Tamegroute Koranic Library

The Nasiriya zaouia at Tamegroute was founded in the seventeenth century and became one of the most important religious and scholarly centres in southern Morocco, with influence across the Sahara and along the caravan routes. Its library was among the largest in the country, and what remains - several thousand volumes, with a few hundred shown - includes Qurans and works on astronomy, mathematics, medicine, law and history, some on gazelle parchment, some in gold, and one Quran attributed to the eleventh century. The manuscripts are displayed in cases in a small room and the visit is short. The zaouia also ran a hospital and a school, and the complex still functions religiously; non-Muslims are limited to the library. The other thing Tamegroute makes is pottery - a distinctive green glaze from a local recipe involving manganese, fired in underground kilns in a quarter of the village that can be walked through.

What to look for

• Manuscripts on gazelle skin - a few hundred shown from a much larger collection.
• An eleventh-century Quran - the oldest item, attributed and displayed.
• A Saharan scholarly centre - a zaouia with reach along the caravan routes.
• Green-glazed pottery - fired in underground kilns in the village alongside.

When to go

October to April. An hour, with the pottery quarter alongside.

Things to know

The library room is small and the display is limited - it is a short visit. Manuscripts are behind glass with minimal labelling. Non-Muslims cannot enter the rest of the zaouia. Pottery sellers are persistent.

Nearby

Zagora is north; M'Hamid and the desert are south.