We were offered the opportunity to visit the sites of two ancient cities, Volubilis and Meknes, and our entire group opted to participate. We needed to get an early start, so breakfast was at 7 AM. Mine consisted of yogurt, crepes with honey, a fried egg, and concentric slices of oranges and bananas.

We had a   local guide at Volubilis, the site of ruins from ancient Roman times, who was very informative. He told us that the site had been constructed by enslaved people who worked eighteen  hours a day. Also, there were well preserved mosaics on the ground, similar to those  we had seen at Villa Casale in Sicily. We were extremely appreciative  of them, because we had just seen the painstaking work that it takes to cut tiles and place them into a scene. We appreciated that we had started so early, because as we were leaving, tourists from around the world began to arrive and we heard many different languages.

Meknes is a small city  for which we also had a local guide. We visited  what was once a home that had been converted into a museum. The local guide told us about the lives of wealthy women years ago. Women wore a hajib (and many still do). They could be visited by their  female friends and enjoy the gardens together.

Our lunch was delightful. The appetizer was small (about 1 ” by 2″) puffs of bread for us to spread with roasted eggplant and roasted peppers. The main course was chicken and peppers en brochette, and for dessert, we enjoyed phyllo pastry topped with honey, walnuts, and whipped cream.

In the  early evening, the sixteen of us were divided into small groups that would attend a Home-Hosted Dinner. A young woman, Mavra, led us to her home. The door was not remarkable, but the home on the other side  of it was. The courtyard was magnificently decorated, and was open on the top. There was an orange tree in one corner of the room, and a grape vine in another. We met Marva’s parents, Huda (sp?) and Rashid, and complimented their beautiful home. We learned that Rashid’s ancestors had begun living there four hundred sixty-nine years ago!Dinner was served in a room off the courtyard. We were welcomed with Moroccan mint tea followed by barley soup. After that, tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots were served. The main course was a fava bean and short rib stew, and dessert was fresh fruit. Everything had been home made and was  beautifully presented.

Mavra told us that she was an English major in college. We also met her brother, Mohammed, who attended high school.  Their mother had a business of her own, making clothing for women and children, from every day hajibs to ones for special occasions, and we were shown some of them. The experiences of the other groups were different but no less fascinating. After our meal, Mavra and her brother led us back to our riad, where we marveled at all we had experienced that day. Then we went up to the roof for a view of the night sky.

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