Dec. 29 Volubilis, Meknes and Moulay Idriss

Volubilis: This is the first city in Morocco, founded by the Romans around 40 AD and abandoned around 280 AD.  It fell into disrepair and much of the marble brought from Italy was taken to Meknes to build the royal palace there.  Then in 1755 it was buried by the great Lisbon earthquake which destroyed many cities far away from the epicenter in Lisbon, Portugal.  Excavations began with the French occupation in 1912 and, as can be seen in the photos, there remain beautiful mosaics and reconstructed arches and columns.  I also learned where the ancient peoples originally came from: the Berbers from Iraq, the Carthaginians from Tunisia, and the Phoenicians from Lebanon.  We were also told that lead poisoning was a major problem as lead was used to line the areas that held drinking water.  This was a common reason for early death and it was thought that Caligula was affected leading to his madness and excess.

Meknes: This is the least spectacular of the four Royal cities even though it was developed by the most powerful early Arab leader, Moulay Ismail who, through bloody warfare, subdued the major Berber tribes and unite most of Morocco under his leadership.  Perhaps the most interesting area was the stable that held 12,000 horses and the intricate system they had to water and feed the animals.  These served the 16,000 sudanese (the word for black in Arabic) soldiers.  To plan for the future Moulay got them each a woman so they would produce males who he would then train as the next generation of soldiers.

Moulay Idriss: This is a holy city with the tomb of the descendant of Mohammad who brought the Word to Morocco in the 9^th century.  Not only are non-Muslims restricted from visiting the Mosque/mausoleum but until recently they were barred from staying overnight within the city limits.  It is a requirement that every Muslim make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in his lifetime.  For a poor Muslim who cannot afford to make the journey he can instead go to pray at Moulay Idriss 7 times during their lifetime. 

Karen: The Roman ruins are quite remarkable because they have only been excavated recently so that the colors of the mosaics are still very bright. I was truly in heaven because I love Greek and Roman ruins. There were many columns still intact but it was explained that all statues were broken because of the Islamic edict against depicting human forms. We were also told that in addition to the usual brothels there were special houses for homosexuals since homosexuality was accepted by the Romans.

Today we went to another market and I must admit I’ve had enough of animal carcasses. Today men were walking down the aisles with goat and cow carcasses including the heads, carried on the men’s shoulders.  Every market has bins and bins of all kinds of olives and everywhere we go there are olive groves in all directions. Olive trees need little water or care and they start to produce after only a few years. They can live for centuries.

The traditional Moroccan diet has no cheese, although La Vache que rit is advertised everywhere. One can purchase cheese that comes from abroad at a supermarket.  The start of a meal has 8-10 little salad dishes similar to mezzas, all vegetarian.  At every traditional meal we are offered some kind of couscous and a tagine, made of beef, lamb or chicken. The chickens which we also see live everywhere in the markets , taste so different from our chicken in the States because it is fresh when it is cooked.  We have really enjoyed their flavor. For dessert we are offered a huge bowl of assorted fruits. I have never been a fruit lover, so it’s not appreciated by me. In every hotel room we are also given a fruit basket. Orange trees are everywhere, including in business districts. People here do not traditionally eat chocolate. There also is very little salad with lettuce. However, one needs to be careful about eating lettuce here, except in finer restaurants. We also get mint tea offered to us everywhere, including when we go into shops. Mark really loves it. After having it a few times, I’m not that enamored of it. There is a way of them pouring it from high in a spout to your glass. Mark bought a silver tea pot and I promised to make him mint tea when we get home. With all traditional meals we are served bread. It looks like a giant pita and is pretty bland. Occasionally we have had some with more flavor. Today we saw a bakery, where the women bring in their bread for the baker’s oven. At the end of the day, the women come to collect their own loaves.