Module 075 · Architectural Intelligence
Route of a
Thousand Kasbahs
Tizi n'Tichka to Ouarzazate to the Drâa Valley. Pisé fortresses, Glaoui palaces, and Hollywood sets dissolving back into the earth they were built from.
001 — The Road
The Route
Highest paved pass in North Africa. The gateway. Where Mediterranean ends and Sahara begins.
Glaoui palace. Crumbling grandeur. Off the main road — most tourists miss it.
UNESCO ksar. Hollywood's desert. The most photographed mud-brick in the world.
Gateway to the desert. Atlas Studios. Kasbah Taourirt. "The city without noise."
Palm oasis. Kasbah Amridil. 100+ bird species. The quiet one.
Valley of Roses. Rosa damascena. April–May harvest. Rose festival.
Dadès Gorge entrance. 1,000ft canyon walls. Hairpin road.
Todra Gorge. 30km gorge, 300m walls. Kasbah El Glaoui ruins.
40+ kasbahs. Jebel Saghro foothills. Berber tribal centre.
Erg Chebbi dunes. End of the road. Beginning of the Sahara.
The Route — Mapped
002 — The Kasbahs
The Fortresses
Aït Benhaddou
آيت بن حدو
Fortified since 11th C (Almoravid). Current structures 17th C+
Ounila Valley, 30km NW of Ouarzazate
UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. Sparsely inhabited — 5 families remain (90+ in the 1940s)
The most famous ksar in Morocco. Strategic location on trans-Saharan trade route via Tizi n'Tichka pass — one of few routes across the Atlas connecting Marrakech to the Drâa Valley. Built on hillside above Ounila River. Defensive walls, corner towers, baffle gate. Mosque, caravanserai, two cemeteries (Muslim and Jewish). Agadir (fortified granary) crowns the summit. Rammed earth lower floors, lighter adobe upper floors. Hollywood's favourite backdrop — 20+ productions filmed here.
Featured on more film posters than any building in Africa
He simply failed to realise that feudal government was no longer acceptable.
Abdessadeq El Glaoui, on his father Thami
003 — The Dynasty
The Lord of the Atlas
No story of the kasbahs can avoid the Glaoui. Thami El Glaoui (1879–1956) — Pasha of Marrakech, ally of France, host to Churchill and Chaplin, one of the richest men in the world, and ultimately a traitor who died broken. His kasbahs line the route.
1893: Glaoui brothers rescue Sultan Moulay Hassan from an Atlas blizzard. Rewarded with a Krupp cannon and feudal titles. They crush rival warlords. By 1912, Thami is Pasha of Marrakech.
Controlled the salt, olive, and saffron trades. Kasbah Telouet sat on caravan routes — every merchant paid tribute. Hosted Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, Colette, Maurice Ravel. Attended Elizabeth II's coronation as Churchill's personal guest.
1953: Conspired with France to exile Sultan Mohammed V to Madagascar. Declared a puppet imam. Miscalculated — insurrection followed.
1955: Mohammed V returns in triumph. El Glaoui prostrates himself, kissing the ground at the Sultan's feet. French press photographs the humiliation. All Glaoui properties seized. January 23, 1956 — dies during evening prayers.
004 — Materials
How They
Were Built
Tighremt
ⵜⵉⵖⵔⵎⵜ / قصبةFortified family mansion
The kasbah proper. Square plan, corner towers, multiple storeys (up to six). Built for wealthy families. Decorated upper floors signal status. The word the Amazigh use instead of "kasbah."
Ksar (pl. Ksour)
ⵉⵖⵔⵎ / قصرFortified village
Walled settlement containing multiple dwellings, granaries, mosque, public spaces. Defensive walls with corner towers and baffle gates. The communal version of the tighremt.
Agadir
ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ / أكاديرFortified communal granary
Perched on hilltops above ksour. Stores grain, oil, valuables. Each family has a locked chamber. If the village falls, the food supply survives. Gives the modern city of Agadir its name.
Pisé / Tabiya
— / طابيةRammed earth wall construction
Earth, straw, and pebbles compressed in wooden formwork (al-luh). Courses of ~80cm height. Walls 1 metre thick at base, tapering to 50cm on upper floors. Lime-free. Wooden beams and palm trunks for lintels and roofs. Requires constant maintenance — abandoned structures begin crumbling within decades.
Adobe
— / لبنSun-dried mud brick
Lighter than pisé. Used on upper floors and for decorative elements. Geometric motifs carved into wet earth — triangles, diamonds, Amazigh symbols.
Tataoui
— / ططاويReed and wood ceiling
Reeds laid across wooden beams, creating patterned ceilings. Found in principal rooms of kasbahs. Painted with colourful motifs in wealthier households. Characteristic of Glaoui palaces.
005 — Hollywood
On Screen
Aït Benhaddou — Arabian desert settings
Aït Benhaddou — Ancient world backdrop
Aït Benhaddou — Kafiristan fortress
Aït Benhaddou — North African settings
Ouarzazate region — 007 desert sequences
Ouarzazate region — Biblical landscapes
Aït Benhaddou — Ancient Egyptian city
Aït Benhaddou + Atlas Studios — Zucchabar gladiatorial arena
Ouarzazate — Ancient world
Ouarzazate — Medieval Jerusalem
Ouarzazate — Moroccan storyline
Aït Benhaddou — Alamut
Aït Benhaddou — Yunkai + Pentos
006 — Chronology
Timeline
Hanno of Carthage makes first known reference to the Drâa Valley
Ptolemy maps the Drâa River — it appears on his map of Africa
Umayyad conquest brings Islam to the Atlas and Drâa Valley. Berbers convert
Almoravid period — Aït Benhaddou first fortified as strategic trade post
Almohad dynasty establishes Skoura oasis settlement. Irrigation systems built
Tamnougalt kasbah built — among the oldest surviving. Saadian trade routes peak
Moulay Ismail orders fortresses built throughout southern Morocco for defence
Mohammed Ibiyet begins construction of Kasbah Telouet. 300 craftsmen. 5 years
Sultan Moulay Hassan trapped in Atlas blizzard. Glaoui brothers rescue him. Rewarded with Krupp cannon and feudal titles
Thami El Glaoui becomes Pasha of Marrakech. French Protectorate begins. Glaoui allies with colonial power
El Glaoui conspires to exile Sultan Mohammed V. Declares Ben Arafa as imam. Insurrection follows
Morocco's independence. El Glaoui dies January 23. All Glaoui properties seized. Kasbahs abandoned
Lawrence of Arabia filmed at Aït Benhaddou — Hollywood discovers the route
Aït Benhaddou inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site
CERKAS established in Ouarzazate — dedicated to conservation of earthen architecture in the Atlas region
Gladiator filmed at Aït Benhaddou and Ouarzazate. Arena purpose-built with traditional mud bricks
Game of Thrones films at Aït Benhaddou (Yunkai, Pentos). Global tourism surges
Getty Conservation Institute + CERKAS develop Conservation and Rehabilitation Plan for Kasbah Taourirt
Marrakesh–Safi earthquake damages Kasbah Telouet and other Atlas structures
75 million MAD tourism revival plan for Ouarzazate announced — heritage enhancements at Kasbah Taourirt Square
Key Numbers
Films shot at Aït Benhaddou — from Lawrence of Arabia (1962) to Game of Thrones (2019)
m² — Kasbah Taourirt's total area. One of Morocco's largest earthen complexes
Craftsmen who built Kasbah Telouet over 5 years. Artisans brought from across Morocco, including Fez
Sand to clay ratio — optimal for earthen wall restoration. Confirmed by Getty Conservation Institute
Metres elevation — Kasbah Telouet. The highest major kasbah on the route
MAD — tourism revival plan for Ouarzazate announced October 2025. Heritage enhancements at Taourirt
Sources
Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou — Inscription 1987, criteria (iv) and (v)
Conservation and Rehabilitation Plan for Tighermt (Kasbah) Taourirt, Southern Morocco (2016)
Centre de Conservation et de Réhabilitation du Patrimoine Architectural Atlasique et Subatlasique. Systematic aerial photography inventory of Drâa Valley since 2001
The Kasbahs of Southern Morocco. Faber and Faber Ltd, London, 1969
Thami El Glaoui (1879–1956). Pasha of Marrakech. Glaoui clan history. Telouet Kasbah construction and abandonment
1,635,008 population. 88,836 km². Oases occupy 88% of regional area. Five provinces.