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Fez celebrates Morocco’s women through sacred music

A festival celebrating sacred music brought together artists from across the world in Morocco’s Fez.

Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
The opening cermony became a totally immersive adventure into the music, dance and poetry of countries across the Islamic world and beyond. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
By Ramy Salameh
Published On 27 May 2016

Fez, Morocco –Fez, the fabled city of the Maghreb and its ancient landmarks, was the perfect stage for “The World Sacred Music Festival” that has taken place for the last 22 years and is firmly interwoven into the urban fabric of the city.

The cultural cross-pollination of sacred music and artists from across the world continues to engender the original ideals for which the festival began: Peace, harmony and understanding through the language of music.

As a backdrop, Fez, and particularly Fez el-Bali, the old part of the city home to the world’s oldest and continually inhabited medieval medina, plays its own distinct melody with the rhythms of daily life providing the link, the staging and inspiration for much of the festival.

This year the theme “Women Founders” paid tribute to Moroccan women who have left their mark on the country’s history. Morocco’s first university, the Karaouine, a centre for Islamic education and religious study, was founded by Fatima El Fihriya. It has been the beacon of the spiritual capital of Morocco since the middle ages.

Another prominent figure is Kenza al-Awrabiya who helped secure unification of the Amazigh and the Arabs. Fez el-Bali has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1981 and continues to undergo an ambitious restoration programme.

In its own way, the World Sacred Music Festival contributes to that journey of preservation and regeneration through enhancing Fez’s cultural renaissance.

MORE: Alternative media: Morocco

Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
From right to left, Zainab Afilal, Sahar Mohammedi, Abeer Nehme, and actresses Dikra Al Kalai, as Dunyazad, and Nadia Kounda, as Sheherazade take their bow. For every great woman, a shooting star appeared in the sky across the great door of Bab al Makina. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
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Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Dancers from the north Indian Kathak Ensemble pirouette with perfect poise, during their performance. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Chota Divana, the little princes of Rajasthan, captivated the audience with their vocal range. The boys from northern India continue the oral tradition of the Langa community. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Indian artists (R-L) Soumik Datta, Rakesh Chaurasia, Sabir Khan, Rageshri Das, Alla Rakha Kalavant. For the first time in the Festival's history, a new concept was introduced to highlight how one particular country has evolved. This year it was India, the origin of many of the stories of A Thousand and One Nights. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Ustad Irshad Khan played the sitar and surbahar, showing his mastery of the strings. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Sahar Mohammadi, accompanied by her musicians, sang sacred Persian songs. Mohammadi's beautiful voice keeps alive the traditional Persian Radif music. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
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Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
A member of the Ingie Women's Qanun Ensemble, from Azerbaijan. The speed with which her fingers pluck the strings of the Qanun, while she remains poised and elegant shows the energy of the Azeri tradition of Baku. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
On the roof terrace of Palais Mnebhi, traditional Moroccan musicians can be seen and heard from the courtyard below, as diners enjoyed typical Moroccan cuisine. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
In the heart of the medina, the daily orchestra of artisans in their workshops continues as it has done for centuries. A Metal worker uses his tools to mould, shape and pattern his artefacts. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
The Zillij tile workshop is a hive of activity. An artisan arranged the tiny coloured and monochrome-glazed tiles, cut into stars and triangles, wedges and lozenges, known as Zillij, making fabulous geometric panels. He uses tools and processes that date back to 1300s. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Zillij tiles are patterned works of meditative beauty and awe-inspiring complexity. There are no better examples of the art than in Madrasa Al Attarine, built in 1346 under the Marinids, with its rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing cursive writing. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
Fez pulsates to a timeless rhythm [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]
After 10 days of concerts, the door closes on the festival for another year, leaving its legacy of cultural tolerance through music, dance, poetry and debate. [Ramy Salameh/Al Jazeera]