01 - The ksar of Ait Benhaddou

Warzazat Warzazat
Duration: 6 Hours
Scale: 1 - 20 people
From Warzazat to Warzazat
The ksar of Ait Benhaddou has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1987. It was nicknamed the "Mont-Saint-Michel des Chleuhs" during the French protectorate.

Ait Benhaddou planThe ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou is a striking example of southern Moroccan architecture. The ksar is a group of mainly collective housing.
Inside the defensive walls reinforced by corner towers and pierced by a chicane door, the houses gather - some modest, others resembling small urban castles with their tall towers and their upper parts decorated with clay brick patterns - but community areas.
This is an extraordinary set of buildings offering a complete overview of construction techniques in pre-Saharan land. The oldest buildings do not seem to be older than the 17th century, although their structure and technique spread very early in the valleys of southern Morocco.
The site was also one of the many posts on the trade route linking the old Sudan to Marrakech by the Dra valley and the Tizi-n'Telouet pass.
Architecturally, the living quarters form a compact, closed and suspended group. The community areas of Ksar include a mosque, a public square, ceremonial threshing grounds outside the walls, a fortification and an attic at the top of the village, a caravanserai, two cemeteries (Muslim and Jewish) and the shrine of the Saint Sidi Ali or Amer.
The ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou is a perfect synthesis of the earthen architecture of the pre-Saharan regions of Morocco.

Ait Benhaddou pano

Learn more about Aït Benhaddou

Ksar of Aït Behaddou