Middle Eastern Studies Program

The Department of Middle Eastern Studies is pleased to congratulate Mokhtar Bouba on the publication of his new book, titled, الغَلقَا – وصناعة الصورة في السياحة بالمغرب.. مقاربة أصلانية (Al-Ghalqa: Image Creation in Moroccan Tourism, An Indigenous Approach).  

The book presents a multidisciplinary approach that combines tourism studies, anthropology, history, and Indigenous/decolonial methodologies to critically examine the creation and negotiation of "image" in Saharan tourism in southeastern Morocco.

It explores the romanticized portrayals of the Sahara, historically crafted by European travelers, scholars, and the tourism industry, that have become dominant, while highlighting how Amazigh communities (Irehalen) actively contest and reinterpret these representations through ongoing practices of "image negotiation."

At its core, the book engages three key concepts: image-making, image negotiation, and Indigenous methodologies, framing the Sahara not as a passive backdrop but as a dynamic site of cultural struggle, creativity, and power.

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