NAME THAT COUNTRY Episode 130

The former Imperial City of Meknes is in the north of our mystery country. Meknes was the seat of the ruling Alaouite Dynasty from the late 17th century to the early 19th century. The dynasty’s founder Sultan Moulay Ismail vowed to make his city rival Versailles and by most accounts succeeded. Some of that grandeur remains, including the glorious Bab el-Mansour gate pictured above. One of the country’s top tourist attractions, the Roman site of Volubilis, is about 30 minutes away from Meknes.

Can you name that country? 
See below for answers.

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NAME THAT COUNTRY Episode 83

Volubilis is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in a fertile plain at the foot of the Jbel Zerhoun (jbel = mountain), in the northwest of our mystery country.

From about 300BCE, Volubilis was the capital of the indigenous Berber kingdom of Mauritania. In 44CE, the area became the Roman province of Mauritania, with Volubilis as its capital. As a Roman provincial town, Volubilis was about as far out in the sticks as you could go. Despite this remoteness, it developed into a fine little city. Evidence of large-scale cultivation and processing of grains and olives suggests the area was something of a bread-basket for Rome.

Can you name that country? 
See below for answers.

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Foto Friday Frescos (& Mosaics)

Akrotiri, Santorini, Greece

Akrotiri, Santorini, Greece

Knossos, Crete, Greece

Knossos, Crete, Greece

Apocalypse Cave, Patmos, Greece

Apocalypse Cave, Patmos, Greece

St. John Monastery, Patmos, Greece

St. John Monastery, Patmos, Greece

Beit Alpha, Israel

Beit Alpha, Israel

Beit Shean, Israel

Beit Shean, Israel

Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey

Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey

Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey

Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey

Madaba, Jordan

Madaba, Jordan

Qasr Amra, Jordan

Qasr Amra, Jordan

Volubilis, Morocco

Volubilis, Morocco