Roman ruins in Morocco

Here in France, the month of May is a great one for taking vacations, for at least two weekends, you have the opportunity to treat yourself to an escape from the concerns of work, home and city life.
For the first weekend, our destination of choice was Morocco, specifically Fes. I’ve always wanted to visit this famed city. The name has always made me dream. Ah, but even before reaching Fes, we found ourselves stopping at Volubilis for a little treat.
Volubilis is a small town whose claim to fame is their well preserved Roman ruins. Guidebooks point out that Volubilis was the Roman Empire’s most remote base. Despite its remote location, Romans held sway over two centuries. What remains today are ruins of second and third century after Christ buildings.
Volubilis occupies the ledge of a long high plateau. It is for this reason that there is a wide and panoramic view of the surrounding area. If you reach Volubilis around lunch time, there is a small little café a little past the ticket booth that makes great savory tagines. Its pleasant to sit at the little café calmly contemplating the ruins. And from such vantage, you will see that storks have decided to make their nest on top of the remaining columns.
As with other preserved ruins, a majority of the finds (mostly bronzes) within the site have been transported to the Rabat museum. There is however, enough left for an interesting visit because Volubilis has managed to retain a great majority of its mosaics. And while the colors are showing the effects of constant exposure to the elements, they still retain their capacity to stun. Since they are largely preserved one can get a good idea of what Romans held sacred. One of the nicest is the mosaic called the Orpheus Myth. After admiring the mosaics, we found ourselves in what is called the Decumanus Maximus where the finest mansions and mosaics are located. Wondering around the paths now overgrown with grass, it is remarkable to see how precisely Roman life and commerce was structured. Eons later, their ruins still tell the story.