People tend to forget that the Roman Empire stretched over North Africa, I guess it’s because there’s no African “Romance language” to remind them. Anyway, Volubilis is, or rather was, a Roman city… and the impressive ruins are still there to give you a glimpse into what was. Exploring the ruins gives you a unique look at a Roman city that must have been important to Roman commerce for this part of the world, and it remained “Roman” until the Arabs conquered this part of the world. So perhaps you have the youngest Roman ruins anywhere – outside of Italy.

 

Remember that tyrant Sultan Moulay Ismail of Meknes? In the 17th century, he was responsible for demolishing and stripping mining Volubilis in his vain attempts to construct something great and impressive at Meknes… what a tragic loss, and I cursed that short-sighted criminal as we wandered through the well-preserved ruins, which could have been the most intact Roman empire ruins had Sultan Moulay’s ego to make Meknes compete with European palaces of the Renaissance… Although there were a couple guides at the entrance to ruins, waiting by the cafes, there really is no need for a guide here, as any quickie guidebook will tell you more than enough. The thing about the Roman Empire is that they were occupiers everywhere the empire reached, and there are signs of that military occupation here, too. At the end of Decumanus Maximus, the former main street, is a ceremonial archway, that’s impressive but leads to open grass. I always get a kick out of the names of Roman streets, that seem so imperial, so mighty… and I’m sure they probably were once.

 

Volubilis’s ruins are of a complete stark contrast to what we saw in Fez, Marrakesh and Meknes (not that there’s any ruins in those other cities, but this European design work), and with good reason, the Roman designs definitely stick out like a black eye compared to the luxurious Islamic decorative work seen in the rest of Morocco. I was constantly comparing the Roman mosaics with the Islamic mosaics that we saw earlier on our trip. It’s hard to compare the two, because the Roman work is so specific of their deities and legends, whereas the Islamic mosaics have a more decorative and spiritual essence to them. But as these ruins, we could first hand and I do mean first hand examine these ancient constructs that harkened the area of Hannibal. As we strolled the forum, paraded around the basilica – which is still pretty massive – and dipped in and out of the few remaining houses; the House of Orpheus near the olive oil presses is maybe the most captivating or the House of Dionysus, but that’s really a matter of personal taste. Take pictures of both and decide when you get back home are looking at them in Lightbox (or Aperture or iPhoto!).

 

As we leisurely walked through the romantic and soothing gardens, we looked off to see our next stop on our journey. The city of Moulay Idriss. The Volubilis gardens had such a relaxing feel to them that it was hard to believe that we were in North Africa, as one always expects arid landscapes and desert dunes.

 

© 2009 Chris Derrick