One of the most famous places in the world is a tiny desert town in Morocco where everything from 'Game of Thrones' to 'Gladiator' was filmed

Gladiator_Game_Of_Thrones_Ait_Ben_Haddou_Filming_Morocco (8 of 41)
It's immediately clear why so many movies are filmed in Ait Benhaddou when you visit.
Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

  • The medieval ksar of Aït Benhaddou is a gorgeous tiny town in southwestern Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Located in a stunning red desert landscape, Aït Benhaddou is a frequent filming location for historical and epic movies like " The Mummy," " Gladiator," "Alexander," "Prince of Persia," "Kingdom of Heaven," and, most recently, " Game of Thrones."
  • I recently visited. While it doesn't rival ancient archeological sites in places like Greece or Egypt, it is a stunning sight in its own right.

A tiny medieval town in southwestern Morocco is one of the most iconic sights in the world. You just don't know it by name.

The medieval ksar of Aït Benhaddou has played the part of an Egyptian town in the 1999 action movie "The Mummy," the Hindu Kush in Oliver Stone's 2004 Greek epic "Alexander," the Roman-era African city of Zucchabar in the 2000 classic "Gladiator," and, most recently, the city of Yunkai in "Game Of Thrones."

It's a strange phenomenon that locations that are historical and famous in their own right sometimes become more famous for the fictional things that happen there.

On my first trip to Philadelphia, I recall joking with my parents that Independence Hall is famously where Nicholas Cage's "National Treasure" character Benjamin Gates discovers a pair of glasses "made by" Benjamin Franklin, rather than where The Declaration of Independence was signed. "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" is half the reason I was so excited to visit the ancient city of Petra last year.

But that doesn't make a place like Aït Benhaddou any less awe-inspiring. Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, the mud-brick structures of Aït Benhaddou date back to the 1700s and are an impressive example of Moroccan architecture.

On a recent trip to Morocco, I decided to make a stop to check out Aït Benhaddou. Here's what it was like:


If you've ever watched Daenerys Targaryen conquer the city of Yunkai in "Game of Thrones" ...

Game of Thrones/Screenshot

... or seen Maximus Decimus Meridius become a slave and shout "Are you not entertained?" to a coliseum of bloodthirsty Romans ...


... then you've seen the medieval ksar of Aït Benhaddou. You may just not have known it. A few hours from Marrakech in southwestern Morocco, the fortified town is one of the premier sights in the country. That's it in the distance.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

On a recent road trip from Marrakech to Fez, I decided to stop in Aït Benhaddou to have a look around. The town is a ksar, a North African term for a fortified town inhabited by Berbers, the indigenous population.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Like many ksars, Aït Benhaddou is built along a water source, the Ounila River, which sprouts palm trees and other desert vegetation along its banks.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

To get to the ksar, you have to cross the river. But most of the river was dried up when I visited in January, so it wasn't too difficult.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

There are some helpful stepping stones set up as a makeshift bridge to help you get across.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

There are dozens of ksour (the plural of ksar) throughout Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. But Aït Benhaddou is one of the biggest and most impressive.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Outside the fortified town lie fields for growing crops like grains that can survive in the arid desert climate.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Locals believe that Aït Benhaddou was founded in 757 C.E. by Ben-Haddou, whose tomb is supposedly behind the city. But historians say its unlikely any of the buildings in the city are older than the 1700s.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

The structures are typically made of local raw materials that are compacted in a process called "rammed earth." Aït Benhaddou is made from the reddish mud-clay of the riverbanks.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Source: Wikipedia


While the building technique is low-cost, strong, and durable, it requires constant upkeep and restoration. Rains will often damage the structures. These days, restoration efforts are usually overseen by UNESCO, which named it a World Heritage Site in 1987.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

You can see the raw materials the restoration teams are using to fix the structures here. Note the straw and mud-clay. Without upkeep, a ksar can be destroyed in as little as 20 years.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Like almost all ksour, Aït Benhaddou is made up of a few basic elements.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

There is a series of houses where local Berber families live.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

The houses are surrounded by very high walls to protect them from attacks by other populations.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Then there are a number of public structures.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

There's a caravanserai, a local inn where weary travelers can rest for a day or two after long travel.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Aït Benhaddou lies along a major North African trade route that in the past carried gold, silver, spices, and, unfortunately, slaves from Sudan and east Africa through the Sahara to Europe.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Other major public structures include a granary ...

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

... a public square ...

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

... and a mosque, though I had trouble locating it.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

One of the shops had a plaque listing all of the movies that had been filmed in Aït Benhaddou. It's a point of pride among the locals (as well as a source of income).

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Ksour like Aït Benhaddou arose out of locals taking advantage of an opportunity. With so much traffic along the Trans-Saharan trade routes, traditionally nomadic Berbers decided to settle and earn a living by providing shelter and food to traveling merchants.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

The great value of the trade goods that passed through their towns, however, would have made the ksour targets for thieves and attackers. The ksar's high walls and defensive structures protected the locals and the goods.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

These days, locals make a living primarily by guiding, playing music, or selling goods to the tourists who pass through. Some do work as extras in the films, but most extras come from nearby Ourzarzate.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

The locals have also moved out of the ksar to the more modern town on the other side of the river, which is closer to the road. The ksar is mostly just a tourist attraction.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Aït Benhaddou is built into a hill with defensive walls placed periodically as you go up, thus adding another layer of defense for its inhabitants.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

If invaders were to get into the ksar, inhabitants could retreat higher and higher up the walls.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

At the very top of the ksar is a fortress that inhabitants could retreat to as a last resort.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

The view from the fortress at the top is a spectacular panorama of the desert around the ksar ...

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

... as well as the surrounding river and towns.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

You can spend a couple hours exploring the various levels of construction of the ksar ...

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

... or sneaking down small passageways ...

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

... and winding staircases, two more lines of defense. It's difficult to sack a city when you don't know how to navigate it.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Locals have set up a small market that sells handmade scarves, jewelry, and djellabas, or traditional Berber robes.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

But mostly, I was just there to admire the architecture.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

... and the varied desert vegetation.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

I took one last look at the ksar and headed out across a more modern bridge. Some people stay for days in and around the ksar exploring the landscape and the town's every nook and cranny. While Aït Benhaddou makes for a stunning vista, all you need are a couple of hours to explore the town, in my opinion.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider



More: Features Destination Africa Gladiator Game of Thrones