House of Orpheus

Inside the House of Orpheus in Volubilis

Inside the House of Orpheus in Volubilis

I started my mad rush to go through the archeological site of Volubilis within one hour because that is how long the taxi driver would be waiting. He took my phone number probably to remind me to come back when it is time. I will do my best to see everything within one hour. I think it would be possible but it would be tight. Much of the archeological site of Volubilis is ruined after it was abandoned. While some stone which the buildings were constructed from were cannibalized in favor of the transaction of nearby Meknès, there were large parts of the site which survived to this day. The places within the site do not have any names and were given only by the archeologists based one the features they see.

Detail of the Mosaic in the House of Orpheus

Detail of the Mosaic in the House of Orpheus

The first structure that I ran into is the House of Orpheus. As far as house it concerned, there is really very little help identify it as a house. Most of the walls are long gone. Naturally, there would be no roof to speak of. So what is left? The floor of course. Turns out this was one of the most important pieces that survived in Volubilis. The House of Orpheus is so named because there is a beautiful mosaic on the floor with the image of Orpheus coming from Greek mythology. The mosaic itself is cordoned off, so it might be difficult to actually see it. I was trying to use my telephoto lens to get closer to the mosaic but it was still difficult to see what it is. I think it would nice to have a drone to take a photo of it from above that way we would avoid trampling all over the precious mosaic.

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