The story
Tlemcen Cultural Festival in Tlemcen
A broad cultural festival in Tlemcen, former capital of the Zayyanid dynasty and designated Capital of Islamic Culture in 2011, presenting exhibitions, craft displays, literary events and performances across the city's restored historic monuments, distinct from the city's separate, genre-specific Hawzi and Andalusian music festival.
Tlemcen served as capital of the Zayyanid dynasty from 1236, when Yaghmurasen ibn Zyan declared independence from the Almohad Caliphate, through the sixteenth century, a period during which the city controlled significant trans-Saharan trade routes carrying gold and ivory and developed into a major center of Islamic learning and architecture, a legacy formally recognized when Tlemcen was designated Capital of Islamic Culture in 2011.