On our second full day in Morocco, we left Fes and went on a day-long excursion to three sites: Volubilis, Moulay Idris, and Meknes. Prior to planning this trip, I hadn't heard of any of them.
We were in Morocco in March, and the productive farming area around Fes looked like the Emerald City of Oz:
Our guide had our driver stop for a break at Sidi Chahed dam and reservoir, which was created under the previous king's reservoir building spree in the 1990s. It is located about 20 miles from the cities of Fes and Meknes, supplies 30 million gallons of tap water to Meknes, and provides irrigation water for many surrounding farmlands.
This man appears to be cleaning up brush with a rudimentary rake. There is a shocking lack of farm machinery all over Morocco:
"Coincidentally," there were some farmers/vendors at the place where we stopped to get a view of the reservoir, and there was great pressure to taste their samples and look at their handmade goods. We ended up buying two hand-crocheted hats. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them, but I felt the need to buy something from the vendors.
We eventually arrived at Volubilis, which I can't say without thinking of the word "volubility." The Latin word volubilis means "winding, revolving, rolling, and turning." Another meaning is "changing and mutable." The word "volubility" means "characterized by a continuous flow of words; glib; talkative; fluent." We did feel the "continuous flow" at Volubilis, both in the narration of our knowledgeable guide and in the never-ending ruins that rolled and turned across over 100 acres of the wide valley.
However, the real reason this area is named "Volubilis" is because that is the French word for "morning glory," a ubiquitous wild vine found weaving its way through the city ruins:
Fertile farm lands that surround the stone city make it obvious why people would want to settle here:
