Ouarzazate

Casbah of Taourirt

Ouarzazate (Arabic, ورزازات, Warzāzāt) (called The door of the desert), is a city in southern Morocco.

Its name comes from a Berber phrase meaning "without noise" or "without confusion". It is also featured by its closeness to Atlas Mountains and Draa Valley.

History

Once in its history, Ouarzazate had been a small crossing point for African traders seeking to reach northern cities in Morocco and Europe. During the French period, Ouarzazate expanded considerably as a garrison town, administrative centre, and customs post. It is home to the casbah of Taourirt, (the casbah of the former caïd and later the possession of T'hami El Glaoui). The Krupps field gun which secured Glaoui power is outside.

Film studios

Ouarzazate Film studios

At present, it hosts one of the largest movie studios in the world, Atlas Studios. Several historical movies were shot on those studios (e.g. Astérix et Cléopâtre, Lawrence of Arabia, Cleopatra, Kundun, Gladiator and lately Alexander, Kingdom of Heaven and Babel). It was also the location of the November 26, 2006 episode of the television series The Amazing Race.

Sights outside of Ouarzazate

The casbah-town of Aït Benhaddou is nearby. Many excursions through the valley of the Draa River into the Sahara start from the city. These include trips to Zagora, an oasis town surrounded by palm tree plantations, and the traditional departure point for camel trains to Timbuktu (65 days away).