Moulay Idriss

I rushed through the rest of the archeological site of Volubilis. Most of them were more impressive mosaics of old houses which used to be there. Volubilis is probably a place which doesn’t get enough credit. This is probably one of the best preserved Roman sites in Northern Africa. The climate here helps preserve a lot of stuff here but it doesn’t stop people who want to use the material for other purposes. These days, the site is protected as a UNESC World Heritage site. It is probably good that there aren’t a lot of people who come here since the site seems to be quite fragile. I got back to the cab within the agreed upon hour and head back to Moulay Idriss.

I was here in Moulay Idriss earlier to get a ride to Volubilis. The place seems to be a very sleepy town which only serves as a jumping off point to Volubilis, at least for tourists. Turns out that Moulay Idriss is one of the important pilgrimage sites of Morocco. Moulay Idriss, also known as Idriss I, is a descendant of the prophet Mohammed. This helped him gather support to found the Idrisid dynasty. Volubilis would have been a logical place to setup a base but it was too open, so they decided to move up and set up shop in some hills nearby which became the town of Moulay Idriss. Apparently, there is a mausoleum of Moulay Idriss here but I had no idea where to find it. The town isn’t very touristy and there were no signs to tell you where things are. It wouldn’t have been much help since the place would have been only accessible to Muslims.

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