On our way out of town this morning, we were not so fortunate - after filling with petrol we drove around in circles until we were finally pointed in the right direction by a policeman. Coming back this afternoon (along the same route), I realized that this was exactly where I suspected on the day of our arrival that we would need to go. Finding our way to Fez tomorrow will be fun.
Volubilis (Roman ruin) and Moulay Idriss (muslim mini-Haj pilgrimage town - 5 trips to MI is equivalent to one Haj to Medina) are only 27 or so Km out of Meknes, an easy drive along more great farming landscapes in expansive scenery. We came to a fork in the road and the driver insisted on the left fork whereas the co-driver, who was soon proved correct, wanted the right. After a few minutes we found a sign pointing us in the right direction, but along a rather poor rough country lane. The scenery was good though initially, then continued along a valley floor, with a range of hills on our right that looked far more inviting. Later on we returned to Meknes on a much better road up in those hills.
At the time Volubilis had a population of 20,000. It's situated on a low hill that must have had access to water. We spent three hours tramping over the Roman ruins. The main attractions were a few large columns and arches, as well as many mosaics, mostly in poor condition, with some rather good ones. By good fortune we encountered the best ones last, a nice way to round out that visit. We saved ourselves the price of a guide by following the many guided groups at a discrete distance, and seeing some attractions that they missed. It's quite an impressive site, but not well looked after. Only minimal restoration has been done. One thing that had been restored was a large olive press in its own substantial building. One of the stone remnants that intrigued us were round stones about ¾ m in diameter and shaped a little like a penis in profile. There were also round stone tubs of a similar diameter and I guess these were used for grinding grain.
We really enjoyed our time here because it's very gratifying to be able to meander at will in all directions to discover things at one's own pace. What also made the experience a delight was the profusion of wild flowers and thistles of various kinds amidst the ruins.
After finishing at Volubilis we continued on for ten minutes to Moulay Idriss, a hill town, visible from Volubilis. Once there, kind locals guided us to an area where we had the privilege of paying for parking - 10 Dh. Naturally a man who wished to be our guide was waiting and attached himself to us. On hearing that we were hungry (it was 1:30), he guided us to the first eating establishment on the way to the mausoleum. As we arrived a huge cloud of smoke emanated from the grill at the front out on the footpath. This is where all the food preparation took place, in an area less than 2m square. It consisted of a display counter with various kinds of meat on skewers and a large pile of spiced beef mince. The latter was the recommended local specialty and that was what appealed to us anyway, so we went for it. The usual Moroccan salad, olives and bread for starters, and then the grilled minced meat, in the shape of little sausages but without any skin. They were delicious. Followed up by a double helping of mint tea, of which we have grown very fond.
While eating we observed the mince being prepared. One man with a large knife slices off a 1 to 2Kg slab of meat from a leg of beef suspended on a hook from the ceiling out at the front. The cook then cuts it up into small pieces and tosses them into a large electric mincer. He than mixes in some condiments and adds it to the pile in the display case. Our would-be guide did all the ordering and serving for us, obviously having some kind of relationship with the proprietor. And he snacked there for free I think. After lunch we proceeded with the guide, but despite my feeble attempts I could not get a price for his services - he left it up to us - even more agonizing.
He showed us to the mausoleum of Moulay Idriss the First who came here from Saudi Arabia in the 8th century along with a helper from Baghdad. Together they brought Islam to the people of northern Africa. We weren't allowed to enter the precinct of the mausoleum, but we could see where it was. From there it was a lot of twisty little passages up one of the hills. Occasionally there were good views down onto the mausoleum and mosque precinct as well as the houses on the hill opposite. It was a fun experience puffing up all those steps (about 150 according to the guide), admiring some houses etc. He took us into his parents' house, where mom and dad were waiting and welcomed us in. No big highlights on the walk except perhaps a mosque with the only round minaret in the whole of northern Africa, and indeed all the others we have seen have been square.
The drive back was uneventful and we found our way to the Lalla Aouda parking without any detours, following the route of our original arrival.
A note about driving in Morocco. On the whole the roads are good if a little narrow at times. Broken shoulders on minor roads are a common hazard. What is surprising is the way people drive - not at all aggressively. They don't rush about madly, except perhaps a little in peak hour. In general though, their good manners help to make it easy to drive here. Very little of that macho bullshit. In towns and cities of course there are many pedestrians going in all directions, so you drive quite slowly, but even here people don't force their way across the road - give and take and respect for others works wonders.
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