Roman Ruins and Pilgrimages

Even though there are no classes on Saturday, we did not get a chance to sleep in, which was alright by me since I had slept wrong on my arms and woke up at 6am unable to straighten them.

At 8am we met the directors and other students at the bus and headed to the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Volubilis. As the word "ruins" implies, there is only crumbling foundations and a few columns remaining of what was once a fairly large Roman settlement. We spent the morning climbing around the ruins and learning about the history of Volubilis from our tour guide. He pointed out wonderful tile mosaics that depicted stories of Hercules, Juno, Poseidon, and other Gods andGoddesses. We were shown large pools and Jacuzzi locations, where the brothel had been located, and of course the main religious and governmental buildings. With the Middle Atlas mountains as a back drop and fields and olive trees stretching out below, it isn’t hard to imagine why the Romans picked this spot for a city.

After Volubilis we hopped back on the bus and wound our way up into the mountains to the town of Moulay Idriss. Moulay Idriss is an ancient city and a place of pilgrimage for Muslims. The city is built on a large hill that almost pops out of nowhere, resembling giving the city an almost ant hill-esque look. Stairs switched back and forth up and down the hill between the thousand year old homes. It was market day in the small city of 20,000 and therefore, was teaming with life. Farmers and merchants from 37 surrounding villages plopped down anywhere along the roads, selling their goods out of baskets, boxes, crates, or off of blankets-their donkeys waiting patiently to haul whatever can’t be sold back up through the mountains to where ever home may be.

I thoroughly enjoyed walking through the market seeing all the fresh fruits and vegetables, boys riding their donkeys up the hill, and women with their heads covered and babies slung on their back bargaining for the best prices for the spices needed for the next week’s dinners. The only part I didn’t like was when I found myself in the meat section. Whole halves of cows hung up in the sweltering heat. Goats stripped of all flesh except for their still furry head still intact hovering inches from the ground. The smell was enough to make anyone a vegetarian. I walked as quickly as I could to the other side, using all the strength I had not to run or be sick. I’m hoping that we’re eating vegetarian tonight...