Trevor Huxham

One of the two hills As I explored Spain’s neighbor to the south, Morocco , during  Semana Santa  last year (Easter break), one of the spots on my hitlist was the ruined Roman city of Volubilis . I thought it was such a fascinating place not only because of the cool monuments and half-standing houses, but also because Roman ruins seemed so out of place outside of Europe—and yet, there they were, a silent reminder of the reach of the Roman Empire. Although Volubilis has long since drifted into oblivion, its community continues to this day a hop, skip, and a jump away in the town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, situated atop two hills. Circular minaret Trivia buffs might like to learn that Moulay Idriss is home to Morocco’s only circular minaret, a stout tower decorated in green and white mosaics that spell out pixelated Arabic script. But the real reason this town’s on the map goes back to the year 788 CE, when a man fleeing Arabia with a bounty on his head named Id...

Bab el-Mansour Of the four major cities that have served as capitals in Morocco’s past— Fez , Marrakesh, Meknes, and Rabat— Meknes seems to be the most-overlooked Imperial City for most people coming to visit the country. It’s a mere half-hour train ride from Fez, yet many people pass it over on their way to Casablanca and Marrakesh. Admittedly, there isn’t a lot to see here and the real treat here are the Roman ruins of Volubilis , a half-hour grand taxi  drive outside of town. Even Sufyan, a native meknassi  I met on the train and who kindly guided me toward my hotel, assured me his city isn’t worth visiting and recommended I check out Marrakesh and Essaouira instead. Imperial City I myself would have skipped Meknes had I not wanted to see the Volubilis ruins, which are difficult to get to except as a daytrip from town. Thankfully, in my hotel’s lobby I happened to overhear that a group of three Americans were trying to organize an intercity taxi to visit Volubi...

Last week, I came across a lovely photo post by longtime Spain expat blogger Cassandra Gambill. But because she was entering the annual Capture the Colour photography contest  (sponsored by the British website Travel Supermarket), her blog post showcased five pictures from her travels over the past few years in which the colors (spelled without  a U, thank you very much!) yellow, red, green, white, and blue featured prominently. For whatever reason, I was hesitant to throw my hat in the ring until Cat Gaa of Sunshine and Siestas “tagged” me in her entry for the competition this morning. Guess I don’t have much of a choice now! Anyway, I hope y’all enjoy these photos. Yellow: Petunias at the Patios de Córdoba festival Flickr link I first visited Córdoba back in dreary December and, while I did enjoy the city, every Spaniard I talked to about it insisted it was “worth the pain” ( vale la pena ) to go back in May for the Patios de Córdoba  festival, a ...

My trip to Morocco for Easter vacation was one where I went outside of my comfort zone a lot —even if it was with the help of the tourist trail. I had to manage daily life with a language I barely spoke (French) and one I didn’t at all (Arabic); there was absolutely no question I was a foreigner, being Christian, white, and non-fluent in any of Moroccan’s languages; and I basically winged transportation day by day, be it trains, buses, urban or interurban taxis. Douche et Bain Barakat, Chefchaouen (“Barakat Shower & Bath”) One of the things I wanted to do to push myself out of my comfort zone and to *ahem* immerse myself in Morocco was to bathe in a traditional hammam , or public bath. Ideally, I wanted to try out a hammam in each of the three cities I would stay at (Fez, Meknes, Chefchaouen), but because it’s such a time-consuming process and I didn’t have much down time in the first two cities, I didn’t end up bathing (I did shower, though!) until I got to Chefchao...

To finish off a warm, spring week in Morocco this past March, I spent two nights in the city of Chefchaouen, a cozy place set on a hillside about an hour or so from the Mediterranean coast. While researching for the trip, I kept coming across stories and pictures of this town that made it seem like a fantasy world, painted all-blue everywhere. Blue is my favorite color, after all, and wandering through a city completely blue sounded super cool, so I put it on my list. City panorama Pronounced “shuf-SHAH-wehn” [ʃəfˈʃɑ.wən], Chefchaouen was settled in 1471 as a military town to counter the Portuguese, who had been invading the region from the Mediterranean coast (think Ceuta ). Because of this (and perhaps because of its location in the mountains), the town was hostile to non-Muslims up until the mid-20th century, when the Spanish came in and colonized the country. Today, Chefchaouen is a fun and safe city to visit that welcomes tourists Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Its medin...

Although the fascinating mix of Arab and Berber cultures was what drew me to Morocco this spring, something else spoke to my inner history major: the crumbling skeleton of a once-flourishing Roman city. This place, called V OLUBILIS by the Romans and Oualili by the Berbers, is one of the most important Roman sites in north Africa, yet many tourists to Morocco have never even heard of the ruins or shy away from making a day-trip from the imperial city of Meknes. Read on to learn why it’s worth putting on your Moroccan itinerary. Strolling down the Decumanus Maximus How do you say “boloo-blah-blah”? Roman inscription recording the name of the city Okay this one’s a little tricky. In Classical Latin it would have been pronounced “woe-LOO-bee-lees” [woˈlu.bi.lis], not far removed from the Berber Oualili  or Walili . For English-speakers, however, it’s probably fine to voice the V since that’s what the French do as well. Go ahead—you can say it out loud if you like! “vo...

I’m fully aware that I’m just now getting to blogging about Morocco well over three months after the fact. But even after being gone for that amount of time, one memory still vividly stands out in my mind: Three Moroccan teenagers chillin’ at the Borj Nord After six hours of travel and one train transfer (not to mention an overnight ferry from Spain), I had finally emerged from the dreary rain to behold the houses and streets of Fez as we circled the city on the train tracks. The spring-green forests veiled the city once again, but it wasn’t long until we pulled in to the Fez Train Station , a white, horseshoe-arched structure that in Spain would be called Moorish Revival but in Morocco…simply the norm. Weary from a day of transportation, I strolled into the main hall and gaped at the beautiful wooden ceiling and tilework-clad walls. Although the beautiful interior was finished just three years earlier, it nevertheless linked the new part of town with centuries-old artisan...

A few days ago, I got back from a one-week journey to Morocco over Spain’s  Semana Santa  holiday, the first time I had ever visited the Muslim world, or Africa, for that matter. In the weeks leading up to the trip, I was both excited and terrified: excited, because Morocco is rich with history, architecture, good food, and friendly people; and terrified, because I don’t speak Arabic, I speak French poorly, and I had no idea how I was going to get around while keeping myself and my belongings safe. In the end, I had a great time traveling across the northern part of the country, appreciating Islamic art and architecture, gaining an addiction to mint tea, and perfecting how you say “hello” in Arabic ( as-salaam alaykum ). View this post on Instagram Moroccan mint tea!!! All day every day. // #food #tea #fez #morocco #travel #medina A post shared by Trevor Huxham (@trevorhuxham) on Mar 24, 2013 at 10:12am PDT ...