Volubilis

How to Complete

5 steps curated by Wine Memories

1. 📜 1

   Read the Monument Built for a Dead Man

   history $

   The Arch of Caracalla is the first thing you see approaching Volubilis — and it already contains a tragedy.

   📍 WHERE: The site entrance is at the southern end of Volubilis (GPS 34.0693°N, 5.5522°W), 33km north of Meknes. Grand taxi from the stand near Place el-Hedim or the Institut Français costs 11 MAD per shared seat to Moulay Idriss, then 20-30 MAD to Volubilis. Entry: 70 MAD (~€7), cash preferred. Open daily 8:30am until 1 hour before sunset. Walk north through the site toward the Arch at the far end of the Decumanus Maximus (the main paved street).

   💡 WHAT: Built in 216-217 AD by Marcus Aurelius Sebastenus — the Roman governor of this city — to thank Emperor Caracalla for extending Roman citizenship to everyone in the empire and exempting Volubilis from taxes. Originally topped by a bronze chariot pulled by SIX horses. Statues of nymphs poured water into marble basins at its base. The inscription reads that the arch was built "because of his exceptional and new kindness towards all, which is greater than that of the principes that came before." The problem: by the time Sebastenus finished the arch (April 217 AD), both Caracalla AND his mother Julia Domna — to whom the arch is jointly dedicated — had already been murdered by the usurper Macrinus. The most expensive monument this frontier city ever built was a monument to ghosts. The second problem: Macrinus (the murderer) actually completed the Basilica you can see beside the Forum. So this site contains buildings by both the victim and the killer.

   🎯 HOW: Stand under the arch and look at the dedication stones on the long sides — identical inscriptions on both faces. Then look east from the arch toward the olive-covered slopes. More than 30 olive presses have been found at this site. This arch was paid for with olive oil money: Volubilis pressed olives and shipped the oil to Rome, and Rome's first African emperor (Septimius Severus, born in Libya) sent his son to rule over the city that made his empire's economy run. The arch is where that entire story arrives at its ending.

   🔄 BACKUP: If visiting early morning, tour groups usually arrive by 10am — come at 8:30am for the arch in solitude. Late afternoon golden light on the arch columns is spectacular. No booking required for site entry.

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2. 📜 2

   Find Bacchus in His Panther Chariot — Still in the Floor Where Romans Walked

   history Free

   Volubilis has the finest Roman mosaics still in their original positions anywhere in the Roman world. They are literally in the floor.

   📍 WHERE: Two mosaics, two stops. Start at the House of Orpheus in the southern section of the site, near the entrance — look for the sign. Then walk north up the Decumanus Maximus to find the House of the Ephebus, which sits along the main street. Information boards in English, French, and Arabic mark each house.

   💡 WHAT: At the House of Orpheus: in the triclinium (the dining room, where guests reclined on couches), look down at the floor. You are looking at Orpheus, sitting with his lyre, charming a circle of animals — elephant, horse, birds — into stillness with his music. This is a Dionysiac image: Orpheus was connected to the same ecstatic mysteries as Bacchus. The owner of this house was telling his dinner guests, on the floor beneath their feet, that music and wine both unlock the animal world. Separate room: nine dolphins dancing in formation — completely intact. At the House of the Ephebus: the Bacchus mosaic shows the wine god in a chariot pulled by PANTHERS. Not horses. Panthers. This is how the Romans understood wine: not tame, not domestic — pulled by predators, moving fast, dangerous and beautiful at once.

   🎯 HOW: The standard entry fee (70 MAD) covers both. Hire a guide at the entrance (negotiate; guides wait at the ticket office) if you want to navigate efficiently — without guidance the mosaics require careful searching. The House of Venus at the northern end has the finest mythological mosaics: Abduction of Hylas by the Nymphs and Diana Bathing. These are the rooms where, in 1918, archaeologists found a bronze bust of Cato the Younger — 50 cm tall, still on its original pedestal — which is now in Rabat's Archaeological Museum.

   🔄 BACKUP: If the site feels overwhelming, focus on just two: House of Orpheus (dolphins are the most intact) and House of the Ephebus (Bacchus mosaic). These two alone justify the trip.

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3. ⛰️ 3

   Stand at Rome's Western Edge and Count What the Empire Gave Up

   adventure Free

   From the top of the site, the Forum and Basilica behind you, the Atlas Mountains ahead — this is where the Roman world stopped.

   📍 WHERE: Walk to the northern end of the site, past the Arch and up to the Capitoline Temple (the raised platform with reconstructed columns dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva — these columns were restored in 1962, reconstructing 10 of the original 13 steps). Stand facing north-northwest.

   💡 WHAT: You are at the administrative center of Mauretania Tingitana — Rome's westernmost province in Africa. Behind you: the Basilica (42 meters long, two stories, completed by Macrinus in the early 3rd century), the Forum (1,300 square meters, pedestals where 100 statues stood), the Decumanus Maximus running all the way to the Arch. This was a city of 20,000 people — city walls 2.6 km around, public baths, brothels, triumphal arches, mosaics showing wine gods. Ahead of you: the road into the Atlas Mountains, where Rome never went. The Berber tribes beyond those hills were never conquered. Volubilis was the frontier — civilization behind you, the unconquered world in front of you. To your right (east), 5 km away on the twin hills: the white town of Moulay Idriss, Morocco's holiest city. Those walls are partially built from Roman stones taken from where you are standing.

   🎯 HOW: Free — included in site entry. Spend five minutes here. The Capitoline Temple columns were restored in 1962, but the platform and foundations are original. Look at the Forum pedestals — each one held an emperor's statue. All the metal and bronze was stripped out long before the 1755 Lisbon earthquake finished the walls. What you see is stone left over after everything valuable was taken, twice: once by medieval builders, once by the earthquake.

   🔄 BACKUP: If the view is hazy, come at golden hour (late afternoon). The columns catch the light dramatically and the Atlas Mountains behind Moulay Idriss turn orange.

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4. 📜 4

   Walk Into the City Built From the Ruins You Just Left

   history Free

   Moulay Idriss is 5 km from Volubilis. Its walls contain Roman stones. It was founded in 788 AD by a man fleeing assassination. It is Morocco's holiest city.

   📍 WHERE: From Volubilis, take a taxi to Moulay Idriss town — 20-30 MAD, 10 minutes. Park at the base and walk up through the medina. Non-Muslims can enter freely since 1912 (daytime access); overnight stays permitted since 2005 (by royal decree of King Mohammed VI).

   💡 WHAT: In 788 AD, a man named Idris ibn Abdallah arrived at Volubilis as a fugitive. He was a great-great-grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Two years earlier, at the Battle of Fakhkh, the Abbasid Caliphate had massacred his family. He escaped west — as far west as Morocco — and found a Roman city occupied by Berber tribes. He forged an alliance with the Awraba Berbers using his status as a descendant of Muhammad, and established himself here. He took Roman stones from Volubilis to build his new seat of power. He founded Morocco's first Islamic dynasty — the Idrisids (788-974 AD). His son Idris II founded Fes in 808 AD. Idris I was poisoned by an Abbasid agent three years after he arrived (791 AD). He died at 43, having founded a dynasty and a country in three years, using a Roman city as his base. He is buried in the tomb at the center of Moulay Idriss — the most sacred shrine in Morocco, rebuilt by Sultan Moulay Ismail in 1719-1721.

   🎯 HOW: Walk up to the viewpoint terrace (free — ask any local to point you toward it). From there you can see both the Moulay Idriss shrine AND the columns of Volubilis on the plain below, simultaneously. Edith Wharton stood at roughly this spot in 1920 and wrote about "two dominations looking at each other across the valley." She was right. Look for the Sentissi Mosque's cylindrical minaret — covered in green tiles with white Kufic script — the only cylindrical minaret in Morocco, built in 1939. The shrine's inner sanctum is off-limits to non-Muslims, but the exterior courtyard and the view from above tell the full story.

   🔄 BACKUP: Dar Zerhoune (a riad guesthouse) has a rooftop terrace open for lunch and mint tea with direct sightlines to Volubilis in the distance — the only place in the world where you can eat lunch looking at both the Roman ruins and the Islamic city that rose from them.

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5. 🍷 5

   Taste the Wine Named for the Ruins — at the Estate That Named It

   wine $$

   Domaine de la Zouina makes a wine called Volubilia — named for these Roman ruins. It won Best Olive Oil in the World in 2006. The Romans pressed olive oil here. Everything is connected.

   📍 WHERE: Domaine de la Zouina, 20 minutes south of Meknes center (domainezouina.com). Reservation required — visits are by appointment only. The 2025 standard visit is 220 MAD (~€20) per person.

   💡 WHAT: Founded in 2002 by Gérard Bribelin — whose family sold their estate in Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, to make wine here — in partnership with Philippe Gervoson, part-owner of Château Larrivet Haut-Brion. These are Bordeaux people, making Moroccan wine, naming it for Roman ruins. The wine they named Volubilia: the Gris is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Caladoc, Marselan, and Mourvèdre — translucent pale pink, like a Provençal rosé, with lemon zest, white peach, and a mineral finish. The Volubilia Classic red is Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Tempranillo — earthy, structured, ~150-200 MAD. The wine is produced at altitude (400-700m) on clay-limestone soil with Mediterranean climate and Atlas Mountain cooling. The French planted Carignan, Cinsault, and Grenache here during the protectorate (1912-1956). At Morocco's independence in 1956, there were 55,000 hectares of vineyard. The industry nearly died. Bribelin and Gervoson are part of its revival. The olive connection: in 2006 this estate won the award for Best Olive Oil in the World. More than 30 Roman olive presses have been found at Volubilis — the Roman city was literally built on olive oil money. The same ground, the same olives, 2,000 years apart.

   🎯 HOW: Book via domainezouina.com before your trip. The standard visit includes a vineyard walk, cellar tour, and tasting of 3 wines. Ask specifically to taste the Volubilia Gris and the Volubilia Classic. Ask about the olive oil award — and ask how they feel about making wine in a country where alcohol is restricted. The conversation will tell you more about Morocco than any museum.

   🔄 BACKUP: Château Roslane (also in Meknes, by appointment) is the first North African winery with AOC Premier Cru designation (Coteaux de l'Atlas). Their building dates from 1948 and the concrete tanks climb three floors — 70,000 hectoliters, 10 million bottles. Also verified open through late 2025. If Domaine de la Zouina is unavailable, Roslane is the alternative.

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