Fez: Where the World’s Wisdom Meets

From 17th to 24th October, Morocco’s spiritual capital will host the 18th edition of the Fez Festival of Sufi Culture and the Wisdoms of the World. Held this year under the theme “Mystical Poetry, an Elixir of Healing”, the festival brings together artists, writers, thinkers and musicians from around the world with a shared ambition: to foster dialogue between cultures, spiritual traditions and the arts in a quest for meaning and beauty. Faouzi Skali, the festival’s founder and president, takes us inside an event that has become a major fixture on the cultural calendar of Morocco’s spiritual capital.

Closing evening with the Tariqa Harraqiya of Tétouan
at Bab El Makina in 2025. FFCS © Zoubir Ali

How would you sum up the spirit of the Festival?

The Festival is an invitation to discover Sufism as a culture of beauty, knowledge and dialogue with the wisdom traditions of the world. It is not simply about attending concerts or conferences, but about experiencing art as a path towards a deeper understanding of ourselves and others.

Why did you choose to emphasise the idea of “Sufi culture” in the Festival’s name?

Sufi culture extends far beyond spirituality alone. Over the centuries, it has given rise to an extraordinary heritage encompassing poetry, music, song, calligraphy, visual arts and philosophical thought. Rumi, Ibn Arabi and Rabia al-Adawiyya are read around the world today. The Festival takes audiences on a journey through these traditions, from the qawwâlîs of Pakistan to the Arab-Andalusian samâ of Fez, via Persia and Asia. Each tradition has its own distinct identity, yet all are part of the same quest for beauty and knowledge.

Morocco holds a special place in this history. Its Sufi heritage is exceptionally rich and benefits from the High Protection of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who is committed to its preservation and transmission. The Fez Festival of Sufi Culture is very much part of this endeavour and is itself held under the High Patronage of His Majesty the King.

Faouzi Skali, President of the Fez Festival of Sufi Culture. FFCS © Zoubir Ali

Nayanika Ghosh at the Jnan Sbil Botanical Garden in 2022. FFCS © Zoubir Ali 80

When describing the Festival, you often refer to a “universal spiritual humanism”.

The great Sufi texts often speak of love, beauty and humanity. Centuries after they were written, they continue to resonate with people from all cultures. Visitors from around the world come to Fez today because they find something profoundly universal here. I am convinced that our times need this vision. In a rapidly changing world, where our points of reference are shifting, the search for beauty, meaning and an inner life is more essential than ever.

Not everyone will discover Sufism through books, but anyone can experience its spirit through a city, music, poetry or an encounter. The Festival does more than preserve a heritage: it brings it to life. This year, The Conference of the Birds, the masterpiece by Persian poet Farid al-Din Attar, is inspiring a new production combining music, theatre, circus arts and dance. This too is part of our ambition: to bring age-old wisdom into dialogue with contemporary sensibilities.

Why did you choose “Mystical Poetry, an Elixir of Healing” as this year’s theme?

Our times are marked as much by a weariness of the soul as by an overload of information. Mystical poetry reminds us that words can also heal, reconcile and open up an inner space of freedom. Poetry does not change the world through force, but by transforming the way we see it. When it touches our inner selves, it creates forms of connection that ordinary discourse can no longer achieve.

Ensemble Taybah and the Whirling Dervishes of Damascus at Bab El Makina in 2024. FFCS © Zoubir Ali

Amal Ayouch FFCS © Zoubir Ali

What are the highlights of this year’s Festival?

The Festival will open with Arab-Andalusian samâ centred on the poetry of Al-Harrâq, featuring Sufi brotherhoods from Chefchaouen and Tetouan. The following day, audiences will experience the powerful qawwâlîs of Pakistan. The programme also includes a concert inspired by the writings of composer Hildegard of Bingen and an installation by artist Odile Guinand, Once Upon a Souk: A Timeless Journey, staged in the recently restored former covered market of Souk Semmarine, creating a subtle dialogue between the site’s history and ancestral materials.

Other highlights include a unique dialogue between the poetry of Rumi and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as a concert by Françoise Atlan bringing together several Andalusian traditions. Throughout the week, major musical evenings will be complemented by conferences and debates bringing together writers, philosophers, researchers and leading voices in spiritual thought. It is this combination of artistic emotion and depth of thought that gives this year’s Festival its distinctive character.

How does the Festival enhance the experience of discovering Fez?

The Festival is inseparable from its setting: the thousand-year-old city of Fez. Conferences take place in iconic locations such as Jnan Sbil, a true philosophical garden conducive to reflection, and the Bou Inania Madrasa, a jewel of 13th-century architecture. Concerts resonate through Bab Al Makina, while other performances and installations bring recently restored heritage sites to life. Over the course of the Festival, visitors discover a living city where a centuries-old heritage continues to inspire contemporary creativity.

More than a backdrop, Fez is the soul of the Festival, an invitation to beauty, introspection and dialogue. The Festival also seeks to revive the spirit of the great cultural cities that, like Córdoba, once served as meeting places for knowledge, the arts and spiritual traditions. As an heir to part of this Andalusian legacy, Fez continues to keep that spirit alive today with remarkable vitality.