There’s a tradition in Arab culture that holds both strength and softness, that is absolutely beautiful. It’s a practice in which the whole room says: we see you, we’re with you. People’s hearts are held with both strength and softness. These things must be felt in person, and no camera can capture them.

Shopping in Morocco is not what you think it is. You don’t walk in, browse a rack, and tap your credit card at a register. No, no, no. Shopping in Morocco is an education and a sales pitch rolled into one — a fascinating, sometimes funny, sometimes frustrating experience that my guests and I just call “the show.”

We were sitting on a hillside in the Atlas Mountains sharing a meal after a long day of hiking, The conversation had turned to weddings, and our guide was describing how Amazigh weddings in his region are three-day festivals. Entire surrounding villages come. The men do the cooking and serve the feasts — enormous spreads for enormous crowds.

I asked why the men cooked for the wedding when, on a daily basis at home, it’s usually the women cooking in Morocco.

His answer floored me.

In October 2023, my Morocco retreat group was set to arrive less than two weeks after a devastating earthquake. Friends and family were worried. A few people asked if we should cancel. Canceling never crossed my mind—but changing our approach did.
The first thing I did was reach out to my friends in Morocco—people I’ve known for years through decades of performing and from traveling there—and ask the only question that mattered…