Not far from Zagora – a real ” gateway to the desert ” leading south – the splendid library of Tamegroute is well worth a serious visit. This small settlement is surrounded by a lush palm grove and the many mosques with roofs of blue-green tiles are evidence of its historic, and contemporary, religious role. In the 17th century a zaouia was founded here, a traditional religious school that also functions as a sanctuary housing the body of a marabout, a holy man who attracts pilgrims. Buried here is Sidi Mohamed Benaceur, founder of the zaouia – one of the most important in Saharan Morocco. Thus within the austere crenellated external walls there is an important library that conserves, among the thousands of items held, books written on gazelle hide, ancient volumes of history and medicine, as well as rare copies of the Koran, magnificently illuminated, including one dating from the 13th century.
Talking of colours
Tamegroute is justifiably proud of its production of ceramics cloured with dyes made from minerals mined near to the town. The busy workshops of these unsophisticated artists are just on the edge of the village. The palette of the craftsman potter is made up of four basic colours : blue, yellow, green and brown. Decorating a white back-ground, these colours are obtained from metal oxides : cobalt for blue, chromium for yellow, copper for green and manganese for black and brown.
Older ceramics can be dated approximately by examining the tone of the blue colour. A bright blue, for example, dates the item from 1881, while a paler shade places it earlier than 1853.