Articles and News

As Fez is the spiritual capital of Morocco, it’s only fitting that the annual Festival of Sufi Culture should take place here each October. Sufism, the esoteric branch of Islam that promises bliss, mysticism and spiritual ecstasy, has a strong heritage in the country. A week’s worth of discussions, round-tables, concerts and performances by Sufi brotherhoods are on offer in spectacular venues across Fez’s medieval medina, and this festival is one of...Read More

FEZ Walk through the walls that guard the celebrated Medina of Fez, whose outstanding universal value has been recognized by UNESCO. Meander along the streets of the Fes-El-Bali district. The Bab Boujloud Gate is the easiest way to access the medina. In May, the city’s squares and streets come to life with music from around the world as the Sacred Music Festival takes over the one-time imperial capital. Along with...Read More

מלאח‬ A mellah (Hebrew: מלאח‬, the Arabic meaning “salt spring” or “salt marsh” which was the area of the first Jewish settlement in Fez) is a walled Jewish quarter of a city in Morocco, analogous to the European ghetto.   Jewish population were confined to mellahs in Morocco beginning from the 15th century and especially since the early 19th century. It first was seen as a privilege and a protection against the Arabs’ attacks in the region, but with the growing of the...Read More

Morocco is known for it’s Moroccan Jewish Heritage and the abundance of rich culture, artifacts and traditions left behind when the Jews fled Morocco in the 1960’s. What remains is a rich catalog of Jewish life inclusive of architecture, monuments, zaouias, museums, mellahs, shrines and craft traditions that command great cultural significance.The collective history of Jews in Morocco is one that has a connective thread with the Berbers and Moroccan Arabs, dating back...Read More

Moroccan Riad The Riad is the Moroccan traditional house, normally with two or more stories around an Andalusian-style courtyard that contained a fountain. Riads were the stately city homes of the wealthiest citizens such as merchants and courtiers. As you approach a riad from one of Morocco’s narrow, labyrinthine streets, you will likely notice that each door in the grey stone and plaster walls looks fairly similar. The doors are...Read More