Ksar of Ait BenHaddou

Ait Benhaddou is 19 miles northwest of Ouarzazate on the west bank of the Wadi Mellah and the Ouarzazate river. It is a 'fortified city', or ksar, and its location is on the former salt, gold and ivory carrying caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech. The city became a UNESCO Heritage site in 1987 and is viewed as a 'striking example of the architecture of southern Morocco' (United Nations - Copyright 1992-2008).

Today, although only inhabited by around half-a-dozen families, visitors are attracted by the number and variety of its kasbahs, some of which are thought to date back to the sixteenth century. The kasbahs with their crenallated towers and the striking dark red pise of their sheer walls are spectacular and some of the best conserved in Morocco, and their is a good example of a communal granery (igherm). Such is the beauty and uniqueness of the landscape the area has also become popular as a backdrop for the film business, with major American and European film makers using the old city as a backdrop to a number of successful films including:- Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), The Living Daylights (1987,The Mummy (1999)Gladiator (2000), Alexander (2004) and  Prince of Persia Sands of Time (2010)