Morocco - Possibly The Best Riad In The World?

We start today with a walk/bus tour of Meknes with our local guide Abdullah. Although I can see how beautiful Meknes could be it is disappointing that every single site we are taken to is boarded up and undergoing refurbishment – I am sure when the work is complete in 2023 it will be wonderful but right now I wonder why I am here which is hugely disappointing. Meknes is located in a very fertile area where lots of grapes and olives are grown. In Arabic terms Morocco is the capital of its wine production and also has the biggest number of drinkers. Meknes medina is a vast 26 mile walled area, but there are issues for those living here including parking problems and safety issues – more and more young people are now leaving the walled city to live in a more modern way.

We visit Thursday Gate – the main entrance to the Jewish Quarter, so called as Thursday was animal market day and anyone regardless of age or sex could walk freely through these gates. We also visit the The Royal Quarter (built in the 17th Century on the orders of Sultan Moulay Isamel) including the reservoir which was for taking a walk around, boating on and apparently for the drowning of the Sultans concubines when they were no longer in favour! We see the Granaries which back in the sultans time could store enough grain to feed the whole city for one year and all the Sultans horses for 20 years.

After our tour we head to a local supermarket to purchase a picnic lunch.

On our next leg of the journey Adil tells us – Intrepid work hard to support local charities. In Morocco the project they run is called Education For All (https://www.efamorocco.org/). In Morocco girls are only educated in primary school and Education For All is about continuing education after the age of 11. Money needed is raised by donations – in 2019 these came to 34,000 Australian Dollars which Intrepid doubled to 68,000 Australian Dollars (approx £38,000),some of the recent work includes attending a boarding type house/school meaning they leave home at the age of 11 returning only during school holidays. Girls were also given laptops during Covid to enable them to keep studying whilst school was not an option. One of the young ladies supported by Education For All – Zahra – is now working in the Intrepid Office in Marrakech – we will meet her later this week. 

We arrive at our next stop – Volubilis – visible from the higher points of the valley, located between Meknes and Fes – this vast collection of Roman remains took 50 years to excavate after the earthquake of 1697 – to date only one third has been excavated and in 1997 it was declared a UNESCO world heritage site, whilst here we discover colonnades, arenas, grand arches, temples, theatres and the vomitorium!

From this ancient site we travel on to Fez arriving at 6pm and taken directly to our stay for the next 2 nights – Riad Royal Salem – it is totally amazing. Such a stunning interior, really creative and definitely unique, everywhere you look there is something very special to see and the oohs and aahs from our group just prove this. The welcome is very friendly and we are soon shown to our rooms – which are as equally pleasing as the rest of the property – time for a quick shower and then we are off out for dinner. Adil leads us about 30 metres down an alley where we are welcomed into a local family home, we are all given Moroccan outfits to try on and have photos in and then we are served a traditional dinner of chicken pastilla (a scrumptious Moroccan delicacy. Tender shredded chicken with aromatic spices wrapped in perfectly crisp pastry layers). This is followed by a selection of fresh fruit. The family hosting this experience are so friendly and its definitely a highlight of the trip for our group.

Back at the Riad we enjoy a drink or 2 together before heading to bed.