Lights, Camera, Action! – Ouarzazate

Aziz, our Berber host from Defat Kasbah where we have been staying the last 5 days, kindly drove us 35kms into Ouarzazate to save us using the motorhome.  Aziz is 36 years old and told us there were no schools in the village he grew up in and is self-educated.  His first language is Berber and he is also fluent in Arabic and French.  His English is pretty good, and he can speak a little bit of German, Spanish and Italian, so he can communicate with the various tourists that come to stay at Defat Kasbah (campsite).  He has a 5 year old son who speaks Berber and in school will speak Arabic until he is 6.  Then up to the age of 9 he will learn to speak French and from then English.  Wish our schools were multi-lingual!
Driving out of the town we stopped for a great view looking back at Âit-Benhaddou.

Âit-Benhaddou

Ouarzazate is the main access point and crossroads of southern Morocco, unfortunately the town lacks the architectural charm of a lot of the other Moroccan settlements we have visited and has an almost cosmopolitan feel to it.  Like most of the new Saharan towns, it was created as a Foreign Legion garrison by the French in the late 1920s and it is now booming with tourism.

Ever since Lawrence of Arabia was shot at nearby Âit Benhaddou in 1962 film directors have been drawn to Ouarzazate.  Ridley Scott loves the place and has used it in Gladiator (1999), Black Hawk Down (2001), Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and Prometheus (2012).  It has also been used as the backdrop to several scenes of the TV series Game of Thrones and the making of James Bond, The Living Daylights.

A visit to the Atlas Corporation Studios on the edge of the dessert, gave us an opportunity to look around the some of the film sets that have been used in many films.  It is the world’s largest studio, as it consists mostly of mountains and dessert.

Atlas Corporation Studios

It was founded in 1983 by Mohamed Belghmi, to support the development of the cinema industry in the region and The Oscar Hotel was built in 1988 to house mainly film crews.  The area has been a stand in for Jerusalem, Persia, Somalia, Ancient Egypt and even Tibet.  Seen below, is the plane used in the film: The Jewel of the Nile – Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny Devito (the film that put Ouarzazate on the movie map) and the chariots used during the making of Gladiator.

Jewel in the Nile Plane, Chariots used during Gladiator and the remake of Ben Hur,

Part of the Gladiator film set

Boat from Cleopatra

Trying out our acting skills as Cleopatra and Julius Caesar - needless to say we didn't get the part!

On the 'Jesus of Nazareth' set

All the sets look very realistic, given that they are made out of polystyrene.

Wow, this rock is heavy!

Leaving the studios we drove down to the Kasbah, another one built by the Glaoui but never actually used as a residence.  In the 1930s it was said to be the largest of all the Moroccan Kasbahs and housed numerous sons and cousins of the Glaoui dynasty along with their servants, labourers, tailors and moneylenders!

Kasbah Taourirt

Unfortunately, after being taken over by the government following Morocco's independence, the kasbah fell into drastic decline and a lot of the mud structure washed away with rain   Repair work was carried out but the decorated rooms are not necessarily authentic and having visited the Glaoui Kasbah in Telouet it was a bit of a disappointment!

From the new to the old Kasbah

Nearing our campsite we passed a truck full of donkeys.  Not something you see regularly in Morocco but we are getting used to the unusual!

About 2kms from the campsite, is he Berber village of Tamdaght.  It formerly flourished with the caravan route over the Tizi n’Tichka and is dominated by the remnants of another Glaoui Kasbah, which was used by Ridley Scott in Gladiator and still has signs of the Hollywood props inside.  Unfortunately, it is crumbling into the valley wall and one or two areas look like they are on the verge of collapse.  Our guide Abdou took us around and only spoke French so that was challenging for us but think we managed to get the gist!

Kasbah Tamdaght, the tower is crowned with a giant storks nest

The courtyard used on the set of Gladiator, with some skulls in the background!

And of course Camels, well we are near the dessert!

 The lush gardens below the Kasbah have olive, almond and fig trees. 

He then invited us back to his house for mint tea, where we watched his work colleagues make mud bricks that they are using to try and repair the old Kasbah. 

Another of Abdou’s friends, Omad, who took us to his Kasbah, where he has all sorts in and insisted dressing me up ready for going into the dessert.

Omad, who Mel nicknamed Omah Sherif!

We are sad to be moving on from Defat Kasbah, as Aziz has looked after us so well, and we will miss being able to cool down in the pool after a hot day, 

but Sahara Dessert here we come!

Sally x