Ait Ben Haddou

Ait Ben Haddou

After passing the Atlas mountains we reached the village of Ait Ben Haddou. Ait Ben Haddou is a 'fortified city', or ksar, along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech in Marocco. It is situated in Souss-Massa-Draâ on a hill along the Ouarzazate River and has some beautiful examples of kasbahs, which unfortunately sustain damages during each rainstorm. Most of the town's inhabitants now live in a more modern village at the other side of the river; however, some families still live within the ksar.

Aït Benhaddou has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site and several films have been shot there, including;

• Lawrence of Arabia
• The Man Who Would Be King 
• Time Bandits
• The Jewel of the Nile
• The Living Daylights
• The Last Temptation of Christ
• The Mummy
• Gladiator
• Alexander

The photo's tell us why.