OUARZAZATE AND AIT BENHADDOU, MOROCCO
Thursday 21st November
2013
Atlas movie studios in Ouarzazate, Morocco has been used to shoot films by people from Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and David Lean to Ridley Scott, Martin Scorcese and Oliver Stone. Films like Lawrence of Arabia, Kundun, Gladiator and Kindom of Heaven have been shot here.
Considering that, the guide who took us on the film set tour was the most jaded, limp, mumbling, under selling guide we could have had. He was a little over it. It was fascinating nevertheless. We did the tour, had the wander and headed off in our car to Ait Benhaddou which was once a fortified city, or ksar, along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech.
Ait Benhaddou has been used as a location for the above mentioned movies as well as many many more. It's still an inhabited village with the prized grain store at the very top of the hill.
From there we took a short drive to spend the night at 'Kasbah de la Peintre' in a little town further in the hills of the Atlas where we enjoyed a good tajine dinner.
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| ON THE WAY OUT OF GORGE DU DADES |
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| MUST BE OLD STOCK |
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| FLEETS OF HUMMER HIRE CARS FOR THE MOVIE INDUSTRY IN OUARZAZATE |
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| FILM SET TOWN FOR KINGDOM OF HEAVEN |
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| ANNE AS CLEOPATRA |
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| EXTRAS ON SET |
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| THE BUILDINGS ARE FAKE, THE BLOKE SITTING DOWN AND THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS ARE REAL |
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| ON APPROACH TO THE THE OLD KSAR OF AIT BENHADDOU |
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| FROM ALMOST AT THE TOP |
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| THE PRIZED GRAINARY |
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| OUR CAR WAS IN THIS GUY'S TRUSTED CARE |
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| NOT REALLY SURE WHAT HE DID, BUT HE LOOKED OFFICIAL |
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| ARRIVAL AT 'KASBAH DE LA PEINTRE' WITH 'LA PEINTRE' HIMSELF |
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| PIERRE DU MAROC |
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| WE WERE THE ONLY GUESTS AND IT WAS RATHER JOVIAL |
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