Fes Festival of World Sacred Music 2014 ~ Provisional Programme Update

The provisional programme of the twentieth edition of the Fes Festival of World Sacred music has been released. An earlier version had featured Robert Plant as a headliner, sadly negotiations over this concert did not arrive at an agreement. The final concert is expected to showcase Buddy Guy's Legend. 

While not a star of the calibre of Plant, Buddy Guy gives his name to a blues club in Chicago, Illinois. It was opened in 1989 by Buddy Guy who still owns the club today makes regular appearances, performing an annual residency each January.

Legends is one of the last blues clubs left in Chicago, a city renowned for its own particular brand of blues. The club regularly hosts blues greats such as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, Junior Wells and Buddy himself, and has developed an international reputation.

The provisional programme

Friday, June 13
Bab Al Makina  9:00 p.m. Opening Show - Original Creation of the Spirit of Fes Foundation, "Conference of the Birds: When Cultures travel ..."

Saturday, June 14
Fes Forum - Batha Museum 9:00 to 12:00 "A Soul to Globalization"

4:00 p.m. Batha Museum Gypsy Sacred Chants from Provence - France

Bab Al Makina 9:00 p.m. Creation "Méditerranéo" Roberto Alagna, with The Khoury Project - France

Festival in the city - Place Boujloud 10:30 p.m. The Arab Orchestra of Barcelona - Morocco - Spain

Sufi Nights: Dar Tazi 11:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 15
Fes Forum - Batha Museum 9:00 to 12:00 "A Soul to Globalization"

Batha Museum 4:00 p.m. Together Altan - Ireland

Bab Al Makina 9:00 p.m. Youssou Ndour and Johnny Clegg - Tribute to Nelson Mandela

Johnny Clegg - a festival highlight 

Festival in the city - Place Boujloud 10:30 p.m. Aziz Liwae - Spiritual Chant
or
Festival in the city - Place Boujloud 10:30 p.m. Mohammed Laroussi - The Toktoka Jabaliya

Sufi Nights - Dar Tazi 11:00 p.m.

Monday, June 16
Fes Forum - Batha Museum 9:00 to 12:00 "A Soul to Globalization"

Batha Museum 4.00pm Bardic Divas - Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Night in the Medina I -
Dar Adiyel 20:00 and 22:00 The art of melhoun Fez and Meknes

Dar Mokri 20:00 and 22:00 Concert Palestine

Batha Museum 9:00 p.m. Tomatito - Spain, in collaboration with Omar Boutmazought - Morocco

Festival in the city - Place Boujloud 10:30 p.m. Ouled Al Bouazzaoui - Song of Aieta

Sufi Nights - Dar Tazi 11:00 p.m.

Tuesday, June 17
Fes Forum - Batha Museum 9:00 to 12:00 "A Soul to Globalization"

Batha Museum 4:00 p.m. "Mare Nostrum" Jordi Savall with Ensemble XXI Hespèrion - Spain

Jordi Savall - a festival highlight 

Night in the Medina II -
Dar Adiyel - 20:00 and 22:00 Leili Anvar - France - Iran, "The Song of the Birds" music playback

Dar Mokri 20:00 and 22:00 Choir Saint Ephraim - Hungary

Batha Museum 9:00 p.m. Rokia Traoré Mali - Beautiful Africa

Festival in the city - Place Boujloud 10:30 p.m. Saad Lamjered

Sufi Nights - Dar Tazi 11:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 18
Night of the Medina III -

Dar Adiyel 20:00 and 22:00 Wang Li (China) and poets Amazigh (Morocco) Creation "blasts Atlas jalopy of China"

Dar Mokri 20:00 and 22:00 Mor Karbasi - Sacred Chants Ladino

Batha Museum 9:00 p.m. Zakir Hussain - India

Festival in the city - Place Boujloud 10:30 p.m. Abidat Rma and Said Mouskir

Sufi Nights - Dar Tazi 11:00 p.m.

Thursday, June 19
Batha Museum 4:00 p.m. Luzmilla Carpio (Bolivia)

Bab Al Makina 9:00 p.m. Great Jewish-Arab Andalusian evening

Festival in the city - Place Boujloud 10:30 p.m. Ribab Fusion Chant Amazigh Souss

Friday, June 20
4:00 p.m. Batha Museum Royal Palace Ensemble, directed by Jean-Philippe Sarcos - France

Bab Al Makina 9:00 p.m. Evening of Arabic music: artist Morocco and the Arab world

Festival in the city - Place Boujloud 10:30 p.m. Wael Jassar (Lebanon)

Sufi Nights - Dar Tazi 11:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 21
Batha Museum 10h00: Morning concert Ustad Dagar F.Wasifuddin - India.

Batha Museum 4:00 p.m. Raza Khan and Coumbane Mint Ely Warakane - India and Mauritania.

Coumbane Mint Ely Warakane hails from long line of griots from Trarza in southwest Mauritania, and while she is not as well-known as other griots, all who experience her story-telling, instrumental skills and ability to connect with her crowd leave in an almost enlightened state.

Bab Al Makina 9:00 p.m. Buddy Guy Legend - USA.Featuring Hot 8 Brass Band, New Orleans USA

Festival in the city - Place Boujloud 10:30 p.m. Saida Sharaf Chant Hassani

Sufi Nights - Dar Tazi 11:00 p.m.

Please note that this is a provisional programme and will be updated as soon as new information comes to hand. 

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Moroccan Photo of the Day - near Fez's Merenid Tombs

Those of you living in Fez will see that I cheated, as the skies are grey today. This photo was actually taken a couple of days ago when friends and I went for a morning walk up around the 14th century Merenid Tombs. This friendly looking fellow is the guardian of the graveyard down the hill. Fortunately I had my phone with me, and took a quick snap. Given the right conditions, who needs an SLR?

Photo: Suzanna Clarke

The View from Fez welcomes contributions for our photo of the day series. Our contact details can be found via link at the top right of this page.

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Moroccan society's attitude to divorced women

Divorced women in Moroccan society often struggle to find new partners, writes Zakaria El Hajji

At the age of 35, Tarik, a young Moroccan who works for a press agency in Casablanca, finally decided to share his life with a soul mate for better or worse till death do them part. Not being the type who uses online matchmaking services, he went the traditional way. After a couple of weeks, his liaison, the human search engine, came up with two candidates. They were both beautiful 24-year-old conservative prospects for his quest. That’s exactly what he had been looking for; it seemed that Tarik’s traditional matchmakers were paying off after all.

However, there was one more thing to know, one of the prospects used to be married before she got divorced, while the other had never been married. Tarik had a choice to make, although not a big deal you might say- he would automatically go for the former; well, let’s not judge so fast.

Not having been married before, the latter’s demands were far beyond Tarik’s reach. Not being the rich guy, he couldn’t meet her demands. On the other hand, the woman who was married before, didn’t ask for so much. Well, now you’re thinking what Tarik was thinking of! He decided to marry the woman who was divorced. Let’s think of a second-case scenario, what if Tarik had been the rich guy? Would he have still picked the same prospect? Well, I guess not! After breaking the news to his parents, his mother was really upset and she was totally against his marriage for the simple reason that her would be daughter-in-law was a divorced woman. So, why has society created this negative and degrading image of divorced women?

According to 2011 statistics, the Family Justice Services reported that 1 out of 6 marriages ends in divorce. In a society where virginity is glorified, divorced women often have a hard time finding new relationships. As an alibi, many divorced women faced with the harsh reality of how the Moroccan society views them, resort to prostitution. Divorced women are often left with nowhere to go and do not have a source of income to cover for their expenses.

Tracing this phenomenon back a couple of years ago in Morocco, women had no say whatsoever when it came to divorce. A great living example can be found in Leila Abouzeid’s novella, The Year of the Elephant, which shares a journey of a Moroccan woman during the transitional period between colonialism and the independence of Morocco. Zahra the protagonist, was the subject of divorce, the novella opens: “I come back to my hometown, feeling shattered and helpless. He had simply sat down and said, ‘Your papers will be sent to you along with whatever the law provides.’ My papers? How worthless a woman is if she can be returned with a receipt like some store bought object! How utterly worthless!” This shows how easy it was for a man to file for divorce without his wife’s agreement.

Divorce has acquired a negative connotation throughout the history of Morocco. Divorce has always been the storm that disconcerts the harmonious life of any family, it is the bad omen that shouldn’t be brought up under any marital roof, and it is the nightmare of any married woman. “For our people, divorce is a catastrophe, an absolute disaster.” Zahra said. How did divorce acquire this deeply rooted negative connotation? Women have been executed for things they have done as well as for things they are innocent of. For instance, a man can divorce his wife if she frequently gets sick, if she is impotent, if she has a love affair out of wedlock or if she simply gets old- the same reasons for which one would buy a new car or a new TV set.

What is more ironic, is when some men get new business transactions, they also get a new, young, wife as a reward. Thus, leaving behind the divorced wife to a society that perceives her as a social handicap, a malfunctioning and expired member of society who’s unable to settle down and lead a successful marital life.

You can read the rest of Zakaria El Hajji's article in Morocco World News. CLICK HERE.

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Lecture: Family Values in Morocco

Fez academic Saddiq Raddad gives a lecture on Thursday on the ways in which family values are crucial to our understanding of the tensions and transformations in Moroccan society, as an Arab-Islamic country, especially within the context of globalization

The ALIF Fes lecture will outline the cultural and social developments in a country in which Islam (both as religion and culture) is central to the family, tribal, and national institutions. The argument this lecture advances is that in spite of the remarkable impact of industrialization, modernity, migration, colonialism, education, literacy, and globalization, Morocco is still anchored in traditional forms of family and social values.

When: Thursday, January 9th, 6:15 PM

Where: Annex Auditorium
22 Rue Mohamed Diouri, across from the ALC/ALIF

Cost: FREE

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EasyJet Cancels Flights to Fez and Tangier

The low cost airline easyJet has suspended its summer routes to Fez and Tangier from Paris CGD from the beginning of May.

According to the specialist French publication Air Journal, easyJet will end its four weekly flights to Tangier on May 4, opened in October 2008, and its three weekly flights to Fez on May 3.

Air Journal says: "No official statement has been made on the disappearance of this route, but easyJet said on its Facebook page that it, "manages its portfolio of routes to best meet the local demand of passengers, ensuring effective use of devices and profitability for each route operated. We studied the 2013 program and have retained the best options for that purpose. EasyJet has made ​​a strategic decision to discontinue its service between Paris and Tangier from this period."

This leaves open the possibility that a return of the route in autumn. EasyJet also serves Agadir in Morocco (4 routes) , Casablanca (3) and Marrakech ( 13).

The withdrawal of service by easyJet comes on top of an announcement by Ryanair that it will cancel up to 30 routes to Morocco - although their website still shows many of these routes as being available. This follows the announcement by the government of a new tax on flight tickets, due to come into force on April 1. To see our previous story on this, CLICK HERE. 


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Calf With Two Heads Born Outside of Fez

A two-headed calf born in Morocco has made world news. Images of the calf, born in the village of Sefrou, are on television and online as far away as Australia

The  polycephalic (two-headed) calf was born in a Moroccan village and has been attracting lots of attention since its arrival on 30 December, 20123

 The calf was named "Sana Saida"- Happy New Year in Arabic.Photo credit: Fadel Senna /AFP/Getty Images)

The calf was named Sana Saida, which means 'Happy New Year' in Arabic attracted scores of local visitors, but unfortunately the calf died two days later.


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Moroccan News Briefs #109

Rise in the Cost of Food

The New Year in Morocco brings about a rise in living costs. The price of many products increases early in 2014

The prices of basic food staples such as tea, sugar and cooking oils and fats increases starting from the beginning of January.

The increase in prices is due to the rise of the value added tax (VAT), and is in line with the Moroccan 2014 Finance Act, writes Youssef Sourgo from Morocco World News, quoting from sources including the newspaper Al Massae.

The price increase will also include plane tickets, as well as cigarettes, alcoholic and energy drinks.

“The VAT on tea, dietary fats and utility vehicles will move up from 14 % to 20%,” according to Al Massae, “whereas the VAT on sugar will increase by 3% (7% to 10%).”

Such increases in vital products, Al Massae says, “will penalise households.” Moroccans are big consumers of sugar and tea. The annual per capita sugar consumption is around 37 kgs, while tea is around 2 kgs per person.

“The VAT is an unfair tax,” notes Al Massae. “This is why economists always recommend the diversification of taxes in such a way that vital products are exempted and less important products are highly taxed.”

The daily newspaper cites Moroccan economist Najib Akesbi, who laments the taxation system of Benkirane’s government for doing the total opposite.

The 2014 Finance Act is expected to considerably affect the purchasing power of Moroccans. The daily newspaper foresees “social outrage” as a reaction to these unpopular measures taken by government that has disappointed the Moroccan middle class.

Before his assumed power in 2011, Abdelilah Benkirane, the head of government and of Party of Justice and Development (PJD) promised an improvement in the living conditions of the Moroccan middle class and the working class.

Youssef Sourgo says that, "Mr. Benkirane should stop for a moment and rethink his unpopular policies, which further weaken the purchasing power of Moroccans and threaten to bring about social unrest." Although a side effect may be a reduction in sugar consumption and, ultimately, the number of diabetics in the country.


Fez Robbery

Last Friday December 27 a gang of jewel thieves held up a jewellery store in the Narjiss area of Fez

At closing time, as the owner of the jewellery store was lowering the shutters, he was held up by two knife wielding members of the gang, who were joined by two others. When the owner resisted, he was badly beaten, and the robbers fled with more than 2 kgs of jewellry in a 4 WD vehicle with false foreign number plates.

On Saturday the combined efforts of several police departments led to the arrest of three members of the gang in the Ouislane neighbourhood of Meknes, while a fourth member is still on the run. Two women, including the house owner was also arrested, and a receiver of the stolen goods. Much of the jewellery was seized, as well as the car and weapons used in the robbery.



Huge Haul After ATM Scam

Robbery on a much larger scale was halted last Sunday after the arrest of two Moroccans and six Romanians suspected of perpetrating one of the most spectacular bank heists in history

A gang of cyber-criminals€ helped to steal more than $60 million from banks worldwide€ by hacking into financial databases and withdrawing money from ATM machines, reports Morocco World News. 

The eight suspects were allegedly following the instructions of an IT expert who was arrested in Germany. The ringleader was capable of hacking into the databases used by credit card processing firms and could modify security settings, including PIN number restrictions and withdrawal limits, before getting gangs worldwide to fake credit cards using some of the information.

Connected with a series of global bank heists, last February the hacking gang was able  to make transactions from ATMs in 23 countries and walked away with some $40 million€ in cash in just 13 hours.

Spanish police said on Sunday 446 ATM transactions took place in Madrid during a February raid, with the Spanish-based arm of the ring obtaining $400,000 in a heist totalling $40 million.€ During the same period, 34,000 illegal transactions took place worldwide.

The cyber thieves don'€™t wear masks or use guns, but are highly skilled hackers that penetrate bank systems in a high sophisticated technique and transfer money to accounts or use ATMs to withdraw money with the help of other coordinators on spot.

The arrest of the 8 alleged hackers was conducted by the Spanish police with the help of an American security agency.



Illegal Immigrants Offered Moroccan Residency

Last Thursday December 26 an amnesty was launched in Rabat to give residency permits to tens of thousands of immigrants living in the country illegally, after King Mohammed VI expressed concern about their harsh treatment by police. 

The mistreatment of Sub-Saharan Africans has prompted an immigration amnesty

Hundreds of people, almost all of them sub-Saharan Africans, queued outside the governor’s office in Rabat hoping to get their papers, which would officially allow them to reside and work in Morocco.

“Today is the start of the process to normalise the status of immigrants living in Morocco,” Migration Minister Anis Birou told AFP.

“There are tens of thousands of people who do not have papers. And this process aims to give them the same rights and duties as Moroccan nationals, to help them integrate into society,” he added.

He declined to comment on the conditions for obtaining a Moroccan residency permit, but has previously stated that these include being a resident for at least five years or having a two-year work contract.

The government in November unveiled what it called an “exceptional operation” to give official papers to some of the 25,000-40,000 sub-Saharans estimated to be residing illegally in Morocco.

The North African country has struggled to cope with the rising tide of migrants crossing its borders in the hope of building better lives in Europe, many of whom end up staying.

The Moroccan authorities have come under fire in recent months for their harsh treatment of sub-Saharan fortune seekers.

Rights activists say at least three immigrants — a Senegalese, a Cameroonian and Congolese — died as a result of police raids in northern Morocco since last summer and have called for a radical overhaul of the country’s immigration policy.

King Mohammed VI responded by admitting “legitimate concerns” and backing their calls for reform.


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Moroccan Photo of the Day - Sunset Over Moulay Idriss

This photo was taken on New Year's Day from Dar Zerhoune.

The View from Fez welcomes contributions for our photo of the day series. Our contact details can be found via link at the top right of this page.

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Happy New Year from The View From Fez

Have a fantastic 2014!

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