TAMEGROUTE ZAWIYA AND ITS ANCIENT LIBRARY: A TREASURE OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE HEART OF THE DESERT:
In the deep south of Morocco, near the edge of the Draa Valley and the windswept road to the Sahara, lies the small oasis town of Tamegroute—a place of spiritual legacy, scholarship, and hidden knowledge. Far from the bustling medinas of Marrakech or Fes, Tamegroute has been quietly preserving one of the richest manuscript collections in North Africa for over three centuries.
At the heart of the town stands the Zawiya of Tamegroute, a spiritual and educational center founded in the 16th century by Sidi Ahmad bin Nasir (1647–1717), a revered Sufi scholar, traveler, and leader of the Nasiriyya Sufi brotherhood. The zawiya was envisioned not only as a religious school (madrasa) but as a living sanctuary for learning and cultural continuity in the Sahara.
One of its most astonishing legacies is the ancient library of Tamegroute, known to hold over 4,000 manuscripts—some dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries. These texts span a wide range of subjects: astronomy, mathematics, medicine, law (fiqh), literature, Sufism, and theology. Many of the books were collected by Sidi Ahmad bin Nasir himself during his travels across Mecca, Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad, Timbuktu, and other centers of Islamic and Amazigh scholarship.
Among the treasures housed in the library are handwritten Qur’ans on gazelle skin, treatises on astronomy, and manuscripts from Timbuktu, a city once connected to Tamegroute through trans-Saharan intellectual and trade routes. The library’s collection is a living witness to the era when the Sahara was not a barrier, but a bridge between civilizations.
Tamegroute is also known for its distinctive green pottery, crafted using ancestral methods passed down through generations of local artisans. The clay is shaped and glazed with manganese and copper oxide, resulting in a deep olive green that has become a symbol of the town.
For travelers seeking more than landscapes, a visit to Tamegroute offers a profound immersion in Morocco’s spiritual and intellectual heritage. The narrow, mudbrick alleyways of the old ksar, the soft chants of the zawiya, and the scent of old parchment in the library transport visitors into another time—when knowledge, faith, and tradition thrived side by side under the Saharan sun.
At Morocco Ambience Tours, we believe in curating experiences that go beyond sightseeing. Visiting Tamegroute is not just a stop on the road to the dunes—it is a journey into the mind and soul of the desert.
Suggested References:
- E. W. Bovill – The Golden Trade of the Moors
- Titus Burckhardt – Fez, City of Islam (on traditional scholarship in Morocco)
- Moroccan Ministry of Culture archives on Tamegroute Library
Oral accounts from the Nasiriyya Zawiya keepers (interviews and fieldwork, 20th–21st century)
