Moulay Idriss: the First Arab Dynasty

Moulay Idriss! 

I literally had to beg Hamid to take us to Moulay Idriss. And when he agreed, I found myself dropping hints round the clock, reminding him to honour our agreement. It was not that Hamid was a tardy guide, but Moulay Idriss, the first Arab dynasty in the world, was sacred ground that most Moroccans believe should be left for believers.

In fact, the holiest town in Morocco has a sign on its gate forbidding non-muslims from entering parts of the city centre. Also, it was not till 2002 that the city was open to visitors. For a muslim, a trip to Moulay Idriss is equivalent to 1/5 of a Haj. So it was with a little trepidation that G and I disembarked from our jeep in the centre of the main square.

The main square was a small rectangular-shaped lobby, a far cry from the squares of Fez or Rabat where consumerism reigned and young Moroccans race to gather around the freshest tourist jeep, eager to snag a bang for the foreigner's buck. In this square, donkeys rule dignifiedly, as their elderly masters trail by their sides watching their provisions eagle-eyed.

I could sense the uneasiness in Hamid.

"Here we are! This is the square. There isn't much to see and do. Let's just look around for five minutes, okay?" he smiled weakly as he surveyed the area, his tour-guide persona receding.

Five minutes?! Was this guy kidding?! I was not going to take this lying down. I was not going to have travelled thousands of miles to see the first Arab dynasty only to be told that I had a mere five minutes!

"But I want to see the round minerat, the only one of its kind in the world, the sacred tomb of Moulay Idriss I, and the picturesque views of the Moulay Idriss city! Five minutes is not enough!" I whined like a petulant child.

"Alright," Hamid relented with a sigh "you are the customer after all. But let me tell you, very, very few tourists get to be as lucky as you. Usually they just go to Meknes and Fez and Volubilis, they never ever go to Moulay Idriss. You are very lucky." I was in half-a-mind to refute him for I had read numerous blog posts written by foreigners about their adventures in Moulay Idriss. In fact, the Rough Guide lists Moulay Idriss as one of the top twenty places one should not miss when visiting Morocco.

"The white marks on the floor mean that this road would meet a dead end, so we do not follow any alleys with white markings okay?" he explained, as we nodded furiously eager to play a role in decoding Moulay Idriss's mystery.

But as the three of us walked through the market clambering dark, twisting tunnels, forming a curious spectacle for old men drapped in white djellabas, it soon dawned upon me that even Hamid's stellar knowledge of the color codebook would not get us far. Like us, Hamid the tourist guide was also a foreigner in this dynasty.

a man with his donkey

It was only with the help of a kind local that we managed to spot the green minaret. Engraved onto the minaret are verses from the surrahs with the most important one being "la illah ila Allah" (There is no god but God) 

Following the white-washed path up the hill, we were finally taken to the summit where astounding views of Moulay Idriss greeted us.

views of Moulay Idriss - this was what I had hoped to see! :)

Spurred by our happy faces, Hamid's tour guide persona returned to full force, constantly reminding us just 'how lucky' we were to have experienced 'authentic morocco', even stopping by a makeshift olive oil 'factory' to show us how ripen olives were being grounded into olive oil.

But as I snuck my camera out for a quick snapshot, the hapless Hamid received a strident rebuke from one of the factory workers in the most guttural Arabic I had ever heard.

"Go Away! Foreigners are not welcome! They have no right to take pictures! We just want to live here undisturbed by them!"

 As soon as we were a safe distance away, Hamid translated the admonishment. "You see," Hamid added, "you are very lucky. Unlike in places like Merzouga where people are always very friendly, the people here they are different. Tourists don't visit this place. You are very lucky."

Who were we, foreigners, to infringe upon their land even if only to plunder pictures and experiences?