Who among you has never seen Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Babel, Prince of Persia or The Mummy. Older productions filmed here include classics such as Jesus of Nazareth, Marco Polo and Sodom and Gomorrah. And take note, fans of Game of Thrones: this is the city that Daenerys Targaryan Released in the final episode of the third season.
All were filmed in a magnificent setting with an exotic name Ait Ben Haddou, a place that is much more than a film set: it is a ksar, a fortified village with a history stretching back almost a thousand years. The maze of narrow, crenellated towers visible today dates mainly from the seventeenth century. This ancient fortified town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Until well into the last century was a prosperous city that was used as a strategic stop for camel caravans in Trans-Saharan trade route from Sudan to Marrakech carrying gold, silver and slaves and returning with salt. There were private houses, from small palaces to modest one-bedroom dwellings, with common areas, a public square, a mosque, a caravanserai to accommodate those travelling with caravans, grain threshing areas outside the walls, a fortified barn at the top of the village and two cemeteries: one for Muslims and the other for Jews.
The arrival of the French brought advances in engineering, including the road over the Tizi n’Tichka pass, an impressive feat that zigzags up to 2260 metres before descending towards the pre-Saharan region, and so the caravan route linking Marrakech with Ourzazate ceased to exist and the population of Ait Benhaddou quickly declined and today only a handful of families live in the walled village
Through the dry bed of Oued Ounila, Ait ben Haddou looks magical, with ancient olive groves and palms, and fields forming a vivid green mosaic. You can see the kasbah and the wealthy families' houses, built around central courtyards and guarded by a tower at each corner. A family of storks nests on one of the lower towers, a sign of good luck. But as we approach the village, the illusion fades: up close, roofs have collapsed, walls are crumbling and arches have fallen. The buildings have deteriorated beyond the point of no return.
⇒ More information on our photography trip to Morocco: great landscapes south of the Atlas