Volubilis Ruins

Hot, lush, unkempt. Hauntingly beautiful. 

There is a certain unique and strange quality standing in the middle of city ruins watching the opulence of yesterdays rotting into cobbled paths. 2000 years ago, a bustling city so full of dreams and aspirations. 2000 years later, just a cold trail. 

Our travel schedule only allow for one day in Fez. I was keen to make a day trip to Volubilis and Meknes. As language(Arabic/French) is a barrier & we didnt have time to figure out the public transport, we decided to engage a credible private driver recommended to us by the riad staff (see end of entry for his contacts). 

 Typical Roadside View

Alot of sheeps

Our first stop on the way to Volubilis was a famous lake. Coming  from a city packed with skyscrapers, I was blown away by the vast acres of land and beauty of nature.There was lots of sheeps wandering around. Occasionally, we will pass by a shepherd carrying his staff. The bible always make references to shepherd/sheeps so seeing this felt pretty surreal. 

 3 cute sheeps

Volubilis

This is a UNESCO World heritage site and one of the Roman Sites before it became the Berber's. Tour guides greeted us at the entrance but we wanted to explore the place on our own terms. 

King Moulay Ismail carted off some of these columns to build his Meknes palace. He was a pretty crazy king. I love how the storks make their nests on these columns, good choice you!

Volubilis is pretty big but 1.5 hours is probably more than sufficient for you to soak in the ambience, do some reflections and then move on to camwhoring. 

One of the mosaics decorating the floor of a once grand villa. There were a number of these around signifying that the inhabitants were generally quite atas (well to do). Most of the mosaics depict scenes from the Greek mythology. 

You have to trek through this. Ouch.

There is something about ruins that always pull me in. Although the best of our dreams and legacies is humbled by the tide of time, there is still some beauty in this futile aspiration to try to achieve something dazzling in our lifetime. 

Private Driver

Rachid0708@gmail.com/Rachid 0708@hotmail.fr/ 00212641878078 

Rates:150 Dh/S$23 for half-day service 

-Review: Rachid is a father of 3 children and speaks moderate English. His car was air-conditioned and clean. We heard that official tour guides have to go through tests to get their badge. Unofficial tour guides, if caught, are fined.