#2
Pioneer of time,
sower of emotions
May 15, 2025
I’d like to begin this second letter with a word of thanks. Over 3,000 of you read my first missive in full, and your messages have only deepened my desire for constant renewal.
I’ve always needed to evolve, to move forward, to adapt. I’ve never felt comfortable with the idea that hospitality should be fixed in place. It is a living material that must bend and shift around the guest. My role is to create the right conditions for tension (and attention) so that a spark may appear—though I can never be certain it will. Looking back, I realise there were times when I crafted experiences for the sake of experience itself, or created theatrical moments purely for the “wow effect”. But over the years, I’ve learnt that the simplest gestures often have the most lasting impact. These days, I’m stripping away anything too far removed from real life, seeking more meaning. A careful blend of mise-en-scène, encounters and unexpected details—elements that, suddenly, come together to form magic.
Dar Ahlam is the embodiment of all these experiments. Twenty-five years ago, I already dreamt of having a storyteller. Today, Hanane has joined the house to share her tales with our guests. As for me, I’ve become the guardian of dreams, asking travellers to write down their wishes and tuck them into a wall. We’ve also created a new six-part sensory journey on the bakery’s rooftop: La Maison du Ciel. I was deeply inspired by Sleep No More, which I first discovered in New York twelve years ago. What amazed me most was that I kept finding new rooms—even after wandering for three hours the last time, certain I had seen it all. That experience completely changed the way I approach theatrical staging: it’s an invitation to curiosity, an absence of boundaries for the spectator, and a sense of playfulness that I believe should be far more present in hospitality.
This is what now leads me to create conversation cards and rethink my projects with more humour, play, and a touch of mischief. Because even at 60, we still want to build sandcastles on our birthday.
I hope this letter brings you inspiration.
With all my warmest thoughts,
Thierry
Three years ago, we embarked on a series of video portraits with Nora Jacaud, highlighting the individuals who shape daily life at Dar Ahlam. This project resulted in over a dozen profiles, available on the websites of 700’000 Heures Impact, Memory Road, and Dar Ahlam.
One day, I met Nora’s partner, Lukas Birk. Together, we thought it would be interesting to reintroduce the “camera box,” a device that existed in Morocco before disappearing about fifty years ago. Its purpose was simple: to allow residents of remote areas to have family portraits taken without needing to travel to a city photographer they couldn’t afford.
Lukas trained several members of our team, and we all loved it. Now, we can take portraits of our guests and teach them how to do it themselves. This inspired me to introduce more creative workshops so our guests can return home with new skills. During weddings or events in the oasis, we’ll share this with the community.
A few months ago, I spent some days scouting in Istanbul for a surprise I’ll reveal this autumn (a bit more patience…). It had been years since I’d set foot in this city, and it was a series of delightful surprises and wonders. You know me; I don’t need to tell you that gastronomy is, for me, one of the most beautiful ways to discover a place. The curiosity of taste is the best way to open the doors to an unfamiliar culture.
What I particularly loved in Istanbul is the transgression of codes and the multiplicity of flavours. The melting pot of influences means anything is possible, and one often wonders, “Why not?” Why not colourful lollipops made on the spot on a sidewalk? Why not pumpkin candied in honey? Why not bulgur cooked by the heat of spices and topped with pomegranate molasses? That’s the feeling I get in this city. It’s true for gastronomy and everything else too. And why not create a museum around a book? Play backgammon for hours by the water?
This gourmet discovery of the city culminated in a visit to Turk, the restaurant of chef Fatih Tutak, who transforms Istanbul’s street food staples into a high-flying gastronomic menu. I can’t wait to tell you more about this project!
Lately, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the notion of hybridisation. “Hybrid” refers to what is mixed, eclectic, contradictory—in other words, everything that doesn’t fit into our boxes. I’ve learned a lot from Gabrielle Halpern, a philosopher convinced that this is the major trend of the coming world. In her book, Tous centaures ! Éloge de l’hybridation (Le Pommier), she writes: “If I, as a human being, stop hybridising, if a company, a school, a profession, a sector stops hybridising, they die! All living beings are called to metamorphosis—plants, animals, and humans alike; only the dead no longer change…”
What she says resonates deeply with my vision of hospitality. I don’t engage in hospitality for its own sake. Initially, I blended it with my two skills: theatre through staging and events through experience creation. Today, I hybridise hospitality with art, regeneration… And I’m certain that’s how we can re-enchant the world.
I have unwavering admiration for the work done by Françoise Nyssen and Jean-Paul Capitani with the creation of L’École Domaine du possible. I appreciate that, for them, difference isn’t a handicap. What a person lacks allows space for something else in abundance. If we haven’t understood that, we’ve understood nothing. These individuals have much to teach us, provided we move away from the rigid education system that currently tries to fit children into a mold. We should teach them to live as much as we teach mathematics and history: empathy, relationships with others, honesty, expression of emotions…
I believe this is what’s lacking in our Western world today, and it makes me ponder my desire to pass things on. Through this monthly letter, my upcoming book, my workshops, I want to share not the technical aspects, but what touches the soul, the heart. In this school, everything is a pretext for learning. And the galaxy of authors, musicians, and artists orbiting around Actes Sud, from which the students benefit, is fantastic.
On the window of surprises
On attentive lips
Far above silence
I write your name
On my destroyed refuges
On my collapsed lighthouses
On the walls of my boredom
I write your name
On absence without desire
On naked solitude
On the steps of death
I write your name
On recovered health
On vanished risk
On hope without memory
I write your name
And by the power of a word
I start my life anew
I was born to know you
To name you
Freedom.
Like many French people, I discovered this text by Paul Éluard at school. Let’s be honest: I completely missed its significance… I don’t understand why it was used so indiscriminately. We should protect the beauty of such a work and give more value to poetry and positive vibes in the world. Then, it was gifted to me for my 60th birthday—a special edition that tells the story of the text, its various publications, and its perception over the years.
Originally, this poem was intended for the woman he loved, but given the horrors of war, he ultimately dedicated it to freedom—a notion immensely important in 1942. The collection Poésie et Vérité comprises poems of struggle, resonating particularly with the times we’re going through. I share an excerpt and invite you to read it in its entirety (aloud!).
Those who know me well might guess what I’m about to discuss… Reserva do Ibitipoca, 3.5 hours from Rio de Janeiro (in the state of Minas Gerais), is probably the place that has inspired me the most in the world. For the first time, I met an owner who used hospitality as a tool for regeneration. Hospitality often creates dependency, whereas we should support community development, initiate independent value chains to lead people towards autonomy. That’s what was done in this former Brazilian farm. The hotel’s management was entrusted to the teams, and the owner focused on land conservation and the reintroduction of endemic plant and animal species. All this wasn’t at the expense of hospitality, as there are countless wonderful experiences to be had there. Every time I go to Brazil, I make every effort to plan a detour.
To keep up with my latest projects:
- From 5 to 9 May, I’ve been in Cape Town for the We Are Africa trade show, bringing together hospitality leaders from across the African continent. It’s an opportunity for me to discuss the latest developments at Dar Ahlam and Memory Road, and to speak on regeneration during a dedicated conference organized by The long run.
- Another conference on 21 May, at the EHL Open Innovation Summit, in Lausanne, focusing on valuing the human element in a sector where technological advances and AI sometimes change the game.
- A wonderful article by Alex Postman on the philosophy of Dar Ahlam and the energy that all team members bring to our guests. Find it in YOLO magazine or on its digital versi