The Red Wall in an earlier post has inspired TV series and games, and the building itself was inspired by casbah/kasbah, a citadel or city fortress most commonly seen in North Africa as well as Andalusia of Spain. Remember Granada's Alcazaba of the Alhambra I once posted?
Today I will show you another kasbah I visited: Aït Benhaddou. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is located in Morocco, approximately 100 kilometres from Marrakesh. It was once a major stop on the caravan route between Marrakesh and the Sahara linking ancient Sudan.
I saw other smaller kasbahs in and around Ouarzazate, while this large fortified city is the most famous one. Like the charming Peniscola old town I previously blogged about, Aït Benhaddou has served as a set for many movies and TV shows, including Game of Thrones (cities of Yunkai and Pentos), Laurence of Arabia, Babel, Gladiator, and Asterix & Obeliz: Mission Cleopatra. The last comedy is my personal favourite, and I recommend the fun Asterix comic book series if you haven't read it before.🙂 The Atlas Studios is located right in Ouarzazate, close to this film location.
Driving through a barren desert land, all of a sudden, a sprawling kasbah came into our view. The ochre mud-brick towers and walls amid the green oasis of lush palm groves are such a striking sight to behold.
From my photos here, you can also see the Ounila River and a long bridge connecting both sides. The majority of the old-town residents has relocated to the modern part on the other side of the river. Today, only five families remain living in the old kasbah of Aït Benhaddou.
Besides the living quarters, this spectacular 17th-century kasbah contains community areas including a mosque, a public square, a Jewish cemetery, a Muslim cemetery, grain threshing areas, and the Sanctuary of the Saint Sidi Ali or Amer.
Sadly, the vulnerable earthen kasbah has been deteriorating due to the rain and lack of care. While walking around the site, I noticed some crumbling walls. A man was patching and painting a wall from a scaffolding. I read that the government had a five-year (2007–2012) restoration plan in place to preserve the heritage.
There were a few shops and cafes, as well as a swimming pool nearby. It gave me the feel of a sleepy abandoned village, with only a few locals and even fewer tourists. I guess there are more visitors in the morning and at dusk, when the temperature is lower and the lighting is better for taking photos.
The Ounila river(stream) and bridge(s):
之前一篇中的红楼房启发了网剧和游戏，而它本身的建筑灵感则来自卡斯巴––北非传统的筑垒古城，也常见于往北西班牙的安达卢西亚地区，还记得我发过的阿尔罕布拉宫的阿尔卡扎巴吗？
今天我们就来看看另一个卡斯巴古城艾本哈杜。这处世界遗产位于摩洛哥，距离马拉喀什约100公里，曾经是马拉喀什和古苏丹撒哈拉沙漠之间商队路线上的一个主要驿站。
在这块地区还看到了不少小一点的卡斯巴，而这个大城是最有名的一个。就像我以前提到的那个佩尼斯科拉古镇一样，艾本哈杜也是许多电影和电视剧的拍摄地，比如《权力游戏》(其中的Yunkai和Pentos城)、《阿拉伯的劳伦斯》、《巴别塔》、《角斗士》和《阿斯特里克斯与奥贝里茨: 埃及艳后的任务》等。顺便推荐一下最后一部电影和漫画，《阿斯特里克斯》（《高卢英雄传》）的漫画系列在法国比利时这边流行了很多年，电影找大鼻子Depardieu来演也是再合适不过，大咖云集，通篇是梗，看得我从头笑到尾。
车子穿行在荒芜的沙漠地带，这片绿洲突然映入眼帘，让我心生惊喜。赭红的泥砖塔楼和围墙参差错落在葱茏的棕榈树丛之间，对比强烈、引人注目。同时，正午的阳光也是强烈刺眼，我在高温下在这古城里走了一圈，简直要热成狗，加上干旱，想想这里的常住居民生活应该很艰苦吧。
从我这里的照片中，还可以看到奥尼拉河和一座连接两岸的桥梁。河里没多少水，不知道丰水期是什么样。大多数居民已经搬到了河对岸的新城区。如今，只剩下五个家庭仍然住在老城区。除了老住宅，这座17世纪的古城还包括清真寺、公共广场、脱谷场、犹太人墓地和穆斯林墓地等部分......
因为雨水的常年侵蚀和缺乏维护，脆弱的土楼建筑有些损坏。在这里走动时，我看到一些已经坍塌的土墙，也有人坐在脚手架上慢悠悠地在补墙刷墙。据说当地政府曾经实施一个五年(2007到2012年)计划来修复保护这座老城。
这儿开了几家小店和咖啡馆，我还在附近看到了一个泳池。古城给人的整体感觉是在沉睡中，只看到几个当地居民，和三两其他游客。估计在早晨和黄昏时人会多一些，气温舒服点，光线也更适合拍照。
图文 by Donica，谢谢来访！=)
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North Africa hold beauty all of it's own, not places I visited by learned from my father.
Did watch movie Laurence of Arabia a couple of times, and Asterix & Obeliz we own the set of books which have been read, then stories read once again to our children, much history wrapped up in humorous books.
Excellent photography a pity not being looked after, massive piece of history to explore while still in relatively good condition.
Thanks for dropping by! Cool to know that you also have the Asterix books there, they are very popular here in the French speaking parts of Europe. :)
Started collecting them about 47 years ago when stumbling upon them, loved the art depicting history with so much humour.
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Amazing historical place and the structures!
True.
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Picturesque place, very special feel. I need to visit North Africa :)
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An enchanting region indeed, and not very far from Europe. :)
Hiya, @LivingUKTaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1671.
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