Volubilis and Meknes, Morocco

By Glen Bruels
This is part of a series called Morocco 2026
Show More Posts

Today we ventured outside of Fez to visit an old Roman city and another of the Moroccan imperial cities. The drive from Fez gave us our first look at the good news/bad news about all the recent rain and associated flooding — the farmers mostly loved it because they’ve been in a drought. Everyone else largely hated it because of the floods and road damage. Anyway, it was a pretty drive.

On the road from Fez to Volubilis. Very verdant from all the rain, but that lake shouldn’t be nearly that full. A mixed blessing to be sure.
The almond trees certainly appreciate it.
Our driver, Mohammed, stopping off for a little fresh squeezed orange juice and some retail therapy.
Many stork nests along the way. The villages take care of them.

Our first stop was Volubilis, the Mauritanian capital, was founded in the 3rd century B.C. and became an important outpost of the Roman Empire. Volubilis contains vestiges of a fortified Roman city built on a commanding site at the foot of the Jebel Zerhoun. Covering an area of over 100 acres, it provided an excellent example of urban development and Romanisation at the frontiers of the Roman Empire. It also depicted the interface between the Roman and local cultures on a day-to-day basis. The site was in remarkably good shape given its isolation, especially given the fact that it hadn’t been occupied for nearly a thousand years, and that it was covered by over 10 feet of dirt when it was discovered. As our guide explained, this site was one of the richest of this period in North Africa, not only for its ruins but also for the number of inscriptions found that provided clues about life here. Since this site was actually occupied for around 1000 years, the information gathered here spanned from prehistory through the Islamic period. Amazingly, only a small percentage of the site has been excavated, with the focus being on the area the wealthy people lived since that is where  much of the valuable art finds were likely to be. The excavation didn’t seriously start until 1915 by the French and a lot of the reconstruction we saw started only in the 1960s. In fact, our guide’s father had worked as a laborer for the archaeological team. Since that time, many of the residents of the nearby village work at the site, constantly trying to keep nature at bay. From there we drove through the nearby village of Moulay Idris Zerhoun, named after Idris I, a descendant of Mohammed, who befriended the local Berbers and quickly became their leader. He is actually buried in the nearby village named for him. His son, Idris II, would go on to found Fez and bring Islam broader to the kingdom.

The entrance to the park.
Sadly, the on-site museum has been closed since COVID.
Working our way up to the village.
Looking over to the Capitole — dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. You can see where they have pieced the columns together using brick.
Inside the Basilica
While many of the carvings have been removed to museums, there still are some here on site.
And then there are all the floor mosaics. This was the easy way to determine who were the wealthy people in the city. Many of these mansions had multiple mosaics. This one is called “The Rider.”
Standing in front of the Triumphal Arch. Any Roman city of any worth had to have one!
Multiple styles of column shafts and capitals here. Not sure if it was all original or changed with home improvements.
At another house — the Labors of Hercules.
How about a nice bath…
… followed by sitting against this lounger to catch some rays.
Any guesses on what this is? Yup, they were pressing olives for oil even back then.
The road is still discernible but probably needs some work.
The site employs a lot of villagers to keep the weeds from taking over.
One of the things that was very valuable at this site was the inscriptions on all the stela here.
A drive by at the Village of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun to see where Idriss I was buried.

Then it was on to Meknes, another of the imperial cities of Morocco and the sixth largest by population. While Meknes was originally started in the 11th century as a military outpost (it sits up on a promontory), it actually became the capitol of Morocco for nearly 60 years during the reign of Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif. He wasted no time in expanding the city and building many of the monuments that are there today. Of course, this is after the city had been destroyed and rebuilt in the 13th and 14th centuries (lots of intra- and inter-familial rivalries). I should mention that a lot of the labor to build this new palace-city came from slaves and Christian prisoners of war that was quite controversial and seemingly at odds with the teachings of the Koran.  After the shift of the capitol from Meknes to Marrakech (and later to Fez), and a couple of significant earthquakes, Meknes fell into disrepair and was largely marginalized within Morocco. When the French established colonial rule, they started a big effort in agriculture and established a “new” city and many people started moving from Fez to the more affordable Meknes. Sadly, the infrastructure didn’t support this type of growth. After Morocco’s independence, things didn’t get dramatically better until a report came out in 2000 that depicted the threat to the city. Starting in 2023, a number of restoration projects have been started. In fact, while we were there, things are still pretty much torn up. After driving through the very long road between the walls of the New Medina and the Royal Palace, we drove around and saw the very large military academy and stopped to overlook the Agdal Reservoir in front of the Sultan Ismail’s Royal Stables (closed) that once could hold up to 12,000 horses. After having lunch in a restaurant along the Place Lalla Aouda, we walked around some of the monuments and visited the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. While rather plain on the outside, it is quite ornate on the interior. We then passed through the Meknes Gates and made our way into the Old Medina. While not nearly the size of others we’ve visited so far, it was quite beautiful with many decorated doors, the Grand Mosque, and the inevitable souk using a local guide. We got turned around and wandered a bit until we finally found our driver. I have to say, that perhaps Meknes will be a great place to visit when the current restoration efforts are completed, but right now it’s a construction zone.

Approaching the old city walls of Meknes.
Standing in front of the Agdal Reservoir and the Royal Stables.
The Bab Mansour that has recently finished reconstruction after the earthquake.
The long road between the walls of the new Medina and the Royal Palace.
Entrance to the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail.
One of a series of interconnected rooms…
… each grander than the one before.
Venturing into the old Medina.
Lots of cool doors back here…
… as well as ceilings.
Walking towards the Grand Mosque, the oldest and tallest in the old Medina (built in the 12th century and later restored).
Inside the Gand Mosque.
Okay, there’s this guy. Our driver remained in the vehicle while we wandered. I had no idea where we were going when we were in the old Medina. Then this guys shows us to “help” us. Deb called him a “tout;” I called him an informal guide that taught us more about the area than our real guide did. Thirty minute speed tour for $15. I’ll take it!

Tomorrow we head off to Chefchaouen and on to Tangier.

This entry was posted in Africa, Morocco, Travel
Glen Bruels

I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.

Related Posts