Ait Benhaddou Kasbah

The palace or Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou is located 30 km from the city of Ouarzazate, and it is a castle of sand built among a field filled with almond trees. The world, and the interest of filmmakers, archaeologists and tourists in this historic landmark has made it worthy of the patronage of UNESCO and its inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1987.

Ait Ben Haddou Palace, with a total area of ​​about 1300 square meters, overlooks the Unila Valley, where a small river known as the Salt Valley runs. The palace was built during the eighteenth century AD in the village of Ait Ben Haddou and from which its name was taken, but some archaeologists claim that it was built for the first time during the reign of the Almoravids in the eleventh century AD, but it was neglected as a result of the continuous migration of the population from the region, where there is currently no remaining People in the village only 800 people. The magnificent archaeological palace, distinguished by its unique architectural features, has become a closed residential city established to defend the enemies from the inside and outside, a fortress for its residents and a shrine for tourists arriving in Morocco every year, bringing the number of visits to the same place to 140 thousand visits annually.
In the past, the area was a major center for shopping through camels, in light of the great attachment of old families until the beginning of the last century to stay in them, until the generations decided to leave them to be an archaeological site and took other occupations and left the whole place, especially a small presence of some families on the other side From the river overlooking it.