The museum La Kasbah, former Palace of the Sultan, is home to handicrafts from across the country: pottery from Fez, Amazigh kilims, embroidery Chefchaouen … The decoration is also surprising. The architecture pays tribute to the great know-how of the craftsmen: zellige, plaster and carved wood.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Volubilis or Oualili was originally an ancient Amazigh city, capital of the Kingdom of Mauretania, before being Romanized to become one of the largest Roman cities in Africa. The Romans, it is known, built their cities on the ruins of the cities of the conquered territories.
Located on the banks of the Rhoumane wadi, a river in the suburbs of Meknes, not far from the town of Moulay Driss where Idriss I, founder of the Idrisside dynasty, is buried. its ruins are the most beautiful Roman ruins in Morocco. They are also among the main Roman ruins in Africa.
The history of Volubilis, which bears the marks of several civilizations, perfectly represents the multiple cultural influences of Morocco. The city, founded in the 3rd century BC, developed rapidly when it was controlled by the Romans. At its height, Volubilis had between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants and lived mainly from the olive oil trade. The plains around Volubilis are covered with olive trees until today.
The origin of the name of the city comes from the Latin volubilis meaning “who has a gyratory movement, which turns”. Its Berber name is Oualili which designates the bindweed flower or the oleander, particularly abundant around the Rhoumane wadi.
Considered one of the most beautiful gates in the world, located in front of El Hédim Square. Bab Mansour was built by Sultan Moulay Ismaïl and completed by his son Moulay Abdellah (1732). According to legend, this door is the work of a Christian convert to Islam, and whose name it bears “the Victorious Renegade”, known as Mansour Laalej. Bab Mansour has an 8 m high opening in the form of a broken arch. The latter is decorated with excised ceramic foliage and is framed by a wide band consisting of a raised trellis on a polychrome mosaic background, the dominant color of which is green. It is supported by massive columns of white marble surmounted by antique-style capitals. Get closer to admire the finesse and complexity of the ornamentation.
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