a berber favorite, fresh goat cheese wrapped in palm leaves. cherie: yeah, they re beautiful, aren t they? anthony: it s good? a ttle cheese, a little flatbread, the perfect moroccan breakfast to go. we are headed into the jibala foothills of the rif mountain range. about 85 kilometers south of tangier to a place called jajouka. the village is home to the people of the ahl-srif tribe, which loosely translated means the saintly people. jajouka is also home to one of morocco s better known musicians, bachir attar. jazz and rock and roll musicians have traveled from all over the world to jajouka to meet this guy. bachir is part of a lineage of master musicians all from this small mountain village.
famously dubbed as a 4,000-year-old rock band by william burroughs, bachir, his son and these musicians maintain one of the oldest still-living musical traditions on earth. anthony: we re invited for dinner. [ laughter ] it s family style, of course. beginning with braga, like a kefta pocket. hand-formed envelopes of dough filled with seasoned beef, baked until golden, then crisped in oil. i m good for now. well, one more. bachir: mmm. anthony: uh oh, here we go. the main event: tagine of chicken. bachir: yeah, welcome, tony. anthony: thank you.
anthony: oh, it s delicious. man: yes. bachir: i heard you have the greatest taste for food in the world, man. anthony: i love good food. [ laughter ] bachir: yeah. anthony: after dinner, some fruit, some mint tea and let the music begin. for centuries, the master musicians of jajouka have been the musical choice of the royal families of morocco. excused by the country s rulers from manual labor to devote themselves to musical training.