Introduction to Tiznit

After the friends of iligh were officially welcomed by the governor we were shown around town. We saw the Mellah, the old Jewish artisan souk, now lovingly restored by Tiznit's architect Salima Nagji. Tiznit is an old oase with and ancient well and an historic mosque of which the minaret is unfortunately very tastelessly renovated. In the late nineteenth century it was walled and became a garrison town. Not in the last place because of the threatening power of Iligh. The French extended the barracks. By that time the power of Iligh was waning and the French used the garrison to suppress the Tazerwalt region. Tiznit also has a resident Sufi saint to whose brand new sanctuary and shrine we were taken. Our guide was Mohamed Ouhamou, the cultural officer of the city. His French wasn't great but the people who spoke Moroccan Arabic or Tashelhyt translated. For some unclear reason he attached himself to me. I suspected he thought I was going to desecrate the Sufi sanctuary, but I was only on the look out for a sketching opportunity. When you are with a group that is sort of aimlessly milling about it is very difficult to find a good moment. Anyway next we went to lunch. We drove a little way out of town in the direction of Guelmim till we came to a Afriquia petrol station. At the back was a great big resting area with an excellent traditional Moroccan family restaurant. I absolutely love those places, but when you are a non-Moroccan tourist, you rarely find them. No doubt we were taken there because of the female element in our group. As on cue the men gathered around one table and the women around the other. It was only remarked upon with the dessert and our guide gamely choose to switch to the women's table. Then I made this sketch of M Ouhamou.

Having a good laugh about it all

The situation surrounding our trip to Iligh, what Bert and I would find there and what we would do with it was so confusing we had a good laugh about it. We decided that whatever would happen, we would take it in our stride. Whatever bridge we'd encounter, we'd cross. Whatever we would find on the other side we would take on and not despair. In short: this was it. This was the story. This we would shape into a graphic novel. Well, supposedly one had to know beforehand what the purpose of the effort was and which part of the public we were aiming for. Initially the Jewish History Museum of Amsterdam had been interested in it as a possible part of educational projects they were doing to create more understanding of Jewish history among Muslim school-age children of Moroccan descent. Many kids with a Moroccan background believed that current Israeli politics was what being Jewish was all about (to say it politely). Anyway with this radical change of plan, we didn't know anymore who our public was and if we would have any at all. And the designers of my website whom I told our plans to also pressed the importance on me of making it fit tablet and smartphone. I did a little try-out before I left: it looks as confusedly scattered as I felt.

Bert's first visit to Iligh

At the end of 2014 Bert is in Amsterdam planning the itinerary for the next group she'll be taking to Morocco. She writes: 'I'm looking for interesting places to visit between Tafroute and Agadir. The name Tazerwalt pops up and on a photo on the internet I see for the first time the thrilling architecture of the stronghold of Iligh. There are also references of more Jews that move from Ifrane this time to Iligh. Surprise, surprise: in connection with Iligh the name of a seventeenth century Dutch admiral of the fleet Michiel De Ruyter is mentioned in a book about Morocco in Dutch I've just bought written by De Mas and Obdeijn. According to them Iligh is in that same century destroyed with the loss of everything. Obviously a new Iligh has arisen because when I visit Iligh in March 2015 the stronghold is there. Nobody home. It is Friday afternoon. Everything seems asleep. A village woman whom I speak to mentioned a name in connection with the stronghold: Aboudmiaa. Apparently he is not here but in Tiznit. In the Summer of 2015 I discover articles about the region Iligh is in: Tazerwalt or Tazeroualt. A second name pops up Paul Pascon a Moroccon researcher. He has written a book called 'Maison D'Iligh'. But I can't find the book anywhere. But 'Maison d'Iligh' does have a Facebook page. I contact the name attached: Aicha Aboudmiaa. We set a date to meet during my next trip with a group. But when we arrive the door stays closed. Eventually I meet Aicha in the Oases Tulip Hotel in Agadir.'

Bert's story

Bert Hogervorst has her own story about how she got interested in Iligh. She writes: 2013 I was struck by the prominent presence of Jewish people in the history of Morocco. I find it fascinating. Not only in the big cities but also in the south of Morocco where I visit the Ferkla Oases with Peti. The local museum gives a very elaborate presentation of Jewish life in the past. More Jewish traces in the Valley of the Draa river. The connection is with caravans and trade. I see old photographs on the Internet thanks to local man Kacimi. 2014 I'm in south Morocco in the fall with Peti and others. With some difficulty we reach Ifrane and visit there the synagogue. Ifrane has a surprisingly old Jewish settlement. There is also a Jewish cemetery next to the Oued (river). Later I find a reference about Ifrane in a blog of a Jewish American. The settlement is pre-Islamic. On the same trip we visit the Mellah of Tahala. After much asking around we find a very kind and knowledgeable young man. There is a small cemetery. The Souk is well preserved and many more buildings. It is a small ghost-town. We are shown a register of the Jewish families that used to live here. The young man brings the Souk and the Jewish community to life with stories from when he was a kid and the stories from his father and great-parents. These five Jewish families came to Tahala from Ifrane. He tells about the loss and sadness in the small town of Tahala when the Jews left. Apparently it were the Rabbys that left first. According to him there was a library with documents. Where was this? He waves vaguely towards the mountains. Would he have meant Iligh, a place I hadn't heard of at the time?