South of Fes and Meknes in the north of Morocco are the breathtaking ruins of the Roman city of Volubilis.

The archeological site of Volubilis is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It was founded in the third century B.C. and became a Roman outpost. While it looks rather small from the hill above, it is actually quite large and has extremely well preserved mosaics.

One of the ancient doors to the fortified city and the main street lined with partial building facades. You can almost imagine Ben Hur’s Hollywood rival riding up the road on his chariot to get to the arena on time for the famous race.

This dramatic ancient Roman ruin site set on the shallow slopes of Mount Zerhourn, overlooking the vast fertile Wadi Khoumane plateau is one the Roman Empire’s most remote and far-flung frontier settlements – second only to a small trading outpost on an island off the coast of Essaouira. It is situated close to the Moroccan imperial city of Meknes, 150 miles inland from Tangiers.

The Romans around 40 C.E established Volubilis. They claimed control over North Africa, but they never gained complete control over the surrounding Berber tribes, who ardently resisted Roman occupation. Over time; however, the Berbers realized they could mutually benefit from the wealth and knowledge of land cultivation that the Romans possessed. Relations between the two were never fluid, and it wasn’t until the Arab Conquest in the seventh century that the Romans eventually abandoned Volubilis altogether.