Historic City of Meknes and Fès Jedid

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Historic City of Meknes

   Meknes is the city of Moulay Ismail, a sultan who ruled Morocco for fifty-five years from 1672 and decided that the capital needed to be as big as his ambitions. He built an imperial city of ramparts, gates, palaces, granaries and stables, using thousands of workers and captives, and the scale of it still startles. Bab Mansour, the great ceremonial gate, is covered in green and white tilework and marble columns taken from Roman Volubilis, and it stands over a large square called El Hedim, where storytellers and food stalls gather in the evening. The granaries, the Heri es-Souani, are a series of immense vaulted halls with walls several metres thick, where grain and animals were once stored, and the quiet inside is cool and heavy.

   Read the complete Historic City of Meknes write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Historic City of Meknes is where the day begins. Next is Archaeological Site of Volubilis.

2. 2. Archaeological Site of Volubilis

   Olive trees have surrounded Volubilis for two thousand years, and they still do. The Roman city, on a gentle slope below the Zerhoun massif north of Meknes, was the westernmost major town of the empire's province of Mauretania Tingitana, and it grew rich on olive oil, grain and the trade in wild animals for the arenas of Rome. Its ruins include a triumphal arch dedicated to the emperor Caracalla, a basilica, a forum, temples, and above all a series of houses with superb mosaics in their floors, showing Orpheus with his lyre, the labours of Hercules, Bacchus and Diana bathing. Volubilis became a World Heritage Site in 1997.

   Read the complete Archaeological Site of Volubilis write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Archaeological Site of Volubilis comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fès Jedid.

3. 3. Fès Jedid

   Fès Jedid, the New Fez, is a funny name for a district that is over seven hundred years old. The Marinid dynasty founded it in 1276 as a royal city beside the older medina, with its own walls, palace and mosque, and put the government and army there, leaving the old town to scholars and merchants. It remains a quieter quarter, where wide streets and gardens give relief from the crush of Fès El Bali.

   Read the complete Fès Jedid write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 129 km into the recorded legs you reach Fès Jedid. Next is back through Archaeological Site of Volubilis.

4. 4. back through Archaeological Site of Volubilis

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Archaeological Site of Volubilis write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Archaeological Site of Volubilis, late in the day. Next is Historic City of Meknes.

5. 5. Historic City of Meknes

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Historic City of Meknes write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Historic City of Meknes. That is the ride.