These are two photos of the ruins of the Roman city of Volubulis, not far from the Moroccan city of Meknes. The ancient Romans have always fascinated me, and we visited many former Roman sites around the country. This, though, was our favorite – a site isolated, evocative and beautiful, about two hours from our home in Rabat. For what it’s worth, part of the movie “Patton” was filmed here.
I had fun setting a section of my novel, “Tangier,” here. I’d tell you more about that, but the passage comes late in the book and, for the life of me, I can’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t be a spoiler.
The first photo shows the remains of some buildings at the center of the city. You can see the difference between the solid Roman walls and a portion reconstructed later.
The second shows the Mosaic of the Four Seasons. If memory serves, the lower two figures are Summer, on the left, and Fall. Two rows above that are Winter, on the left and Spring. At one time the mosaic would have formed the dining room floor for a wealthy Roman family. Now it’s entirely exposed, open to the elements and covered by dust, surrounded only by low, uneven stonework, the last remains of the grand dwelling that once stood here.
On one visit I was showing the mosaic to visitors and took out a water bottle to wash away a bit of the dust and let its still-brilliant colors shine through. A guard on the site shouted at me that water was not allowed on the mosaic. I looked up in the sky and asked him, “So, what do you do when it rains?” He too looked up, thought about it a moment, and said, “You’re right. Go ahead.”