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SPIRIT OF AL-ANDALUS RETREAT
April 25th - May 1st, 2024
GRANADA, SPAIN
Rumi Center is returning to Spain for The Spirit of al-Andalus retreat. This is a unique opporunity to explore the spiritual and artistic legacy of Muslim Spain with renowned artists and teachers, while finding relaxation, rejuvenation, and reflection in the ancient olive groves of the Sierra Nevada foothills
Convivencia (Living Together)
Texts were translated from Greek to Arabic to Latin and other languages and great mystics and philosophers like Maimonides, Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Raymond Lull shared ideas in a culture of exchange that helped spark the European Renaissance. This enriched all aspects of life in Al-Andalus making it one of the most intellectually and culturally rich, not to mention scientifically advanced, places on earth at the time.
Spiritual Richness
It was also a thriving center of spirituality and mysticism, home to countless Sufi masters including Ibn ‘Arabi, one of the greatest mystics of any age, who was raised in the spiritually dynamic milieu of Murcia and Seville. He wrote about the rich diversity of spiritual teachers and Sufi sages that he learned from and interacted with, including many women saints from whom he received great openings.
Spirituality & The Arts
The Spirit of al-Andalus Retreat is a unique opportunity to learn about the spiritual and artistic legacy of Muslim Spain from renowned artists and teachers, while finding rest, relaxation, rejuvenation & reflection in the surrounding olive groves of the Sierra Nevada foothills. We will explore the key spiritual and philosophical teachings that inspired the great civilization of al-Andalus through the arts of architecture, poetry, music, calligraphy, pattern, geometry and more.
Days will include interactive workshops, engaging seminars and periodic excursions, while nights will be full of music, poetry, zikr and conversation in good company over delicious local cuisine.
Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains south of Granada, our retreat will take place at Azahra Retreat Center.
Featuring:
Baraka Blue
Baraka Blue is a poet, musician, author, and teacher from Seattle, Washington. In addition to releasing multiple studio albums, authoring books of poetry, and performing internationally, Baraka Blue is a prolific educator with a master’s degree in Islamic Studies from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.
Medina Whiteman
Medina Tenour Whiteman is a British-American Muslim writer, poet and singer based near Granada in Spain. She is the author of the poetry collection Love is a Traveller and We Are Its Path (Ecstatic Exchange, 2016), Huma’s Travel Guide to Islamic Spain (2016), and The Invisible Muslim: Journeys Through Whiteness and Islam (Hurst, 2020). Her work has appeared on BBC Radio, Alchemiya, Critical Muslim, and Sacred Footsteps, and other international platforms, as well as being anthologised in A Kaleidoscope of Stories by Lote Tree Press. She has over 20 years’ experience writing, editing and translating fiction, non-fiction, poetry, scripts and songs, and regularly holds creative writing workshops online and in person. She is the cofounder of the Muslim Writers' Salon and the Sufi women's art collective Ruh Karima.
AbdelKarim Cederberg
AbdelKarim Cederberg is a multidisciplinary artist and craftsman. He attained an MA in Islamic Arts at the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts where he studied a wide range of art forms including calligraphy, Islamic pattern and Persian miniature painting. He is also a master woodworker who carves everything from mihrabs and bowls to knifes and bows.
Al-Firdaus Ensemble
The Al Firdaus Ensemble is a Sufi musical group that follows a combination of different musical styles, such as western classical sounds, Celtic music and flamenco, as well as new arrangements of numerous pieces from traditional Islamic Sufi music, which originate from Arabic, Andalusian and Turkish sources. The lyrics are mostly in Arabic and inspired by the poetry of the well-known Sufis of Al-Andalus as well as from the Arab world such as Ibn Arabi and Al-Shushtari.
Ameer Noureldin
Ameer is a singer, percussionist and student of Qur’anic tilawah and tajwid (recitation) from Chicago, IL. He learned to recite from his mother as a child, and has been a munshid at Ta’leef Chicago since its opening in 2017. Since then he has been a student of the sacred music and spiritual poetry of the Islamic tradition, focusing on the classics of the Arabic language but also incorporating song from other languages including Urdu, Turkish, and Spanish. He has sung and performed all across the world at a wide range of retreats, conferences, and spiritual gatherings. He resides in Cairo, Egypt where he is continuing his studies in the arts of Quranic recitation.
Dates April 25th - May 1st 2024
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
lodging, food, all classes and workshops
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED:
Flights and airport transfer.
Participants should fly into Malaga (90 minute drive) or Granada (45 minute drive).
Options for airport transfer include private car, rental car or shuttle van. Our team in Spain can help coordinate airport transfer for participants.
Space is limited.
Registration closes April 25th.
PRICING
Four pricing tiers available:
PRIVATE ROOM ($3,000)
STANDARD SHARED ROOM ($2,200)
per person, based on double occupancy
“DOUBLE” DISCOUNT ($1,760)
book with a friend or spouse for a discount, price per person, shared rooms only
ZAWIYA (women only) OR BELL TENT ($1,800)
per person, women’s only dorm room, or double occupancy bell tent. limited spots
payment plans available.
About Azahara Retreat Center
Keep in mind that this is a retreat set in the idyllic natural surroundings of the Spanish countryside, our accommodations are rustic but comfortable. Spring is the ideal time for a retreat in Andalusia as the weather is neither hot nor too cold. Forecasts have weather in the low 70s F during the day but can drop to the 50s at night so best pack warmer layers for the evening.
Sessions include:
Opening the Inner I: Ibn ‘Arabi & Rumi on creativity, poetic vision, and seeing with the eye of the heart w/ Baraka Blue
One in the Many: Islamic Pattern and Design w/ AbdelKarim Cederberg
Seeing the Signs: Writing Practice & Spiritual Ecology of Al-Andalus w/ Medina Whiteman
Daily Qasidas (spiritual poetry), song, and zikr
Less than an hour outside Granada and nestled in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Azahara was founded in 2018 as a collaborative space for study, prayer and reflection, drawing upon and putting into practice the spiritual ecology of Al-Andalus, as well as its arts and crafts, with the intention of deepening our connection to Allah (swt). We take our inspiration from Al-Andalus, a dynamic period in Iberian history brimming with Islamic scholarship, innovative agricultural techniques, iconic arts and cutting-edge crafts. Sustainability was built into a way of life that valued knowledge, balance and beauty as much as faith and remembrance of God, and which influenced Europe and the Arab world for centuries.
The Azahara project is designed around Islamic sustainability and supporting the local economy whilst working harmoniously with the natural environment. Its core goal is to provide opportunities for people to reconnect to the land and experience the beauty of simplicity, and to remember Allah through His signs.
https://azahara-international.org