Northern Morocco
From Casablanca we travelled north to Rabat, Meknes, Volibulis, Chefchaouen and then back to Fes.
The main towns had centuries of history - Rabat was a trading port used by the Pheonicians in the 300's BC, Mouyard Issidra was started in 860's, Meknes has parts of the town dating from 1100's, 1400's and 1700's and Vulubilis was built by the Romans in 200's AD.
The countryside was impressive. Reasonably dry near the coast but large areas of rolling fertile land growing wheat, barley, sunflower, olives, oranges with areas of forestry on the ranges. No wonder the Romans used it as a grain growing area to feed Rome.
The oldest and largest tannery in Fes is the Chouara Tannery. it is nearly 1000 yrs old. At the Tannery, hides are first soaked in a mixture of cow urine, quicklime, water, and salt. This caustic mixture helps to break down the tough leather, loosen excess fat, flesh, and hair that remain on them. The hides are soaked for two to three days after which tanners scrap away excess hair fibers and fat in order to prepare the hides for dyeing. The hides are then soaked in another set of vats containing a mixture of water and pigeon poop. Pigeon poop contains ammonia that acts as softening agents that allows the hides to become malleable so they can absorb the dye. The tanner uses his bare feet to knead the hides for up to three hours to achieve the desired softness.
Volubilis
Volibulis was built by the Romans around 200AD as a fortress town to protect the very fertile area around it that grew grain and fruit to feed Rome. It has an amazing area of ruins covering 30-40 ha. While they are not as well restored as some in Rome, they have not been built over as Rome has, so they give a better idea of the layout of the whole town.
The main towns had centuries of history - Rabat was a trading port used by the Pheonicians in the 300's BC, Mouyard Issidra was started in 860's, Meknes has parts of the town dating from 1100's, 1400's and 1700's and Vulubilis was built by the Romans in 200's AD.
The countryside was impressive. Reasonably dry near the coast but large areas of rolling fertile land growing wheat, barley, sunflower, olives, oranges with areas of forestry on the ranges. No wonder the Romans used it as a grain growing area to feed Rome.
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| Trader in the Medina selling nuts, lentils, beans and dried fruit. |
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| The old part of Meknes - built in 11th century. the satellite dishes tell the story of the old and the new. |
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| In the old Medina in Fes, their are 9000 alleys. (The joke the guides tell is they lost someone last year and they are still searching for them) No cars (for obvious reasons) and donkeys and mules do a lot of the cartage. 30,000 people live in the Medina, so all of their goods have to be carried by donkey/mule of by hand. |
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| A mule in the Medina in Fes |
The oldest and largest tannery in Fes is the Chouara Tannery. it is nearly 1000 yrs old. At the Tannery, hides are first soaked in a mixture of cow urine, quicklime, water, and salt. This caustic mixture helps to break down the tough leather, loosen excess fat, flesh, and hair that remain on them. The hides are soaked for two to three days after which tanners scrap away excess hair fibers and fat in order to prepare the hides for dyeing. The hides are then soaked in another set of vats containing a mixture of water and pigeon poop. Pigeon poop contains ammonia that acts as softening agents that allows the hides to become malleable so they can absorb the dye. The tanner uses his bare feet to knead the hides for up to three hours to achieve the desired softness.
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| The Chouara Tannery in Fes |
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| The Chouara Tannery in Fes |
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| Butchers shop in the Medina in Fes. Yes it is a camel head - and camel meat ne is selling. |
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| Olive shop in the Medina, Fes |
Volubilis
Volibulis was built by the Romans around 200AD as a fortress town to protect the very fertile area around it that grew grain and fruit to feed Rome. It has an amazing area of ruins covering 30-40 ha. While they are not as well restored as some in Rome, they have not been built over as Rome has, so they give a better idea of the layout of the whole town.
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| Part of hte main temple in Volobulis |
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| View towards the main temple in Volobulis |
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| Some of the original mosaics - untouched and unrestored. There were 8-10 like this |
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| The fertile plains that Volobulis looks over. No wonder the Romans wanted to protect it |
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| Olives on the hills around Volobulis |
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