Roman Ruins and on to Fez

To day was a long day of driving from Marrakech to Fez (which on the road signs is spelled Fes). The highlight of the trip was stopping and touring a spectacular Roman ruin.

The town of Volubilis was founded by the Romans in 25BC and was occupied by them till approximately 325AD. It is situated overlooking a beautiful vista of the farmland below.

An earthquake destroyed it in the 1700’s. It is slowly being restored. It has beautiful mosaic floors in many of the ruins that somehow survived through the ages. In conjunction with the views of the valley it was a wonderful place to visit. It reminds you of all the various invasions and conquests this country has had through the ages.

The land here grows grapes for wine, conveniently corks for the wine bottles, and olives. I guess the Romans had a good life while it lasted.

We finally arrived at Fez. It is one of the oldest cities in Morocco, over 1200 years old and is center of learning and Muslim religion. There are over 300 mosques in Fez. When we heard the final call to prayer tonight (there are 5 daily calls) it sounded like the calls were coming from every direction. No two calls sound alike or start a stop at the same time. For a period of 5 minutes or so men issue the call from their minaret’s, over loudspeakers to call the faithful. It is a cacophony of sound. A good example of the difference style of Moroccan architecture is that the minaret’s are square not round columns like you see in most other Muslim countries. Although our guide says there are Christians in Morocco, we have not seen any churches.

We are still trying to understand about the Berber people. There are 3 distinct groups of them, each speaking a different language. They pre-date the Arabs. They came from Sahara, and Europe. We had a long discussion about them but it is still confusing.

We finally arrived in Fez, but have not yet visited the old town (the Medina). It is made up of thousands of small alleys. It is inhabited by 250,000 residents. There are no cars in the Medina. It should be fascinating. We are staying in the converted Palace Jamil overlooking the Medina. It is first class! Location, Location, Location, the Prince knew where to build! We ate at the Palace and had a delicious Fish Tagine while celebrating Jill’s Birthday, which is officially tomorrow.