Sunday April 27, 2025

After breakfast on the roof, we pack our bags and say goodbye to Mohammed, who gives us some small presents. Then we walk through the narrow alleys of the souq, cross the street and go through the city gates, and find our car back on the parking lot.

Our goal today is Volubilis, a roman archeological site that’s been high on our agenda. It was a town in roman days, and quite well off. Among other uses it had an olive industry and produced olive oil.

It’s only about half an hour to get there, close to the town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun. This Idris, by the way, is a descendant of prophet Mohammed and a founding father or Morocco. His mausoleum is in this small town and is the goal of Morocco’s largest pilgrimage.

However, we drive away from the town over a dirt road between olive orchards. Soon we reach the site, and there are many visitors.

The site does not disappoint. There are not many large structures, but the forum, the temple of Jupiter, the victory arch (for emperor Caracalla in return for granting roman citizenship to all inhabitants) many mosaics in various houses make it a very worthwhile visit.

The surrounding landscape is beautiful. In the wide fertile plains beyond the victory arch are lines and squares of olive trees. The sun is overhead in a steel blue sky. And as in so many other sites we enjoy looking at the houses andre onstructing them in our mind. One house has a mosaic of the labors of Hercules and I enjoy recognizing most of them. There are mosaics of Dionysos and of scenes from the trip of the Argonauts. Time to read up on my classics again. How I love that greek and roman history.

But time goes on and after we are satisfied we get back to the car and drive back over rolling land to Rabat. For tomorrow we will fly back to Europe.

Ali welcomes us at the riad with his usual calm. We decide to eat dinner at the riad, which turns out to be a challenge for Sisi because we did not eat lunch and she is extremely hungry…