One of the most beautiful places of Morocco is Äit-Ben-Haddou, a traditional city with houses made of clay at the Asif Ounila river. It is a maze of streets, towers and houses in the desert which slowly turned from a real city into a movie industry hotspot and tourist location. Today still some people still live there, but preserving the hold houses is costly and housing comfort is better elsewhere. Those who stay, live from tourism and therefore preserve this magnificent place.
Younger generations know Äit-Ben-Haddou probably from Game of Thrones (depicting Yunkai and Pentos), Prince of Persia and Gladiator. But already in 1962 films like Sodom and Gomorrha as well as Lawrence of Arabia used the city as their backdrop. The city gate down by the river for example was reconstructed for Sergio Leone in 1962. In connection with the nearby city of Ouarzazate the name of Oullywood comes up as movie teams love to work with the very experienced locals.
If you want to get to Äit-Ben-Haddou you can cross the river on sandbags or use the bridge. If you choose to use the modern way don’t forget to walk down to the river, city views from there are amazing. You can then visit the city gate and the beautiful Ksar while hiking up. Halfway up to the castle grenary on top of the hill you should have a stop at the ‘Khaleesi Terrace‘, enjoy some tea with amazing views and have a chat with the nice owner of this place.
Äit-Ben-Haddou
Morocco
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