Page 270 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Morocco

268  MOROC C O REGION B Y REGION

Environs
About 10 km (6 miles) to the
south is the Finnt Oasis, with fine
pisé ksour. A little further on is the
El-Mansour Eddahbi Dam, fed by
the Dadès and Ouarzazate rivers,
which join to form the Draa.
The dam provides water for the
golf course, the Draa’s palm groves
and electricity for the valley.
About 7 km (4 miles) northwest
of Ouarzazate is the majestic
Tiffoul toute Kasbah, offering
fine views from its terrace. It was
converted into a hotel in the 1960s
to provide rooms during the
shooting of David Lean’s Lawrence
of Arabia. It is now a restaurant.

2 Taourirt Kasbah
Road Map C4. Opposite the crafts
centre on the road out of Ouarzazate
leading to the Dadès valley. 8
Ouarzazate’s only historic
building, the Taourirt Kasbah
stands as a monument to
Glaoui expansionism. At the
beginning of the 20th century,
A shop in the crafts centre opposite the Taourirt Kasbah the Glaoui family were the
lords of the South and
1 Ouarzazate About 6 km (4 miles) outside controlled access to the High
Ouarzazate, off the road to Atlas. They were the first to
Road Map C4. * 70,000. @ Avenue
Mohammed V (to Marrakech, Tinerhir, Marrakech, are the Atlas Film collaborate with the French in
Taroudannt and Zagora) and grands Studios, surrounded by high the expansion of the latter’s
taxis (Tue, Fri, Sat, Sun). n Avenue pisé walls that look as if they are rule in the South.
Mohammed V; (0524) 88 24 85. Grands defended by giant Hollywood- Begun in the 18th century
taxis, Land Rovers and 4x4 vehicles for style, pseudo-Egyptian figures. and renovated in the 19th, the
hire. _ Crafts Festival (May); Moussem The studios, which cover 30,000 kasbah has been undergoing
of Sidi Daoud (Aug). sq m (322,920 sq ft) of desert, restoration from time to time
provide the livelihood of a since 1994. It once housed the
A former garrison town of considerable portion of the large Glaoui family, together
the French Foreign Legion, population of Ouarzazate. with their servants.
Ouarzazate was founded in Hundreds of films The façade,
1928, having been chosen by have been shot consisting of
the French as a strategic base in this region, high smooth earth
from which to pacify the South. including walls, is pitted and
Located at an altitude of 1,160 m Bertolucci’s The decorated with
(3,807 ft) at the intersec tion of Sheltering Sky geometric patterns
the Draa and Dadès valleys, with (1990) and Detail of a window in the in negative relief.
the Agadir region to the west, it Scorsese’s Kundun Taourirt Kasbah Inside, a maze
is on the main route between (1997). On the of staircases at
the mountains and the desert. other side of the town, opposite every level of the building leads
It is also a good base from the Taourirt Kasbah, are the to rooms of various sizes lit by
which to visit Aït Benhaddou Andromeda Italian film studios. low windows. The larger rooms
and the Skoura palm grove. have plasterwork decoration
Ouarzazate is a peaceful Atlas Film Studios featuring floral and geometric
provincial town with wide On road N9, 6 km (4 miles) north west motifs, and colourfully painted
streets, many hotels and of Ouarzazate. Tel (0524) 88 22 23. wooden ceilings. There are also
municipal gardens. Avenue Open Studios: 8am–6:30pm daily; some tiny rooms with low rush-
Mohammed V, the only main 8 8:15am–5:15pm (until 6:45pm matted ceilings, doorless arches,
street, crosses the town and in summer) daily, except when red-tiled floors and white walls.
leads to the Dadès valley. filming is going on. Next to the kasbah is a former
For hotels and restaurants see pp312–13 and pp329–30

268-269_EW_Morocco.indd 268 09/08/16 11:20 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 1st October 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm