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Popular Things To Do | Other Things To Do Tips | All Tips (46) Ever been to Blackpool in England and had a donkey ride across the beach? This is the Moroccan equivalent. You can ride a camel over the river and up to the kasbah, led by a man in traditional blue Berber dress. All very tacky but ideal if you're on a family holiday with the kids and I suppose if it's your only chance to ride a camel then it's probably worth it. Leave a Comment
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We were welcomed by the population of this village and especially by vendors and kids. They know that tourists mean money, so they try to get dirhams from you : a few dirhams to go on the other side of the river on a donkey, a few more for the "visit" of the village (kids will follow you anyway ;-) etc. But who could blame them for that, especially when they're nice ;-) Leave a Comment
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Can you imagine that there is a house build on the side of this "mountain" ! Click on the pic to have it bigger. It seems so surreal. No wonder that many movies were filmed in this little village. The landscape is amazing, almost surreal in some places as if we were on the moon ! Leave a Comment
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the streets meander their way up the hill and you can go right to the top for an excellent view over the kabahs and houses that make up the fortified village of Ait Benhaddo - lovely photos across the river and the valley as well - built on an excellent vantage point!!
there was an old granary right on top - some ruins left but not much to see but the ruins provide a bit more background in your photos taken from the bottom looking up the hill! Leave a Comment Directions: the beautiful village of Ait Benhaddou
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Ait means - belonging to.
This Unesco protected Kasbah is well worth a visit, whether to recognise the place from some of the block buster films that have featured this place- Gladiator, Alexander, Jesus of Nazareth etc, to wander around the narrow lanes, seeing some typical Moroccan life, or to enjoy the short steep climb to the granary atop the Ksar, with its stunning views.
The number of families living here have steadily dwindled over the years, many have moved across the Oued Ounila - the dried up river bed, to a newer village.
Villagers living here eke out a living by charging a small donation to show people around their homes, presumably they make money when the film crews arrive, either working as extras, or charging if their homes are used.
There are a few artisans shops too, with paintings, jewellery, pyrography etc . Leave a Comment
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Ait Ben Haddou is one of the most preserved kasbahs in the Atlas region.
A lot of money is spent to rebuild much of the kasbahs in orginally state, as result being used for scenes in about 20 films.
Only a huge gate is is not part of the original design, but a film fantasy built for ''Romancing the stone", so that Michael Douglas could drive a plane through it.
Ait Ben Haddou was the decor for films like Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth and Gladiator.
So look at these films with other eyes, I will do. Leave a Comment Directions: 32 KM west of Ouarzazate
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Early morning we crossed the dry Oued Ounila to visit the kasbah.
During that walk you could see very well the high defensive walls with the cornertowers for reinforcment.
Entering the kasbah you can see, that it is in reality a town of many smaller kasbahs.
The walls and all the buildings are built in the same deep red earth. I always love to see buildings and towns in traditional earth architecture, because of the perfect harmony with their natural surroundings. Leave a Comment Directions: 32 KM west of Ouarzazate
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The last years the population of the kasbah diminished to a few families.
So if you wander around in the alleys of the kasbah, you will see no or only a few locals.
The first inhabitant, we saw, was this kid. After a curious look at us, the kid runs away.
While wandering around and feeling the ancient atmosphere, I could imagine to get involved in one of the filmscenes at any moment. Leave a Comment
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The red mud-architecture of the kasbah is wonderful to look at.
When you walk around in the town, it's worth to look up to the about 10M high fortified buildings.They are really beautifully decorated.
When we walked in the town and looked to the amazing architecture, we could very well imagine, why the town atrracted so many filmproducers. Leave a Comment Directions: 32 KM west of Ouarzazate
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When we arrived in Ait Ben Haddou, we started to sit on the terrrace of our hotel with a fantastic view at the Oued Ounila and the kasbah at the other side of the oued.
We tried to imagine the real history of the kasbah with its high defensive walls ''as a pre-saharan habitat'' during the time of long-distance-trade overland between the north and south through the Sahara.
The kasbah is in recent days more known as the decor for historical films like Lawrence of Arabia. Leave a Comment Directions: Take the side road 18 KM west from Ouarzazate.
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