Throw Off The Bowlines: Volubilis, Moulay Idriss, and Meknes

Thursday, April 25

Today was our side trip outside of Fes. Thankfully, it turned out to be a straightforward siteseeing day. Ibrahim picked us up early to take us out to see the Roman ruins of Volubilis, followed by a visit to the mountain-side town of Moulay Idriss, and then Meknes.

Lake Barrage Sidi Chahed - an artificial lake (created by a dam) on the way to Volubilis

Volubilis

The Romans obviously had an appreciation for breathtaking landscapes

The House of Orpheus

Moulay Idriss. I didn't have any great shots from Moulay Idriss so I borrowed this one from online. (Credit: The Guardian)

You will almost inevitably do a lot of shopping while you're in Morocco. However, if you can resist, hold off until you have been calibrated to the appropriate prices for things. We found that the best prices were actually to be found in Essaouira, our final stop.

Everything you see tends to be sold nearly everywhere you go. This includes ceramics, scents, spices, leather goods, jewelry, rugs, and woodwork. The only two exceptions we found were the Damascene metalwork in Meknes, and the brass/copper metalwork in Marrakesh. So if you see something you like

Damascene is a type of metalcraft made by hammering thin threads of silver (or other soft metal) into a harder contrasting metal - in this case, blackened iron. The result is quite striking and the only place where we found a lot of it was in Meknes. One store in Essaouira had several pieces. This was Dante's favorite craft and when we couldn't find any in Marrakesh, he regretted not getting more while we were in Meknes. Ibrahim had told us it was not found anywhere else in Morocco and it turned out to be true. It actually makes sense when you realize that Damascene is not originally a Moroccan craft. For whatever reason, Damascene craftsmen just happened to be in Meknes.