Ait Benhaddoudou

After a delicious breakfast in our hostel we decide to walk to the most famous kasbah of Morocco; Ait Benhaddou. First through the fairly new part of the city where we are staying and then an open area where we have an amazing panorama. We see the beautiful kasbah on the other side of the river and the broad riverbedding in front of it.

The Kasbah was possibly founded around the year 750 by Berbers led by Ben-Haddou, who, it is said, would be buried somewhere within the ksar. The city quickly grew into a hub for trade routes between the Sahara dessert and Marrakesh. We scramble over the rocks and after a walk through the bedding we climb up the hill where the Kasbah is situated.

The houses are made of clay (mudbrick) and you can still see the fortifications in the form of high city walls and corner towers. Behind it you can recognize countless small alleys and streets where families still live to this day. Others have since moved to the modern part of the city. 

We walk all the way up where, among other things, the film Gladiator is partly recorded. In a mudbrick shack we can see and hold some fake weapons used in the epic film left here. Further on, the arena still seems to stand where the combat scenes have been recorded. We are offered tea and thank the boy who left us here after we paid him a small tip. At the top we also visit the old grain house and enjoy the beautiful panorama over this half-stone desert. You also have a beautiful view of the confusing mix of alleys that reveals itself under our eyes.

It is not for nothing that this has been a UNESCO site for years. This is also a big hit with film makers; in addition to the above, "Game of Thrones, The Jewel of the Nile, Jesus of Nazareth, The Living Daylights, The Last Temptation of Christ, Lawrence of Arabia, Kundun, The Mummy and the film Alexander are taped. We walk back to our hostel and pick up our bag and walk back to the road. From here we take a collectivo back to Quarzazete on the way to Tinghrir.