Last Day.

3-30-14 FES, MOROCCO: I should have mentioned in the 3-29-14 post that Ron’s last lecture was before dinner. It was a discussion of our impressions of the country after having been here.

Today was the optional trip to Meknès and Volubilis. About half of the group went, while the others were back in the Fes medina for more shopping. Meknès is an attractive city about an hour west of Fes. It is the hometown of our guide, Mohamed. It was another past-capitol of the country with another royal palace. We paused there briefly on our way to Volubilis.


Meknès city center.

The countryside here is green and fertile with olives, grains, fava beans, agave and prickly pear. There are vineyards and herds of sheep and cattle. It makes quite a contrast with the desert we left two days ago.


Olives...

No sand storm here.

Volubilis was a Roman city until about 300 AD when the empire began to fall apart. It was of substantial size with fancy homes, mosaic floorings, a sewer system, temples and a forum. They've done a lot of restoration, the tour took more than an hour.


Main street.

Unusual column with spiral fluting in a private house.

Triumphal arch.

That star shape in the center is a sewer drain.

City center.

Olive oil was probably the main industry.

Mosaic floor.

X-rated mosaic.

Volubilis has storks too.

We headed back to Meknès through the vineyards and olive orchards to a local restaurant that is a favorite of Mohamed for grilled lamb, bread, frites and local beer and a local kind of ketchup, and, of course, olives.


If the name looks familiar, it's the name of a city where we went to the souk before the desert stay. The restaurant proprietor is from there.

After lunch, we saw more of Meknès. There is a military academy and an important mosque. We saw metal ware with inlaid silver, a skill that the Jews brought from Spain, embroidery originally taught by Catholic nuns, and outdoor markets. One king, in times past, had a bigness complex, and he built a reservoir, huge granary and giant stable.


Mosque with fountain.

Endless stable for 2,000 horses.

This is one of several huge rooms for grain storage. The grain was stored in sacks.

Plaza market.

Back in Fes, we primped for the big banquet at the Palais Jamaï before dispersing for our trips home.


Nice set of elevators at Palais Jamaï.

Dancer at dinner, she didn't pop out of a cake.

Morocco went on DST tonight, which made our very, very early morning departure for the airport even earlier. The trip home was the usual unpleasant schlep, but there were no missed or canceled flights.