The earthen architecture of the Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou

The Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou stands on the slopes of a hill, its walls rising to greet the passing sky. Its buildings huddle within a defensive wall that includes corner towers and a gate. The ksar is not a monument frozen in time, but a living symbol of the lives that have passed through it. Today, the ksar is only sparsely inhabited by several families.

Aït Benhaddou is a historic ighrem or ksar in Morocco. It has been fortified since the 11th century during the Almoravid period. None of the current buildings in Ait-Benhaddou are believed to date from before the 17th century. Ait-Benhaddou’s strategic importance was due to its location in the Ounila Valley along one of the main trans-Saharan trade routes. The ksar has a defensive wall that includes corner towers and a gate. The ksar has dwellings of various sizes ranging from modest houses to tall structures with towers.

The ksar has a mosque, a caravanserai, multiple kasbahs, and the Marabout of Sidi Ali or Amer. There is a public square, a Muslim cemetery, and a Jewish cemetery in the ksar. Outside the ksar’s walls was an area where grain was grown and threshed. Ait-Benhaddou has been used in parts of the TV series Game of Thrones. Most local inhabitants now live in modern dwellings in the village on the other side of the river. In 2011, a new pedestrian bridge was completed linking the old ksar with the modern village.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikimedia Commons