Volubilis

Last Thursday, T and I headed out of Ifrane with our friend LW and her two daughters. Our ultimate destination was Chefchaouen, a town in the Rif Mountains, but we allowed ourselves to take all day on Thursday to get there. Our first and main stop that day was Volubilis. Just a few kilometers outside of Meknes (which, in turn, is only an hour's drive from Ifrane), Volubilis was, according to The Rough Guide to Morocco, the "most remote" outpost of the Roman Empire. The town was well-established back in 45 A.D. Roman rule withdrew from the area in 285 A.D.

But I'm not as interested in giving you a history lesson as I am in sharing some cool pictures:

The city had a population of around 20,000 people. As I walked around the ruins, I tried to imagine people living here, going about their daily lives.

I love how this photograph captures the ancient and the modern--a 2,000 year old road with electric light posts in the background.

This is another view of the wide main road through town (Decumanus Maximus).

And yet another.

According to The Rough Guide, this Triumphal Arch was built for no reason other than "to create a ceremonial proscenium for the...Decumanus Maximus."

Of course there were people living in North America 2,000 years ago, but they did not leave such extravagant signs of their existence. I think that's why places like Volubilis are so fascinating to me – they are so unlike what can be found in the U.S.

My favorite element of the ruins was the presence of mosaic tile floors. LW told me that many of these floors were only recently uncovered. While some of them are amazingly well preserved, it's clear that they are quickly deteriorating. There may not be very many opportunities to see them in this preserved state.

As I walked around Volubilis, I also thought about how differently such a place would be treated in the U.S. Yes, this is a tourist site, but it is not well built up. It is surrounded by agricultural fields; Berbers graze their herds of sheep and goats nearby (and, I'm pretty sure, even within the ruins). Also, very few parts of Volubilis are blocked off from exploration. One can touch the rocks, walk through the homes… It makes for an amazing experience, but again, makes me wonder how long these ruins will last.

These cows and sheep didn't seem impressed that they were grazing right by the 2,000 year old ruins of a city.