From Taroudant we headed east towards Ouarzazarte. The road was slower than we expected, despite being a major route.  It was paved, but there were a lot of bumps and drop offs on the edge of the road.  But we made it in one piece, though we did learn to tape all our cupboards inside the camper.  Fred was gettin very tired of putting all our books and cupboard doors back after every drive! Aside from the odd dubious road surface, we enjoyed glorious views and steep grades everywhere.

Our first stop was Ait Benhaddou. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aït_Benhaddou) We had heard that it was possible to wild camp on the ridge overlooking Ait Benaddou and we drove up onto the ridge to evaluate.

Once we got there, however, the wind was fierce, to the point that Fred was not able to open his cab door easily and it was very noisy. It would not have been a pleasant night at all. So we carefully descended and headed into the “new” village to find a campsite.  We had however put the truck in 4 wheel drive to get up onto the ridge and the truck decided it no longer wished to go back into 2 wheel drive.  At least the light on the dash remained on.  We put this problem aside for the moment, found the campground and set up for the night.

The best time to admire the old Ksar of Ait Benaddou is at either dusk or dawn when the rays of the sun show the buildings most clearly.  (There is a reason photogs call this the “golden hour.”) So, after a quick meal, we walked the length of the village to a viewpoint from which we could take photos. We were a little late, but we enjoyed the view.

We also found a wonderful shop selling interesting jewelry items and were able to purchase one, although we had not brought much cash with us.  The owner gave us a super deal. Sadly, he was closed the next day so we were not able to stop back with extra cash.

The next morning Fred got up early and headed out for more photos.  His timing was a little better! 

We then headed out to visit the Ksar and crossed the bridge over the Wadi Mellah.  The Ksar is  a fortified cluster of kasbahs, some decorated, on a steep slope, with mud brick houses behind them.  It is an evocative site, which has been used by several film directors for films as far back as “Lawrence of Arabia,” up to “The Mummy”, “Game of Thrones” and the second “Gladiator”.  In fact, friends who visited this week told us that they were filming a French film there!

We ran the gauntlet of vendors selling earrings and everything else until we found a tiny shop run by a a charming Mauritanian gentleman. We had a great visit (and tea) and bought some Tuareg items. (And some of them might even be authentic! They certainly brought back memories of Niger in 1974.) It was interesting, his shop was small, but his merchandise appeared, to our inexpert eyes a least, to be much, much better than that sold in other stalls.

After a long discussion with a young lady artist, we bought a modern, but spectacular painting of a Tuareg face, complete with real fabric head covering. Quite unique.

Back across the river in the new town, we bought argan products from a lovely lady at a co-op. We had never heard of argan, but it is a most remarkable tree/seed/oil and unique to the Maghreb. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argan_oil)

We next headed to the Atlas Film Studios in Ouazazarte. (https://ouarzazatestudios.com/accueil/?lang=en) A quick negotiation with the guardian confirmed that we could park for the night – one of our more dramatic sites!

Hungry, we had a lovely lunch in the Oscar Hotel, which is part of the complex. (Took us a minute to get the name.) We were a bit surprised to find a hotel on site, but, it actually makes sense when actors and crews arrive for a movie and generates additional revenue for the studio. And tourists like it as well!

After lunch, we set off to tour the studio. The studio is rather straightforward, with a couple of big soundstages, some still dressed for past productions, and a large backlot which features a maze of “ancient” streets and houses. And temples, both Egyptian and Tibetan.

Some are in the classic plywood, plaster, and steel scaffolding, but some are mud brick. In the dry climate the don’t deteriorate that fast and can be redressed for different movies.

The Egyptians built for the ages. Movie sets? Not so much!

The sound stages contained the tomb passages from “The Mummy” and prison corridors from “Prison Break.” Interesting to see them from the outside.

We paid a little extra so we could visit the Jerusalem set from the Kingdom of Heaven film, which is a huge set and built at a distance from the rest. They warned that it was a dirt road! Actually, there was no real road and the site was surrounded by a trench to keep out cars. Fred loved it!

The Jerusalem set is huge, arranged so that it can be used from both sides, and now features “Game of Thrones” and “Gladiator” add ons. Oh, and no one cleans up after a battle. Siege towers, standing, fallen, and burned, everywhere. Along with trebuchets and battering ram. Messy!

Will have to rewatch “Kingdom of Heaven” with the pause button at hand to see if we can recognize all of the different sites. You really have to appreciate the tremendous planning to coordinate the set and the various shots needed for the movie. You don’t need to build anything that you won’t use.

And, who can forget the “Jewel of the Nile”?

We stopped in town to make a stab at figuring out why the 4×4 light would not go out. Not totally successful. We then retired to the commercial campground for the night.