I met Mohammed in the lobby and we were off in the SUV. I have to say I am happy for the comfort but I do feel a bit strange with third works conditions you experience - today I saw men actually cultivating fields with horses and donkeys.
Volubis is about an hour drive and was more crowded than I expected. I decided it was worth the money for a guide - as Mohammed only drives; but we did have a nice chat in his broken English and whatever it is that I attempt outside my English now punctuated by Spanish. The ruins are surprisingly vast and in pretty good condition. There are a few rows of columns, a main street headed by an arched entrance, foundations of many houses and private and public baths, an olive press and most remarkably lots of mosaic floors.
The other thing I learned is that Volubis is the Latin name for "morning glory" and there were wild purple one and lots of other spring flowers everywhere.
The tour was a little rushed as the faster he is done the quicker he can do another. So I wander a bit on my own and then we headed on to Meknes with a quick drive through an odd little town that had a mosoleum that is a pilgrimage sight that I wouldn't be able to visit anyway.
Before exploring Meknes Mohammed invited me to join him for lunch at a local restaurant. It was clean and modern but decidedly not touristy. The specialty of this space - it seems that kitchens kind of share communal seating areas - was rotisserie chicken. So he order a whole one split along with small dishes of spicy cooked carrots; the same but potatoes, tomato salad, bread with another spicy tomato sauce and rice and French fries.
I followed his lead including washing my hands in a public sink in the restaurant - I font think I'm Muslim yet. Tradition is a big lunch and a small dinner. And they actually take siesta as well. After a meal like this I was ready for it. The whole thing was 80DH/10USD. But he paid saying that he would get the locals price. (I did ultimately pay for our lunch at the end of the day)
Meknes is a described as a smaller Fes but I think that is deceiving. The town is smaller and seems nicer and cleaner but the medina is open to traffic and doesn't really give the same impression as Fes.
There are a few more interesting sights. The two I enjoyed were the mosoleum/mosque that is open to non-Muslims and the grainery and horse stables that were large enough to hold years of grain and designed not to spoil as well hold 12000 horses.
There is also one of 38 of the kings actual palaces and a souk (mostly food/produce/meat market) that opens into a large square like, as I understand it, Marrakech. Here there are a variety of tourist attractions and pickpocket opportunities like a snake charmer and pet monkeys wearing football jerseys.
It had been a long hot day and I was ready for home. He dropped me at the gate that the taxi couldn't find last night and I make the quick wk through the crowded medina to the dar. I immediately met Kate who the owner/designer and we had a nice chat about hotel business and tripadvisor with Zoohair. I also asked about some wine for the terrace but made a quick detour to pickup my laundry. A small bag for 140DH but well worth it.
It was about 7PM once I got to the roof deck - wine in hand. It was one of those serreal experiences where you can't believe you are they sitting comfortably on a roof desk in Fes, Morocco with a glass of wine. I may have briefly mentioned this to a few folks but I had a little anxiety about this leg of the trip. No doubt about it the Middle East and North Africa is a completely different culture than anything I have ever experienced outside of the Arab quarter in Singapore. But aside from the horrible touts, the people seem quite friendly. The language barrier is a big problem and I think it very easy to get ripped off. But otherwise I am really enjoying Fes.
Feeling pretty good about the day and not really hungry I decided I would try the food stalls for a quick sandwich for dinner. It was similar to the lunch stop with the bus but I had no idea what he was cooking me - I think it was all beef - kabobs and minced in more fresh bread with a coke. It was good and a bargain at 35DH.
I had though I might mill around but the day was catching up to me so I grabbed to almond roll pastries and headed back to the comfort of the dar to enjoy with coffee. (I gave one to Zoohair)
As many pictures will show and as the owner explained the other night, the concept of the culture is modesty. So while the outside of the buildings and the medina in general are very plain and without decoration. The insides are grand and offer a sanctuary from the chaos outside. I doubt that many of the other homes in the area are near as grand as the dar, I can see on the roof deck many different covered and uncovered central courtyards in many different sizes.
All I know is it works for me.
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