The holy town of Moulay Idriss comes into view around a bend in the road in the Zerhoun massif, a short drive from Meknes. Built on a steep hillside its houses cluster around a white mosque and mausoleum capped by the distinctive shiny green-tile roof associated with religious monuments in Morocco. This is the shrine of Moulay Idriss I which together with that of his son, Moulay Idriss II in Fez, is the most sacred shrine in all Morocco. A shorfa or descendant of the Prophet, in this case his great-grandson, Moulay Idriss, sought refuge in Morocco in 788 AD to escape persecution following the Sunni-Shi`a split in Iraq. Settling in the Zerhoun region, he founded the town where local Berbers welcomed him as their new imam. The Abbasid rulers in Baghdad, concerned by his growing influence, ordered him poisoned but two months after his demise, one of his concubines bore a son, Idriss II who  foundered the illustrious city of Fez in 809 AD. Tourists are welcome to visit Moulay Idriss. You can walk along its streets lined with stalls selling candles and religious trinkets to the mausoleum but a rail  prevents non-Muslims from proceeding further (there is a good view of  the secret sanctuary from the hillside terrace of Sidi Abdellah al-Hajjim about 140 steps climb) The moussem of Moulay Idriss is one of the most spectacular of some 650 religious pilgrimages in Morocco. A fundamental act of homage for the devout to worship at the shrine, it is a colourful event mixing religion and country fair.