Ifrane. إفران/يفرن

On our way from Fes to Marrakesh, we'll be passing through the Atlas Mountains and one of the towns we'll pass along the way is Ifrane ("e-frahn"). I had never heard of the place before so I Googled "ifrane" and was surprised by the images I first saw. The town didn't look remotely either Moroccan or African; the buildings were distinctly European in style and there was snow on the ground! Thinking I had made a mistake, I redid my search but this time adding the word "morocco" to the search query. The same images came back. Now I was getting really curious.

Volubilis. وليلي

Ilove going to visit Roman ruins. To some people, they're nothing more than  rubble that used be a place where people once lived but to me, they are amazing places.

Every Roman ruin is different, just like every city and town is different.  Seeing the ruins gives me a small glimpse into ancient Roman culture which I have long felt was an incredibly advanced culture for its time.  For one thing, I have long marveled at Roman engineering skills.  Whereas other cultures built their towns and villages next to rivers and lake so that they could have easy access to a supply of water, the Romans hand built aqueducts and reservoirs to bring the water to their towns!  At Ephesus, they even had a toilet system!

Zillij. الزليج

Zillij (("zuh-leej") is the geometric tile mosaic work that is characteristic of Morocco.
 
Though zillij can be found in the art traditions of other North African and Middle East countries, Moroccan zillij is unique in the Muslim world. The lines in Moroccan geometry are straight as opposed to the curved lines used everywhere else.

"The beauty of Islamic art "  Zillij is an artform that reflects Islamic belief and tradition which believes that depictions of living things lead to the misguided worship of idols.  So, zillij design is typically a series of abstract  patterns utilizing colorful geometric shapes.  Zillij reflects a disciplined approach to space, line, and color and is intended to encourage the observer to reflect on the perfection of God’s creation. I'm not a Muslim so I can't appreciate the religious perspective but I can admire the art.  In my eyes, zillij is just simply beautiful.

Packing list. Morocco.

Another trip, another packing list. This has become old hat for me by now. In fact, when I come back from a trip, the clothes go into the washer and when they come out of the dryer, they're folded and put in plastic containers that hold just my travel clothes. So, when I pack, I just have to sift through the contents of the containers and pick out what I need. I have gotten this down to a fine art :-)

Since this is a winter trip, I will definitely need a warm jacket.  I have a feeling it will come into handy for our overnight trip in the desert.