It will be held from October 17 to 24 in Fès: The 18th edition of the Festival of Sufi Culture puts mystical poetry in the spotlight

African contemporary art: The 18th edition of the Fès Festival of Sufi Culture will be held from October 17 to 24 under the theme "Mystical poetry, elixir of healing", with a program bringing together concerts, rituals, intellectual meetings, and artistic experiences around spirituality and the quest for meaning. Placed under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, this edition intends to make Fès a space for meeting between the spiritual heritages of Morocco and the wisdoms of the world, through a program that explores the role of poetry and beauty "in a world marked by wounds and trials". A city of knowledge and transmission, Fès constitutes the anchor of this event, notably because of its spiritual heritage based on a conception of knowledge combining intelligence with ethics and the quest for beauty with that of meaning, according to a press release from the Fès Festival of Sufi Culture Association. The inaugural concert, scheduled for October 17 at Bab El Makina under the title "Paths of spiritual love", will open this edition with the songs and the Arab-Andalusian hadra of the Harraqiya tradition, with the participation of Nabyla Maan. Throughout the week, the evenings of samâ‘, or spiritual listening, will honor the traditions of the Qadiriya Boutchichiya, Charqawiya, Ouazzaniya, Rissouniya, and Sqalliya tariqas, illustrating the richness of the Moroccan Sufi paths and the vitality of their transmission. The program will also open up to different musical traditions of the world. On October 18, Shuaïb Aftab Qawwal will present the Sufi song of Pakistan through a tribute to the poet and philosopher Mohammed Iqbal, while on October 21, Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar will present "The Breath of Eternity", dedicated to the ancestral dhrupad song of North India. On October 23, Daoud Konaté, from Côte d'Ivoire, and Enris Qinami, from Albania, will make their spiritual songs resonate at Jnan Sbil, before the creation "Journey from the East to the West" with the participation of Marouane Hajji. Other artistic meetings are also on the program, notably a creation by Tristan Driessens and Luthopia, with Arianna Savall on vocals and harp, inspired by the mystical songs of Hildegard von Bingen, as well as "Ibn al-Khatib and the City of Love", with Françoise Atlan and Kamal Hafid. On October 22, "Bach and Rumi" with Leili Anvar and Claire Antonini, will propose a dialogue between two artistic and spiritual universes, highlighting the depth of the inner experience. Poetry will also be explored through other forms of expression, notably the Japanese tea ceremony, the chanoyu, proposed by Master Miyuki, as well as dhikr workshops with Enris Qinami and "Inner Gardens, when poetry breathes", with Najoua Ajjour and Mathieu Beley. The program also includes exhibitions by Odile Guinand and Marie Pourchot, as well as the screening of the film "The Builders of the Alhambra" by Isabel Fernández, extending the reflection on spirituality and beauty through visual arts and cinema. The round tables will constitute, for their part, a space for reflection around themes such as "Can beauty save the world?", "Rumi's Mathnawi: a quest for healing", "The transfigured trial in the great sacred texts" and "Poetry and healing, the therapeutic path of Sami-Ali". These meetings will allow for a dialogue between creation, thought, and inner experience, while questioning the sensitive dimension of religious experience and the capacity of narratives to accompany the trial. The closing evening, scheduled for October 24 under the title "Ivresses", will bring together the Arab-Andalusian samâ‘ and the Dervishes of Aleppo, with Wasim Arslan, Anas Al Attar and Noureddine Tahiri, in a final tribute to the poetry of spiritual love. From Bab El Makina to the gardens of Jnan Sbil, passing through the Souk Semmarine and the other meeting spaces of the city, this 18th edition intends to offer the Moroccan and international public an experience of culture based on meeting, listening, and the transformation of the relationship with the world.