I took time in the car throughout the day to ask our driver some questions about Morocco. He later was our driver to the airport. I noticed that it was mostly the older generation that wore traditional clothes and that the young, especially the men, dressed like the west and he agreed that this was the trend in the younger generation. Schools run from 8 am til 6 pm, and summers are off. People are getting married into their 30s nowadays, unlike it used to be. The king has palaces in most cities for when he visits. The morrocans look fondly upon the French, who came to protect the sultan and build infrastructure. They don't think the same for Spain, who came with ill intentions. Tourists and Moroccans with accents from other regions are given different prices in the markets.
It was about a forty five minute drive to Volubilis. He dropped us off and we were met by the local cat greeter.
We wandered the ruins for a good long time.
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| A mosaic of Hercules |
Next, he drove us up the mountain a short ways to get a good view of the nearby town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun.
Our last stop of the day was to a former capitol city, Meknes. When we arrived, we ate lunch on the top floor balcony restaurant that the driver recommended. I asked the driver whether they made djellaba for the summertime. He knew of a shop, so he had me follow a guy to the store. Now, I had to make a decision at the time. I could either follow this guy into the shop, and then have to pay him for his trouble, or just go my own way. I was kind of curious, so I let it play out.
In the store, we were met with a man that explained how he made something unique to Meknes, called damascene. I confirmed this after the fact by looking it up online. He would make many tiny cuts into metal, heat it up, and then afterwards, hammered silver strands into it. I asked him if he handmade everything in the store and said that he was teaching his son. When he stood up and was walking us around the store, other customers came in, someone else sat down, and did the same demonstration.
In any case, I found some items that I really liked, including the summertime djellaba, and haggled to the best of my ability at the time. He agreed to my price, but asked for a small tip, which was fine with me. Then, he encouraged me to come upstairs with him, which revealed a massive store of carpets. I said no thanks.
The store was right across the street from Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. I knew that it had been closed for renovation for the past two years, but thought it had just reopened. It had not. The fellow who guided us there, then guided us to the entrance to the market area and we parted ways with a small tip.
Lahdim square is a fairly open space, with a few cluttered stalls on one side. Perhaps it is more filled at other times. We wandered past the stalls, into the building, and encountered a butcher's market that had very graphic displays. We quickly turned out a side exit and entered a flea market type area, selling very commercial goods.
Miles saw a dinky slinky for sale. He asked if he could buy it. I said that it was only worth up to one dollar. I told him to start haggling at fifty cents. They said one dollar. He said, "Ok!" I think he needs more practice haggling.
We turned down a side passage and I let a man walk in front of me. He must have thought this was kind because he told me that if I made a left, I would go down the an artisan's street. Down this street we saw people doing all sorts of welding and the like. We came upon another damascene store, this one about 1/100 the size. He gave me a similar demonstration as the other. I had more interest in this craft in particular after I had been told that it was only made in this one particular city.
We decided to randomly walk around the streets. After walking down some empty streets, we inadvertently found our way inside a complex with narrow, winding paths. It was a ton of fun navigating this indoor maze. After a while we found our way back to the driver and went home.
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