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the Degree Confluence Project
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Morocco

3.7 km (2.3 miles) S of Fès, Fès-Meknès, Morocco
Approx. altitude: 425 m (1394 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 34°S 175°E

Accuracy: 10 m (32 ft)
Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: East #3: South #4: West #5: GPS #6: Nephew, Moustapha, Gysbert, Edwin, and Herman #7: Volubilis #8: Fès medina and King's palace #9: Fès medina

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  34°N 5°W (visit #4)  

#1: North

(visited by Herman de Haan, Moustafa Chahi, Edwin Coster and Gysbert Wassenaar)

04-Oct-2010 -- Continued from 33N 5W.

In Meknès Moustapha got ill and did not sleep that night. Fortunately the doctor got him some medicine. In the morning we bought some bread and had breakfast near Hotel Malta.

Then we went to Volubilis (Arabic: وليلي‎ Walīliy). It is an Roman archaeological site in Morocco situated near Meknès between Fès and Rabat along the N13 road. The nearest town is Moulay Idris. Volubilis features the best preserved ruins in this part of northern Africa. In 1997 the site was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

From Volubilis we took the touristic route (N4) to Fès. It is one of the country's four "Imperial Cities," the others being Rabat, Marrakech, and Meknès. It comprises three distinct parts, Fès el-Bali (the old, walled city), Fès-Jdid (new Fès, home of the Mellah) and the Ville Nouvelle (the French-created, newest section of Fes). Fès el-Bali is a UNESCO World Heritage site, too. Its medina, the larger of the two medinas of Fès, is believed to be the world's largest contiguous car-free urban area. The University of al-Karaouine, founded in AD 859, is the oldest continuously functioning university in the world.

On his motorbike a Moroccan guy showed us the way to our hotel, which turned out to be the wrong hotel. It was a misunderstanding. The name of our hotel was almost similar to the hotel he got us into. It was a beautiful old hotel, unfortunately we had to leave. On the other hand our hotel "Dar Aliane" was also very good.

Moustapha, still not feeling well, decided to sleep in the hospital where he got medicine to sleep. Edwin and I went to the city, drank some tea and saw the King's Palace. The king Mohammed VI (born 21 August 1963) is the present King of Morocco. He ascended to the throne in July 1999.

Gysbert and I got a guide to tour us through the beautiful Medina of Fès. Most of the cities in Morocco have preserved at least portions of their medieval medinas. The streets in these areas are very narrow, and they are, for practical reasons, substantially car free, although not always motorcycle-free.

At lunchtime we went back to "Dar Aliane". Moustapha and Edwin did have some lunch already. After lunch we took some pictures of "Dar Aliane" and went by car to the airport. The nephew of Moustapha was driving us. In the morning we had already returned our rental car.

Our third confluence point was situated near the road to the airport. The nephew of Moustapha drove us through an area with newly built houses and showed us the parcel of land he owns. He will live there in the future. He parked the car 200 meter from the confluence point. It was quite easy to reach and we actually drove past it two times before.

This point was the end of our short confluence hunt. We did have a great experience and maybe we will be back next year.


 All pictures
#1: North
#2: East
#3: South
#4: West
#5: GPS
#6: Nephew, Moustapha, Gysbert, Edwin, and Herman
#7: Volubilis
#8: Fès medina and King's palace
#9: Fès medina
ALL: All pictures on one page