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Road Trip: The Berber-Roman city of Volubilis [1]
['Séamus Bellamy']
Date: 2025-08-18
If you ever hit Morocco, take a 40-minute cab ride from the city of Meknes, and you'll find yourself standing in front of the ruins of the Berber-Roman city of Volubilis. While the area around the city has been inhabited since Neolithic times, the Romans and the local Berber population never got around to building the city until the third century BC. It's situated on a great piece of real estate: in the same neighborhood as Zerhoun Mountain. It peaked in the second century of the common era, with a population of around 20,000 citizens. You could catch a gladiatorial match there, sell your grain, get a hot meal, or trade in olive oil.
Much of the city continued to stand as it was constructed for one thousand years. Sadly, in 1755, an earthquake hit the region that smacked the silly shit out of it. Much was lost—but more remained standing. The scale of what remains is impressive. The site covers over 100 acres. It took me over an hour to see all it had to offer.
One of the most impressive bits, to me, was its intact tile mosaics. It's a wonder to me that, despite the centuries, abuse of the elements and all else these works of art might have endured, they remain vibrant and true to their artist's design. It's a hell of a thing to stand in front of. So much so that UNESCO declared it a world heritage site back in 1997.
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