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The Front Page · Reportage
The hands that hold a country's memory.
From the Chouara tannery to the copper workshops of Sefarine, from the thuya of Essaouira to the silver fibulae of the Souss — a journey through sixteen crafts to understand what Morocco makes, and why it matters.
A thousand hands, one heritage. One material, one memory. One gesture, a border that fades.
ألف يدٍ، تراثٌ واحد.
— Editorial · Issue 01
The crafts. Sixteen gestures Morocco keeps passing on.
1.
Leather
الجلدVegetable tanning with mimosa bark and pigeon droppings. Babouches, poufs, art leatherwork.
Fès · Marrakech 2.Brassware
النحاسHammered and chiselled copper — UNESCO 2023. Teapots, trays, chandeliers.
Fès · Marrakech 3.Thuya & Cedar
الخشبEssaouira marquetry (Tetraclinis articulata, 80% of world reserves in Morocco).
Essaouira · Sefrou 4.Weaving
النسيجFès gold-thread brocade, sabra (cactus silk), High Atlas wool.
Fès · Atlas 5.Pottery
الفخارFès blue, Safi faience (Potters' Hill), Salé tagines.
Safi · Fès 6.Zellige
الزليجMosaic cut with the menqach since the 10th c. The sacred geometry of madrasas and palaces.
Fès 7.Jewellery
الحليBerber fibulae, Essaouira filigree, Tiznit niello — UNESCO 2023.
Tiznit · Essaouira 8.Berber carpets
الزربيةBeni Ouarain, Azilal, boucherouite, Mrirt — the confederation of 17 Middle Atlas tribes.
Middle & High Atlas 9.Caftan & Djellaba
القفطانRitual tailoring — Moroccan caftan, UNESCO 2025. Sfifa, akaad, maâlem-tailors.
Fès · Rabat · Tétouan 10.Argan & Flavours
المؤونةArgan oil (UNESCO 2014), amlou, Taliouine saffron, smen, Mejhoul dates.
Souss · Atlas 11.Arabic calligraphy
الخط العربيMaghribi, Kufic, Thuluth — UNESCO 2021. Writing as architecture.
Fès · Salé 12.Gebs · Plaster
الجبسCarving in fresh plaster. Arabesques, muqarnas, the wall lacework of riads.
Fès · Tétouan 13.Basketry
القطانيةDoum, rush, palm (UNESCO 2022). Baskets, mats, Rif hats.
Rif · North 14.Blown glass
الزجاجRecycled glass blown by mouth. Lanterns from the workshops of Essaouira and Beni Mellal.
Essaouira 15.Tadelakt
التادلاكتLime plaster polished with a stone and black soap. Waterproof, matte, silky.
Marrakech 16.Saddlery & fine leather
السراجةSaddles, cases, embossed belts. Leather becomes sculpture, embroidered with silver thread.
Fès · Meknès
The grand reportage
The blue secret of the Chouara tanners.
№ 01 · Reportage · Fès
Twelve centuries in a vat.
At the heart of the medina of Fès — inscribed by UNESCO in 1981 — the Chouara tannery has operated since the year 859, the founding of the city. Twelve hundred vats, more than five hundred master tanners, stone basins, mimosa bark, and bare feet in the indigo and poppy dye.
According to the historian Ali ibn Abi Zar, writing in 1325, Fès then counted 86 tanning houses. Three survive today: Chouara, Sidi Moussa, Aïn Azliten. The French word "maroquin", which designates the finest supple leather in the world, comes from the country's name.
Read the full dossier →Intangible heritage. Sixteen elements inscribed by UNESCO.
As of 7 December 2025, Morocco holds 16 inscriptions on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage lists — one of the densest records on the African continent. Morocco also chaired the 17th session of the Intergovernmental Committee in Rabat in 2022.
2025 · Clothing
Moroccan caftan
القفطان المغربيArt, traditions and know-how of the caftan. Inscription led by Morocco, celebrating the schools of Fès, Rabat and Tétouan.
UNESCO · 20252024 · Ritual
Henna
الحناءRituals, aesthetic and social practices. Multinational inscription bringing together several States of the region.
UNESCO · 20242023 · Metals
Metal engraving
النقش على المعادنGold, silver, copper. Recognises the guilds of Fès, Marrakech, Meknès, Tiznit, Essaouira.
UNESCO · 20232023 · Music
Malhun
الملحونPopular poetic and musical art, handed down through urban guilds since the 14th century.
UNESCO · 20232022 · Nature
Date palm
النخيلKnowledge, know-how, traditions and practices linked to the palm. Multinational inscription (11 Arab States).
UNESCO · 20222021 · Equestrian
Tbourida
التبوريدة16th-century equestrian spectacle. Simulation of military parades following Arab-Amazigh conventions.
UNESCO · 20212021 · Writing
Arabic calligraphy
الخط العربيKnowledge, skills and practices. Multinational Arab inscription — Maghribi school specific to Morocco.
UNESCO · 20212021 · Living
Falconry
البيزرةLiving human heritage. Multinational inscription bringing together 18 nations including Morocco.
UNESCO · 20212020 · Meal
Couscous
الكسكسProduction and consumption. Shared Maghreb inscription (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania).
UNESCO · 20202019 · Music
Gnawa
كناوةTrance, guembri, qraqeb. Music-memory of the trans-Saharan trade and sub-Saharan Africa in Morocco.
UNESCO · 20192017 · Urgent
Taskiwin
تاسكيوينMartial dance of the western High Atlas — inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List (threat of disappearance).
UNESCO · 2017 — Urgent2014 · Botany
Argan tree
الأركانPractices and know-how linked to the argan tree, the oil and the women of the Souss.
UNESCO · 20142013 · Diet
Mediterranean diet
الحمية المتوسطيةOlive oil, pulses, sharing. Multinational inscription of 7 Mediterranean countries.
UNESCO · 20132012 · Festival
Sefrou cherries
مهرجان حب الملوكAnnual festival: music, dance, fantasia, election of the Cherry Queen.
UNESCO · 20122008 · Square
Jemaa el-Fna
جامع الفناCultural space of Marrakech. The element that, by mobilising its inhabitants, inspired the creation of the Convention.
UNESCO · 20082008 · Moussem
Tan-Tan Moussem
موسم طانطانGreat annual gathering of Saharan nomad tribes — Morocco's first inscription.
UNESCO · 2008The regions. A geography of know-how.
Fès
فاسLeather ·Zellige ·Brocade ·Brassware ·Gebs
34.0331°N 5.0003°OMarrakech
مراكشTadelakt ·Copper ·Carpets ·Basketry ·Leather
31.6295°N 7.9811°OEssaouira
الصويرةThuya ·Filigree ·Glass ·Gnawa
31.5085°N 9.7595°OSafi
آسفيPottery ·Faience ·Tiles
32.2994°N 9.2372°OTétouan
تطوانCaftan ·Andalusian ·Plaster ·Painted wood
35.5785°N 5.3684°OTiznit
تيزنيتSilver ·Jewellery ·Niello
29.6975°N 9.7325°OMeknès
مكناسDamascening ·Saddlery ·Wood
33.8935°N 5.5473°OChefchaouen
شفشاونWool ·Mendil ·Rif capes
35.1714°N 5.2697°OThe notebook. Brief news from workshops, exhibitions, building sites.
Programs 15 April 2026
Maison de l'Artisan opens the 3rd edition of its support programmes.
Excellence Programme for the "Carpets" and "Pottery & Ceramics" branches and the Exporters programme: applications until 22 May 2026 to the MDA (mda.gov.ma).
UNESCO 4 December 2025The Moroccan caftan officially inscribed by UNESCO.
"Moroccan caftan: art, traditions and know-how" becomes Morocco's 16th element on the Representative List of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Workshop 29 April 2026Three days in the last copper foundry of Sefarine.
An immersive report on Place Sefarine in Fès, where the hammering of copper still sets the rhythm of the mornings — a craft inscribed by UNESCO in 2023.
Economy 22 April 2026Moroccan craft accounts for 7% of national GDP.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy: 660,000 craftspeople identified, 300,000 registered with the RNA, 1.11 billion dirhams of exports in 2024.
Architecture 15 April 2026In Marrakech, tadelakt returns to the façades.
The red city's planning agency now requires the traditional lime plaster for any renovation in the medina.
Portrait 2 April 2026Fatima Aït Ben Haddou, embroiderer of terz Fassi at 78.
She has embroidered for three kings and trained a hundred disciples. A meeting with the woman the workshops simply call "the maâlma".
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