Hotel Le Zat

Top film location

by deeper_blue

Ouarzazate is about 100 miles from the Sahara, a good spot to unwind in.
3 top films have been shot here, Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and Star Wars in the magnificent backdrop of the Atlas Mountains.

The High Atlas

by Beefy_SAFC

Right, this is where little Beefy (1st picture) does his facts and figures bit to keep our American friends happy. The Atlas Mountains (behind him) along with the Alps were created by the collision of the Africa and Europe, a process which is still continuing and will in millions of years result in the formation of a massive mountain range replacing the Mediterranean Sea (He's not a geology geek and that is taken from some random website when looking up Morocco - so don't ask anymore).

The highest point is Djebel Toubkal at 4,167 m in height (as it is over 2,500 m, altittude sickness warnings apply) and is a popular trekking and climbing peak. The second photo is the road to Marrakesh from Tizi n' Tichka Pass (the main road from Ouarzazate and further on, Zagora) at 2,260 m and yes, that is a bendy road you have to take care on (above). It's height means snow can regularly close the road in the winter (there was already snow on the mountain tops in late October) and the Moroccan police will not hesitate to close the road.

One other thing - looking down to the left from where the below picture is taken is not for the faint hearted if you're afraid of heights!!!

Storks - the giant stork nest of Taourirt!

by angiebabe

Just as the south of Spain its a familiar sight to see storks flying over head and their huge nests perched up on anything high and out of the way - powerpoles, mosques, castle ruins - and here at Taourirt theres a whopper that really stands out!

They migrate around with the seasons and come to Morocco when its time for a new season of stork babies! So often you will catch sight of smaller stork heads appearing from the bottom of the nest!

Makes for interesting photos....

Ouarzazate and the South Oasis Region

by amsterdam_vallon

"About Ouarzazate"

Ouarzazate, the " door of the desert ", was initially a garrison town. Its strategic position at the crossroads of the roads of Marrakech and Agadir, of the South and the East, decided its creation into 1928. It was to be an important place in the vast plan of pacification which had set up the Lyautey General.

City in Morocco with 40,000 inhabitants.

Ouarzazate is situated in the interior of the country, south of the High Atlas mountains, at an elevation of 1,135 metres.

Ouarzazate has been formed to become the centre of Sahara tourism, and the place has many luxury hotels. Ouarzazate has also served as the centre of international film makers, when shooting desert and semidesert scenes. Among famous films shot around Ouarzazate we find The Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia and The Sheltering Sky. Ouarzazate has an international airport.

HISTORY
19th century: The Glaoui family gets control of the region, and settles in the Taourirt kasbah.
1928: Ouarzazate is established as a French garrison and administrative centre, right north of Taourirt.


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"At the discovery of Ouarzazate and the South Oasis"

The Draa Valley, is stretch from Ouarzazate in the south and to the Tafilalt Valley, south of Er-Rachidia are the two axes to join the Sahara.

Those two valley are join together by the Dades Valley who stretch on a desertic plateau for 120 km and at an altitude of 1 000 to 1 500m.

A good week is necessary to visit this region, taste the charm of the Oasis and visit some of the remarquable Ksour.

The Region in a glimpse:
Ait Benhadou -3-
Boulmane du Dades -11-
El-Kelaa M'Gouna -10-
Erfoud -21-
Er-Rachidia -19-
Dades Gorges -12-
Todra Gorges -14-
Ziz Gorges -18-
Goulmina -16-
Jbel Sarhro -3-
Taourit Kasbah -2-
Merzouga -24-
Mhamid -8-
Midelt -17-
Ouarzazate -1-
Tafilfalt Palm Groove -22-
Rissani -23-
Skoura -9-
Meski Blue Source -20-
Tamegroute -7-
Tamttatouchte -15-
Tinerhir -13-
Draa Valley -5-
Zagora -6-

"The Kasbah"

Traditional fortress and palace of towns in pre-colonial North Africa.

The kasbah served as the seat of the local ruler, or feudal master, as well as the hiding place of the local population during attacks. The kasbah was constructed for defence, with high walls and with small or no windows at all. Often kasbahs exploited the terrain to make them easier to defend: they were situated on hill tops or near the approach to harbours.

Up until modern times all villages had each their kasbah, and the existence of a kasbah was a prerequisite for the survival of the village. In some areas, villages could be consisting of several kasbahs, this often expressing the wealth of individual families.

Kasbahs survived well into the time of colonization which started jin 1830 in northern Algeria, and finishing more than 100 years later in the Moroccan mountains.