First published: 03/01/16.

Michael Turtle 3.0

Volubilis

Volubilis (Inscribed)

Volubilis by Michael Turtle

Considering how far they are from Rome, these ancient Roman ruins are really impressive and it must have been quite a grand outpost they had here in Morocco. As the city grew, they added things like a basilica, a temple and even a triumphal arch - and you can still see parts of these imposing structures today.

As well as the remains of the public buildings, there are quite a few private houses that have parts of their walls remaining and are marked out for you to see. The mosaics in some of them are surprisingly well preserved and they offer as much of an insight into what Volubilis would have been like as the temples and baths.

When you go through the entrance to Volubilis, there will be guys there offering to guide you. I'm sure they would do a good job and you could negotiate a price but I just wandered around and saw it myself. Perhaps I would have learned more from them, because there isn't too much in the way of information signs, but I enjoyed getting a sense of the place just by looking.

Volubilis makes for an easy half-day trip from another World Heritage Site at Meknes, although I stayed overnight and then walked from nearby Moulay Idriss (on the tentative list) which is not the most impressive destination in Morocco, but was a nice relaxing change from the bigger tourist centres.

Overall, I enjoyed Volubilis as a site in its own right, but I particularly liked seeing a different slice of Moroccan heritage after all the medinas that are included on the World Heritage List.

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