Zaliche tiles start out as a simple mixture of clay and water, but after several days of painstaking work, artisans chisel and transform them into a complex work of art. Compared to other popular tiles, Zaliche tiles aren't cheap. A square foot can cost $50, while ceramic subway tiles might only cost around 15 cents. But this art form relies on the skilled artisans that make each tile by hand. Like Ahmed Almagari, who has been making Zaliche tiles for 54 years.
So how are Zaliche tiles made? And is this what makes them so expensive? While perfection is often valued, it's the imperfect qualities of Zalige that make the tiles so unique.
Artisans in Morocco have been hand-making Zalige tiles for centuries. Today, they continue this tradition in the city of Fez. But before artisans at Arabesque can create tiles, they first need to form the clay. Fez has remained a center for Zalige partly because of these rocks. They're considered some of the best materials in the region for making high-quality clay.
This clay is believed to be more durable than some clays found further south, and it can withstand very high temperatures once fired. First, an artisan tosses the rocks into a pit in the ground called a zuba. They fill the zuba with water and leave the rocks to soften for a day.
Then, in one of many tedious stages to come, an artisan kneads the clay using their hands and feet to make it more malleable. After the clay has fermented for a day, a different artisan has the task of molding it into the proper shape. The artisan places the clay into a mold, smoothing it over with one hand so the surface is flat.
For every 10 kilograms of clay, artisans can make over 10 square feet or about one meter of tiles. After molding hundreds of tiles, they leave the clay to dry under the sun. The next stage is vital to ensuring the tiles will remain intact.
We take a knife and cut it into pieces. We cut it into pieces. We cut it into pieces. Hitting the clay repeatedly also removes air bubbles. If the air isn't removed, the tile may break when an artisan later tries to chisel it.
Once each piece is perfectly square, the tiles dry again under the sun. Finally, it's time for the clay to head to the kiln. Precision is critical at this stage, which is why just one person is trusted to lead the job. When we bring the car to the station, we put it in the brake.
We put it in the brake. This is the brake. We have a special charger for this.
When we see it, we charge the brake. This is the special charger. It's for his children.
Abdelwahed glazes the tiles and then they're fired for a second time. This second firing ensures the color won't fade. It also gives the liege tiles one of their most distinct features. Heat doesn't circulate evenly in a traditional Moroccan kiln, which is why each tile, even those with the same color glaze, will have a slightly different shade. But these tiles are just getting started.
After glazing, the tiles move on to the cutting stage, where artisans trace the small shapes they'll later carve. Chiseling the tiles requires total concentration. Artisans must carve each piece as cleanly as possible.
Otherwise, it may not fit properly into the final design. How well and efficiently this is done depends on the expertise of the artisan and a tool known as the menkaush. It's a combination of a hammer and an axe.
Because they're hand chiseled, no two Zalige tiles will look exactly the same. It's the prime feature that distinguishes Zalige from mass-produced tiles that are notably uniform in color, shape, and texture. Arabesque first creates designs on the computer.
Then Ahmed uses a paper printout as a guide to assemble the final design on the floor. Ahmed inserts each individual tile by hand, like a puzzle piece, making sure every tile seamlessly fits next to its neighbor. You see the eyes, the hands, the senses, your mind, all your senses work with what you are working with. After 100,000 pieces, you can build a computer.
After 200,000 pieces, you can build a computer. The final price of a mosaic like this is the sum of several factors, including the number of pieces and their shape. This is the average, normal 36 pieces.
The shape of it is very square, so the price of it is very affordable. Unlike if we go here, which is made of stars and cross, there are 36 pieces, so 36 pieces here also, but the price of this is four times the price of the other one because of the shape. Adil also considers the size of the tiles within a design.
Smaller pieces are not as simple to chisel by hand. The smaller the tiles, the more expensive the design will be. There are areas where you have a square foot that can have 64 pieces, 128 pieces, 360 pieces versus 36 pieces.
So if you have one that costs $10 per square foot, the other one might cost 10 times $100 per square foot. The price increases further for more complex designs. This tile has an interlace. The interlace is automatically double the price.
So if you have a $10 square foot, with the interlace it's $20. Centuries ago, Zaliche tiles were reserved for royal palaces. Today, they've become synonymous with Moroccan design. You'll find them covering walls, floors, and fountains across Fez. When we talk about Morocco and Moroccan architecture, the first thing that comes to mind is Zalige.
But its influence goes beyond Morocco. Demand has grown in the U.S., especially in recent years, as notable designers like Kelly Wurzler incorporate Zalige into their own work. But the way some are using the tiles is different. Rather than mosaics, they're creating monochromatic backsplashes.
Part of the appeal of using just one color of Zalij is that it appears ombre when multiple tiles come together, thanks to their subtle variation in shade. But while Zalij becomes more popular overseas, Adil struggles to find young people locally he can trust with the trade. This is more of a living art, but it's also a dying tradition. Nowadays, people are not patient as much as before. If you look at the people who used to work for in this trade, they are very calm, they are very peaceful, they have inner peace.
Nowadays we find extreme hardship to train and adopt people who can carry this kind of tradition as a Zilij artisans. Any work that is done by a person should be given his right. Any work that a person does, should be given his right.
If a person wants to own something, he should give it his right and his time. But he needs to have skills. And with his life, he should work and learn. He should not be a teacher who is always learning.
His whole life is always learning. The quality of Zalige depends on the hand that makes it. Preserving it means finding more artisans like Ahmed, willing to spend decades learning the craft behind this signature Moroccan design.