Aït Benhaddou, Fortified mud-brick village in Ait Zineb, Morocco
Aït Benhaddou is a mud-brick settlement with several multistory residential fortresses made of red clay and straw on a hillside in the Ounila Valley. The buildings form a connected complex with narrow lanes, inner courtyards, and towers at the corners.
The settlement probably arose in the 11th century as a rest stop for traders between the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara. Several families expanded the complex over centuries and built new kasbahs around the central square.
The name comes from the Berber dialect and refers to a fortified settlement along old caravan routes through the Ounila Valley. A few families still live in the upper part of the settlement and tend communal gardens by the riverbank.
A footpath leads from the parking area across a shallow ford or a bridge to the entrance of the hillside settlement. The circuit between the houses takes about an hour and includes some steep stairs up to the highest terrace.
Film crews have used the complex since the 1960s as a backdrop for desert and medieval scenes in over 20 international productions. The shoots regularly bring hundreds of local extras in historical costumes onto the terraces and lanes.
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