Medina in Ouarzazate-Zagora-Tinghir

Unique crafts and traditions

The wonders of southern Morocco!

In the east of the country, Ouarzazate, Zagora and Tinghir symbolize the cultural diversity of Morocco: they bear witness to the most deeply-rooted traditions that seamlessly blend with modern creation in the moving making industry.

Ouarzazate is one of the gates of the desert. A little away from the city, the Kasbah of Tifoultoute stands as a sentinel. Movie lovers will recognize these landscapes: it is in the middle of them that David Lean's Laurence of Arabia was shot. In Ouarzazate, cinema is a masterpiece ; the studios served as the setting for Babel with Brad Pitt, The Nile Diamond with Michael Douglas, The Last Temptation of Christ by Martin Scorsese, Tea in the Sahara with John Malkovich, Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven by Ridley Scott and many other internationally popular productions.

Other heritage pieces are worth your stay in the region. The ksar, which is a fortress named Aït Benhaddou is located in the middle of the Ounila valley. Its buildings flank a hill up to its summit where is built an old granary for cereals. Further on, in Imadri, troglodyte houses can be visited. In the Drâa valley, Tamgrout, another of these villages, is home to one of the most famous and oldest Koranic libraries in the country ; some of the manuscripts preserved there, are nearly 1000 years old !

Tinghir and Zagora don’t lack of attractions. In Tinghir, go for a walk in the middle of the Aït El Haj mellah, in the shade of its adobe walls, crossing ochre wash buildings in narrow streets. There you’ll discover the old Jewish quarter, which is a whole section of the city's history. Around Zagora, the atmosphere is quite different. The site of Tazzarine take you back to prehistory ; 5000 years old inscriptions engraved on the rock, testify to the country's multi-millennial history.

Rock engravings, majestic Kasbahs and Hollywood studios... Morocco, a land of contrasts !