Music of Morocco

Met at Mohammed V airport (CMN) and transferred to a hotel near the corniche (about 30 minutes). Late afternoon orientation walk — the Habous quarter for the first Moorish atmosphere, the Hassan II Mosque opening to the Atlantic. Welcome dinner.

Morning drive north (about 3 hours 30 minutes) to Volubilis, walked with a regional archaeologist. On to Moulay Idriss in the afternoon for the viewpoint over the white roofs of the holy town. Evening introduction to Sufi music, followed by a Hadra ceremony with the local Tariqa Boutchichia brotherhood — provided the brotherhood is convening that week. Riad in the village.

Drive to Fès in the morning (about 1 hour). Settle in at a riad in the medina. Afternoon historic tour — the Mellah, the Royal Palace gates, the Batha Museum, then down into the medina to walk the Talâa Kbira past the Nejjarine fondouk, the dyers' souk, and the courtyards around Al-Karaouine. Early evening: the Issawa brotherhood drummers in the courtyard of the riad, an introduction to one of the city's oldest ceremonial traditions. Dinner at the riad.

Free morning. Afternoon out of Fès to rural Mount Zalagh — the shrine of Sidi Ahmed Bernoussi, a quiet place that's been a retreat for centuries. Mules available for the climb. A musical group from the neighbouring village of Tebbala accompanies the walk with drums and ghita (oboe) — Jajouka rhythms played the way they have been for generations, the music Brian Jones and Brion Gysin made famous. Return to Fès for dinner.

Morning in the medina with a guide — the saddlers and metalworkers near Seffarine who make and repair traditional instruments. Afternoon workshop with a Gnawa maâlem on rhythms, ritual structure, and the trance tradition. Evening: a Gnawa lila ceremony with the master and his troupe — four centuries of the same songs and rhythms used to invoke trance, held in a private setting and not staged for visitors. Dinner woven into the ceremony.

Morning departure south. Through Imouzzer du Kandar and Ifrane in the Middle Atlas, the cedar forest of Azrou (Barbary macaques visible at the roadside), continuing to Midelt at the foot of the High Atlas (about 3 hours total). Hosted lunch at a Midelt kasbah-hotel, looking up at the Jbel Ayachi range — the country opening into the south. Afternoon at leisure or a short walk in the apple orchards behind the town. Dinner at the kasbah.

Drive south through the Ziz Gorges and the long palmeries of the Tafilalt (about 4 hours 30 minutes) to Merzouga at the edge of Erg Chebbi. Settle in at a kasbah on the dunes. Late afternoon walk among the first dunes as the light softens. Dinner at the kasbah.

Free morning at the kasbah. Afternoon excursion to Rissani — the seat of the Alaouite dynasty before the move north, and the souk town for the desert tribes. Sunset camel ride into the dunes. Camp dinner with the Tuareg, followed by Rokba Tagmount tribal dancing — a music tradition belonging specifically to the desert tribes south of Merzouga. Overnight at the dunes camp.

Drive west (about 4 hours) through the Todra Gorges and along the Dades valley, the road of a thousand kasbahs. Continue to Ouarzazate. Evening at a local home for a Houara dance performance — the southern tribal music tradition still in living practice. Dinner with the household.

Morning departure over the Tizi n'Tichka, the highest pass in the High Atlas at 2,260 metres — the road newly rebuilt, the views the reward for the climb (about 4 hours 30 minutes total). Settle in at a riad in the Marrakech medina. Late afternoon walk through Djemaa el-Fna as it changes from daytime market into evening food stalls. Evening at a private home — Kekka and Gnawa music in a domestic setting, the Marrakech voice of the same tradition heard in Fès.

Walking tour of historic Marrakech with a local guide — the Bahia Palace and its painted ceilings, the Saadian Tombs, then through the souks. Afternoon in the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter, with a musician who carries the Andalusian-Sephardic tradition. Farewell dinner at a restaurant in the Mellah with Andalusian and Sephardic music — a repertoire distinct from Fès, with its own line of practice still in living memory.

A morning in your own hand — a last walk through the medina or a quiet morning at the riad, perhaps the hammam before checkout. The driver makes the airport transfer at a time chosen by the guests — to Marrakech Menara airport (RAK, about 30 minutes) for the international flight.