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Tag Archives: volubilis

Age is in the eye of the beholder

29 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by seejanesblog in Morocco

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

age, beauty, car, driving, fes, hitchhiking, love of people, Morocco, motherhood, neck surgery, old woman, road, travel, volubilis

Returning to Fes from Volubilis we passed two women hitchhiking. “Do you mind?’ Mokhtar asked. Of course not so we stopped to pick them up. “She’s an old lady,” he added. I agreed. They both looked like old ladies though of different gradients of old. In they hopped after many smiles and handshakes, hugs and ‘chukrans.’ Beautiful women with bright faces. Their story? Mother and daughter. Mother is on her way to Fes (50km away) to have neck surgery – – or hopes to. She was a maid for some people in Dades Valley and when her neck gave her so many troubles, the family let her go. Daughter came to get her and was so surprised how bad she really is. So now she is taking care of her old mom. Mother is 49. The “old lady” is 49.

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When in Volubilis

27 Monday May 2013

Posted by seejanesblog in Morocco

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

1st century, Morocco, nature, roman ruins, unesco, volubilis

Volubilis is the site of ancient Roman ruins from like the 1st century. Without going into all the details (those which I have not retained), I’ll list a few high points. To review more, check out my link on it on this blog.

From that link:
The ruins remained substantially intact until they were devastated by an earthquake in the mid-18th century and by Moroccan rulers subsequently looting the site for stone to reuse in building Meknes. It was not until the latter part of the 19th century that the site was definitively identified as that of the ancient city of Volubilis. During and after the period of French rule over Morocco, about half of the site was excavated, revealing many fine mosaics, and some of the more prominent public buildings and high-status houses were restored or reconstructed. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed for being “an exceptionally well preserved example of a large Roman colonial town on the fringes of the Empire”.

So here’s my experience. Driving through verdant and green, olive tree-filled rolling hills with grazing cows, sheep, and donkeys, you see a small sign pointing in the direction of Volubilis. But be careful or you’ll miss it (my experience) and will have to turn around and hunt for it again. And suddenly, you see it in the distance. And it takes your breath away. Because here in the middle of literally nowhere is an ancient Roman ruin from the first century! Are you even kidding me right now? And no one was practically even around! Spending an entire day here would not be out of the question if you were really into this kind of thing. Even for me I think I left too soon. But I was so taken by the wildflowers it was hard to decide what to focus on: ancient Roman ruins or these beautiful purple and pink flowers growing up through the ancient columns! Amazing all the way around.

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The recent past

  • Living above my means
  • The broken palm tree and a hug
  • The little old man of Bab Doukkala
  • The kindness of a stranger
  • Walk gently on this earth
  • Love everlasting
  • And suddenly it hits you…
  • It’s not what you’re given, it’s what you do with it

Stuff from my past

See Jane Travel

  • Exactly what I was trying to say! 3 weeks ago
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Blogs worth reading

  • Moroccan Sahara Tours on Facebook
  • My trips: Argentina, Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and Antarctica
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  • Nomadic Matt's Travel Site
  • Susan Atherton's blog
  • Travel Notes by Mr. and Mrs. Globetrot
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Food! Glorious food!

  • Street food in Marrakech

Stuff worth knowing

  • Barbara Robinson's Trip Report – Istanbul
  • Definition 'kasbah'
  • Definition 'riad'
  • Definition 'souq'
  • Morocco Travel Guide
  • Turkey Travel Guide
  • Volubilis, Morocco: about it

My traveling past in Flickr photos

DB 193 349 | RüdesheimCardinal portaitB-KAA B743F Dragonair MAN 290406aCudillero. AsturiasUpdated BDR-68attorcigliatore (in explore Februar 2019)Dale's big day out861A3221_xlNorthern Pygmy-OwlUSAF CV-22 Osprey"knife 71"
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