ISA Excursion Volubilis (May 26th)

I'm really behind on updating my blog, so to save all of us time, I decided to recap my last excursion through the use of borrowed media and pictures. Hope that works for everyone...Fes and Casablanca to  follow... (and yes, for the sake of organizing my blog, I tweaked the days that I posted...don't judge me...)

First stop: VOLUBILIS-Roman ruins in Morocco!!

The very dark (and cold) bunch that I call my ISA Friends in front
of Volubilis 

Yes, I borrowed off of Wikipedia...

Volubilis, or Walili, is an archaeological site in Morocco situated nearMeknes between Fez and Rabat along the N13 road. The nearest town isMoulay Idriss. Walili features the best preserved Roman ruins in this part of northern Africa.^[1] In 1997 the site was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

My chocolate sister- we are kindred spirits it's kind of scary

It was really neat to be walking around this place. Now, it just looks like
your typical Roman ruins, but it was once a sizzling city. The surrounding houses
that are scattered about show signs of the utmost prestige and luxury. Makes me wonder
if our buildings and monuments will hold up like this in the future... 

Imman and Moussien (our assistant directors) in the sacrificial pit...notice
the fear on their faces lol

The surrounding scenery was really extraordinary. Our guide explained
that during the Roman times, the land around this area was
fertile enough to cultivate any and all sorts of fruits and vegetables,
grapes for wine, and olive trees. 

It's astounding how well preserved the tile and some of the intricate
workings of this place are...this was a room dedicated to the god Jupiter, and across from this
tile floor stands what we think was a small fish tank/pond/pool. Interesting, huh? 

From left to right: Annie, Patrick, Jonathan, Thumim, Tina, Yours Truly, and Taylor

The traditional Arc de Triumph that is typical of every Roman city-I remembered
some of this stuff from my art history class from freshmen year and I was surprised
how much I really learned in that class..

We're really a fun group, I'm going to be sad to leave them at the end
of these five weeks
(Left to right: Eva, Taylor, Ian, Kylan, Me) 

Notice anything interesting here? Took me a while to find it. I think
the when swastika is turned this way, it means peace and good life, but if you turn it around,
it takes the meaning of the Nazi symbol. 

Our guide was really funny and quite sneaky...Patrick didn't know what he was in for...

...but he was a really good sport about it. Can you make out what this is?
I remember learning that the Romans (and Greeks I believe) had a lot
of erotic symbols in their homes and shops and public places. I think that the most
predominate showing of this is in Italy in the ruins of Pompeii. I think the room we were
standing is was a brothel or harem...oh and we also learned that many important conversations
were carried on while using the bathroom. Men would take their seats in the "bathroom," each with
his own little "hole," and they would spend a bit of time in deep discussion. I guess it's the equivalent of men
reading in the bathroom today? Also, did you know that the Romans used to practice the art (now eating
disorder) of bing eating? Yes, apparently, the wealthy would eat as much as they
could during ceremonies, go to the  bathroom, and let it come right back up so that they
could continue eating... interesting, n'est pas? 

Lastly, what are the odds of finding a bright
red had that says "hecho en mexico" in Morocco?! Too
good to be true, to the Mexican had to take a picture with
the Mexican hat. Interestingly enough, I have learned throughout my
travels that Arabs love Mexicans :)