Aït Benhaddou

Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Morocco
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv, v
Reference	444
Region**	Arab States
Inscription history
Inscription	1987  (11th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Aït Benhaddou (Berber: Ath Benhadu, Arabic: آيت بن حدّو‎) is a 'fortified city', or ksar, along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech in present-day Morocco. It is situated in Souss-Massa-Draâ on a hill along the Ouarzazate River and has some beautiful examples of kasbahs, which unfortunately sustain damages during each rainstorm. Most of the town's inhabitants now live in a more modern village at the other side of the river; however, ten families still live within the ksar.

Aït Benhaddou has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987^[1] and several films have been shot there, including;

• Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
• The Man Who Would Be King (film) (1975)
• Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
• Time Bandits (1981)
• The Jewel of the Nile (1985)
• The Living Daylights (1987)
• The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
• The Sheltering Sky (1990)
• Kundun (1997)
• The Mummy (1999)
• Gladiator (2000)
• Alexander (2004)

Young girl working on a loom in Aït Benhaddou, in May 2008

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aït Benhaddou

• Aït Benhaddou on theculturedtraveler.com
• Interactive 360° panorama of Ait Benhaddou (Java, 0,9 MB)

v • d • e World Heritage Sites in Morocco Archaeological Site of Volubilis · Historic City of Meknes · Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou · Medina of Essaouira (formerly Mogador) · Medina of Fes el Bali  · Medina of Marrakech · Medina of Tétouan (formerly known as Titawin) · Portuguese City of Mazagan (El Jadida) · Ruins of Sijilmassa

References

1. ^  UNESCO World Heritage Sites list: whc.unesco.org/en/list/444

Coordinates: 31°03′N 7°08′W / 31.05°N 7.133°W / 31.05; -7.133