The Alphabet of Craft

Zellige is the cut-tile mosaic. Small pieces of glazed terracotta — chipped by hand into geometric shapes — are assembled face-down on a flat surface to create patterns of extraordinary complexity. The tiles come from Fes. The colours — white, black, green, blue, yellow, brown — come from mineral oxides in the glaze. A single panel can contain thousands of pieces.

Tadelakt is the polished lime plaster. Mixed from Marrakech limestone, applied in layers, and burnished with a river stone until it shines, then sealed with olive oil soap. The result is a waterproof surface with a deep, warm lustre. It lines hammams, fountains, and the interiors of riads. No two surfaces are identical — the polish varies with the hand.

Gebs is carved plaster. Wet plaster is applied to walls and carved while still soft — a race against drying time. The patterns are arabesques, geometric interlaces, and calligraphic inscriptions. Fes and Marrakech have distinct gebs traditions — Fes favours denser, more intricate carving. The material is fragile and requires periodic restoration.

Bejmat is the rectangular floor tile — unglazed terracotta in its traditional form, laid in herringbone or running bond patterns. The warm orange-red colour comes from the local clay. Bejmat floors appear in every riad, mosque, and palace. The tiles absorb and release heat slowly, contributing to passive temperature regulation.

Zouak is painted wood — ceilings, doors, shutters, and furniture decorated with geometric and floral patterns in vivid colour. The paint is traditionally tempera on cedar. The most spectacular zouak ceilings are in the palaces and madrasas of Fes — layers of painted cedar beams creating three-dimensional geometric compositions overhead.

Copper, brass, leather, wool, silk, stone — each material has its guild, its souk, its regional centre, and its master craftsmen. The alphabet is finite. The combinations are infinite. Every Moroccan building is a sentence written in these materials.

Explore the full interactive module — with the full material inventory, regional sourcing, and the guild system mapped — at Dancing with Lions: https://www.dancingwiththelions.com/data/alphabet-of-craft