Today we are off to Ouarzazate and the surrounding areas and then to Marrakech. Before we left the gorge, I grabbed a photo of our bedroom ceiling.
Another bamboo patterned ceiling.
We stopped in Kalaat M'Gouna, which is known as the City of Roses. We were not in the right season (April time-ish), so there weren't any roses about, however we stopped to sample many of the rose products that are produced in the area. I also thought these doors were interesting.
Drive-by sheep! And goats!
The Berbers originally called themselves the Amazir, which means free.
Ouarzazate means "city without noise" in Berber.
The cinema museum. We did not investigate this one.
The central Kasbah here is from the 18th century. This is not it. This is a restaurant.
I just thought it was pretty.
Rugs and scarves and knickknacks oh my!
This is part of the central Kasbah.
This man created "paintings" by using a magnifying glass and the sunlight to burn into press-board or wood. It was pretty impressive. I got one of a marketplace and Mom got one of donkeys.
Our next stop was just outside of Ouarzazate. We toured Atlas Studios.
Ourazazate is also known as Moroccan Hollywood.
This boat was used in the live action Asterix & Obelix Meet Cleopatra.
This chariot was used for Gladiator. Dad doesn't make a very good horse.
These are from Tut - a miniseries featuring Ben Kingsley.
Still for Tut. 300 workers built all of these set pieces in 3 months.
Egyptian Batman!
The back of the sets. It's made of 2x4 structures with bamboo and plaster as filler.
Most of these next photos are sets from Ben-Hur.
This is a jail.
More of the jail.
Two photos of the town. Some of these were also used for The Passion of the Christ.
This is also part of the studio. It's been used for Game of Thrones and Kingdom of Heaven.
These were all used in The Mummy Returns.
More Asterix and Obelix sets!
It had seen better days....
These are from a documentary for National Geographic portraying 14th century Tangiers.
Some pretty flowers.
The back of The Mummy Returns set. More bamboo and plaster.
And last but not least are some set for The Last Emperor.
Well that was neat. As you might imagine, many sets are reused for other movies and TV shows, especially with CGI technology these days. Back into the car!
More striated hillside.
This is our first glimpse of Kasbah Ksar Ait Ben Haddou.
But first, lunch and some fun designs at our restaurant.
Now to explore Ksar Ait Ben Haddou.
A Ksar is a fortified city. Not to be confused with a Kasbah, which might also be a fortified city....
This is an animal pen attached to a house. It had sheep hiding in t it.
Okay, I figured it out...mabye. A Ksar IS a fortified city/village. A Kasbah is a fortified house of a ruling family in the area. There can be many Kasbahs in one Ksar.
Ben Haddou has also been used in many films.
Four or Five families still live in Ben Haddou. Most of the families who used to live here now live in the modern town across the riverbed.
At the top of the ksar is a watch tower.
The ksar is named after the family that built the first kasbah (the Haddou).
The lands around the ksar.
Fuzzy pinkish plant.
Artsy photo!
When we were leaving a merchant asked Dad how much he wanted for his hat. The merchant then took Dad's hat and wouldn't give it back until Dad went and looked at the merchant's wares. It was a bit silly. We eventually got him back, with his hat.
A flood of the area is what made most of the families leave the ksar.
We're now on our way back across the High Atlas mountains.
Red minarets/mosques are government funded mosques. Other colors are privately funded mosques.
Colorful High Atlas countryside.
Drive-by (drive-through?) photos of the High Atlas mountains.
This is the crazy road we were about to drive down. They were currently doing a lot of construction to eliminate many of the sharp curves throughout the High Atlas.
In this area is a cooperative that makes argan oil products. Argan oil comes from the kernels of the Argan tree. Much like olive oil, it is used for culinary and cosmetic products.
A town hidden in the hillside.
Sunset in the mountains!
As we left the High Atlas, we passed a lady who was talking on her cellphone while riding her donkey home. It was an amusing juxtaposition of modern and old.
We rolled into Marrakech in the dark.
A public fountain. Back to lots of Mosaics!
We met with a porter who took our luggage and lead us through a labyrinth of alleyways to our hotel. I would not have been able to find my own way there. I would have gotten horribly lost.
Our residence for our time in Marrakech.
This concludes our adventures for today.
