At about 190 kilometers south-east Marrakech, in Morocco, lies the gorgeous village of Ait Benhaddou, additionally referred to as “Ksar Ait Benhaddou”. The “Ksar” in berber language, which is the language of unique inhabitants of North Africa means an meeting of fortified homes surrounded by a defensive wall, and a “Ksar” is normally located on the backside of a mountain, to make it even much less penetrable and extra unimaginable to be hit by a shock back-attack.
A single fortified home known as a “Kasbah”. In every village, there’s a important “Kasbah” dwelling to the village chief, with 4 lengthy towers to make surveillance simple. The alleys and doorways of the Kasbahs are small, you may assume it’s as a result of that the inhabitants are small folks however it’s not. The small passages are a defensive technique to stop any deliberate and big assaults, the enemy has to undergo tight locations making them susceptible.
The actual building date of Ait Benhaddou is unknown, some say it dates again to the eleventh century however others assume it’s a newer creation. What is bound, is that it is without doubt one of the most stunning and nicely preserved historic villages in Morocco.
Earlier than roads and autos, Ait Benhaddou was a station for the caravanes touring between southern Sahara and north Africa. They both change items right here and return to the desert, or pause for an evening and proceed by the Ounila valley to Marrakech. The caravanes transported salt, silver and slaves amongst different issues.
At this time Ait benhaddou is a touristic attraction for 2 important causes: one being the UNESCO declaring the village as a world heritage web site. The second motive is as a result of the movie trade used the positioning to shoot scenes of historic villages and ruins seen in films. Essentially the most well-known one is “The gladiator”, and the world you see within the film was constructed on the fields simply in entrance of the village. Lately the crew of “Recreation of Thrones” additionally used the positioning to shoot scenes of the town of “Yunkai”.
The Ounila river separates the previous preserved village and the brand new city, the place a lot of the households at the moment stay. Seven households nonetheless stay within the previous half, and you’ll enter one of many homes and have some mint tea for a dozen dirhams (Moroccan forex).
To succeed in the village, it is advisable get transportation both from 3 days tour from Marrakech to Merzouga or Ouarzazate ( ~35km from the positioning). Most of the regular taxis supply this service, however you can even contact a journey agent to rearrange your journey. Native guides can be found if you need additional steering exploring the village and Many eating places within the new village supply scrumptious meals at affordable costs. The location provides an important alternative for photographers to take some superior pictures and take a look at their expertise despite the fact that Morocco’s solar is a giant assist you do not get in lots of locations.