In a tiny cafe, tucked in the historic Kasbah neighborhood of Marrakech, we found ourselves next to a band of five women. They were from a Berber tribe in the Houara region of Morocco, performing traditional music with drums and chanting. Typically played at celebrations, like weddings, their music pumped the audience up.
The energy was infectious. Though I was initially seated at a table, I ended up dancing with the women I met earlier that night. They were clapping, hollering, shimmying their shoulders. It was the first time I experienced this side of Morocco, the lively energy in a culture that often appeared more modest and conservative on the streets.
A few days later, I found myself at another cafe in Fez, the capital of Morocco, attending a live storytelling session in Arabic. Though I didn’t understand a word, I could feel the emotion, energy, and power in the way he spoke and moved.
And then, we were on a terrace in Chefchaouen, listening to a guitar player sing a cover of “Hallelujah” while overlooking a mountain range.
After the performance, a waiter walked up to us and introduced us to Nastaliq, a style of Islamic calligraphy; the pieces decorated most of the walls of the cafe. He explained that the gold words represented good qualities, while the black represented their opposites. For example, one of the pieces wrote “sincerity” in gold and “falsity” in black.
Each of these experiences offered a glimpse into Moroccan culture that I couldn’t have experienced otherwise. The common denominator? Cafe Clock.
This cafe was created by Mike Richardson, a Londoner who visited Fez over a decade ago and fell in love with the local culture. He wanted to create a place where visitors and locals could share their cultures with each other, where anyone could have access to Moroccan music, art, and food.
There are three locations across Morocco, and while they’re all personalized based on their city, they share the same core: friendly all-Moroccan staff, rooftop terraces, bookshelves for exchanging books, local art, and a casual vibe for just hanging out.
As we traveled through the country, the cafe felt like a home base for us, especially in moments when we needed a place to rest, relax, or just process the events that happened that day. And it wasn’t just us who experienced its magic; when we struck up a conversation with fellow travelers in our riad, we ended up comparing Cafe Clocks in different cities, declaring which one was our favorite and why.
Within the walls of Cafe Clock, we got to know locals sitting at tables next to us, tried foods like Berber eggs and camel burgers, and drank fresh-squeezed orange juice (which we were told to consume within 3 minutes, because that’s when it’s the most delicious and nutrient-packed).
And, if we had stayed in Morocco longer, there was so much more potential for things to do. Cafe Clock offers workshops on topics ranging from calligraphy to baking. They even offer lessons on how to play the oud, a stringed instrument primarily found in North Africa.
Gathering around food and drink has always been one of the best ways for people to connect. Cafe Clock reminded me of PieLab, an eatery in Alabama that was created to help facilitate conversation (over free pie!) within the local community, or Tea with Strangers, an organization that brings together strangers to chat over tea. It was nice to have a taste of this experience in Morocco, a great example for how to design for community across different cultures.