulay Idris was the great-grandson of the Prophet Mohamed and so it’s probably not surprising that it was he who introduced Islam to Morocco. Moulay Idriss also began construction on the city of Fes, work that was later completed by his son. A mausoleum containing the remains of Moulay Idriss dominates the small hill-side town, but it is not open to non-believers. The town of Moulay Idriss is also unique in having the only mosque in Morocco with a circular minaret. Now how’s that for useless trivia!
After another long day on the tourist trail we return to Fes where the ailing Christi revitalises herself at that temple to Western consumerism, McDonald’s.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching tale of love and test tubes
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