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Aït Benhaddou
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How it came to be
Ait Benhaddou is a ksar, a walled village, in the Ounila valley on the southern slopes of Morocco's High Atlas. The site has been fortified since the Almoravid period in the 11th century. It was one of the trading posts on the caravan route linking ancient Sudan with Marrakesh.
None of the surviving buildings seems older than the 17th century, though the earth-building methods they use had long been practised in the valleys of southern Morocco. Inside walls with corner towers, houses cluster around a mosque, a square, a caravanserai and two cemeteries, one Muslim and one Jewish.
When the valley lost its strategic role in the 20th century, most residents moved to a new village across the river, and only a few families still live in the ksar. It was inscribed in 1987 and has served as a location for many films. A footbridge to the new village was completed in 2011.
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