Kasbah ait ben Haddou

While travelling through Morocco, I had the opportunity to make a short stop at a truly fascinating place, which has inspired writers and screenwriters for films and TV series to create impressive moments and scenes for Game of Thrones and Gladiator among others. This small, but incredible place is called Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou.

It's a small "town" or "fortress" as its inhabitants call it, it's inside the city of Ouarzazate (a city on a desert route) which is about 3 hours and a bit away by car from Marrakech, where in summer (if you go during those dates), I'd recommend that you take a good sun cream, because it's quite hot and you'll be out in the sun for a bit, although actually with the emotions that I felt there, any weather would be worth it and I could put up with it.

(But I was happy because I found a bit of shade and, in the incredible landscape that you have in front of you, what you get to see in the middle of the desert is actually a river, just it gets dried by the sun in the summer. They calculate the temperature. )

You can get around this place on tours, which you can find in different web pages or via tourist agencies in the main cities in Morocco, like Marrakech, personally I found one through an excellent agency that runs tours around Morocco, which I found online.

Continuing with the the story, before going into the Ksar, they'll give you a quick introduction to the history and the culture of this place. (which won't do you any harm if it's the first time that you've heard of or visited this place). After all this, the guide gives the instructions to continue the route and to explore it on the inside. (This is really where the magic started).

Then they spoke about the thousand year old town which still stands due to its inhabitants, which they rent out to film in and the financial help and restaurations done by organisations like UNESCO.

This is a photo of the inside, where you can see the authentic ancient architecture, made of adobe brick, stone and wood. (the time of year I went, there weren't any people living there, since it had been rented out for a film, so all of the doors and windows were closed). Its passageways are narrow and high, they made me feel small, but safe at the same time, I understood at that moment why they call it a fortress.

(There is a pretty good view from the Ksar over the "modern" town).

The tour is short, but full of substance, while you're exploring, you can also find reminence of the traditional artesanal creations of that culture for really good prices if you decide to treat yourself. (which is something you should do almost always on your trips to Arab markets).

This place really opens up your heart to the authenticity of it, it'll leave you with an enriching feeling and you'll be extremely keen to go back, the amazing team of guide that will accompany you there will make you feel almost as if you were home and the landscape, when the afternoon is over, will give you impressive twilights, which I got to see when I was there.

Did you know Morocco was actually one of the locations the famous Game of Thrones was filmed in? Want to know where else Game of Thrones has been filmed? Take a look at this comprehensive guide to the 10 different countries that can be spotted in the background of the iconic series.