Fes festival 2009 (29 May-6 June)

15 th edition of World Sacred Music Festival (Fes, Morocco 29 May-6 June)

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For all information on the festival, travel arrangements please write to contact@travelmuse.eu

For inspiration:
Video about the city of Fes
Photographic impression of Fes (photos by Travel Muse. My photography site www.photo4gift.com)
About Fes in short

About the festival:
Festival program
Concept of the Festival

Practical information:
How to reach Fes
Where to stay in Fes
Enriching experiences in Fes and its surroundings (Caligraphy classes, henna, mountain trip, Sahara trip, etc.)
The prices in Fes

Video about Fes

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Travel to Fes. For all travel arrangements contact@travelmuse.eu

Photographic impression of Fes 2008-2009 (photo by Kristina Jasudaite)

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About Fes

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As soon as you enter through the main gate of Boujloud into Fes medina it seems that you instantly go back in time. No surprise because Fes is the oldest Moroccan city and its medina Fes al Bali is the largest living medieval city in the Islamic world.

Nobody can prepare you for the first time visit to Fes medina. While travelling through the maze of narrow alleys crammed with shops, covered bazaars, fountains, medersas (theological colleges), mosques you experience all the intensity of the place. It is literally a feast for all the senses. You hear moudzin's call for prayer "Alah Akbar" (God is Great); "Balak Balak" (Attention) a donkey rider asks you to give the way so that he can pass with the boxes of coca cola bottles. The sounds of arabic music melodies from shops, "Labas, Kulshi Beher" greetings, sales promotion calls, gnawa musicians, craftmen working, kids' joyful chants. The world of scents is also extremely rich here. The smell of rose petals, fresh mint and oranges, coriander, spices is mixed with a strong smell of meat, tanneries, donkeys' dung. And how many different flavours...dried fruit, Moroccan sweets, fresh goat cheese, diverse types of breads, doghnuts, olives, pickles, meat broshettes, etc. ...Medina's life is real life's movie, which captures all your attention. While sitting in a medina's outside caffe, you can watch local men dressed in djelabas drinking tea or coffee, women rushing for shopping with their covered faces, negotiating tourists, sellers with their stock...If not the shops of mobile operators and sattelite antenas you may be forgiven for wondering which century you live in. And this is the charm of Fes, so different, so back in time, and so enchanting...

About the prices in Fes

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If you divide Moroccan dirhams by 10, you get EUR(For instance, 40 DH=about4 EUR)
Food
A Moroccan dish in a local caffe costs around 40 DH. Day menu(starter,main course and desert) around 70 DH
Bagette sandwich around 15-18 DH.
Moroccan salad around 8 DH
Different types of Moroccan bread for just a few dirhams.
Cup of coffee 8-10 DH, tea 5 DH, bottle of water 6,5 (DH)
Fresh fruit salad in new town 12-15 DH .
Taxi
Taxi from medina to new town around 7 DH, from train station to medina around 10 DH. Depending on the meter.
Souveniers
Scarves-from 20-100 DH, depending on the quality.
Moroccan ceramics(cups, salad dishes, vases) around 100-200 DH, depending on size.
Moroccan dresses around 150 DH.
Chic kaftans around 2000 DH.

Program of Sacred Music Festival 29 May-6 June

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Save your time while booking tickets to the concerts you are interested in advance, ticket booking and delivery to your hotel contact@travelmuse.eu.

The program of sacred music festival (29 May-6 June):

Prices of festival concerts.

"Fes in the city" concerts are free of charge

More about the concept of festival and its performances

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Messages of festival organizers
The Spirit of Fez Foundation is organizing the fifteenth edition of the World Sacred Music Festival with the theme The Tree of Life. The life of the festival is gaining in maturity and quality year after year, constantly innovative, and always faithful to its message: bringing peoples and religions closer by means of the sacred. It is a message that affects everyone, because sacred music and the reflection it arouses don’t belong to any time or religion and are addressed to all,
without distinction.
In Fez, the tree of World Sacred Music, which was planted by the eponymous Festival 15 years ago is a tree of energy, melodies and beauty, whose roots sink into the strata of the past and whose powerful branches now soar in the sky. This tree takes its strength from the fertile soil of the converging cultures of the West and the East, North and South.
In this edition, which celebrates its fifth anniversary, the Festival de Fez offers particularly privileged moments: an exceptional opening concert in the form of a tribute by the great Lebanese composer and musician Marcel Khalifé to the great Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwiche, who recently passed away; two creations: «Strings and Souls” of the famous jazz violinist Didier
Lockwood, and his meeting with the Moroccan singer Ihsane R’Miki and «Melos - Songs of the Mediterranean «, where the Iranian percussionist Keyvan Chemirani combines his drums with
chants of Greece, Morocco and Spain; Sami Yusuf, a young voice rising in the firmament of the Arab world and his songs imbued with faith; Marwa Wright, the queen of gospel and soul music of New Orleans; dance with the graceful Indian Shantall Shivalingappa; celestial trance of the Whirling Dervishes of Konya and, in the same evening - as a bridge between the ages
- the emergence of contemporary dance with the extraordinary Turkish choreographer Ziya Azazi, who rewrites in the light of the present the ancient girations of these dervishes; the fragile Souad Massi, full of soft melodies and for the first time on the African continent, closing the festival on a final invitation to travel, Loreena Mc Kennit, sublime muse songs inspired by Celtic legends of the world.
Not to mention here, because of the limited space available, the many other beautiful moments to be discovered on the main stage of Bab el Makina or under the old oak of the Batha Museum.
« One day, a man stopped in front of a tree. He saw leaves, branches, strange fruit.
To everyone, he asked what this tree and these fruits were. No gardener could answer: no one knew its name or origin. The man said to himself:
«I do not know this tree, nor understand it:
However, I know that since I first saw it , my heart and my soul have become fresh and green. So let’s put ourselves under its shade ».
Is it to the tree of World Sacred Music that the great Persian and mystic poet Rumi Djallaleddin wrote, when he composed these mysterious verses eight centuries ago?
Nobody knows ...
But this does not prevent anyone enjoying its beautiful and sensual softness! In Fez or anywhere else ..

How to reach Fes?

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Write to contact@travelmuse.eu for flight arrangements, reservations, transfer airport-hotel and other services.

Where to stay in the city of Fes?

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Due to the fact that most of the concerts of World Sacred Music Festival take place in medina, I recommend staying in medina itself.

To get closer to discovering the mystery of Fes it's better to stay at a riad instead of an ordinary hotel; a riad is a medina (old town) building with a courtyard and a roof terrace from which you will be able to observe the medina roof-life of the neighbourhood and the nearby mountains.
The magic of a riad is in that, unlike a typical more or less faceless hotel, each of them carries the impression of its owner's personality. How many riads are there in Fes? Who knows, no-one seems to have bothered to count. There is ample choice for travellers with all sizes of budgets. From traditional Moroccan style to sophisticated modern design, you just have to trust your seventh sense or other travellers' recommendations.

As I had a chance to visit most of the recommended Fes riads, I would be glad to give some tips on the best ones and help with the booking.

Accommodation offer:
*FES RIADS
A night in a traditional Fes riad: price from nuo 35 EUR per person sharing a double room. If you want more spacious rooms, it is worth staying in a suite. The price of which per night is from 50 EUR per person. The selection and booking of the riad: contact@travelmuse.eu

*APARTMENTS OF FES MEDINA

Accommodation in traditional Moroccan apartments in Fes medina(2 rooms, living room, shower, kitchen). Price 70 EUR for apartment 2 people sharing, 80 EUR 3 people sharing, 90 EUR 4 people sharing per night. While staying for a week, you pay 1 night less.

It is very important to make a booking as soon as possible because Fes Sacred Music Festival attracts regular and new coming visitors from around the globe.

*Free accommodation per www.couchsurfing.com or www.hospitalityclub.org

How to make a booking? Write to contact@travelmuse.eu your arrival dare, duration of the trip and I will gladly select you a cosy accommodation according to your needs in the city of Fes or other places in Morocco.

Activities and excursions

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If you are interested in any of the below mentioned activities, WELCOME to write at contact@travelmuse.eu

A WONDERFUL TRIP TO SAHARA, ATLAS MOUNTAINS, LOCAL TRIBES AND EXOTIC CITIES.

Tailor made by request.
Suggested length 7-10 days.
Enquire for program and detailed information at contact@travelmuse.eu

FREE TOURS IN FEZ MEDINA!

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday (June 5, 6, 7) discover Fes with a professional English and French speaking guide. This excursion is free of charged, organized by Sacred Music Festival.
1) June 5 “Fez palaces and riads”
2) June 6 “Tour of crafts”
3) June 7 “Historic tour of Fez medina“

CALIGRAPHY CLASSES

Discover the sacred art of caligraphy in a workshop with a caligraphy artist.

FEZ CULINARY EXPERIENCE

Learn the secrets of Moroccan cooking in a single day seminar with a Moroccan chef. The tour includes going to the market, learning about the ingredients of Moroccan cuisine, learning great recipies and applying them in practice. You cook and eat what you have created in a traditional Moroccan home, dar or riad.

HANNA DECORATIVE ART

Decorate your hands and feet with authentic hanna ornaments. It is believed that the tradition of hanna has more than 5000 years. The master of hanna can come to your hotel or other suitable place.

TRADICIONAL HAMAM IN FEZ MEDINA OR MODERN HAMAM IN A NEW TOWN

Traditional hammams are social places where you’ll find gallons of hot water and staff available to scrub you squeaky clean. They are good places to meet the locals and, especially for women, somewhere to relax for as long as you like away from street hassle. If you want a more atmospheric place than a simple traditional hammam, try a Turkish hammam in New Town where you will be cleaned with olive soap, taken to a steam bath, have a nice scrub and soap massage.

TOUR OF FEZ MEDINA WITH A PROFESSIONAL GUIDE (ENGLISH, FRENCH, SPANISH)

The medina of Fes el-Bali (Old Fes) is the largest living Islamic medieval city in the world. Fes is also considered country’s cultural, artistic and spiritual capital A professional Fassi guide will take you on a tour through the alleys of Fes medina, show you architectural masterpieces, answer to the cultural questions and help you to know a rich history of the city

A DAY’S TRIP TO THE MOUNTAINS

Take a breath of fresh mountain air and relax in the natural environments on a day’s trip to the surroundings of Fez. During this trip you will visit Mouzar mountains, lakes, Ifran-“Small Switzerland” of Morocco, visit a berber village Azrou in the height of 1250 meters, which has retained its authentic architecture and crafts, especially famous for its carpets. You will also have time to walk in the cedar forests, where mountain apes are popular inhabitants and have a chance to ride a mountain donkey with local berber kids.

EXCURSION MEKNES, VOLUBILIS, MOULAY IDRISS

This is a day’s cultural and spiritual trip from Fes during which you will visit an imperial city of Meknes, Roman ruins Volubilis and Moulay Idriss, one of the holiest towns in Morocco and a delightful rural village.
Meknes was once an Imperial city of Morocco and the capital of one of its history's most colourful and golden ages, when the Sultan Moulay Ismail (a contemporary of Louis XIV) set out to build his version of Versailles with an unstoppable labour force, constructing walls, gates and over 50 palaces.
On the same day you will also visit Ancient city of Volubilis, one of the Roman Empire's most remote bases, which remained affluent until the 18th century, long after the 2,000-year reign of the Romans had ended. Moulay Idriss is a sacred town on a hilltop, which is revered and visited by Muslims due to its once living spiritual man.

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