Bibliothèque de la Zaouïa Naciria

A centre of written heritage in Tamegroute

The library of the Naciria Zawiya — also known as Dar al-Kutub al-Naciria, the Khizana Naciria or the Tamegroute Library — is one of southern Morocco’s most important repositories of manuscript heritage. It forms part of the Naciria religious and scholarly complex in the Drâa Valley, on historic routes that connected Morocco with Saharan trade centres and with intellectual networks extending towards Timbuktu, the Maghreb and the eastern Islamic world.

From the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries onwards, the zawiya developed as a centre of learning, spirituality and social organisation. Scholars, students, travellers and merchants contributed to the circulation of books and knowledge. The library grew through copying, acquisition, donation and the journeys of members of the Naciria scholarly tradition.

Manuscripts, sciences and transmission

The collection includes thousands of manuscripts covering theology, law, Arabic language, literature, history, poetry, medicine, pharmacology, mathematics and astronomy. Some works are written on parchment or decorated with traditional inks and calligraphy. Their value lies not only in age or rarity, but also in what they reveal about the movement of ideas across North and West Africa.

The library therefore offers a different understanding of the Drâa Valley. The region was not simply a corridor for goods and caravans; it was also a landscape of scholarship, manuscript production and religious education.

A living religious and cultural setting

The library belongs to an active zawiya rather than to a conventional museum. Access may depend on religious activities, conservation requirements and local organisation. Visitors should dress and behave respectfully, ask before taking photographs and avoid touching manuscripts unless explicitly invited.

A visit can be combined with Tamegroute’s green pottery workshops and with the architectural heritage of the valley. Continue towards the Drâa Valley Museum of Arts and Traditions, cultural places around Zagora and the regional cultural programme.