Aït Benhaddou and Ouarzazate – A Film Lover’s Atlas Mountain Dream
Located on a barren plateau in the High Atlas Mountains, Ouarzazate is more akin to desert then mountain. Yet in that desolate land, life persists… even thrives in some ways. Over the 20th century this region of Morocco was a hub for the film industry and as the 21st dawned the region began to appear on the radar of the average tourist, mostly as a day trip from Marrakesh or as part of a guided excursion to the desert. Yet beyond the the gaze of Hollywood lies a land steeped in culture, from the ancient Berbers to the men and women who remain in this isolated part of the country.
Table of Contents
- Exploring The Atlas Mountains From Marrakesh (Forêt Toufliht and the Tizi n’Tichka Pass)
- Exploring Aït Benhaddou
- Exploring Ouarzazate
- Other Attractions Nearby
- Conclusion
Exploring The Atlas Mountains From Marrakesh (Forêt Toufliht and the Tizi n’Tichka Pass)
Like most tourists, I passed though a mountain pass from Marrakesh. The winding road is home to many hairpin turns as well as a few vistas offering phenomenal views of the landscape.
Along the way you will find a number of Cafe’s that offer both a view of the landscape and a chance to grab a bite to eat or something to drink. I was especially glad to see that they had my paprika chips!
Our stop was at the Tizi Ait Barka at the entrance of the Forêt Toufliht. This forested landscape is a great releif from the more arid one around Marrakesh and Ouarzazate. Enjoy views of the landscape and be on your way!
After passing though a more lush section of tree covered mountains, the road will become more arduous with tight hairpin turns up and down the next mountains and valleys. It is a harsh landscape and at certain points you will be able to observe how little life exists in these parts. Welcome to the Tizi n’Tichka pass, its importance wil be discussed later in the Ait Ben Haddou section!
The last sections of the road towards Ouarzazate transforms into an almost martian terrain where the grey rock gives way to orange coloured hills and small settlements along the road. Anyhow enjoy the drive!
Exploring Aït Benhaddou
Along the roadway to Ouarzazate you will find a host of secondary roads traversing the landscape. One of these leads to Telouet the famous Kasbah of the Traitor (one belonging to the Pasha of Marrakech). You will want to take the exit belonging to Aït Benhaddou. In the distance you will see its collection of mud brick buildings rise from the landscape.
Aït Benhaddou (Berber ⴰⵢⵜ ⴱⴻⵏⵃⴰⴷⴷⵓ) has a particularly descriptive name. One thing it to remember is that the name of the settlement will tell you much about its inhabitants. Aït is a reference to the tribal group that is settled in town, while the name Ben haddou is their family name. In Arabic Ben is a reference to a son while , as Haddou is a reference to a chief. Thus Aït Benhaddou roughly translates to the Ksar of the son of the chief, meaning it was most likely founded by the son of a chief. A Ksar for its part is a a fortified village composed of Kasbah’s or fortified mud tower homes.
Keep in mind that these Ksar’s are a traditional habitation of the Berbers that predate the time of the Islamic conquest. As such this is an authentic glimpse into traditional Berber culture.
You will park in the new town, where you will be able to take a tour of the old city, payed after the tour so make sure to have cash on you if possible. At peak time it can be very busy so you may have to book in advance (or so I am told, I was there during the COVID 19 pandemic so it was quasi deserted). Today most of the villagers have vacated the old city and live on this bank of the river. Included below is a picture of their mosque with a birds nest on top.
A passage will lead you from the new town across the old riverbed. Keep in mind the bridge is actually used to exit the site.
This riverbed fills up sometime in the spring if there is enough runoff from rain in the mountains. Unfortunately it had not rained in several years at the time of my visit. I have been told however that the riverbed can sustain high water deaths at its peak.
In this area you will find some irrigation canals along with some meager harvests.
Looking at the riverbed itself, you will find an interesting white marks. This is due to the fact that the water brought down from the mountains is salty due to the minerals in washes down with it. Thus due to its salinity this water would not be of any particular use, even if it flowed though the riverbed more regularly.
From the riverbed you will have a magnificent view of the complex, probably at its peak during sunset where it shines bright red. The nearest set of gates was built for Lawrence of Arabia and is the only movie set piece that has not been torn down in the interest of preserving the ancient site.
The entrance to the site can be found by pathway past the farmers fields in behind the village. Here you will find the primary crop, olives!
Of course this backway has a less iconic view but still gives a great panorama of the site and its many structures!
At the entrance of the site you will likely see villagers at work.
You will enter though the gate and be greeted with the view of endless stacked homes rising up towards the main keep.
In the walls you will find many Berber symbols. Do note that this village is UNESCO inscribed and the inhabitants are very proud. They no longer live here but have maintained it for all to see!
From here you will begin your ascent towards the main watchtower. On your way you will find many merchants, they are much more relaxed then in Marrakesh and you will not feel hassled. The people here are very cool and since so many movie stars have been here to shoot films they will have lots of stories and pictures from their time as extras on sets. They will love to tell you about it, in fact pretty much everyone here has been a movie extra at some point!
Over twenty movies heve been filmed in town! Among the films recorded here are Sodom and Gomorrah (1962), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), Time Bandits (1981), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005) as well as Prince of Persia (2010). As for television, some scenes from Game of Thrones have also been filmed on location.
The complex maze of streets will even take you through some dark underground passages.
The smooth earthen walls of the inter spaced Kasbahs jutting out in every direction give this section of the village a unique feel.
If you wish you can stop off and see a demonstration and artwork made with traditional Berber writing technique. In the days of old the Berbers had a way of writing secret messages with “invisible” ink. This ink would reveal itself when the paper it was written on was put under a hear source. Although no longer used for writing, this technique is now used to make nice souvenirs.
When you reach the top of the complex you will have a fantastic view of the desert landscape. This is the lookout tower location and is surrounded by a final bastion wall.
In the corners of the wall you will find ruined towers that make for fantastic lookout points.
Or to take a picture of yourself away from the crowds. This dork below is me!
At the center of this bastion is the lookout tower itself.
From this vantage point you will have a great look at the town below. Keep your eyes pealed for a mosque, a granary, a public square, a Fondouk (a caravanserai), and the many Kasbahs. The landscape you see before you belongs to the Ounila Valley.
You will also usually find some camels hanging around for tourist pictures if you are into that sort of thing.
This specific ksar has been fortified since the 11th century (Almoravid period) but none of the building found today predate the 17th century. Yet the Berbers have always built in this way thus preserving the Berber influence.
The fortification of the town mark its importance in guarding the nearby Tizi n’Tichka pass, one of few routes across the atlas mountains along one of the main trans-Saharan trade routes.
On your way down you will come across a small bazaar with all sorts of good if that is your sort of thing.
Finally you will cross a bridge over the runoff river bed for a view of the complex.
Once across I found a variety of beautiful old doors and windows with Jewish symbols. Morocco once had a large population of Jews, including here. Their architecture for their home and synagogues consisted of elaborate wood panels carved, decorated and painted with both Moroccan and Hebrew motifs.
At the end of your journey you will find the town restaurant looking out at the complex. Not only is the view fantastic but the food delicious.
Serving traditional Moroccan fare, you can order a three course meal and delicious local orange juice for a reasonable price. I took a chicken tagline with a couscous fruit salad on the side along with a Harira soup, a staple of Moroccan cuisine.
Exploring Ouarzazate
Pulling into Ouarzazata, you will come across miles and miles of stupid land. Some leased and in the process of shooting and others shuttered. It was an odd sight to see faux ancient Egyptian paraphernalia protruding from the landscape but it really does get you in the mood to explore this film-city. For example you can visit the home of Atlas studios if you so desire!
Most of the town is modern, with a few hotels and contemporary amenities that you would expect to find in a major city. As such proceed to the Film Museum where you will find the old Ksar across the street. Ouarzazate has often been called the “door of the desert” due to its geographical location. This is is often a staging point for Moroccan holiday goers seeking a desert experience. Like Ben Ait Haddou, this towns is made of of Berber speaking people. This city gained its importance due to the fact that its Kasbah controlled a hill the confluence of several river valleys – including the Draa and the Dadès. The kasbah was contructed in the 17th century by the Imzwarn, a powerfull local familly.
You will enter the museum via a pastiche gate, aiming to imitate ancient Egypt. The inside is a whole collection of such objects used on movies shot in the area in the last decades. The movie business is a major employer here!
When you enter though the gates you will come across a sprawling collection of buildings that once served as sets. You will see a lot of overlap with what films was shot at Ait Ben Haddou including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), The Living Daylights (1987), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Kundun (1997), Legionnaire (1998), Hanna (2011), The Hills Have Eyes (2006), and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011) along with Game of Thrones.
In the central building you will find the replica of a European courtyard.
As well as my favorite item, a giant menorah!
Further down the hall you will find a faux imperial Roman throne room that was used for a series of religious movies from 1994-2003 (such as Joseph 1999).
With its very own basement dungeon!
Outside of this building you will find the replica of a plane. There are also some boats nearby as well as a cave to explore.
Once of my favorite spots is an “eastern palace” with its very own torture chamber/dungeon.
My favorite area though is a faux Italian villa with a view of the Kasbah Taourirt in the distance.
In one of the buildings you will find donated cinema equipment, outdated but still worth a look.
You will also find costumes used in films.
Here are a few more pictures of an area I found interesting.
After finishing in the museum, cross the street and explore the Kasbag Taourirt (the only remaining portion of the old caravan town). For centuries this was a stopping point for African traders shipping their goods north to Europe. The town had a certain importance to it during the Saadi Sultanate, yet would really take off during the colonial era.
Under french rule Taourirt (Not to be confused with the city of the same name) reached its peak while Ouarzazate expanded. It was now a garrison town, administrative center and customs post, and with these responsibilities came employment and the services required to support it.
The Kasbah for its part was taken over and expanded by the Glaoui family during the 19th century. They are primarily responsible for the sprawling complex you see today. A Glaoui family, a man named Thami El Glaoui, was the pasha of Marrakesh during the French colonial period. After the fall of the French protectorate the building was abandoned and fell into ruin, becoming occupied by beggars. It is now a museum and film set!
Although the exterior is simple some of the interiors are beautifully decorated with carved wood ceilings.
Other Attractions Nearby
Tifoultoute
For those of you interested, the nearby town of Tifoultoute has an impressive kasbah to rival that of Aït Ben haddou.
Conclusion
I hope that you enjoy a magnificent trip out to the desertic plateau of the High Atlas Mountains. From Ouarzazate, the Sahara stretches out and laps at the most remote regions of the county. There is much to see in this region but the terrain is harsh and unforgiving. For those who make it, there are endless possibilities. Make this your start too a desert exploration if at all possible, you wont regret it.
