I don’t remember what time I woke up this morning however it was early enough that I walked upstairs and I was the only one at breakfast. It must have been around 8:30am. I checked the view and it was a gorgeous morning. Malik asked how I would like my eggs and I told him scrambled. I had some bread, eggs, and coffee and I was good to go.
My tour guide, Rashid came and picked me up pretty close to 10am which was when the tour was supposed to start. We took a three hour ride to Meknes where I thought that I was going to see the Meknes Medina, Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, Bou Inania Medersa, Bab el Mansour Gate, and the Royal Stables. It was explained to me that since the tour guide was not from that area he could not show me the Meknes Medina or the Bou Inania Medersa. I guess that wasn’t so bad. I got to see quite a bit of the city so I wasn’t disappointed.
First I went off and saw the Pavillon Des Ambassadeurs. I found this on a website that was in french “This pavilion was used as a courtroom where Sultan Moulay Ismail received the ambassadors and foreign emissaries visiting Meknes.” It was an interesting place but there wasn’t much to see.
After that I quickly went to the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail as I was told that this place would close around 12pm for worship. Guess I made it there in time to take a look and take pictures where. I took quite a few pictures of the outside however I am not sure that I am happy with any of them. The leading lines to the doorway don’t match up on either side of the frame. Guess I’ll have to look on my computer and see if that is true. Hope that I have a usable frame 🙂
I walked over to the Bab el Mansour Gate and took some pictures of that. There were quite a few people walking by and there were also cars so I am not sure if I got a clean frame. This isn’t as critical but guess we’ll see. I noticed that there was a free art show so I took a look. It consisted of installation artwork and also collage work that when you stood back I saw Bob Marley and Michael Jackson. That was pretty cool but I couldn’t take any pictures…
Shortly after that I met up with Rashid and on the way to Volubilis we stopped at Moulay Idris for lunch. I had what he called barbecue which was beef that was skewered and flame broiled. It was pretty good but a tad bit under cooked. After my meal I had a noos noos and then we headed off to Volubilis which I was really looking forward to.
I had to hire a tour guide which was 150 dirhams or $15 us dollars. I decided to do it and it was well worth it. He gave me the historical background (none of which I remember) and allowed me time to take pictures of the ruins. I will be working on this and posting later. That’s for sure 🙂 Funny enough when we were walking back I asked the guide his name and he said Abdul Karim…It hadn’t occurred to me that it was like the basketball player and I think he was trying to make a joke but I just wasn’t paying attention.
On our way back to the Riad I was feeling tired and took a short nap. Rashid stopped at a scenic area with a lake and said it was a good picture opportunity. While I didn’t really feel like taking pictures I took a couple of frames and got back in the van.
We parted ways and I made it back to the Riad no problem. I was starting to feel a little confident navigating the streets in the souks. I put all my stuff down and did a quick search for a good place to eat. I ended up going to Cafe Clock and having a camel burger which was pretty interesting. The meat was nicely seasoned but the hamburger bun and produce weren’t that exciting. Take a look.
After dinner I decided to go back to the Riad and relax as the next morning was going to be an early one. I had to catch a 5am flight so the taxi driver was going to pick me up around 3:30am.