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30 km out of Ouarzazate towards Marrakech is the ksar - fortified village - of Ait Benhaddou. This impressive conglomeration of kasbahs and granary has since been made a unesco heritage site and has been a site used for some well known movies such as Gladiator and Laurence of Arabia.
Several families still live within the ksar.
10 dirham entry fee and the village can be explored without a guide. There is a house that charges 5 dirham entry to see where Gladiator had been made but there didnt really seem to be anything of obvious to the movie but provides further viewing into a residential area behind closed doors.
you can wander your way up the lanes and stairways up to the old granary on top of the hill for excellent views and photos over the village and valleys beyond. Leave a Comment Address: Ait BenhaddouDirections: 30 km northwest of ouarzazate, follow the signs turning off to the right. If without your own transport then catch a grande taxi from Ouarzazate and get off at the turn off and its about a 20-30 min walk.
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Telouet was one of the principle residences of the Glaoui pasha of Marrakech and from where he ruled over much of the High Atlas until his family was exiled in 1956 when King Hassan regained his throne.
But unlike the Taourirt kasbah at Ouarzazate this kasbah has not been maintained nor restored and is gradually deteriorating and with one but stunning building remaining accessible i would strongly recommend visiting this beautiful kasbah while you can.
The area is also beautiful with the high atlas mountains surrounding the area and its fertile and colourful valleys and berber villages.
Also highly recommend reading the book Lord of the Atlas by Gavin Maxwell, an excellent source of information on the history and lives of the Glaoui rulers, the politics of the era and some fascinating old photos of people and places. Leave a Comment Address: TelouetDirections: you can park in the village centre and walk across the fields or drive through town and take the turn off signposting the Maison Nomade Berbere carpet shop&Lion D'or auberge. There is always a custodian nearby with a key to let you in.
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Ouarzazates only historic building this housed the Glaoui rulers of southern morocco. Built in the 18th century and renovated in the 19th century and lived in by the large Glaoui family and their servants until thrown over by Hassan in the 1940s.
As with the Glaoui palace at Telouet the palace is ornately decorated with floral and geometric plasterwork and colourfully painted wooden ceilings and well worth visiting. Leave a Comment Address: road out of Ouarzazate towards the Dades valleyPhone: 0021244882485Directions: opposite the craft centre on the road out of ouarzazate to the Dades valley
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I had run around trying to see everything there was to see available around the Taourirt kasbah and when i asked the guy sitting at the entrance he said yes id seen everything and then asked if id been up 'that way' pointing to another set of stairs but with a sign 'administration'.
and what a precious bonus that i might have had the misfortune of missing!! the most amazing views around the valley, the blue water of the barrage, and around the surrounding ksar/old town area!! stunning!!
all these visits to Ouarzazate and i had no idea what beautiful views to be seen from here!!
so dont miss this unless you must!! Leave a Comment
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42 km from Ouarzazate is the town of Skoura surrounded by palm groves. A number of kasbahs can be seen in amongst the palms from the main road - Ben Morro is right on the main road and has been renovated and converted into a hotel and restaurant.
Across the river bed is the largest, the Amerhildil, once also owned by the Glaouis and which can be visited for a low entry fee of about 5-10 dirham and a tour guide can show you around inside the kasbah and explain the history and how up to 4 families usually lived within the complex.
Other kasbahs nearby are no longer lived in or as in the Ait Abou, from 1863, its outbuildings have been turned into a gite.
Market day at Skoura is on Mondays which gives a touristique bonus! Leave a Comment Address: outskirts of Skoura, 42 km from OuarzazateDirections: Piste access roads cross the river from the main road and run through the palm groves. If going by public transport buses pass from Ouarzazate or Tinerhr.
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One of the few sites in Morocco that Unesco has got involved with, the Taourirt kasbah here in Ouarzazate is a sprawling kasbah that provided additional housing for the Glaoui, Lords of the Atlas and Southern Morocco, with their main base at their main headquarters in the safety of the valley of Telouet - in all the grandeur and opulence that the Glaoui family had a reputation for demanding.
This kasbah had been deteriorating but with the assistance of Unesco parts of it have been saved and renovated in time, unlike the even more beautifully and opulently decorated Kasbah at Telouet.
Though there is only one room remaining that one can get an idea of how heavily decorated the Lords living rooms were it is interesting to see the use of beautiful colours and artwork on the ceilings and around the room in this one room and to compare with other palaces and kasbahs that can also be visited around Morocco. Leave a Comment
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Its rather flat stoney unimpressive terrain along the 10 km piste road from Ouarzazate to Fint other than the hills that surround the route and a dam with some vegetation providing colour and birdlife to the picture.
But driving back down the gradual decline of the terrain are some nice views of Ouarzazate in the distance in amongst the hills and mountains that surround the city. Leave a Comment
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A can't miss!!!
Situated in the High Atlas Mountains of southern Morocco the medieval fortress of Ait Benhaddou guarded the trading route to Timbuktu. Today the once thriving kasbah is home to a mere handful of inhabitants though plans are afoot to utilise the abandoned town as a means of alleviating Morocco?s severe housing shortage. Built entirely of baked sand the fortresses remain cool even in the searing afternoon heat of the desert, the earthen walls acting as great insulators. The roofs are made of a bitter willow, the taste of which repels insects. Every door and window in every building has a purpose, be it spiritual, aesthetic or practical. It is incredible to think that this is a town built without architects, without blueprints, without a grand design.
Above all Ait Benhaddou is remarkably beautiful; rarely do man made structures compliment their surroundings so perfectly. It is little wonder that Hollywood has chosen to make over 20 movies in the vicinity, amongst them the multi award winning ?Lawrence of Arabia? and ?Gladiator?. In recognition of its magnificence and its place in both modern and ancient history the site was recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Leave a Comment
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You will pass trought the High Atlas when driving to Ouarzazate.
On the picture :
Jbel Bou Ourioul (3573 metres) in the High Atlas. The Atlas is a crescent which stretches from the Aur?s to the secondary chains of the Tunisian dorsal. It is made of three parallel foldings: most imposing is the High Atlas, with Jbel Toubkal, which reaches 4167m. In north, the Middle Atlas culminates in Jbel Bou Naceur (3340m) and in the south the Anti Atlas culminates in Jbel Aklim (2531m). Leave a Comment
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Films have been made here for over 100 years and been providing considerable income for the town. There are now two major film studios here and interesting tours of the sets are available.
Recent movies such as Troy, Kingdom of heaven, Sahara, as with previous known movies of years past Kundun and The Sheltering Sky. Leave a Comment Address: 6 km out of ouarzazate, road to Marrakech
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on January 3, 2007
on February 28, 2004
