What to see in Ait Ben Haddou? The Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou is a fortress located in the south of Morocco. It hides a dreamlike landscape protected by mountain ranges and oasis covered with palm groves. It is the point that precedes the infinite desert of the Sahara wich is the largest in the world.
This kasbah was built to defend the harvest and the palm groves that grew along the rivers. Rectangular walled enclosures with four corner towers, inside which tiny houses, patios and alleys were piled up.
Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, the gate to Sahara
Ait Ben Haddou, is at 30 kilometers from Ouarzazate on the road that starts in Marrakech. This Ksar is one of the best preserved sites in the country thanks to many restorations and also to the protection conferred by UNESCO in 1987 when it was declared a World Heritage Site.
What to see in Ait Ben Haddou? Its Berber architecture shows its labyrinths of cobbled alleys and narrow houses which are accessed by crossing the Ounila river on the back of a mule or on foot.
Previously, this ksar was a gateway to and from the desert through which old caravans of nomads often crossed with camels laden with exotic products.
The magic of cinema studios in Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah
AIT ben Haddou has been the setting for the filming of many films such as :
– The jewel of the Nile
– Sodoma and Gomorra
– Gladiator and some scenes from the mythical Lawrence of Arabia.
Its fame may endure thanks to the seventh art, but the truth is that its beauty remains unquestionable.
Ait Ben Haddou is a clear example of the architecture of southern Morocco, whose history dates back almost a thousand years.
Thousands of people live in this fortified city that exhibited small palaces, a public square, a mosque, an inn for nomads, a granary in the upper part of the town and two cemeteries, one Muslim and other Jewish.
