The magical Moroccan city known as the ‘Hollywood of Africa’

In the High Atlas Mountains, the sandstone citadel of the Unesco-listed Kasbah Aït Benhaddou appears to grow out of the rocky hillside like ochre-coloured Lego. The tiny windows decorated with intricate lace-like patterns are the only way to tell apart the dwellings from the landscape itself. At the base of the hill is the Ounilla River, which gives life to a lush carpet of date palms that grow along its banks.

You might recognise the citadel from Ridley Scott’s epic, Gladiator, and scenes from the second instalment, Gladiator II, released this week and starring Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal. Scenes were filmed all over Morocco’s Draa Valley but in particular at Aït Benhaddou, and the nearby city of Ouarzazate, 30 minutes to the south – a place that has long held special significance for me.

The “Door of the Desert”, as Ouarzazate is known, owing to its historically strategic position on the edge of the Sahara, has become the go-to filing location for practically any blockbuster set in a barren, sun-scorched landscape (from 1962’s Lawrence of Arabia to 1999’s The Mummy), and is today a major film industry centre with multiple studios, lending it a second, more surprising moniker – “Ouarzawood”.

I first visited the Drâa-Tafilalet region, where these two cities are located, in 1996 during a nine-month campervan trip around Europe and Africa with my parents and two brothers. Before #vanlife was a popular phrase, my parents scooped us out of school to travel the continent, renting our family home to friends and selling my dad’s accountancy business to fund the adventure.

From Marrakech, we drove south-east along the winding Tizi n’Tichka pass, a dusty mountain road of switch-back turns and far-reaching valley views, up, up, up, into the High Atlas mountains. The air was thinner at 2,205 metres above sea level as we stopped the campervan at a viewpoint.

A man in a camel-coloured djellabah eagerly approached with a collection of crystals to sell us; fist-sized geodes that revealed amethyst, purple agate and silver quartz which we swapped for McDonald’s toys, Mickey Mouse t-shirts and a disposable camera, much to his delight. Two Atlas bear cubs scurried across the road ahead of us. I was entranced.

Eventually, we reached Ouarzazate – a name which translates from the Berber language as “noiseless”, supposedly because it was a safe spot for transiting merchants as they crossed the Sahara. Today, it’s still every inch the provincial capital, with a population of 70,000 and a wealth of markets, cafes and winding narrow streets, as well as the 18th-century Kasbah Taourirt, a well-maintained example of a Moroccan fortification.

The city is also home to the Atlas Film Studios – the largest in the world, at which more than 200 films have been made (these days you can even take a tour through its various sets and stages; £16.33 per person).

From Ouarzazate, the Road of 1,000 Kasbahs forges east through to the city of Tinghir, while the Drâa River meanders south-east through the verdant Drâa Valley towards the Algerian border. It’s the Morocco of storybooks and dog-eared travel guides: a lush green valley of towering palm fronds, hazy terracotta desert and periwinkle blue sky.

We crossed it on that formative trip of 30 years ago, eventually reaching Zagora, a traditional settlement of adobe homes, skinny chickens and tented gathering places hung with intricately woven tapestries made by the Taznakht tribe, whose women are well-known for their skill at the loom. We were invited into the home of a carpet seller, who sold us two beautiful throws and a heavily scented cedar and lemon chess board, the smell of which still evokes memories of that visit. I tried my first cup of heavily sugared mint tea, topped up again and again until my parents agreed on a price for their souvenirs.

I’ve loved Morocco ever since, and returned many times – visiting the frenetic capital, to haggle over leather slippers and woven-straw bags; the foothills of the Atlas Mountains; Essourira’s ancient port; and the Agafay Desert, where I stayed at the luxury bedouin-inspired Scarabeo Camp. I’ve explored crumbling kasbahs on foot, lush green valleys by quad bike, and hiked through mountain villages with views of snow-capped peaks, sharing fire-roasted Imazighen (Berber) bread with locals.

One day I’ll return with my own young family. But for now, I’ll have the memories of “Ouarzawood” and the Road of 1,000 Kasbahs. Gateway to the desert, and once upon a time, to a little girl’s love affair with Morocco.

Essentials

Ryanair flies from London Stansted to Ouarzazate from £28 return (flights on Sundays only). British Airways and easyJet fly from the UK to Marrakech from £30 return.

In Marrakech, stay at La Mamounia (doubles from £364), or at fit-for-a-king at Royal Mansour Marrakech (doubles from £1,445).

In Ouarzazate, stay at the five-star Berbere Palace (doubles from £152 per night; ) or really push the boat out at Dar Ahlam (doubles from £1,391).