The World Heritage Site of Volubilis

South of Fes and Meknes in the north of Morocco are the breathtaking ruins of the Roman city of Volubilis.

The archeological site of Volubilis is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It was founded in the third century B.C. and became a Roman outpost. While it looks rather small from the hill above, it is actually quite large and has extremely well preserved mosaics.

One of the ancient doors to the fortified city and the main street lined with partial building facades. You can almost imagine Ben Hur's Hollywood rival riding up the road on his chariot to get to the arena on time for the famous race.

Beautiful mosaic with its colours enhanced by the rain. Mosaics were the floor tiles of wealthy Romans.They were made with small pieces of coloured glass, stone or metals. Romans chose the motifs to tell a story or represent family members, gods, famous or mythical people or everyday scenes much like one now use carpets with sports team logos or wood floors with inlaid designs.

In Volubilis, the houses were built of stone, some had their own baths, a luxury in those days and all had mosaics as floor coverings.

If you are in that area, you must see Volubilis. It gives you a rare opportunity to be transported back in time when ancient Romans lived there. You will walk inside the house walls through that door on the right and imagine being entertained in the open mosaic covered atrium, then walking to the temple...

...or to the public baths like the ones below. Going to the "thermes" was as much a social as a sanitary outing. There were cold baths, steam bath and areas to relax with friends afterwards. There were also  massage and exercise rooms. Sounds like our modern spas?

Water was brought from the nearby river via an aqueduc, was then distributed to houses through canals that ran under the streets and was heated by wood burning "stoves" much like the Hammams (steam bath) of today.

Images: Joelle Desparmet, Unesco, Pinterest

Morrocan travels (1)

From Tangier one can travel by car, train or plane to other parts of Morroco. There are pros and cons to each mode of transportation.

Cars are easy to rent, take you anywhere, at any time and give you the possibility to change course and schedule when you wish. However, driving in Morocco is not for the fainthearted. Traffic laws are very loosely interpreted, donkey-drawn carts appear out of nowhere and some people missed the course about which side of the road to drive on and what a stop sign means.

Trains are actually a good option because they are usually on time, clean and quite safe but you are bound by timetables or as happened to us once, by flooding or other problems on the tracks. An overnight trip in a two bed berth from Tangier to Marrakech cost us about 60 dollars/45 euros, had clean sheets, pillows and blankets, a sink and mirror and was very comfortable.

Domestic flights are unpredictable but do get you there eventually. We once spent six hours at Casablanca airport waiting for a connection which was supposed to leave within 45 minutes. There was not a soul to get information from in the transit area, a blank screen for time of departure, no possibility to buy food or drink and the flight was announced suddenly through a loud-speaker just minutes before departure. No explanation, just hurry, hurry or you'll miss it. Huh...I'm sorry?

Whatever the means of travel or the inconvenience, there is true beauty in every corner of Morocco. People are extremely friendly and ready to help in any way they can and after all, the unexpected is what makes travelling fun.

A farmer goes to work on his donkey somewhere on the road to Fes.

A lake basks in the sun amid manicured fields and geometrically planted olive groves.

Lush springtime vegetation at the foot of the Rif mountains.

Storks take in the view of the Roman ruins in Volubilis from their perch on a centuries old column.

A man carries supplies up the hill from the holy city of Moulay Idriss which boasts the oldest Mosque and University in Morocco and possibly the world. Until 2005, foreigners were asked to leave the city by 3:00 PM.

Mauve flowers adorn a dry river bed in the south on route to the dunes of Erg Chigaga.

A "pisé" village (an adobe-like mix of clay and straw) in the south on the way to the desert south east of Marrakech.

An oasis with minaret on the banks of an almost dry river near Ouarzazate.

A young tuareg camel rider at Erg Chigaga. He guides tourists who teeter unsteadily atop bored camels to "experience the nomad life"...for all of thirty minutes. Dare I admit it, I was one of them.

Photos: Joelle Desparmet