AMAZIGH ROOTS
In Tamazight, the language of Morocco’s Amazigh people, TIZI means “mountain pass,” a place of passage, connection, and discovery.
That idea is at the heart of who we are. TIZI was created as a meeting place between old and new, local knowledge and global experience, tradition and possibility.
Rooted in Aït Ben Haddou, we look to the landscape, architecture, food, craftsmanship, and people of southern Morocco to shape everything we do.
Our ambition is not to reinvent our home, but to grow alongside it, creating thoughtful hospitality that welcomes the world while remaining deeply connected to home.
TIZI is a passage into Morocco.
the Founders
TIZI is their expression an idea, where the old world and the new can meet with respect, curiosity and a shared sense of possibility.
Jamal comes from one of the original families of the Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou, where his family has lived for generations. A longtime local guide and owner of a rug cooperative, he has watched the village evolve as more of the world discovers it. His connection to its people, traditions and landscape carries with it a responsibility: to help Aït Ben Haddou grow while preserving the character and heritage that make it extraordinary.
Eric’s path to TIZI began decades earlier. Raised in Morocco, he later studied anthropology and built a career in hospitality and hotel development across the United States and Colombia. His work has been shaped by a belief that thoughtful hospitality can create opportunity while remaining deeply connected to the communities and cultures around it.
Years later, Eric returned to Morocco on a solo journey and found himself back in Aït Ben Haddou, where he met Jamal and the two began their journey.
Jamal El Kachir
Eric Hamblett
Ancient crossroads
Rising nearly 1,300 meters above sea level in the Anti-Atlas Mountains, Aït Ben Haddou has stood for centuries at the crossroads of cultures and continents.
Its earthen ksar grew along the great trans-Saharan caravan routes connecting Timbuktu and West Africa with Morocco’s Atlantic coast. Merchants and travelers carried not only gold, salt, textiles, and spices, but ideas and traditions.
Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Aït Ben Haddou later found a new role on the world stage through cinema, from Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator to Game of Thrones and, most recently, The Odyssey.
Today, its ancient passageways, red-earth architecture, snow-capped mountain backdrop remain a place shaped by centuries of movement, yet somehow frozen in time.
TIZI Pillars
Local Craftsmanship
Natural Materials
Supporting Communities
