How to understand a Maqam

A filmmaker travels to the Egyptian desert to document the meeting of a group of music composers and their process of writing new music, in the field between western avantgarde and Arabic Maqam tradition.
However, he soon realizes that he does not understand the project. Stranded in the desert he struggles to find a way to capture the complexity of the music.
But something in the landscapes makes the past and present collapse into a timeless journey in and out of ancient buildings, extinct species and past civilizations.