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Morocco > Moroccan Festivals
Festivals are dedicated to popular art, traditions and mark
the seasons as when in Spring time the desert blooms. Events are often organized
at the last minute and largely depend on the lunar calendar. You can book you
travel to these events with
Student Travel who can also specify exact dates.
Fès Festival of World Sacred Music:
Spirituality in globalization, films and exhibitions, with many activities throughout the city of Fez with concerts on the Bab
Boujloud square, children's educational activities and
evenings in the Sufi brotherhoods at Dar Tazi. |
Fès |
May - June |
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Imilchil Festival
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Imilchil |
August |
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Almond Tree Blossom
Festival |
Tafraout |
February |
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Honey Festival |
Imouzer of Ida
Ou Tanane |
May |
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Rose Festival |
El
Kelaâ M'Gouna |
May |
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Festival of Rabat
- in French |
Rabat |
July |
Wax Candle Feast
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Sale
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May |
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Gnaoua festival
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Essaouira
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June
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Desert Symphony Festival |
Ouarzazate |
June |
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Cherry Festival |
Séfrou |
June |
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Popular Arts Festival |
Marrakech |
June |
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Camel Festival |
Guelmim |
July |
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Asilah Cultural Festival |
Asilah |
August |
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Horse Festival |
Tissa
(Fès) |
September/ October |
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Festival of Fantasia |
Meknes |
September |
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Date Festival |
Erfoud |
October/ November/ Ramadan |
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Agadir Festival |
Agadir |
December |
Imilchil Festival August / September
Her name was "Tislet", and his was "Isli". Their families were enemy Berber
tribes from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Although they were lovers, in true
Shakespearean tradition, their irate parents refused to allow them to marry.
Their hearts were broken. To live apart was impossible. They sadly exchanged
vows, then drowned themselves in two nearby lakes which now bear their names.
Destiny wills that even in death, they are unable to unite. The imposing
mountain seated between the two bodies of water acts as a guardian even as their
spirits reach out for one another.
This act of desperation so devastated the hostile clans of the Berber "Ait
Haddidou" that parents of this tribe thenceforth granted their children the
right to choose their own marriage partners.
So unfolds the story woven around the annual Berber Brides' Festival of Imilchil
held annually high up in the lake plateau of the Middle Atlas mountains of
Morocco. Each year in September after the harvest, young men and women in come search of a mate.
The moussem, or festival, occurs near Imilchil, at the site of the burial place
of Sidi Mohamed El Maghani, the patron saint of the Ait Haddidou. Legend has it
that the marriages blessed by this holy man will be happy and
long-lasting thus the reason for the arduous trek to this isolated area.
At one time, this was an exclusive "family affair", with members of some fifty
tribes from the region converging on the otherwise barren plateau for a Berber
version of a family reunion and wedding celebration combined. Now some 30,000
people with their flocks and goods for sale attend and the brides and grooms to
be wear their best clothes.
Now, those outsiders hardy enough to make the grueling trip and camp in the high
mountains are welcome to
participate in the festivities, to the extent that the festival has become an
attraction for tourists.
You can book to go to Imilchil with
Morocco Tours, and remember to respect the local customs or you may end up
married!! Student Travel
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