When visiting Marrakech, I wanted to see as much as I could from Morocco. So, I chose to take a one day trip to Ain ben Haddou and Ouarzazate.
To get from Marrakech to Ouarzazate and Ait Ben Haddou, there is a 4-5 hours drive way through the Atlas mountains. Even if the road may be tiring, the landscapes are truly amazing. No reason to complain about the road, when you get to enjoy such a wonderful view of the nature.
So, prepare yourself to be impressed by the mass of rocky peaks and the deep valleys full of cacti of the Atlas mountains.
On the highway, you can also admire the Berber villages with homes made by stone and red clay.
When it comes to Ait Ben Haddou, this is more than an impressive construction.
Here you will come back in time by visiting this fortified city from 17th century. You will visit the home made of clay of eight families who still live there, you will find out new interesting things about the Berbers and their culture and you will get the change to actually meet some of them.
The living here is definitely not luxurious, but the people are more then willing to invite you in their homes.
Aaand if you didn’t heard the rumors, several important movies were filmed right there, at Ait Ben Haddou. Game of Thrones (the location was used to represent the Yunkai city), Jesus of Nazareth in 1977, Gladiator or the Four Feathers are just few of them.
Since I was there, I couldn’t miss to take a picture like the mother of dragons.
Oarzazate, the city of Berbers-speakers, is well known as the area with the biggest film studio in Morocco (Atlas Corporation Studios). Here I could visit the Kasbah of Taourirt. Inside, you will be exposed to small stairwells leading into unusual rooms lit up by small windows. The larger rooms have floral ceiling, perfectly contrasted with the white walls. This is a fantastic labyrinth with almost three hundred rooms.
Morocco was a real challenge and maybe it will always be for me. Although, I hope I’ve helped you, through my articles, to get to know more about this beautiful culture. Maybe I will also inspire you to plan your future vacation there, as you have so much to discover.
Thanks for reading 🙂
