Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 0661 34 83 88; Kasbah de Tissergat; admission Dh20; 8.30am-7pm)
Eight kilometres north
of town, below a spectacular viewing point over the
palmeraie,
follow 'Musée' signs to a
triple-storey mudbrick home that houses this fascinating desert-culture museum. In the tea
salon, you'll find key equipment for desert entertaining c 1930: a vintage ham radio, a
gramophone and tea glasses believed to shatter on contact with poison. Artefacts are
tagged with insightful explanations of their origins and purpose in French and English -
very helpful for explaining otherwise mysterious tattooing implements, the intriguing
birthing room and markedly different wedding garments from five local tribes.
Amezrou
Zagora's desert-crossroads culture can be glimpsed in the adjacent village (south of down-
GOOGLE MAP
work good-luck charms from African, Berber, Jewish and Muslim traditions
into their designs. In the 1930s, Amezrou had some 400 Jewish households, but almost all
had left town by the 1960s.
Ask an elderly resident to point you towards the tiny
synagogue
. The family opposite
will let you into the prayer room (Dh20 tip customary).
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Jebel Zagora
This spectacular mountain rises over the Oued Drâa - worth climbing for the views,
provided you have stamina, water and sunblock and set off in the early morning. The
round trip to Jebel Zagora takes about three hours on foot, or 45 minutes by car along the
piste
to the right beyond Camping de la Montagne. Halfway up are the faint ruins of an
11th-century
Almoravid fortress
, but the military installation at the summit is off-limits.
MOUNTAIN
Activities
Nearly every tourist in Zagora is heading for the Sahara and many plan their trips here.
That said, the desert gateway of M'Hamid is still a three-hour drive further south with the
undulating dunes of Erg Chigaga an additional (and expensive) 56km off-road southwest
from M'Hamid. When planning trips with local operators make sure you know where
your trip is headed. The closest dunes to Zagora are Erg Nakhla (12km northeast of town),
Tinfou (25km south beside the N9), El Messouira and Erg Lihoudi (both approximately
90km south near M'Hamid).
