|
|
|||||||||||||||||
| History of Meknès | |||||||||||||||||
| Destinations: | |||||||||||||||||
|
|
The next morning we were headed east toward Meknès on our way to the ancient Roman ruins of Volubilis. On the way we stopped at a truffle road-side stand. The interesting rock formations signaled someone was selling truffles that were dug up in the local forest. Along the way was lush farmland, sheep, forests and green pastures. The group chipped in to buy a bag of truffles. We drove by the Meknès Medina Gate and visited the Royal Horse Stables (Stud Farm). There were many different horse breeds. Lunch was in Meknès, population of 200,000. After lunch we walked around the old Heri es-Souani granaries and stables, and the Agdal Basin. The area was the home to Moulay Ismail who had 360 wives, about 800 children and 72 castles or kasbahs. Pretty busy guy! He had a long rule of 55 years. Read more about the history of Meknès. On the way (33 km) to Volubilis we passed the hill top city of Moulay Idriss (named after the founder of the first Arab dynasty). It actually overlooks Volubilis. I got a quick photo from the moving bus and a photo from the ruins. There was a very fast 1 hour tour of the Volubilis ruins. The local guide was definitely in a rush. There are some fantastic mosaics exposed to the elements, but in excellent condition. Arrival in Fès was in the early evening (93 km) |
