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The Atlas range provides Morocco’s spine. The mountains separate the relatively fertile coastal half Morocco from the Sahara desert. And crossing the Atlas is a journey from olive groves and orange trees to outback on a road completed in 1936 by the Foreign Legion. Ait Benhaddou is essentially a fortified city built into the mountainside, and is widely recognised as the most impressive Kasbah in MoroccoAït Benhaddou is a ksar (fortified village in Arabic), along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech in present-day Morocco. Inside the walls of the ksar are half a dozen (Kasbahs) or merchants houses and other individual dwellings, and it is a great example of earthen clay architecture, which is also used in Moroccan architecture.Aït Benhaddou has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and several films have been shot there

The ksar, a group of earthen buildings surrounded by high walls, is a traditional pre-Saharan habitat. The houses crowd together within the defensive walls, which are reinforced by corner towers. Ait-Ben-Haddou, in Ouarzazate province, is a striking example of the architecture of southern Morocco

Located in the foothills on the southern slopes of the High Atlas in the Province of Ouarzazate, the site of Ait-Ben-Haddou is the most famous ksar in the Ounila Valley

L’Oasis d’Or

What L'Oasis D'Or does have going for it is a great view of Ait Ben Haddou from across the river

Inside the defensive walls which are reinforced by angle towers and pierced with a baffle gate, houses crowd together - some modest, others resembling small urban castles with their high angle towers and upper sections decorated with motifs in clay brick - but there are also buildings and community areas

Today the Ksar stands abandoned, as its inhabitants have moved to the modern village on the opposite side of the river, which is closer to the modern road. A program of restoration work is currently under way to encourage the population of the village, which is at present inhabited by just five families

The community areas of the ksar include a mosque, a public square, grain threshing areas outside the ramparts, a fortification and a loft at the top of the village, an caravanserai, two cemeteries (Muslim and Jewish) and the Sanctuary of the Saint Sidi Ali or Amer. The Ksar of Ait- Ben-Haddou is a perfect synthesis of earthen architecture of the pre-Saharan regions of Morocco

Complexe turistique La Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou

Sound: Fatima Tihihit Mziyin - Rwais Cheuh Berber musicians 2017

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu Internet Sanda Negruțiu Copyright: All the images belong to their author

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuhttps://plus.google.com/+SandaMichaela