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. 

Ait Benhaddou became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 - a striking fortified settlement (Ksar) under half an hour’s drive from Ouarzazate (off the Marrakech road). It houses some of the best conserved Kasbahs in Morocco and has been the backdrop to many films including Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator (the film studios nearby are well worth a visit).

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 Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Alexander (2004) and  Prince of Persia Sands of Time (2010)