MEDERSAART GALLERYDESERTGUESTHOUSEStressed out? You’ve come to the right place: Tamegroute’s Zawiya Nassiriyya is said to cure
anxiety and high blood pressure, thanks to the post-mortem calming influence of Sidi
Mohammed ben Nassir – founder of the influential and very studious Nassiri brotherhood in the
17th century. Bibliophiles should plan desert trips around visits to the zawiya’s library of ancient
illuminated texts.
Besides relieving tension, Tamegroute is known for its labyrinth of ksour connected by dark
passageways, which you can explore with a local guide or by yourself to test your internal
compass. Tamegroute also has a Saturday souq .
Sights
Zawiya Nassiriyya
(suggested donation Dh20; morning & late afternoon Sat-Thu) While non-Muslims
can’t visit Sidi ben Nassir’s green-roofed mausoleum, anyone can visit the library inside the
adjacent medersa for Quranic scholars. Among the 4000 books on these glassed-in shelves
are ancient medical, mathematics, algebra and law texts, in addition to splendid 13th-century
Qurans written on gazelle hide.
Cooperative des Potiers
( 8am-6pm Mon-Fri) Oxidised copper yields the distinctive ‘Tamegroute green’ glaze
used on the local pottery collective’s rustic bowls, stamped tiles, and elegant platters.
Tours
Travel Tamegroute
( 0662 20 09 75; www.traveltamegroute.com) For quick dromedary jaunts to nearby Tinfou
dunes (or longer trips oasis-hopping to dunes, this agency offers reliable service and good
deals (Dh500 per day with lunch, Dh550 overnight).
Sleeping & Eating
Auberge-Restaurant-Camping-Jnane Dar Diafa $
( 0524 84 06 22; www.jnanedar.ch; s/d with shared bathroom Dh125/170; s/d/tr/ste with
bathroom from Dh200/300/400/600) In this breezy garden-gazebo restaurant, enjoy leisurely
lunches made with vegetables grown on the premises. Scuffed but winsome pisé-walled guest
rooms overlook the garden, some featuring air-con, mosquito nets over beds and star-
patterned walls.
TAMEGROUTE TO M’HAMID
If a taste of dunes at Tinfou leaves you craving more, you could head east to the mighty pink
dunes of Merzouga, Erg Chebbi ( Click here ) or into open desert at Erg Chigaga via M’Hamid.
The road south disappears into the sand at M’Hamid, 96km south of Zagora and some 40km
from Algeria (the southern border remains a contentious issue). The journey to M’Hamid takes
you through a dauntingly bleak landscape of sun-scorched rubble, until the road ascends up and
over Tizi Beni Selmane pass. The village of Tagounite has petrol and several cafes, and a