Mystery on the Nile

We're about to leave for our river cruise along the part of the Nile closest to Nubia. Last night we watched Death on the Nile on DVD. This wonderful Agatha Christie mystery takes place on a paddle steamer (just like the one we'll be on) with about a dozen guests (just like our cruise) along the stretch of the Nile between Luxor and Aswan (where we'll be going). *gulp!* The victim? An annoyingly bossy and loud-mouthed American woman! *double gulp!* But never fear: Poirot is here. Hercule Poirot, to be precise. The Belgian detective with 'zee little grey cells'. I hope there won't be any Death on the Nile next week... just mystery and adventure. This, of course, is research for Roman Mystery 15, The Scribe from Alexandria.

Here's our itinerary:
Monday: arrive in Luxor and sail to Esna on the S.S.Karim
Tuesday: visit Temple of Horus at Edfu, then sail to Kom Ombo
Wednesday: visit temples at Kom Ombo, then sail to Aswan
Thursday: felucca to botanical gardens then Philae at night
Friday: birdwatching among the islands of the cataract
Saturday: sail from Aswan back to Luxor
Sunday: hot air balloon over the Valley of the Kings
Monday: temple of Amun at Karnak and temple of Luxor

Roman Mysteries on TV

Nubia, Lupus, Flavia & Jonathan solve Roman Mysteries

The new Roman Mysteries TV series! 
What did you like about it?
What did you not like? 
Post your thoughts here!
You can be honest but please keep it clean... I am moderating this post! P.S. Season One is now available on iTunes!
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Hi, my name is Esther, I love your books and was thrilled to see them on the telly!!! I think flavia is just how I imagined her and Jonathan, Lupus, and Nubia were fantastic!!! Your books were wonderful and I really enjoyed them, I thought that the programmes would'nt live up to the high quality and thrilling description of the books. I was taken aback, however to find myself mesmerised by the excellence of the programmes and was instantly gripped. I congratulate you, not only on a wonderful read, but now on a fabulous telly programme!
Esther, 12
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I can put up with no Aristo just knowing that they will have be really creative to get him into the series. Not so sure about the O'Geminus brothers. I agree with the comments that it is rushed and that there is little character development. What has disappointed me is that they aren't solving any mysteries. I imagine this will be addressed over the next few episodes as Pirates lends itself much more to this.
So, overall if I wasn't familiar with the (vastly superior) books, I would be enjoying it. 6/10. Catherine loves it and gives it 8/10. Elizabeth sides with me (sensible girl) and has gone back and reread the books! Books 10/10.
Nick, over 29
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In the bit when they are looking over the bay of neapolis and there is smoke and fire coming out of vesuvius doesn't look the most realistic but it is brill all the same.
Emma
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I won't go on about how they cut out Aristo but I love the series and understand the fact that they cut pretty much everything but the series is amazing! I think all of the characters look like I would have imagined them. I've been spreading the news to pretty much everyone even those who havn't read your books they even said it was cool. Well anyway good luck with writing.
Zahra
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in the secrets of vesuvius when they run into the water, isn't it boiling? it said in the book.
From tom the doubter
[You're right to doubt, Thomas! The screenwriter changed the bit about the water to make the story more dramatic. You can actually hear me tell a story about that on Go 4 It!]
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I thought that Flavia wasn't really right for the part, but I really like Nubia and Lupus. Dr Mordecai and Miriam were absoulutely excellent and so was Simon Callow as Pliny! I would have preferred the series, if they hadn't changed your books so much and if Aristo was included.
Beatrice
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I thought the TV series was amazing... it was really atmospheric but it was a bit sketchy in detail in some places but I suppose it was a hard to fit in all the action! I thought the cast were perfect for the parts they acted really well and really brought the characters to life I can't wait for the next episodes
Laura
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I loved the show! It was great! I really can't believe that they fitted the two stories in 1 hour! I can't wait till next tuesday to see the next one. I'm so excited!
Angharad
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I loved the first episode :-) I can`t wait to see the next one
love from Becky
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I loved the first 2 episodes, they were great. I am a new reader of the books and I love them.
bye from Froggy
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Just a note to say that i really enjoyed the first two episodes of the new television series on CBBC! They really took my mind off my SATs. Can't wait until the next episode.
Araminta (AKA Minty)
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I thought it was quite good but some of the characters were quite different from what i thought they would be like. i think it will get better as it goes on ( i'm not saying it's already good. but it could get better....) me and my friend serian are hoping that aristo will be 'buff'! =] whoop whoop. and i'm sure we will have many discussions about it!
evie, 13
[Who's going to break it to Evie that Aristo does not appear?]
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I think the T.V show is great but not a patch on the brilliant books. The actors are totally Brilliant though! Will they cut Nubias love for Aristo out? Im sure the scriptwriters/producers/whoever had a reason thoughand I cant wait for episode 2!:) I say once again, YOUR BOOKS ARE BRILLIANT!
Vale, Annabel:)
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The TV series is great!! the actors are sooooooo good!!
Imo
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Oh My Gosh, although, for budget, complication, copy-cat crime etc reasons, the TV series isn't identical to the books, it's still really good! (I just managed to work the recorder literally a minute before it started!) I might have been able to relate to the characters more because I know what they are like already from reading the books, but the casting was excellent. I havent seen the end of the second episode so don't give it away for me! :P
Your Fan, Roo, 15
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I have just turned the tv off from watching the roman mysteries. It's super!
Regards, Alexandra, 9
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Just like to say congrats on the show! Its really weird to think that just a few years ago you came to my school with the books and now look where they are! Well done to all the actors too. Im a great friend of Fran's and we all are so proud of her down here in London. I even remember the day she found out she got the part! Well done to you all, and i cant wait for ep 3! (yes, i have watched ep 2 already! i was a bit excited!)
Well done again, Jack
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I saw it!!! I saw the Roman Mysteries!!!!! It was brill!!!!! You must be so proud Caroline, that all your work has payed off and maybe even more people will buy your books!!!!!!! I will set them all on reminder and will watch them all (except when i'm
with the school at Bude for a week!)
Fatmata!!!
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Hey Caroline,
I must say, after watching the first two episodes of the roman mysteries on tv, i was really impressed and was trying to get all my friends to watch it too! It was amazing and i enjoyed every minute of it..
Lots of love, Gemma, 14
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I watched the first part of the TV Series yesterday =] I felt they could have taken some more time over certain aspects but then I suppose you can't spend too long on things that aren't as important when you have to keep to a time.
Olivia
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Just seen the first 2 episodes. They shouldn't have tried to compress "the thieves of Ostia" into such a short space of time. Also they changed nearly everything during the eruption, and where were most of the characters? ... Didn't Roman girls have to tie their hair up? In the TV series Flavia's hair was always down but in "the Sirens of Surrentum" Flavia got in trouble for having her hair down with Tranquillus...I thought on Blue Peter they were rather beastly not letting you say anything!
Vale, Thomas, 15
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I saw the 1st episode of the TV series yesterday and ... I think they did really well to squash the beginning few scrolls of Thieves of Ostia and the 1st half of Secrets of Vesuvius into half an hour, but it is not as good as the books!
Zoe, 12
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Salve Caroline!!!
I've just watched the first two episodes of the dramatisation! Yay! It's fabulous! Can't wait for the next few! It's really weird though because the first book is missing, and lots of things have changed, characters have been cut out... but still, its really great!!! (the books are best)
Heppy, 12
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I didn't watch Part 1 but I did watch Part 2 which was good. I liked the special effects but it didn't really appeal to me (Don't get me wrong, it was good but it wasn't that exciting. It was really good acting though)
Ashir, 13
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Salve Caroline,
I really liked the first 2 episodes but i prefered that lupus' tongue was cut and he was found up a tree. But apart from that i thought it was great!! I can't wait for the next ones.
Vale, Hebba
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Hi Caroline,
I saw the first episode of the television series just now, and I thought while the acting and settings were good, the pacing was terrible! The characters had no time to develop personalities or friendships (and Nubia apparently learns Latin in about 10 seconds flat ;)). I hope that this first impression is improved by the next episode. Still, very glossy and slick!
Jen
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Wow! The first two episodes were amazing! Only one down point...No Aristo! =( Does this mean no "Fugitive from Corinth"? I hope not, as that's my favourite book!
Emz~the~banana~princess
[If they do a second series then they'll HAVE to introduce Aristo.]
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Salve Caroline,
I really enjoyed the Roman Mysteries, on TV. I just had one question, though. As there was no Aristo, does that mean no Fugitive from Corinth? I really love that book, and I hope that Aristo might be brought in later.
Emily
[See my answer above.]
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Salve. I think that the series and the characters are perfect - especially lupus and Jonathan - they look just as I imagined them. Only some things i dont understand - as others say, as aristo is cut out, will that mean that in The twelve tasks of Flavia Gemina, Nubia's affections for him be also cut out, as with in fugitive of corinth? And also, I find that Nubia in the books does not mention slavery and understand her duties properly until Pulchra beats her in the Pirates Of Pompeii, but in the program, she is sternly spoken to immediately by Alma (I thought she was nice!), and understands immediately, as well as learning latin quickly.
Nim
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I think the TV series is be brilliant! I’ve only got little moans though.
What happened to Aristo, Vulcan and Clio? If there is no Aristo, what will happen in ‘The Fugitive of Corinth’?
How come Flavia always has her hair down? I thought Roman women had to have their hair up.
How come Nubia speaks Latin already?
[They had to cut some characters because they condensed two books into one episode. And they didn't consult me on historical details like how women wore their hair, but if they do a second series they have promised they'll use my expertise.]
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Salve!
WOW. I've just seen the new Roman Mysteries TV show and it was great!!! The actors for Flavia, Nubia, Jonathan & Lupus fitted perfectly but I think they were introduced a bit too quickly. I reckon the 2nd episode was better than the first, but time flew while I was watching both of them! I can't wait for the next one now!
Vale, Becca xx
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I watched the shows today and thought it was great apart from there was soo many things that were different, like the whole dog thing and practically cutting out huge parts like Vulcan and Aristo. Also wouldnt it be dangerous to go in to the sea when the volcanoe erupted? And didnt Aristo give Mirium the bird! Apart from it being very different from the books- it's alright because they did say they based it on your books-it was brilliant I loved the scenary and cant wait for the next one and they did great at choosing the actors!
Javaria
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hi caroline the secrets of vesuvius was really good. do you know when it will be repeated again because my dad forgot to tape it :( one question:why in the tv series does Nubia have long hair whereas in the books she has short hair????
Hannah, 14
[I am guessing Rebekah AKA Nubia didn't want them to shave her head! I'm not sure when you can see repeats, though it might be on again later in the year.]
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Dear Caroline,
I thought that the programme was BRILLIANT! I thought that all the characters were wonderful, especially Lupus. The only thing I didn't quite understand was how Lupus stuck out his tongue near the end, when his not supposed to have one. I thought that all the backgrounds were great and looked exactly like I imagined.
From Fiona
[They have given Lupus a tongue in the TV series so there won't be copycat crimes of kids cutting out their younger brothers' tongues in homes across Britain.]
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I think it was a mistake to add elements of "Thieves of Ostia" into the first half of the primary Vesuvius episode, it compacted that story too much and "Ostia" is a good enough intro to the characters on its own... The Vesuvius effects are not really a "Death Star" moment to launch the show on with a bang... I think it would have benefited by having another story prior to this so it introduced the characters in a less forced manner and gave them room to develop and become people the audience cared about a little more than people who they just met being instantly thrown into that kind of large-scale peril.
Mark
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Congratulations on the TV series, we all sat down at 4.30 today to watch (very rare for us to find TV time this early in the day). We all enjoyed it a lot and thought it was great. We were happy to accept that the series and the books are just two different experiences, the series is fast paced adventure and the books are like an immersion into another time, with the action to keep you turning the pages.
Miriam (a mum)

Romans at Blue Peter!

Blue Peter is a British children's television programme which combines facts, fun and activities. It's been going nearly 50 years. To help publicize the brand new BBC TV series of The Roman Mysteries, Blue Peter kindly agreed to do a Roman-themed feature. Producer Andy Clarke asked if I would be a consultant and of course I agreed! The emails whizzed back and forth, sometimes as many as ten a day. I bombarded Andy with information on gladiators, slaves, highborn Romans and food. After a few days of this, Andy put it all together in a great script. As his 'thank you' to me for sending info, Andy told me I could have a bit part in their Roman Day. I was going to be Zoe's slave-girl. Euge! Yay!

Nothing could have prepared me for the sight of the Blue Peter studio converted into a Roman set! Art director Claire and props genius Julian (AKA Jules) had done amazing things. Andy had invited my old friend Draco the gladiator from the re-enactment group Britannia. But my first sight was of Gethin dressed up as a gladiator. Mecastor! He makes a fine gladiator. In the background, Draco and his pals were hacking about. They don't hold back. By the end of three rehearsals and as many takes, they were pouring with sweat.

Konnie was hilarious as a sassy slave-girl on the auctioneer's block: You wouldn't catch me in the gladiator ring. Oh no! In fact you wouldn't catch me anywhere in these chains. I've already been caught! Hence the writing that's been branded on my arm using hot metal, TENE ME NE FUGIA FUGIO: hold me lest I flee in flight!

Then came my part of the programme. I had to stand meekly behind Zoe and act suitably servile. I provided her with strigil (scraper) and spongia (poo-stick) but the best bit was when she gargled with her own urine to make her teeth white! Ewww! David aka Anakin of Britannia came in after we finished filming to ask for her autograph. He didn't seem to mind that she had just gargled with pee. (You can see me scrape Zoe and watch her drinking urine at the May 3rd Blue Peter Video Podcast)

Last but not least, Andy played the part of Servius, a fast-food seller. Jules the props-master had spared no expense. There were baskets of cabbage and fennel, clay bowls of honey, papyrus cones of olives and pistachios, as well as spices like cloves, pepper and turmeric. (The Blue Peter dogs, Lucy and Mabel, were beside themselves with excitement at all these exotic smells.) Here's a picture of Andy with one of his highborn customers! I got to be a random helper at the stall, shaking out coloured cloth. A very useful job.

I brought some copies of my books to give away, thinking there would be about 20 cast and crew on the set. There must have been at least 50 people there! And every one of them put so much work into making the day special. I must also mention the set designer Tracey, Laura the props buyer, Debbie in costumes and Julian the stage manager. Also the ladies in make-up! And all the 'extras' were great, too, like this senator and his wife. We enjoyed eating pistachio nuts from the papyrus cones on the food stall.

We finally finished filming at 7.00: a long day, (especially for Andy, who has to stay several more hours and edit it!) But it was so much fun. I wish every day could be a Roman Blue Peter Day. Thanks, Andy, for letting me be part of it. Oh, and thanks for promoting the TV series! [The Roman Mysteries TV series begins on Tuesday 8 May at 4.30 on BBC1, right before Blue Peter!]

My Top Ten Soundtracks

A good movie soundtrack can ruin a film. Or lift it to new heights. As I wait to hear what kind of music will accompany the televised episodes of my books, here are my top ten favourite movie soundtracks.

1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Ennio Morricone is a god. I could just as easily have chosen Once Upon a Time in the West, The Mission or Two Mules for Sister Sarah. The haunting and unforgettable waoowaoowah of this film's main theme was inspired by a coyote.

2. American Beauty
It's a crime that Tom Newman did not win an Oscar for his amazing soundtrack to this film. Just try to imagine the film without it! I particularly love his use of guinea pigs, soda pop and other unusual instruments.

3. Green Card
Hans Zimmer can do the score of my TV series or film any time! I love the Enya-like vocals, the African drums and Mozart's haunting Clarinet Concerto in A major.

4. Dil Se...
Spike Lee chose the Bollywood hit Chaiyya Chaiyya for the opening credits of Inside Man. Inspired! The rest of the CD is just as good.

5. The Namesake
I sometimes think Indian music is closer to ancient Roman music than the usual stuff filmmakers trot out as 'Roman'. This is one of those soundtracks that lifts a great film to greater heights.

6. Gladiator
A year before Gladiator came out, I imagined Nubia's 'dog song' from The Thieves of Ostia as a haunting female voice like the one on this soundtrack. But my Roman girl's voice would have been more Ofra Haza and less Celtic.

7. Moonstruck
'When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore!' Long live Dean Martin!

8. American Graffiti
An oldie but oh! What a goodie!

9. Sideways
I love jazz and I love California. This is a fun soundtrack from a black comedy about wine tasting.

10. O Brother Where Art Thou?
I listen to this whenever I need a spiritual boost.

Libya at Christmas

Hotel Al-Kabir, Tripoli, Dec 2006

by Caroline Lawrence

It's New Year's eve 2006. I am just back from spending the Christmas holidays in Libya, where I was doing research for books 14 and 15, The Beggar of Volubilis and The Scribes from Alexandria. Both will be set in North Africa.

I didn't really enjoy Libya; it was more a case of enduring it. One percent of the buildings, like the hotel Al-Kabir in Tripoli, are in good condition. The other 99% are crumbling and grey. On the whole, the country is a drab, colourless mixture of rubble and rubbish. It cannot compare with the colour and vibrancy of Morocco.

Gaddafi's VW beetle among mosaics & sculptures at Tripoli's Museum

The Libyan guides we had were cheerful, patient and polite, but the people as a whole are wary of Westerners. Children threw rocks at our coach and groups of men eyed us with narrowed eyes. I was not comfortable walking around Tripoli on my own, though I'd have no problem in Marrakesh or Fez.

Despite what people say, the ancient ruins of Libya aren't more impressive that those of Italy, Greece or Turkey. What is special about them is their proximity to the sea. Libya is a huge desert, with a border of green oases running along the coast. This green fringe is where the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans settled. Many of the towns - Sabratha especially - reminded me of Ostia, which also would have been a port town beside the sea.

Medusa at Leptis Magna

The most impressive Roman ruins in Libya are from the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian and Septimius Severus; in other words, from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. I can't use them in my next two books, which will be set in the spring of AD 81.

For example, I can't use most of the current monuments at the famous site of Leptis Magna (where the medusa above comes from), though I can use the harbour and the old Forum. Tripoli's main Roman landmark, the arch of Marcus Aurelius, is too late, as is the reconstructed theatre at Sabratha. However, I can use the massive Temple of Isis at Sabratha, whose red sandstone columns still stand beside the sea. And if my characters are there in March, they might even witness the yearly launch of Isis' boat.

lost lamb

I caught a few glimpses of ancient life in modern Libya: the veiled women, the mixture of Arabs, Berbers and black Africans. But these were few and far between. Nothing like going to the time machine of Fez medina or the covered souk in Marrakesh. We saw animals, too: a ram being led to the slaughter, a lost lamb, a mother camel and her baby in the back of a Mazda pick-up, chickens, doves, a tiny dik-dik tottering on delicate hooves.

The food served to tourists is fairly monotonous. Mainly chicken or lamb plus rice or chips. There is an ubiquitous Libyan soup, which has bits of mutton and spices and pasta granules. I imagine in Roman times the North African cuisine would have been much more exciting. The Egyptian bean porridge which some hotels serve at breakfast is delicious, and has probably not changed down the centuries. Date palms drop their golden fruit right on the sidewalk, ripe and sweet and ready to be eaten. Nubia will be in heaven.

the magnificent theatre at Sabratha in Libya

One of the most interesting things I discovered was that Titus' mother Flavia Domitilla came from Sabratha, a port town west of Tripoli. Of all the Roman ports we visited, Sabratha is most like Ostia. I'm sure that Flavia and her friends will feel the same when they arrive. As for my husband, Richard, his favourite part of the whole trip was seeing a truckload of camels. They looked very pleased with themselves.

The Beggar of Volubilis is a history mystery story for kids, set in Sabratha and North Africa in the year AD 80. It is part of the Roman Mysteries series by Caroline Lawrence.

Libyan sunset

Festival of the Sheep

It's the last day of our visit to Morocco. Our flight leaves at 9.00 this evening. Today is the Festival of the Sheep, which celebrates God's provision of a ram to Abraham when he was about to obediently sacrifice Isaac. Three million sheep will have their throats cut all over Morocco and everyone is at home.

On the previous day, with the help of the staff at the Hotel Gallia, we had booked a Berber driver to take us into the hills near Marrakech and show us some villages. Even though it's an important festival, our guide Mohammed shows up. I feel bad that he's not spending time with his family and say we are willing to go to his village to watch the sacrifice. He generously invites us to his mother's house where they will be killing a ram at 11.00am.

Mohammed drives us through a deserted Marrakech and out onto the plain. He explains that he is a Valley Berber and that his village is about 45 minutes drive outside Marrakech. The village is constructed of bricks and the red earth found all over this part of Morocco. Mohammed's mother's house is built around a courtyard with a small courtyard garden in the middle. There is an entryway, an enclosure for farm animals (including a small, domed, two-person hammam with a cat on top), a dining room, a kitchen and bedroom. In a doorway off the courtyard is a hand pump to bring water from the well. Electricity was only installed three years ago.

Mohammed's sister greets us with a basket of cookies, some are shaped like stars and some shaped like Christmas trees. We sit in the sunny courtyard at a plastic table and Mohammed's young wife serves us sweet sage tea, the preferred winter drink. Her hands are decorated with a complicated henna design. She is wearing a bathrobe as a coat because although it's sunny, it's a cool day. Or maybe because she wasn't expecting a couple of tourists to show up.

Presently the butcher arrives along with Mohammed's brother and they drag a ram from the animal enclosure out of the house to a patch of waste ground. The butcher faces east and says a prayer. Then as Mohammed and his brother hold the ram down, he cuts its throat. It takes the ram a good few minutes to die, the last minute spent scrabbling in the dust, desperately fighting death. The blood is startlingly vivid. I have been eating meat all my life, but this is the first time I have seen an animal slaughtered. I think of Abraham and Isaac and all the other sacrifices in the Bible. I think of Passover and Easter.

Finally the ram dies. The butcher makes a small cut in the skin of one of the ram's upper hind legs and blows into this, inflating the ram like a balloon. This makes it easier for him to skin the ram, which he expertly does in about ten minutes. About halfway through the skinning process Mohammed and his brother help carry the ram to the entryway of the house. The ram is strung up from a beam so that all the blood will drain away. Richard and I watch the butcher gut the sheep. We are ready to go. 'Wouldn't you like to stay and eat with us?' says Mohammed. 'We make kebabs of the heart and kidneys. And tomorrow we will eat his head with couscous.' We politely decline and he cheerfully says goodbye to his family and drives us through a valley called Ourika and up into the mountains.

It is cold here and as the road brings us higher we see snow on the ground. The Ourika river runs down cold and fast from the Atlas mountains. Sometimes there are houses on the other side, with hanging wooden bridges spanning the river. Presently we stop at a house beside the river. A family of mountain Berbers live here and although they show this place to tourists it is life as usual for them. We see a skinned sheep and also a skinned goat hanging from a beech tree between their house and the river.

One of the Berbers speaks excellent English. He shows us an ancient but working flour mill powered by the river. He also shows us their dining room and larder and we pass some members of his extended family preparing the sheep's heart and kidneys. We drive further up into the mountains and see women washing their clothes in the river. It must be freezing. Mohammed gets out to smoke a cigarette and greet the Berber men, mostly dressed in their hooded djellabas. The road ends here so we drive back down and stop at an impressive-looking restaurant with stunning views of the Atlas mountains. This is obviously a place for coachloads of tourists and the food does not match up to the building or the setting.

It's nearly 3.00pm now and we don't need to be at the airport for another four hours, but when Mohammed asks us if we want him to drive him back to Marrakech or to the airport we both say 'The airport, please!'

We are ready to go home.

[This trip was to research Roman Mystery 14, The Beggar of Volubilis.]

Marrakech Souks and Gardens

We've found it! The best hotel yet. Thanks to the Rough Guide we booked the Hotel Gallia. It's a beautiful little hotel based around two tiled courtyards near the Djema el Fna. It's cheap, clean, warm and joy of joys: there is a bathtub! The staff are warm and welcoming and always on hand. They speak French and English. It is bliss after the rather grim and cold Hotel Terminus last night.

I get up early to check out the dyers' souk at 6.30am – like the guide books say – but it must be too close to the Festival of the Sheep; everything is closed and dark. Never mind. I go to a hammam around the corner. This one is called Hammam Polo and I have to go upstairs to the women's section. It is pretty basic with only two taps for hot and cold, not a nice 'Roman' basin like the hammam in Fes. Someone should do a 'good hammam' guide.

Afterwards I'm ravenous and have breakfast in the courtyard of the Hotel Gallia with two women from London, one an Australian and one from South Africa. (I promised Richard he could lie-in as long as he wanted). The breakfast is bliss. Fresh squeezed orange juice, lemon for my tea, honey with croissants and fresh bread and 'Moroccan crepes'. Yay, Hotel Gallia!

Richard is up by 10.00 and I sit with him while he has his breakfast on the sunny roof terrace which I discovered after a little explore. At 11.30 we get a petit taxi to the Jardins Majorelle, one of the must-see sights of Marrakech. These gardens, created over several decades by French artist Jacques Majorelle, are a stunning visual feast. The green of the bamboo, palms and shrubs contrasts beautifully with planters painted in cobalt blue, turquoise and lemon yellow.

After that it's back to the souk for another attempt to find the dyers' souk. This time the souk is packed with people doing last minute shopping and we find the dyers' souk. Colourful skeins of yarn glow in the sunlight slanting through the reed roof. There are necklaces, tassels, garments, all in jewel-like colours. We stop at a paint and spice shop and the owner shows us the jars of powder used to colour plaster for walls.

Back in the Djema el Fna we rent yesterday's Independent (a British newspaper) for 10 dh and have a coffee and salad on a terrace overlooking Marrakech's most lively square. It is glorious in the sunshine, almost warm.

A quick stop back at the hotel to freshen up and then we are back to the Djema el Fna to hire a calech (horse-drawn carriage) to take us to the Palmerie, the closest thing to an oasis we will get to see. We agree a price for the two hour round trip (250 dh) and set off through busy pre-holiday traffic. Our driver Said wears a sombrero and sometimes I think I am in a Western. After negotiating hellish traffic of buses, huge trucks, mopeds and people with sheep in wheelbarrows we reach the outskirts. There seems to be a knife sharpener on every corner, making his stone wheel spin with a foot pedal as sparks fly off the razor-sharp blades of knives. Everywhere is the bleating of sheep and rams as people lead them off home.

Finally we reach the relative tranquility of the Palmerie, which turns out to be an expensive residential area of houses with walled gardens. And some palm trees. If Chella in Rabat was an amazing revelation, this place is a bit of a letdown. Never mind. We stop at the 'Caravanserie' and take a photo of two camels and have mint tea in the weakening afternoon sun. Tomorrow is the Festival of the Sheep when we will have an unforgettable experience but for now we carpe the diem.

[This trip was to research Roman Mystery 14, The Beggar of Volubilis.]

Roman Ruins in Rabat

by Caroline Lawrence (author of The Roman Mysteries)

Our train leaves Fes on time at 11.00 but like most Moroccan trains we've taken so far, it's late arriving at its destination: in this case Rabat.

We'd hoped to see the Roman ruins at Chellah and the bronzes at the Rabat Archaeological Museum. Luckily it isn't too late. We drop off our luggage at the Hotel Terminus across the street from the train station, then catch a petit taxi to Chella, where the Roman ruins are to be found.


The taxi drives us outside the town walls and we catch our first breath-taking view of Chellah. Honey-coloured ramparts look like a fairy tale castle in the late afternoon sunshine. Mustapha – a handsome guide with green eyes, bad teeth, a scarred face and a Masters degree in English – takes us round the Roman ruins and the Merinid ruins, all surrounded by the golden ramparts. This peaceful walled site also includes a sacred eel pond and a botanical garden. Ahmed knows the names of every tree and plant.


Storks have built nests on top of the disused minarets of abandoned mosques and we have never yet seen them at such close proximity. When they clack their beaks they sound like woodpeckers.

The hotel clerk and taxi driver told us the Archaeological Museum was closed but Ahmed assures us it's open until 6.00pm. It's already 5.00 so we bid him thanks and goodbye and catch a taxi to the archaeological museum which is indeed still open. Star of the museum are some bronzes from Volubilis, including a bust of the handsome Berber king Juba II. There is also a bronze dog and a bronze statue of an ephebe, or young Greek athlete. One gave the name to the House of the Dog in Volubilis and the other to the House of the Ephebe.

It's cold here in Rabat and after trying one or two of the recommended restaurants and finding them deserted, we catch a taxi to the Rabat medina and go to a restaurant overlooking the Atlantic. It's too dark to see much and this place is deserted. I have pastilla, a filo pastry pie stuffed with chicken and dusted with cinnamon and sugar. Richard has paella with prawns.

The hotel has provided a heater in the room but it doesn't do much to dispel the cold. Tomorrow it's back to Marrakech where I hope we'll find a warmer place to stay.

[This 2006 trip was to research Roman Mystery 14, The Beggar of Volubilis.]

Fes Medina Time Machine

The Hotel Batha (pronounced Bat-ha) in Fes is good in every respect but one: they have terrible breakfast. In a land dripping with oranges the juice is bottled and sickly sweet. The bread is stale. The ubiquitous hard-boiled eggs are so old that when I bite into one my teeth bounce back and I put it down in disgust. Too bad because our dinner here last night was fine and the room is warm. There is a pool and a tiled courtyard and it's all very reasonably priced.

We meet our guide for the day outside the hotel. Ali is dressed in the 'uniform' of Morocco, a djellaba. For some reason this hooded robe makes wearers look like evil monks. What does a peaked hood seem sinister and a rounded hood spiritual? Ali has a car and speaks good English. I tell him I don't want to shop but I do want to see the tanneries. He says fine and drives us past the golden walls of the Medina to a ceramics factory.

The potteries used to be in the Medina but the olive pits they use to fire the kilns cause billowing black smoke and so they have recently moved outside the city walls.

There are very few people around – either tourists or workers – but Ali hands us over to a man who will give us a tour. The first room we see is the tile-cutters' room. This is fantastic. I can't imagine any difference from Roman times. The men and boys sit or squat at low tables in a plaster-walled room and chip away at the ceramic tiles, making stars, hexagons, diamonds and all the other shapes that make up the mosaic walls, columns and fountains you see everywhere.

Next our guide takes us to the back of the factory where there are six big circular pits in the ground. This is where clay from the mountains is soaked and kneaded (by bare foot) to make it soft enough to work. The ground is slippery here from yesterday's heavy rainfall.

We see the kiln being fired, get a demonstration of a foot-powered potter's wheel and see the glazing room. It's like going back in time. Nothing can have changed in two thousand years. Finally we are taken to the factory shop. This is a cooperative and the prices are marked. Not cheap, but we buy a few things to take home: a bowl for olives and a tile.

From here Ali drives us to a parking space outside the Medina walls. No traffic is allowed inside, and all goods are carried on donkey, mule or horseback. Ali was born and raised her in the Fes medina; he often stops to greet friends and we are never pestered.

The tanneries are amazing. You go up through tunnels of leather-goods to a high balcony where you can look down over them. Another guide offers us a mint-tea and as we sip it he explains how things work. The raised pits are for tanning and dyeing the leather. The hay-strewn flat rooftops for drying, the running water for washing. The stench is bad but it must be terrible in the heat of the summer.

After the tour we buy some belts, a leather rucksack, and a pouf for our London apartment. It's not cheap and I realised I could have done a better job haggling. Never mind: the profits are shared out between all who work here, including the poor tanners who are all rheumatic by 50.

Ali leads us through narrow winding streets past stunning mosaic mosques and fountains. Every so often you have to press yourself to a wall to allow a donkey to pass. We see boys hammering copper, someone feeding sawdust to the furnace of a hammam, just like a slave in Roman times would have fuelled a hypocaust.

Ali takes us to a carpet factory despite the fact that I tell him we do not want to buy a carpet. He just wants us to see 'the six-hundred year old house it's built in'. I realise this is definitely the 'shopping tour' not the 'monument tour'. But I don't mind because this is like going back in time and the monuments are mainly mosques and Islamic tombs, which don't really concern me.

We don't buy a carpet at the 600 hundred year old carpet shop and we don't even go into the jeweller's or embroiderer's. But we do let Ali take us to the apothecary. This is a little Alladin's cave of coloured powders in jars and dried lizards and bottles of oil. Here again, Ali sits and lets an on-site guide do his spiel. We smell lots of perfumes and aromatic spices and Richard buys half a pound of cumin and 'Moroccan curry powder' to experiment with at home. I buy a textured glove and a piece of sandstone 'pumice' for my next hammam.

Ali also takes us to the Mellah or Jewish Quarter and up narrow stairs to the synagogue. Until recently it was a museum but since the owner died her son is selling off everything so that he can go back to Paris to live. What a shame...

For lunch, Ali takes us to an ornate restaurant near the carpet shop we saw earlier. The set menu is cheap and surprisingly delicious. Dessert is oranges sprinkled with cinnamon, which is simple but tasty.

As Ali drives us back to the hotel mid-afternoon, I ask if he knows a place where we can hear some Moroccan music. He tells us he'll take us to a restaurant in the Kasbah where we will hear authenic Moroccan and Berber music, see belly-dancers, etc. It sounds very touristy but Ali assures us the whole evening costs 'only' 300 dirhams per person (about £25) and that the restaurant will provide a courtesy car home.

Ali picks us up at the hotel at 8.00 and drives to the Restaurant Palais La Medina, then leaves us. I pay him and give him a nice tip and a signed book for his kids, and later wish I hadn't. This place is a huge disappointment. Although the tiled interior is stunningly beautiful and the performers mostly good, the food is terrible and it's full of tour groups. Also it ends up costing over 1000 dirhams. We do not get a courtesy car home.

But this sour taste at the end of the day will not spoil our memories of an amazing town. I believe Fes was the closest thing to ancient Rome that I have ever experienced. 

Seeking warmth in Fes

Yesterday – Friday – it was cold and pouring with rain at Moulay Bousselham, where we've been staying at a guesthouse. We eagerly pack our cases, knowing we are off to the warmth of a hotel room reserved in Fes... we hope.

Gentiane's Berber butler drives us through pouring rain to Souk el Arba, about an hour away. We find the small unheated train station and wait for the ticket man to arrive. We manage to buy tickets, a good sign. At exactly 12.52, the time of the train to Fes, everyone goes out onto the platform and stands shivering for another half hour. Then someone makes an announcement and everyone drags their cases back across the tracks to wait on the unsheltered platform. It is still raining steadily. We are cold and damp. At last the train arrives. It is an ancient unheated creature that due to be replaced by a modern double-decker in the near future. Cold consolation.

We find a compartment with a nice Moroccan couple who are returning to Fes to spend the festival with their family. At one point another Moroccan breezes into our compartment long enough to establish – in excellent English – who we are and where we are from. He recommends a restaurant in Fes and a guide named Ali who speaks excellent English. I ring Ali straightaway and arrange for him to give us a half day tour of the medina the following day.

The windows are wet and steamy, so we can't see any of the countryside passing by. Richard and I pass our time shivering, reading and sharing food with the Moroccan couple. I offer them salted peanuts, which they accept. We get juicy tangerines in return. Finally we arrive at Fes. It's 4.30pm and will soon be dark. I have been cold and damp since I got up at 7.30 and am yearning for warmth. But it's not easy to get a taxi on a rainy afternoon in Fes. At last we succeed and climb into a red petit taxi. He drives us past medieval walls of golden mud and stone. The rain pours down.

The desk clerk at the Hotel Batha (pronounced Bat-ha) jokes that he doesn't have a reservation for us. Ha ha. When I ask if the room is heated he says no but it has air conditioning. Ha ha. And when is breakfast? Between 4.00 am and 6.00 am. Ha! But he usefully informs us that we can have dinner in the hotel restaurant for only a slight increase to our room rate. A porter takes our luggage and shows us to the lift and at last we find what we have been seeking all day long: WARMTH! There is also a bathtub - oh bliss - and a toilet without the ominous wastebasket beside it (meaning used paper goes there and must not be flushed).

The Rough Guide says there is a hammam near here, close to a cinema. As I haven't done anything research-y that day, I decide to be brave and go. After consulting the guide book I pack a towel (thanks Hotel Batha), shampoo, soap, face cream, a hairbrush and a spare pair of panties. 

Out of the hotel – still raining, and dark now, too – up to the cinema. I can't find the cinema but a peanut seller kindly takes me to the unmarked door of the hammam and beams a toothless smile. I tip him two dirhams. In the entryway I buy a ticket from an old man. Entry to the hamam costs 18 dirhams, about one pound fifty. Through ancient double wooden doors to find a steamy room with a tile floor and small drain in the centre. Around this courtyard on three sides is a low stone balcony with women changing. I go timidly across and up a few stairs, find the lady who takes you ticket. With a bit of questioning in French I rent a locker (wooden box above the bench) and agree to a massage for 50 dirhams, about four pounds. I undress down to my panties, like everyone else, and an old lady (also in just panties) grasps my left arm above the elbow with a calloused hand and pulls me across the slippery floor to a room aroud a corner.

This room looks just like the ruins of Roman baths: tile floor, tile walls, high ceiling and two stone basins, one for very hot water, one for cold water. There are naked women everywhere, sitting on the  floor surrounded by colourful plastic buckets. They are all ages, ranging from little girls to old women. They are washing themselves, their hair, and even their clothes.

My crone guide takes me into a second steam room, almost identical to the first but less crowded. She gets me to sit on the floor and starts tipping buckets of deliciously warm water over me. Then she asks for my shampoo. When I produce the Head and Shoulders she washes my hair, brushes it through rinses it with a bucket. Bliss.

Now another lady, naked apart from a red bandana-type headscarf, takes a scrubbing glove and rubs me hard all over. It is almost painful, probably because I'm not used to it. I am lying on my back. The floor is heated underneath in Roman style and is so hot it almost burns. I close my eyes and try to relax into it. Before Bandana Lady gets me to turn onto my front she shows me the worms of grey skin she has rubbed off me, even though I had that hotel bath to get warm just an hour earlier. Eww.

Bandana Lady does my back they sluice me off. Then a third lady – Blue Headscarf – gives me my massage, rubbing me painfully hard with my bar of soap. Finally I know it's over when they sluice me down with gaspingly cold water.

I go back to my locker and have started to dry myself when I feel a bit nauseous. I have to put my head between my knees for a few minutes. I should have rested after the bath. The hammam must not be rushed. But Richard is waiting back at the hotel room. After a few minutes I feel better. I get dressed and go back to the hotel.

I feel cleaner than I have in my whole life. And very warm.

Dinner in the hotel restaurant is uninspired but good and especially nice because they've seated us by the fire. We have harira - the noodle, vegetable and bean soup - then I have chicken kebab and Richard has a beef tajine. We treat ourselves to a bottle of rosé from Meknes and finish off with oranges sprinkled with cinnamon. That night we sleep in a warm room on clean sheets and a firm mattress. Yay! Hotel Batha and warmth.

Volubilis

It is January 2006. My husband Richard and I are in Morocco researching Roman Mystery 14, The Beggar of Volubilis. We have been staying at a B&B run by a Frenchwoman named Gentiane in Moulay Bousselham and have already had some adventures. Today is our big excursion to Volubilis.

On the way we stop at the Thursday Market at a crossroads near here. Families are coming from all over on horse or donkey drawn carts, or in shared taxi, or on foot. The market is huge, with different products being sold in different sections. In addition to the usual spices, sweets, shoes, sardines and bric-a-brac, we see barbers shaving their customers beneath little makeshift awnings.

The Festival of the Sheep is coming up, so lots of the things on sale are geared to that: bales of sweet yellow hay, a green clover-like fodder to feed the sheep; sharp knives to cut their throats next Wednesday; skewers and grills to cook the meat, and the sheep themselves. We see several men leading sheep on mere pieces of twine. There are lots of lambs about but the sheep for Wednesday must be full-grown rams because the festival commemorates the near sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, when God supplied a ram at the last minute. The rams cost between 800 and 3,000 dirhams; the equivalent of about 50 - 2500 pounds sterling.

At the market we buy a beautiful woven throw-rug for our room at Gentiane's house. The tile floor must be deliciously cool in summer but it is freezing here at night; I have not been so cold since the last time I went camping. The carpet, which cost about five pounds, will bring relief from the icy floor.

Back in the car, Gentiane drives us towards the mountains. We stop for a quick mint tea and break at Souk el Arba, a town whose name means 'Wednesday Market'. We pass more horse-carts and donkey-carriages going down a straight flat road lined with eucalyptus. Beyond lie orange groves, sugar cane and artichokes... Soon we begin to climb thorough hills fuzzed with wheat, making them look like the folds of a bright green plush blanket. We reach the site of Volubilis about two and a half hours after we set out. There are puffy clouds but no rain and by the time we have paid our entrance fee and found a guide to show us the mosaics, the sun comes out. There are wildflowers everywhere: little orchids called Venus-slippers, white fragrant narcissi, yellow and white daisies...

Volubilis is a stunning site in a stunning setting. Martin Scorsese filmed The Last Temptation of Christ here. Storks roost on the lofty columns of the ruined Temple of Jupiter. The Decumanus Maximus runs from the arched remains of the Tangier gate down to an impressive arch of Caracalla. Our guide Abdu shows us all the mosaics. I especially wanted to see the mosaic of four chariots pulled by birds, but it has been eroded or vandalised and is only partially and badly restored. The mosaic of the desultor (horse acrobat at the chariot races) is in better condition. There are two very strange mosaics on the same subject: Venus being washed by Pegasus spouting water from his mouth.

It only takes us an hour or so to look round; it is the setting I especially wanted to see... After another mint tea for me, and coffee for Richard and Gentiane, we set off back home. Just as well: we reach the motorway and the last stretch of or journey just as it is getting dark. It's dangerous to drive on the country roads in darkness because the horsecarts rarely carry lights; they think if they can see you that you can see them. You come up on them very suddenly, and therefore need to be alert.

When we get in, it is so cold that we decide to move on the next day. Most Moroccan houses are not heated because it is so rarely cold, so Gentiane is not to be blamed. She rings and books us a hotel in Fes for two nights – the Hotel Batha – and she makes sure to ask for a heated room. Twice.

[The Beggar of Volubilis is book number 14 in the the Roman Mysteries series. These books are perfect for children aged 9+, especially those studying Romans as a topic in Key Stage 2. There are DVDs of some of the books as well as an interactive game. For more information, teacher should visit my SCHOOLS page.]

Lixus and Larache

Today we went to the Roman-Phoenician site of Lixus, a few miles north of here.

It is another cold but sunny day so we eat our breakfast on the patio: hard-boiled eggs dipped in salt and cumin, Moroccan flatbread with home-made butter and stawberry jam, washed down with either lemon tea or Berber coffee.

Last night we ate very well: bissara (split-pea soup) to start, then artichokes fresh fromthe market with home-made mayonnaise, and fish that was swimming in the Atlantic that morning. A delicious tangerine and strawberry fruit-salad for dessert;strawberries are the speciality of this region and they are just coming into season.

I sat out on the terrace with Grace aftyer dinner and talked about writing. It was a cold clear night and the sky was full of stars...

Today Gentiane drives us to the town of Larache, untouched by tourism. We pass through fields of strawberries, turnips and sugarcane. The soil here is chocolate brown and very fertile. Later we see a cork forest and then the sea, as we come into Larache. After a short stop at the little archaeological museum there we visit the town souk and then the Spanish market, a covered market where we buy olives, dates, almonds and a circular white goat cheese wrapped in its own palm-leaf basket.

We stop at a shop next to a cinema; it sells sandwiches Gentiane promises will be delicious and cheap. We watch the cook chopping and frying the meat and tomatoes and onions with twin spatulas, then he pops the warm ingredients into a split piece of round flat bread and lets us choose our salad filling by pointing: onions, tomatoes, olives...

We drive out of town past the fish market, salt-pans, and marshes to a hill which rises above the sorrounding area. This is the site of Lixus. We sit in the shade of olive trees, eating our sandwiches and looking at dozens of square stone vats below us.

After we finish eating, the kind and intelligent guardian of the site tells us we have been looking at the remains of the ancient fish-salting factories. He guides us upthe hill to show us a small theatre and ampitheatre combined, a baths complex, a residential area for rich Phoenician merchants and Roman soldiers, and the remains of half a dozen temples: two Roman, two Carthaginian and two Punic... The sky is blue and the sun is warm as we go higher and higher to find a lovely panoramic view at the top.

After a good hour exploring the site we come carefully down the steep slope and reward ourselves with mint tea or coffee at the nicest cafe in Larache, overlooking the ocean...