Morocco, part 9: Meknes and Volubilis

The last place we stayed in Morocco was the pleasant city of Meknes. We found a wonderful dar (small hotel) and got a beautifully decorated room.



Here's the view of a tower from the rooftop terrace...



...and the view looking down into the dar's courtyard.



Volubilis was a Roman city two thousand years ago. It still exists, but in ruins. It is well worth a visit if you happen to be in Morocco.

The arch below is dedicated to the Roman emperor Caracalla and his mother, Julia Domna.



Storks have made a home in Volubilis.



They seem comfortable atop the column.



Volubilis is famous for its many beautiful mosaics. Bacchus and Ariadne are in this one, although there's not much of Ariadne left.



I really liked this one, with animals and trees in the center and a series of intricate borders around them.



The mosaic below, in the House of Venus, depicts the goddess Diana bathing.



We visited on the perfect day, uncrowded, warm but not hot. The site is large enough to hold one's interest but not so huge as to be unmanageable.



Here's a view of the Decumanus Maxius, the ceremonial road.



Volubilis was one of the major highlights of our Morocco trip. From here we drove back to the Fes airport and flew back to Rome. Tip for those spending time in the Fes airport: bring reading material! There's no newsstand.

Morocco, part 8: Azemmour

From Essaouira, we went northeast on the coastal road, thinking we might stay in El-Jadida. We chose to stay in untouristy Azemmour instead.

There seemed to be a lot of people out and about as we walked around looking for a place to eat dinner. Later we found out that there had been a demonstration in town that day, and dinner time must've been when they were wrapping up. Oblivious.

The riad (small hotel) we read about was closed, but some boys who saw us knocking on the unanswered door led us to another one, which had been redone by the owner, a French architect. We liked it and got a room there. We were the only guests that night.

This photo is from the upstairs hallway, which looks down into the courtyard.



The little courtyard has a tiny pool in the center, sort of like the ancient Roman style of house with an impluvium.



The next morning, we were going to eat breakfast on the roof terrace, but it was quite foggy and a bit cold.



Before we left Azemmour, though, the sun began to shine like mad.

Morocco, part 7: Essaouira

Having had enough of Marrakech, we headed to Essaoiura, a laid-back and pleasant seaside town that we liked very much. The medina (old town where cars aren't permitted) is surrounded by a wall.



We stayed in a lovely dar (small hotel) with a roof terrace, where we drank mint tea, Morocco's beverage of choice.



There wasn't any hassle from touts in Essaouira. If you said "no thanks," vendors would respect your disinterest and not pursue you. What a relief after the constant harrassment in Marrakech.

This fellow seems relaxed.



We had a look at the little port full of row boats and fishing boats.



Some men were repairing ships.





This boat might need more than a little paint:



The ladder below looks as if it's made for people with five-foot-long legs. Check out the amount of space between the rungs.



We saw some fishermen repairing nets.



We took an enjoyable walk on the long, flat beach at dusk. Kids played soccer, and families and couples strolled. Perhaps the rules aren't as strict as we thought, or maybe this particular couple is really wild and crazy.



People ride horses on the beach.



So it's a cliché; it was still a beautiful sunset.



These lamps add some atmosphere to a narrow street on our way back to the hotel from dinner.

Morocco, part 6: Marrakech

Back to our Morocco travelogue. Back on March 17, we left Aït Benhaddou and drove over the Atlas mountains to Marrakech. The road was curvy.



And snowy.



And beautiful.



Like Fes, Marrakech is full of tiny alleyways, most packed with people, but there are some quiet ones as well.



Some are dedicated to particular types of goods, like slippers (babouches) or jewelry. This is the wool-dyers' alley.



Marrakech is great for people-watching.







Guess which of these people is local.



Much activity centers around Djemaa el-Fna, the main square, known as "La Place." There you can find not very charming snake charmers



who drape snakes around unsuspecting tourists' necks and then demand money.



There are also colorful tea carts



as well as vendors of all kinds. (Those are dried fruits and nuts for sale in the foreground. We got dates and almonds -- yum.)



Behind the man in the photo below, you can see the Argana Restaurant, where we had dinner one night on the balcony. A bit over a month later, on April 28, the restaurant was bombed and destroyed, killing both locals and tourists.

Morocco, part 5: Aït Benhaddou

"Take me to the kasbah." Who said that? Seems like a familiar movie phrase. Made us want to go to the well preserved and much filmed kasbah in Aït Benhaddou. You may have seen it in the films "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Gladiator."



Here's a closeup of one section with plenty of greenery.



We stayed in a hotel just across the river, visible in this photo. (The kasbah is in the foreground, and the hotel is in the distance.)



An unofficial guide showed us around. He said animals live in the straw-roof section pictured below while their keepers lived in the rooms above. Having invented his own guide spiel, he pointed out such designs as the crescent moon and said, "That's the moon." So informative.



The whole place is made of earth mixed with straw. It features many towers decorated with tall, narrow, window-like designs, sometimes surrounded by a trellis-looking design. Our pseudo-guide told us that the geometric shapes all had meanings. Then again, he also just made stuff up. He told us the small, narrow building at the top of the hill was the queen's house, whereas our guidebook described it as a granary.



In any case, the place has lots of atmosphere, and we enjoyed the visit.

Morocco, part four: Ouarzazate

Continuing on our Moroccan drive, we headed west toward Ouarzazate. We stopped for lunch outside of the oasis town of Skoura, at Chez Talout. The tasty food may have given us mild intestinal issues later.



Ouarzazate is the center of the Moroccan film industry. Many films you've probably seen were filmed there, including Lawrence of Arabia, Ben Hur, Gladiator, The Mummy (1, 2 and 3), and Kundun. We visited Atlas film studios, one of the most prominent studios in the country. Here we saw the plane from Jewel of the Nile. It doesn't actually fly; it only drives.



These arches were used in Gladiator and reused in other films.



This huge complex was built for Kundun, a film about the Dalai Lama.



These columns were seen in Gladiator as well as The Mummy.



Here's a miniature version of Abu Simbel temple, used in The Mummy. (We went to the real Abu Simbel in Egypt back in 2008.)



This shot shows how flimsy some of the set decorations are. It looks like these pieces on the capitals are made of thin paper. I believe this was a reuse of either a Gladiator or Mummy set for the French film Asterix and Obelisk.



We're posing on the Kundun set with the camera dolly, which allows for smooth shooting when the camera is in motion.