Two weekends ago was our first excursion! We visited sites of importance to Moroccan history: Meknes, Moulay Idriss, Volubilis, and Fez. Saturday morning we got up bright and early and met at the CCCL to load the buses. The Tunisia program went with us on our excursion and the Migration group went north to some beautiful coastal cities. As soon as we left Rabat, the scenery opened up into lush green rolling hills. We passed some areas of farmland, pastures with horses, sheep, and cattle, and some slightly more mountainous areas (more hilly than mountainy). Even though it was a major highway, I definitely saw cattle about to roam into the road at one point.
We had a bathroom break halfway through where I decided to order some tea hoping I could get it to-go. This was a very popular decision in the group, and unfortunately we all realized too late that there is no “to-go” when it comes to hot drinks, even at a gas station. Tea is served in a glass and coffee is served in a porcelain cup. So it ended up taking a lot longer than our leaders wanted to take that break. I also ordered msmen (which I’ve also seen called raif), which is like a Moroccan crepe. It doesn’t really have anything in it, so actually it’s just a thin fried pancake. So, eventually we got back on the road and made it to Meknes, where we met our first guide. He was a short Berber guy (I’m assuming, because he kept making jabs at Arabs) dressed in traditional clothing. This guy was SO ready to tell us why Meknes is the BIGGEST, BEST, and (insert superlative here) place in Morocco.
Meknes, while maybe not the most interesting place, has a rich history. Located here is the palace of Moulay Ismael, a grand Moroccan king who built (what our guide called) the largest palace in Africa ever. It is no longer inhabited, but stands as a historical marker. Meknes is still the only major Moroccan city where King Mohammad VI doesn’t have a palace. We saw one of the 10 most beautiful gates in the world there also. It was very large with intricate designs, and our giant bus was only allowed to park there for a few minutes so we could get off and take pictures, because we were most definitely blocking traffic. So we continued through successive gates to the city, each revealing a different historical quarter. The palace of Moulay Ismael lies at the center of the city, and there are 3 walls in concentric circles around it, each where a different quarter was located. We visited the old chellah, or Jewish quarter, which is not really known for a Jewish population since most Moroccan Jews went to Israel in the 1950’s. Finally we went through the center gate and we got to see part of the ruins of the palace. It was beautiful, but unfortunately it had been partially destroyed by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. As we were going into the inner gate, our guide pointed out the building where the first treaty to recognize the United States of America was signed. Then we went to the granary for the horses of Moulay Ismael. It was a huge granary that could store enough grain to feed his 12,000 horses for 3 years! Half of the granary was built with arched ceilings, but it took too long and Moulay Ismael ordered the builders to begin using flat roofs. They were the ones that would fall victim to the earthquake, but the arched ceilings remain intact. Moulay Ismael was a grand king, similar to his French counterpart, Louis XIV. The story is that Moulay Ismael wanted his son to marry the French king’s daughter, so he built his own gardens similar to those of Versailles. Still, the marriage didn’t work out. His main contribution to Moroccan history is that he was able to prevent the Ottomans from taking the region. In Meknes we also visited the tomb of Moulay Ismael, who I think is also one of the first Alawite kings, which is the current dynasty ruling Morocco.
The last place we went to was an artisan shop where we were shown a special art form using metal and silver thread. This is only practiced in two places in the world, here and Toledo, Spain. It was cool, but of course our guide took us there because he gets a commission from what we buy.
The next destination was Moulay Idriss, a beautiful little town nestled in the mountains and covered in olive trees (seriously, everywhere). Moulay Idriss is named for the first Islamic dynasty to come to Morocco and the first person to consolidate the kingdom of Morocco. After a very precarious drive on some winding, narrow mountain roads, we made it to our lunch destination, a family restaurant in the hills of Moulay Idriss. We were served tajine with chicken and quince (so delicious), and for dessert, almond-stuffed dates. Then we took a short drive to Volubilis.
Volubilis is on the outskirts of the town, and represents the southernmost city of the Roman Empire. It was destroyed in the Lisbon Earthquake, but after extensive excavations, some of the ruins have been reconstructed. This is an ongoing project. Here we had a wonderful and knowledgeable guide who told us the story of the town. We were able to see the temple of Jupiter, some individual homes with intricate mosaics, public bathrooms, a hot tub, the public speaking arena, and even a brothel. The Colosseum hasn’t been uncovered yet, but archaeologists have an idea of where it should be and hope to uncover it in the future.
After Volubilis we pushed on to Fez, where we arrived at an amazing hotel called Hotel Batha, only a few minutes walk from the main gate of the famous medina. There was enough time to shower and enjoy the heated rooms (this is the first time we’ve experienced this since being here) before we met for dinner. We went to a nice restaurant that served kebabs and an egg and meatball concoction. For dessert, we of course had fruit (standard here): bananas, oranges, and a special treat, strawberries! There was also live traditional music.
The next morning we started on a crazy tour of the city. First we visited places outside the medina, including one of the king’s palaces. Just the door knocker was bigger than my head! Then we went to a lookout above the city to get an idea of the size of the medina. It is the biggest in the world and has been declared a world heritage site by the United Nations. There are over 60 miles of streets in the medina, and some of these are barely wide enough for one person to walk through facing forward. The only means of transport inside the medina is on foot or by donkey, and pack animals are also used to transport goods. The problem is that when these animals get loaded down with goods on either side, they become
a) as wide as the entire street
b) unstoppable until their final destination
c) all of the above.
So we really had to watch ourselves and be ready to jump into a doorway or down an alley. The problem is that when you and the 20 people around you are also trying to do this, it becomes more of a challenge. Even though the Fez medina is bigger, it seemed very organized. There are clearly certain areas for certain goods. One highlight was walking through the fish market, where fresh caught Great White Shark, stingray, prawns, and fish were being sold. There was another area where camel and sheep heads were being sold, both of which are apparently a delicacy here. Om nom nom.
We also got to see the famous tanneries. As you go inside the area you are given a sprig of mint to block the gross smell of the fresh hides and massive tubs of dye. We observed them from a leather shop that our guides had conveniently taken us to with a vast selection of jackets, purses, and shoes. CCCL tries to hire good guides, but they of course take a commission from all the stores we happen upon. So a lot of people ended up buying goods at this place (I bought a purse), and then at a pottery factory we went to. It was cool to see the different kinds of gray and red clay being handmade into various tajines, mosaic fountains, and tiles in the famous blue color of Fez. At the end of the day we had free time to roam around and practice our bargaining skills. I bought a fez (from Fez).
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