NOMADETRIPA SAHARAN FIELD GUIDE
An illustrative collage of dunes, palms and earthen architecture, framed by torn paper

M’Hamid El Ghizlane · Morocco

Where the desert
holds its stories.

A field guide to the places, people and
living heritage of the Sahara.

Explore the archive
LandPeopleTraditionsA living desert
Follow the stories

Journey further

Every place opens a story.

Follow a landscape into its details.
Find the connections between place,
memory and everyday life.

Warm light tracing Saharan dune ridges

The dunes

Landscape, light & time

Illustrative preview of palms, gardens and a natural water channel

The oasis

Water, life & community

An earthen settlement in southern Morocco

The ksour

Earthen walls, living heritage

From the journal

Latest field notes.

Read the landscape, one story at a time.
Research editions · Local review pending.

Fields and palms in the M’Hamid oasis, photographed in 2009; landscape context, not a performance

Field note 09 / Music & poetry

Music and Oral Poetry in M’Hamid: Rokba, Rasma and Shared Memory

Rokba, Rasma and shared memory, with documented accounts and thoughtful ways to listen.

Photo: Herc83 / CC BY-SA 3.0 · M’Hamid oasis, 2009. Cropped; not a performance photograph. Full credit in article.

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Grain fields and palms in the M’Hamid oasis, photographed in March 2009.

Field note 08 / People & living heritage

People & Living Heritage of M’Hamid

Arab and Amazigh cultural heritage through tea, hospitality, poetry, music, shared food and everyday oasis life.

Photo: Herc83 / CC BY-SA 3.0 · M’Hamid oasis, 2009. Cropped; landscape context only. Full credit in article.

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Dunes, scattered vegetation and flatter ground near M’Hamid in June 2009

Field note 07 / Dunes & land

Reading the Desert Around M’Hamid: Dunes, Stony Ground and Dry Riverbeds

Dunes, stony ground and riverbeds: a closer reading of the landscape around M’Hamid.

Photo: diego_cue / CC BY-SA 3.0 · Near M’Hamid, 2009. Cropped; full credit in article.

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A teapot and glass on a tray in southern Morocco; exact location unspecified

Field note 06 / Food & tea

Tea in M’Hamid: Hospitality, Preparation and Shared Time

Hospitality, preparation and the time spent around a tea tray.

Photo: Oukhaie / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Southern Morocco, 2018; exact location unspecified. Cropped; full credit in article.

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People beside an irrigation conduit in the M’Hamid oasis in March 2009

Field note 05 / Oasis

Life in the M’Hamid Oasis: Water, Gardens and Everyday Work

Water, palm gardens and farming work, read through dated research and historical photographs.

Photo: Historical photograph · Herc83 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped; full credits in article

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Fields in the wider M’Hamid oasis in 2009; context photograph, not identified as Ouled Youssef ksar

Field note 04 / Heritage

Ouled Youssef: An Earthen Ksar in the M’Hamid Oasis

A named ksar in the M’Hamid oasis, read through its gates, building knowledge and restoration records.

Photo: Oasis context only · Herc83 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped; full credits in article

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Palms, cultivated plots and an irrigation channel at Agdz oasis, photographed by Mohamed Rharnati in April 2018

Field note 03 / Valley

The Draa Valley: Following the River to M’Hamid

A thread of water, palm groves and settlements through the landscape.

Photo: Mohamed Rharnati · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped; full credits in article

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Early morning light across an Erg Chegaga dune, photographed by NikbarteMedia in November 2018

Field note 02 / Dunes

Erg Chegaga: Beyond M’Hamid

Shifting sand, changing light, and a horizon that invites a closer look.

Photo: NikbarteMedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped; full credits in article

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A broad desert landscape near M’Hamid, photographed by Richard Allaway in October 2019

Field note 01 / Village

M’Hamid El Ghizlane: An Introduction

Our starting point, between the palm groves and the open desert.

Photo: Richard Allaway · CC BY 2.0 · Cropped; full credits in article

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The atlas

Follow a place
into its world.

A settlement leads to a river.
A river leads to an oasis.
A place becomes a story.

Illustrated field map of M’Hamid, the Draa Valley and Erg Chegaga; decorative and not to scale

An illustrative atlas · Not to scale

Our starting point

M’Hamid El Ghizlane

Begin with a settlement, then follow its connections to the palms, the desert and the people who call this region home.

A living archive

Collected with curiosity.
Shared with care.

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