Moulay Idriss Zerhoun

The Town Built On Two Hills Around The Tomb Of Idris I, Founder Of Morocco'S First Muslim Dynasty; A Pilgrimage Destination Many Moroccans Describe As The Most Important In The Country, And The Natural Pairing With Volubilis · Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, Fes-Meknes

Moulay Idriss Zerhoun is a white town poured over two hills of Jebel Zerhoun, built around the tomb of Idris I, who arrived in the late eighth century, founded Morocco's first Muslim dynasty and is honoured here as the man who brought Islam to the country. Many Moroccans describe it as the most important pilgrimage place in Morocco, and the fact a visitor most needs is this: the shrine and the mosques are closed to non-Muslims, while the town itself is open to everyone, and much older guidance gets that distinction wrong. So you come for the town rather than the tomb - stepped lanes that end in doorways, a green-tiled cylindrical minaret unlike any other in Morocco, terraces where the roofs and the shrine's pyramid stack up below you, stalls of nougat and grilled meat, and the classic photograph from the Volubilis road. Staying the night only became possible relatively recently and is still the best way to see it. Honest caveats: it is steep, the lanes confuse everyone, there is almost nothing you can enter, and an hour may be enough - pair it with Volubilis, 4 km away.

Hill town on two spurs of Jebel Zerhoun, about 4 km from Volubilis and 25 km north of Meknes, Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, Fes-Meknes, Morocco

The town has no opening hours: the lanes, the squares and the terrace viewpoints are public and free at any time, and the hour after dawn and the hour before sunset are the two worth being here for. The shrine complex is not open to non-Muslims at all - a wooden beam across the entrance marks the limit and is respected without argument - and the same applies to the mosques. Shops and stalls run from mid-morning to about 20:00, busier at weekends and in school holidays, and the town's weekly market is commonly said to be on Saturday; confirm locally. Friday is the main prayer day and midday is quiet. The big annual moussem falls in late summer, usually August or September, when the town fills with pilgrims and finding a bed or a parking space becomes genuinely difficult - confirm the dates for your year before planning around it. Getting there: shared grand taxis run from Meknes in roughly 40 minutes, hired cars park below the town rather than in it, and Volubilis is about 4 km away and walkable in cool weather. Nothing needs booking except a room during the moussem. Ramadan shifts the whole day into the evening.

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