Dans une voiture privée ou en grande ous de taxi peuvent visiter Meknès, Moulay Idriss et Volubilis en un seul voyage d'une journée: c'est un 45 minutes de route de Fès à Meknès, à 20 minutes de là, à Moulay Idriss, à 5 minutes de Volubilis et une heure de retour à Fès.

À propos de 45 minutes en voiture de Fès, Meknès fut la capitale du Maroc durant le règne de Moulay Ismail, un tyran inspiré par Louis XIV pour créer sa propre version de Versailles. Parmi les attractions, sa paroi Cité impériale et une petite mais belle médina. La ville se trouve dans un cadre vallonné fertile du Maroc où la vigne au milieu des oliveraies et des champs de coquelicots et de la moutarde jaune le Français planté.

La colline de la ville de Moulay Idriss a été nommé pour son fondateur, Moulay Idriss I, un arrière petit-fils du prophète Mahomet. Son mausolée ici a été l'un des sanctuaires les plus sacrés du Maroc depuis le 9C: certains disent que cinq pèlerinages à Moulay Idriss sont l'équivalent spirituel de l'un à La Mecque. Le village est petit mais joli avec ses rues escarpées sinueuses. 

C'est un lecteur 4km/3-mile ou marcher à travers la belle campagne de Moulay Idriss pour les ruines romaines de Volubilis, un site tentaculaire qui abrite les restes d'un arc de triomphe, un forum, une basilique et plusieurs beaux sols en mosaïque. Il s'agissait de la plus éloignée des municipalités romaines, bien qu'ils soient restés ici pendant seulement deux siècles, le latin était encore parlée dans la région de la 6C.

Moulay Yaacoub est un village spa 20km/12 miles au nord-est de Fès. Ses thermes sont populaires auprès des Marocains et des étrangers. Deux catégories de prix sont offerts, les plus anciennes et les moins chers coûtent quelques centimes pour 30 minutes de trempage, tandis que les plus récents, plus haut de gamme celles coûtent 10 fois autant pour une immersion rapide.. Les Thermes Moulay Yacoub.

The city of Meknes, aka ‘The Versailles of Morocco’, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which began as a Berber kasbah (fortified residence) and vaulted into city status under the Merenid dynasty in the 14C. Its golden age, however, came when sultan Moulay Ismaïl Ibn Sharif (ruled 1672–1727) chose to make Meknes the new capital of Morocco.

Backgroung

Moulay Ismail was a man of considerable energy, recorded as having fathered 867 children by the age of 58 with a harem of 500 women; his 700th son was born when he was in his 80s. Other pursuits included warfare, waged with as much dedication and almost as much success. For his victories against the Ottoman Turks, which established the independence of Morocco, he is hailed as a national hero. Subsequent triumphs against the Spanish and the British, both seeking to claim territories on Moroccan soil, ensured his place in Moroccan history and have, to a degree, eclipsed a litany of less-than-admirable personal traits.

The sultan applied the same gusto to the embellishment of his capital at Meknes, commissioning mosques, gates and gardens by the dozens and encircling the whole lot with 45km/28 miles of walls. In this he was inspired by his contemporary, Louis XIV of France, with whom he maintained excellent relations even after the French king declined Moulay Ismail’s invitation to add one of his daughters, Marie Anne de Bourbon, to the sultan’s harem of 500 women.

The achievements of Moulay Ismail were somewhat facilitated by his utter contempt for human life. Servants, labourers and guards were beheaded or tortured at whim. The sultan’s force of 150,000 enslaved Sub-Saharan men, the Black Guard, patrolled the countryside and crushed rebellions by slaughtering all parties. Their heads were routinely displayed atop the city walls; at one point there were said to have been 10,000 of these around Meknes, a third of the total calculated to have died under his rule. White slaves, captured by Barbary Corsairs during raids along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Europe, were put to manual labour or rowing galley ships, or used as bargaining chips with the European powers. Many, especially those who loudly professed their Christianity, spent years, even lifetimes, in the vast prisons beneath Meknes and were among the 25,000 slaves forced to build Moulay Ismail’s Imperial City.

Orientation

Today’s Meknès is divided into three principal areas laid out along a boulevard named for its greatest champion (and many subsequent princes of the Moroccan royal family), Moulay ismail: the Imperial City, the old medina and the Ville Nouvelle. There are few facilities to cater to foreign visitors here and that, together with its monuments and markets, is part of its charm.

The Medina

Smaller than its counterpart in Fez, certainly, the medina here is also less self-conscious and its merchants less aggressive. Meknes is known for its damascene work, which involves pressing thin silver wires into a steel surface inscribed with a pattern, then hammering the silver until its flattens and fills the cuts. The object - usually a plate, bowl, box or figurine - is then treated to make the steel turn black. The best area for wandering about is between the 14C Bou Inania medersa, worth a look in itself for the beautiful carved panels and zelijs decorating its courtyard, and the Grande Mosquée, known as the Kissaria Lahrir. Another landmark for visitors is the Musée Dar Jamai in Place el-Hedim, an old Andalusian palace housing a small collection of antique crafts, including embroidery, saddles and furnishings. Note the two gates in the Place el-Hedim; the larger is Bab Mansour, heavily decorated in blue and green zelijs; the smaller is Bab Jemaa en Nouar. On the Place behind the museum is a souk for babouches, es Sebbat; to the west of that is souk Joutiya es Zerabi where hand-made carpets are sold (at auction on Sunday mornings)..

The Imperial City

In spite of the vast labour force set to building the Imperial City, Moulay Ismail died before his Versailles could be completed and a good part of it was subsequently demolished by his son. Three concentric fortified walls, 25km/15 miles long and 9-12m/30-40 feet high, testify to its intended size. About a third of the walled area is now filled with dense housing; gardens, the old official buildings, a palace still occasionally in use by the royal family and recreational areas - including a 9-hole golf course - occupy the balance. A popular way of visiting the area is by horse-drawn caleche; you’ll find them near the mausoleum.

The main gate to the Imperial City, just off Place el-Hedim, was originally the monumental Bab Mansour, which boasts Roman marble columns pinched from Volubilis and bears the inscription, in Kufic characters, “I am the door open to all people, whether West or East.” The gate is named for the architect who designed it, a Christian who converted to Islam. Legend has it that as Moulay Ismail was inspecting it he asked the terrified El-Mansour if he was capable of doing better. Believing it to be the right answer, the architect stammered ‘yes,’ for which he promptly lost his head. Unfortunately the story is probably not true as the sultan died five years before the gate was completed. It is now used as a crafts gallery; entry is by a side gate.

Inside the walls:
• Koubba al-Kayatin (or Koubba as-Sufara), a pavilion used for diplomatic receptions and notable largely for its richly decorated ceilings. Within the pavillion is the entrance to Moulay Ismail’s notorious Habs Qara, “Prison of the Christians,” a vast underground network of caves and tunnels said to have held thousands of Christian prisoners whose labour contributed to the construction of the Imperial City. This, too, is probably untrue; the tunnels were more likely used for grain storage.

• Moulay Ismail had his mausoleum built on the site previously occupied by the city’s Palais de Justice (courthouse) in the hope that in death he would be judged in his own court and by his own people. The mausoleum contains the tombs of Moulay Ismail himself, his official wife and various descendants in three linked chambers with mosaic floors and pyramidal roofs of green ceramic tile. A series of yellow courtyards leads to building and to an anteroom covered in zelijs and carved plaster. Non-Muslims are barred from entering the tomb itself but can look inside from the entrance. The clocks on either side of the entrance were gifts from Louis XIV, and apparently accompanied a letter from the French king in which he declined the sultan’s invitation to add one of his daughters to the sultan’s harem.

Moulay Ismail’s stables and granaries, known as Heri es Souani, are a fair distance to the south of the Imperial City. The stables were designed to house 12,000 horses; the granaries held provisions in the event of a drought or siege. The buildings were designed to maintain a low temperature, with thick walls, high ceilings, tiny windows and a system of water channels beneath the floors. Nearby is the Agdal Basin, a small lake which is a popular destination on hot days.

Restaurant

Collier de la Colombe at 67 rue Driba, Ville Nouvelle, is 5 minutes’ walk from Bab Mansour with a great view (especially from the rooftop terrace) and a classical Moroccan menu. Tel 0535/55--50--41

Dar Sultana on Derb Sekkaya is a family restaurant in a dark medina alley, famed for its enormous salad bar. No alcohol served. Tel. 53 535720

Alors sacré est le village de Moulay Idriss aux Marocains que jusqu'en 2005, les non-musulmans n'ont pas été autorisés à passer la nuit ici et en fait dû quitter en 15 heures. Le village est perché sur deux collines qui forment les quartiers résidentiels / commerciaux de Khiber et Tasga, avec une selle basse entre eux où vous trouverez le tombeau et le mausolée de Moulay Idriss et de la place principale. Montez la succession de terrasses au sommet de chaque trimestre et vous aurez une magnifique vue sur le village et les collines et les vallées environnantes, ainsi un aperçu dans le mausolée qui, comme tout lieu saint, les non-musulmans ne peuvent pas entrer.

Moulay Idriss, ou plus exactement Idriss Ben Abdallah Ben Hassan Ben Ali, était l'arrière-arrière petit-fils du prophète Mahomet par sa fille, Fatima. Se trouvant du mauvais côté de la fracture politique dans son Bagdad natal, il a fui au Maroc en 786 et s'installe à Volubilis, une ville fondée par les Romains et occupé par une tribu berbère. Les Moulay Idriss charismatiques épousé la fille du roi de la tribu et s'est rapidement imposé comme leur leader spirituel avec son siège social sur le site plus facile à défendre le village qui porte aujourd'hui son nom. Peu à peu, il réussit à unir les nombreux belligérants tribus berbères dans la région et ainsi fondé la première dynastie marocaine, les Idrissides. Vie extraordinaire de Moulay Idriss est venu à une fin abrupte en 792 ou 793 quand il a été empoisonné par un de ses ennemis Baghdadi.

Un moussem ou d'un festival honorant Moulay Idriss se tient sur la place principale pendant le mois précédant le Ramadan. Des milliers de pèlerins participent aux prières, la danse et le chant et un membre de la famille royale du Maroc fait habituellement son apparition.

• Le mausolée de Moulay Idriss se trouve sur la place principale du village, qui est bordée de boutiques et de cafés. Les non-musulmans ne peuvent pas entrer dans le mausolée, mais ils peuvent rejoindre les autres gravir les marches de scruter sa grande cour par la porte principale.

• Passez par la porte à gauche de l'entrée du mausolée de monter à la plus haute partie de la ville. Sur le chemin vous passerez la Medersa Idriss. Cette école a été construite avec des matériaux récupérés dans Volubilis et se distingue par son minaret rond, ajoutée en 1939 par un patron weathy qui avait sembler similaire sur son hadj à La Mecque. Le seul minaret du genre au Maroc, il porte des décorations géométriques qui représentent des textes du Coran.

• A dix minutes à pied du village vous emmène sources chaudes développés dans des bains par les Romains. Vous pouvez prendre un bain ou tout simplement profiter de la vue imprenable sur la plaine de Volubilis.

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Located 4km/3 miles from Moulay Idriss (a very nice 40-minute walk), the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Volubilis is one of the most important, and beautiful, Roman sites in north Africa. The ruins are set in a plain overlooked by the village of Moulay Idriss and include villas, 30 or so mosaic floors, long rows of standing columns, granaries, a basilica and a triumphal arch.

Background

The Romans inherited their domains in north Africa following the demise of Carthage in 146BC. The region which includes Volubilis was governed as the province of Mauretania Tingitana with its administrative capital at Tingis, now Tangier. There were several towns scattered in the area, a rich source of the grains and olive oil which were shipped back to Rome. Volubilis seems to have been one of the larger and wealthier of these, possibly with a population of 20,000 at its peak. It was certainly one of the oldest, having been built on top of a 3rd century BC Carthaginian settlement which is thought to overlay an even earlier neolithic one.

While many of these towns disappeared after the fall of Rome, Volubilis lived on even after near-destruction by an earthquake in the 4C. Tombstones attest to its existence in the 6C and to the continued use of the Latin language in the area. By the time of Moulay Idriss I’s arrival here in 786, however, the town was inhabited by a tribe of Arabic-speaking Muslim Berbers, known as the Awraba, who called their town Walila (‘Oleander’).

It is unclear when the site was finally abandoned but it suffered much damage during an 18C earthquake, as well as pilfering by sultan Moulay Ismail, who used its Roman columns and stones in the construction of his Imperial City at Meknes.

Excavations began at Volubilis in 1915 during the French Protectorate of Morocco. They’re continuing today in a joint effort between University College London and the Moroccan Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine.
Most of the artefacts found at Volubilis are currently on display in Rabat at the Archaeological Museum, but a new exhibition structure is currently under construction next to the ruins themselves.

Links for more information:

Photos and history.
The official site of Morocco’s Ministry of Culture, including a map of the archeological site.

Immouzer

Immouzer (du Kandar) is a little village perched at the edge of the Saïss Massif, 1220m/4000 feet above sea level. The main street is lined with cafés and there is an artificial pond at the centre of town. A souk fills the market square on Saturdays and Mondays. The area is known for beautiful scenery and lovely walks to waterfalls, as well as for its honey flavoured by mountain flowers.

Ifrane

Ifrane, at an altitude of 1665m/5460 feet, came into being during the period of the French Protectorate, intended as a cool retreat during the summer and a place to enjoy snowy mountain scenery in the winter (the lowest temperature in Africa was recorded here in 1935, a chilly -24°C/-11°F).

The town is built on land expropriated from the local Berbers, an action which presumably received no opposition from the royal family as the development plan included a palace for their use, which they still occupy. The streets of Ifrane were laid out like those of a typical European Alpine resort, and chalet-style architecture predominated. Trees and shrubs were imported to complete the picture, including lilacs, chestnuts and lindens.

After independence the French properties were bought up by Moroccans. In 1995 the English-language Al Akhawayn University opened its doors and is popular with wealthy Moroccans, as are the ski lifts just outside town.

There is a pretty 3km/2-mile walk from Ifrane to a spring called the Vittel; 500m along the river the water cascades over a cliff at the Virgin Falls.

Azrou

There are two reasons to go to Azrou, altitude 1250m/4000 feet: the marvellous countryside along the way and the locally-made carpets. You pass through mountains covered in forests of green oaks and cedars, populated by Barbary monkeys and, at certain times of the year, flocks of butterflies unique to this zone. To the south-east lie a number of dormant volcanoes.

The town, which is much larger than Ifrane, owes its name to the Berber word for rock - azrou - for reasons which will quickly become obvious. Doors, window frames and roofs here are all in variations of the colour green and yet the specialty of Azrou is a red carpet, hand-woven in a geometric pattern. A market takes place at Azrou every Tuesday, largely given over to food but with a small section devoted to carpets and other textile goods.

Sefrou

Sefrou was settled by a tribe of Berbers who were practising Jews until their conversion by Moulay Idriss. It has a small medina with a market on Thursdays and a mellah quarter which is decorated with old wooden balconies and separated from the town by a number of bridges over the Agaï River. There is a popular walk along the river to a set of waterfalls, around 20 minutes. A cliff on the approach to the town from the direction of Fez has several caves at its base, one of which is said to have been the burial place of the prophet Daniel. The area is noted for its cherry orchards; an annual festival in mid-June celebrates the fruit’s ripening and includes the election of Miss Cherry from among the town’s beauties and a procession to the tomb of Prophet Daniel. If you’ve time for another detour, head east from Sefrou to visit the Sebou Gorge, about 30km/18 miles.