If the above images of Aït Ben Haddou look familiar, that’s probably because the town is a movie star. You’ve likely seen it in more than one Hollywood production, like Lawrence of Arabia, the Mummy, Gladiator, Jewel of the Nile, or Game of Thrones (to name but a few). It’s one of the most iconic sites in Morocco — a historic ksar (fortified village) situated in the Ounila Valley along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh. Aït Ben Haddou was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
The photo below of Aït Ben Haddou was used as last weekend’s One Clue Mystery photo. It was recognized by Professor Abe and George G. Congratulations to both!
(One Clue Mystery photo)
People have lived at the site for more than a thousand years, but the earthen buildings and fortified walls you see today date to around the 17th century. The structures are made entirely of rammed earth, adobe, clay bricks, and wood — no steel or concrete used here — making the town prone to erosion and requiring frequent upkeep. Its importance as a movie location and UNESCO site have resulted in good maintenance of the village. Besides erosion, the ksar is also easily damaged by earthquakes, as happened here in September 2023. UNESCO was repairing a number of buildings and walls during our visit in early 2024.
The ksar lost its importance in the 20th century as modern transportation replaced the caravan routes. Today only a few families inhabit the old town of Ait ben Haddou, most people having abandoned the ksar to live across the Ounila River in a modern community, surviving on agriculture and tourism.
(Ounila River)
In 2011 a new pedestrian bridge was completed across the Ounila River linking the old ksar with the modern village. It was this bridge our group crossed and from which the above photo was taken. There are a lot of souvenirs available for sale in the lower portion of the ksar, as well as in the new town….
We steadily made our way through the labyrinth of alleyways towards the ruins at the top. It was a surprisingly easy climb.
(scenes from our walk through Aït Ben Haddou)
At the top of the hill, overlooking the village and valley, are the remains of a fortified granary.
(ruins of an old granary at the top of the hill)
There are also numerous piles of rocks at the top. Seems a lot of visitors make and rearrange these piles.
The views from the top of the hill provide nice perspectives of the surrounding desert and irrigated farmlands.
The following photo shows the mosque in the new town, across the river from the ksar. Our hotel is one of the buildings immediately behind mosque.
A photo of the door to our hotel, shown below. It was the most interesting thing about the place.
We were in town only one night and up before dawn to continue our explorations of Morocco. As we were departing town, we stopped to enjoy the lovely soft light of the rising sun on Aït Ben Haddou. It was a memorable scene.
I visited Aït Ben Haddou, #Morocco, a few years ago. Your photos are excellent and show the complex city.
Yes, I remember that our hotel was nothing to write home about either. We had a decent enough meal there, though, with a bottle of reasonable local wine.