20/06/2019: Quazazate
Km travelled today/sum: 172 km / 6799km
Sun shine, 28 degrees, country road
The temperature in Quazazate, our next destination, should be below 30 degrees, so we could leave a bit later. Here is Sigrid in front of our accommodation.
It was an easy ride and we arrived just after lunch time. Ait Benhaddou, a famous fortified village, was another 15 minutes from Quazazate, so we opted to get there in the afternoon. This village was the backdrop for a lot of famous movies, for example: Laurance of Arabia, Indiana Jones, Gladiator and Games of Thrones. Here are some pictures of Ait Benhaddou and its surroundings.
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- View of the village
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- The view from the higher part of the town onto the buildings below
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- The nearby dunes from above
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- The bridge leading to the entrance of Ait Benhaddou
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- View through a hole in the defensive wall
To our surprise, there are still some families living here. This is one of the occupied houses, with a beautiful door and stained glass window. The dry river bed is used by the locals as a road.
On our way back we decided to stop at the ‘Atlas Studios’, one of the three film studios here.We learned that Quarzazate is called the ‘Little African Hollywood’. We tried to get a tour but we were too late, so we took some pictures from the outside.
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- This was a shot over the studio walls
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- Looks like a stage for an Egyptian movie!
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- In the town, we found this intreresting sculpture on a round about incorporating some film reels.
After a long day, we sat down and had dinner the restaurant in our hotel. It was opposite the bus terminal, so we had plenty of enterainment.
Tomorrow we will ride over the ‘Tiz n Tichka’ pass to Marrakkech, which would be the last place where we have to worry about the bike and high temperatures. The temperature at the coast beyond this should remain below 30 degrees.
