Exploring the Remarkable Ruins of Volubilis

AZDEAN: [00:00:00] Scarcely a 30 minute drive north of Meknes are the Roman ruins of Volubilis one of the must see highlights in Morocco. It is an easy day trip from Meknes, or even Fes, and well worth the stop. Volubilis is one of the most extensive and detailed Roman ruins outside of Europe, and was a major center in its own right from the 1st century AD until around 285, when it was captured by the local tribes.

The city remained vibrant for centuries after, but by the 11th century, Volubilis was abandoned, although its structures remained quite intact. Our infamous earthquake of 1755 put an end to that though, toppling most of what was left, with the stone [00:01:00] and marble looted and taken to Meknes. Within 100 years, people have all but forgotten where Volubilis even was.

Fortunately, archaeologists rediscovered it in the late 19th century, and today, Volubilis is an important site that gives a detailed glimpse into Roman life 2000 years ago. When you visit, a local guide will be available to interpret the ruins, without whom you would only see stacks of rock and stones.

The guides bring to life the daily existence of the inhabitants of Volubilis, where they ate, bathed, worshipped, and traded. Khaled was our guide in Volubilis and although he talks quite fast, it's only because he is so motivated and excited to show us the site. Khaled described the architecture mosaic, olive presses, and more with fine detail and [00:02:00] precision.

 We enter along the former main street and immediately head for the ancient basilica, the Roman Forum and later the Triumph Arc and residential quarters. Imagine walking through the dining rooms, kitchens, and bedrooms of a Roman family of two thousand years ago. Picture the mosaics on the floor, and the statues of gods and myths that's still watching over those houses to this day.

Imagine the history that has taken place here, which makes This is the experience of Volubilis. Let's start our tour.

[00:03:13]

Azdean Elmoustaquim
And when the Romans conquered North Africa, they first built cities on the coast like Tangier, like Rabat on the Atlantic. When the Romans came so far inland, the major reason was to grow wheat, vineyards. I'm sure when you were driving here, you've seen also many olive trees. So North Africa 2000 years ago was much more green and lush. And in this trip, you will also hear much of the big earthquake

that destroyed so many places in Morocco, including Volubilis. But the epicenter of the earthquake was Lisbon in Portugal, by the way. The fault line was huge, maybe as big as the one in California called the San Andreas. And just to excavate what we see now, it took archaeologists almost 50 years. But the biggest part is yet to be excavated. Of course, archaeologists are still expecting to find more.

They still expect to find the Colosseum, still expect to find the arena, maybe the hippodrome. And at its height, when the Romans were here, the size of the population was almost 25 up to 30,000 people. It was for sure quite a big size. 25,000 people living here was quite a big size. But as I mentioned earlier, archaeologists are still expecting to find more.

They still expect to find the Colosseum. They still expect to find the arena, maybe the hippodrome as well.

Yes.

Azdean Elmoustaquim
And with most of the stones, the Romans were using it to build this town, except for the marble, which the Romans brought from Italy, from Carrara.

Azdean Elmoustaquim
Most of the stone they were using by the way was locally quarried from the quarry up there, except for the marble, which the Romans brought from Italy from Carrara. And maybe people who live in that village are still using some springs the Romans were using back then, so they for sure had enough water. As you know the Romans never choose places by chance, if they were here this must have been for good reason. I came, I saw, then I conquered.

Vini, Vidi, Vici. Almost everything was leveled, was destroyed. So most of what we see now standing has been dug up and reconstructed again based on some sketches and drawings archaeologists did before the earthquake. Like the columns we're going to see inside the temple, as well as the basilica. The triumphal arch we're going to see on the right hand side, on that side, that was the city center.

And all the outskirts are still buried so archaeologists of course are still expecting to find more. And it's a chance that Volubilis has been now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So for sure there is a big chance to get more findings. Hopefully.

Azdean Elmoustaquim 
This was a temple. The main god the Romans were worshipping was called Jupiter. It's like Zeus for the Greeks. And that's why we have the sacrificial altar right in the middle For animals only. Unlike Inca, Maya, who did maybe human sacrifice. But when the Romans did convert into Christianity, that's how the basilica we're going to see on that side was repurposed as a Christian church.

But the temple here is a pagan temple and it's much older. You can enjoy the view up there before we continue.

Basilica is the Roman name for the church, and the architecture of the Basilica or any church is often with offsets on this side. It is like a semi-circle and baptism in the middle. Yes, for baptism because it was done by total immersion.

And the temple we saw behind had the sacrificial altar in the middle. For animals, indeed, yeah. There's areas where they used to raise fish. Yeah. There's areas where they bathed. Yes, we got to see some public baths on the way, indeed. And olive oil was a big industry. We got to see some olive oil presses on the way as well. Almost like today, Meknes, Fes are still famous for wine production and olive oil production since the Roman times.

I have a quick question. We say Volubilis, we Walili, we say many things. What does it mean? The name originated originally from? Both Volubilis and Walili are names of oleander as a flower. The Romans called the city here Volubilis in Latin, but when the Romans left the local people kept the same name and they called this place Walili,

Azdean Elmoustaquim 
because the Berber name of the flower is Alili. So even the locals keep the same name. So it's named after Oleander or Alili.

Azdean Elmoustaquim 
A Roman house like this is like a Moroccan riad. It's like a Moroccan riad. Both have a central courtyard like this called Atrium. And normally this part in the middle of the house was open for ventilation. And when it rains, that's where they catch the rain, like a cistern. Like a Moroccan riad with a water fountain, with an ortical garden. And the pillars you see were supporting the roofs. The roofs were made of cedar wood.

Look at the seed of forests. The Romans were very smart. They chose a place so close to the seed of forests, as you mentioned, so close to the water springs, and for sure good land for farming. Yes. As you say, back home, location, location, and location. Yeah. Look how beautiful are the pillars. Look at the twisted style. Can you just imagine how people could cut, chisel, one big block, and it's one piece?

And most of the stone was local stone from the mountains except for the marble, which the Robins brought from Italy, from the place called Carrara, like today.

Azdean Elmoustaquim 
Most of the pillars you see in Hassan maybe originates from Volubilis, because after the earthquake the local people for sure took a lot of stone material from here to be recycled in Meknes and also in Rabat. That's why many columns are missing here. The god of the wine, whose name is Bacchus, and look at his head. Bacchus is the Roman name

 is the Roman name for the god of the wine, and that's why his head is often ornate with the leaves of grapes. Grapes? Yes, his head you can see it's decorated with the leaves of grapes and when he finds Ariadne on the beach in one of the islands in Greece, that's where he falls in love with her and finds her, with the help of the Cupid. The little angel in the middle which is Eros Amor.

That's a cupid. This is also for bathing, like a spa. And people again would sit in those little niches with the water spring in the middle. And again, the water they were using here was naturally hot. We're talking about extremely rich families who could afford to have big and luxurious houses with the spa, with the coipond. That's where they kept fish just for decoration. As I mentioned earlier, this part in the middle of the house was open

for ventilation. And that's why we have this big water cistern called Impluvium. And the word Impluvium comes from pluie. Rain. Or rain, yeah. Or yubia. And to impress guests, we have maybe the best preserved mosaic floor in the dining room. This means that this was  one of the wealthiest families again. And again, we have the god of the wine.

Look at him leaning on that stone right in the middle. One lady is playing to him with a tambourine. Another lady is playing with a flute and at the top with a harp. These women you see with the God of the Wine are called the Muses. Yes, one Muse or many Muses. That's for music and entertainment.

Azdean Elmoustaquim 
That's why these women were called the Muses, because they were known to sing, dance or even entertain.

Azdean Elmoustaquim 
And the Greek name of Bacchus, the god of the wine, is Dionysos. Dionysos. That's the Greek name. You can see in the middle of the street how deep is the sewer system. I mentioned aqueducts earlier, but in the middle of the street, the sewer system would empty down into the river. Can you just imagine 2,000 years ago, cities having  such an infrastructure of roads, aqueducts, sewage?

These people were so advanced. Look at the view now. You can imagine the street with all the shops on each side. Those were all small shops having arches and colonnades. And all that part with the shops was like a covered walkway, like a mall.

So the arch we saw there, that was the city center. And look at the exit on the other side. And because Volubils started as a military outpost at the top of these mountains, the Romans had watchtowers. They could really see the enemy coming. So it started as a military outpost and it definitely turned into a trading center. It's beautiful. Yeah.

AZDEAN: These brief excerpts are just a taste of what you can learn and experience on a local tour, which is why we always make [00:14:00] sure you have an experienced, certified local guide when you visit Morocco with us.

These guides are the experts. Their wealth of knowledge comes from knowing their city like the back of their hand and ensuring you have an educational and memorable visit. Without local guides, a gate is just a gate, a house is just a house, and a stream name has no meaning. You will get so much more out of your time when you know the stories and explanations behind the sites you're seeing.

Thank you so much for joining us today for this episode, and we will see you soon again.