Mosaic Mountain

We started our day with an extended tour of Meknes. This was really cool, and I really felt like we had gotten to experience everything the city had to offer in a properly immersive experience. Initially, we began at a viewing point overlooking the city to help provide context and a grasp of the history that literally and figuratively envelops the city. Large parts of the city are surrounded by a section of an ancient, enourmas, yet still somehow standing brick wall. In fact, there are 3 sections of the wall that once kept the royal quarter, the royal administrative section, and the rest of the inhabitants. As time began to erode the kingship and population size, many moved into all areas of the castle, including the royal areas. Meaning that the city now extends through all sections, though with some of the former royal palace still standing. Given the population that the former city once had, you begin to understand the enormity of the operation to keep it functioning. This is reflected in how you could easily be lost and confused as you travel between the different sections, across large distances, while always seeming to stay within the greater wall limits. We had seen it from the viewpoint, but it ended up doing little for our ability to appreciate the former size of the city. We explored mosques, graves, important sections in the walls, restoration projects, a market, and even a golf course that now occupies the former royal garden. The city was really interesting, and our guide was amazing at explaining the complex history and how it reflects on the city today.

Our journey towards Chefchaouen then took us toward the ancient Roman town of Volubilis. I am a stickler for an ancient Roman town, and this one represented the most southern Roman settlement in the world. As is very typical for me, I had no idea that we would be doing this today, as I am blissfully unaware of the itinerary from day to day, but I was pleasantly surprised when we began to wander the old ruins. Though I had seen many by now, these ruins were unique for their number and quality of mosaics and the easily understood city and house layout. It became very easy to imagine yourself walking through the town in the 2nd century AD, exploring the markets, the forum, the Basilica, and lavish houses that litter the main road. The particularly extravagant houses are highlighted by the number, detail, and grandure of the mosaic images that line the floor. The immersive experience only being amplified by the images that they reflect. Religious moments, legendary stories, personal experiences, all being included in the murals. If you look closely at the photos I attach, you will see the 12 labours of Hercules, Bacchus (the goddess of wine), events from the local collosseum (which hasn't yet been uncovered), and even portraits of the wealthy land owners. This last point was quite surreal for me due to the detail in which these murals are created. It is hard to believe that a building constructed in the 1st Century AD, I could look at today, and see the person responsible for its construction, with imaculate and intricate detail. A kind of mindblowing experience. These murals are capable of maintaining their colour as a result of the stones in which were used. These don't use painted tiles, but lapis lazuli and green gemstones. This ensures that they don't lose their colour from sun and rain. These murals alone made this one of my favourite Roman experiences, up there with Ephaysis, pompey, kekova Island, and even the Roman Forum. This provided a unique insight into how African and Roman cultures both impacted on one another, something that I was yet to experience during my travels. We finished the tour by standing under the Basilica, built after Christianity became the dominant religion during Constantine's reign, while still being able to see the old Roman gods temple. This must have existed hundreds of years before rhe Basilica, and was in a condition that reflects that. It's mostly just a set of stairs and a sacrificing stone. It was mostly good for one final view over the ancient ruins. Although the Romans occupied this town from the 1st Century BC to the 4th century AD, there were native occupants all the way up yo 1755 when the great earthquake of Lisbon destroyed the city once and for all. An earthquake whose scars remain all over Morocco to this day and has been a talking point many times throughout our tour. The majority of Meknes restorations are also needed as a result of this earthquake.

We arrived at our hotel im Chefchaouen and were blown away by how nice it was. I will have to include the photos in tomorrows log, though, as I can not quite cull anymore from today. We had dinner and some Moroccan wine, which was surprisingly good and went for a late night walk of the town. Most stores were closed, and the roads were quite poorly lit, but it was still cool to see the city at night regardless. These photos will be included in tomorrow's logOkumaya devam et