What Remains: The Living Culture of Volubilis and Fes
By Leah Tracey
After a long but beautiful 12-hour drive through the Moroccan countryside, we arrived in Fes last night and spent the evening exploring our riad, experiencing Moroccan architecture firsthand. The next morning, we headed to the ancient Roman site of Volubilis, where we were guided by Mustapha Atki, now a professor at Université Hassan II Casablanca and formerly the chief curator at Volubilis for eight years.
What makes Volubilis so unique is the layers of history and the diverse peoples who inhabited the city over time. The name Volubilis, Professor Atki argued, may be connected to the Amazigh term alili (oleander), a flower that grows abundantly in the region. The site was first established in the 2nd century BCE by one of the Amazigh kingdoms. Rome, during its expansion into North Africa, took control of the region in the 1st century CE. What I found particularly interesting—something Professor Atki emphasized—is that Roman authority in Volubilis was not established through a single military conquest of the city itself, but rather through broader regional integration, diplomacy, and cooperation. Professor Atki explained that local Amazigh elites often recognized the advantages of cooperation with Rome, which contributed to the city’s relatively prosperous status under Roman rule.
I have had the chance to visit many Roman ruins on the Italian peninsula, including Pompeii, and yet I found myself more in awe standing in Volubilis. I noticed several similarities between the two sites, which are thousands of miles apart, including the intricate mosaics depicting Roman mythology. However, whereas Pompeii feels like a distinctly Roman urban environment, Volubilis felt more layered and historically complex. Although it was part of the Roman Empire, Volubilis was not a Roman city in the sense of being inhabited exclusively by people from the Italian peninsula, but rather a provincial city shaped by a majority population of local Amazigh. These communities adopted aspects of Roman culture while also maintaining elements of their own traditions. This hybridity is visible in the architectural remains, including columns carved in the Corinthian style alongside local artistic adaptations and regional influences reflected in the design of the columns’ capitals. Furthermore, we learned how Roman artistic influences are sometimes linked to cultural forms still seen in Morocco today. Professor Atki explained that mosaic traditions in Volubilis are sometimes discussed in relation to decorative arts such as zellij, highlighting a broader conversation about continuity and reinterpretation between ancient and contemporary visual culture.
Volubilis was gradually abandoned after the 3rd century CE, and later, an Islamic dynasty established its capital in the region in the 8th century, adding yet another chapter to the city’s long history. After the ruling dynasty later moved its capital to Fes, Volubilis was largely left uninhabited until archaeological excavations began in the 19th century. Perhaps the most meaningful thing I took from this trip was what Professor Atki briefly mentioned at the beginning of the tour. He explained that, although Volubilis may appear on the surface to be a collection of ruins and unfinished structures, the site in fact tells a much deeper story. Through mosaics, written records, and inscriptions on tombstones, we learn about the cultures, traditions, and inhabitants that once flourished here. Volubilis is not just a Roman city; it is Amazigh, Islamic, and, most importantly, Moroccan. It is one example of how Morocco is not defined by a single culture or tradition, but rather by the accumulation of many cultures shaped through centuries of interaction. Similar to Rabat with its French colonial influence and the Atlas Mountains with their rich Amazigh heritage, Volubilis reflects the layered cultural history that continues to shape Morocco today.
We ended the night with dinner at the home of a local Arab Moroccan family. Having shared lunch with an Amazigh family just a few days earlier, the similarities between the two households were difficult to miss. Some were customary, such as beginning the meal with traditional Moroccan tea, while others felt more cultural in nature. For example, as we were walking into the home, a fellow classmate’s shoe broke. Without hesitation, the family took the shoe and spent the next half hour repairing it. At first, this kind of generosity toward a complete stranger felt unusual to me. However, thinking back to the lunch we shared with the Amazigh family, where they hosted us with utmost generosity, I began to realize that this sense of hospitality is deeply woven into what it means to be Moroccan.
Dinner was accompanied by live music. The musician played the oud, an instrument similar in appearance to a guitar but far more intricate, with eleven or twelve strings and a fretless neck that allows for a wide range of tonal expression. He also sang in Arabic, performing Andalusian songs alongside pieces that drew influences from Egypt to Algeria. Seeing these different cultural influences come together reinforced the sense of cultural integration that shapes the traditional Moroccan home and lived experience. What I find most striking about Morocco is that its many cultural influences—whether Roman, Arab, Amazigh, or others—do not simply compete with one another, but instead accumulate over time. Each culture that has passed through this land has left behind elements that enrich what already existed. Sitting in the living room of that local Arab Moroccan family, listening to a musician whose repertoire moved beyond strict traditional boundaries, while our hosts welcomed us like old friends, I realized that the complexity and diversity that have shaped Morocco’s history remain integral to everyday life today.