Writer Sanmao recorded many stories of Berbers in "Stories of the Sahara". Ouarzazate, a small town on the edge of the Sahara Desert, is the earliest homeland of the indigenous Berbers in Morocco. It still retains the "Pyramid" village built in the 12th century. Ouarzazate, known as the "Desert Gate", is also favored by directors because of its original style, abundant sunshine, and unpolluted natural environment. This is the filming location of hundreds of popular TV dramas such as "Operation Red Sea", "Cleopatra", "The Mummy", "Gladiator" and "Game of Thrones", known as "African Hollywood"!
"Red Pyramid" Village
Ouarzazate, located in southeastern Morocco, is a small town on the edge of the Sahara Desert and the earliest home of the country's indigenous Berbers. It is located in the majestic Atlas Mountains, with the title of "Desert Gate" and "African Hollywood". Ouarzazate, whose name is derived from the Berber language meaning "no noise", was once an extremely quiet place. There are still less than 100,000 inhabitants, most of them Berbers, and are famous for the preservation of many ancient Moroccan buildings!
Before entering the town center of Ouarzazate, you pass through a valley of roses, nourished by rivers all year round, full of cereals and henna, and terraced fields. Several dense palm forests form a beautiful "green ribbon" in the Sahara Desert. In front of you, there are red clay villages appearing. The villages are covered with low vegetation and tall trees, like desert oases.
These buildings, located in the desert, were built by the Berbers using clay, water and hay. They built the walls with dry mud, and then painted them with reddish-brown mud. The process of making mud bricks is very simple. Berbers first mix soil and hay into wooden molds, and then put them in the sun to dry. In the way of "dry base", the houses are built on top of each other in layers. Local buildings are generally composed of fortress-style residences and castle-style granaries. The ground floor is a stable, the second floor is a granary, and the third floor is a residence. There are also towers at the four corners of the houses, and they will use palm tree trunks to build beams and build terraces. The window is a unique local pattern, and the overall look is simple and elegant.
When you come to Ouarzazate, you have to go to the fortified village of Ait Ben Haddou. This ancient village known as the "Red Pyramid" is the only way to enter the Sahara Desert from Marrakech. It was built in the heyday of the Berber Muwahid dynasty in the 12th century, and it is still well preserved after hundreds of years of baptism.
The fortified village of Haddu was originally a fortification that guarded an important trade route through the Sahara desert. Although it has been through the ages, it has always been one of the most outstanding architectural works in Africa, containing the wisdom and ingenuity of the Berber people. The architecture of the ancient village is Moroccan Kazba style, with typical four corner towers, and the Middle East style is strong.
The climatic conditions in the Sahara Desert are very harsh, and it is extremely difficult to survive here. However, the Berbers took advantage of the only conditions and infinite wisdom to build the village of Haddu into a red and green "desert miracle", living here for hundreds of years, living a primitive and self-sufficient life. In 1987, the fortified village of Ben Haddou was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for better protection.
The Wisdom of Berbers
There is a red ancient castle left behind in Hadu Fortress Village, which is even more majestic under the sunlight and the river. There are thousands of castles like this in Morocco, and there are more than 300 in Ouarzazate alone. But the best-preserved red castle in Hadu Fortress Village is undoubtedly the most dazzling among them.
When you come to this ancient village for nearly a thousand years, you can see the tall tower-shaped "Red Fort" from a distance. But to get in, you also need to cross a moat. There is a city wall by the river, tall palm trees grow in front of the city gate, turrets, watchtowers and many crenels are built on the city wall, and there are ancient dwellings built on the mountains behind.
The dwellings are stacked on top of each other, like a pyramid made of reddish-brown mud. This architectural form has a very strong defensive function. It was easy to defend and difficult to attack at that time, and it has stood for hundreds of years, completely preserving its appearance. It has to be said that it shows the superb construction craftsmanship and admirable wisdom of the Berbers.
Walking up the stairs on a large stone dirt road, there are Berber people's residences on both sides. It is worth mentioning that, because the soil here does not conduct heat easily, living in a house with thick walls is still pleasantly cool even if it is strongly baked by the midday sun. Berber roofs are woven with bitter willow, which also has the magical effect of repelling mosquitoes!
The walls of castles and houses are decorated with abstract patterns in Islamic style. Some local residents' houses are also hung with bright paintings, exquisite handicrafts, and gorgeous Berber costumes, attracting the attention of tourists from all over the world.
old castle village
Morocco ancient city scenery
The ancient village castle built on the mountain is not high, and it can be reached in half an hour. There is an iconic square watchtower here, which is the commanding height of the neighborhood, and it can overlook the whole village when placed on it. On the collapsed ruins, there are rough bricks with uneven heights. In the distance, there are winding rivers and low villages. When looking up, you can see the magnificent snow-capped mountains. Here, it seems to be able to see the prosperity of business exchanges, the sound of camel bells, and the continuous flow of carriages and horses, and finally it has returned to peace in the changing times.
The Berbers are an ancient ethnic group originating in Northwest Africa, mainly concentrated in Morocco and Algeria. Although many primitive peoples have abandoned their traditional skills and living habits under the development of modernization, the Berbers are one of the few peoples who have retained their traditional way of life. The fortified village of Ait Ben Haddou has also become a rare original Berber village in the world.
The village was founded in 757 AD. At a glance, on the uplifted hillside, a reddish-brown castle seemed to rise from the rocks. Under the setting sun, the scattered red clay buildings are shrouded in a golden afterglow. The tall laterite walls are strong and follow the traditional construction techniques of southern Morocco. As the most well-preserved and largest one among the many castle-like villages on the edge of the river valley, Hadu fortified villages are all made of laterite and wood as materials, built on top of each other and built on top of the mountains, which is quite imposing.
Morocco has never lacked color, and the color belonging to Ouarzazate is the caramel color unique to the local Islamic architecture. It was the color of an early Berber cave, which contrasted with the blue sky in the desert.
The Berbers are one of the first indigenous peoples of the Sahara Desert and have lived in oases on the edge of the desert since time immemorial. In the most unsuitable desert for human existence, even in the weather close to 50 degrees, they can survive and create a tribal civilization with wisdom and hands.
Treasure house of architectural art
It's hard to imagine life without water in modern society, but here is the norm, and water in the desert is more precious to Berbers than gold. In order to get water, they learned to dig wells from the oasis to dig out the groundwater, and even kill the camel to get the water in the camel's stomach when the water is extremely scarce. In normal times, Berbers also store water in bags made of camel skin. So if you can drink a pot of tea that they specially made for you, it is giving you the highest level of courtesy.
Local specialty tableware "Taji pot"
The local special tableware "Taji pot" was also invented by Berbers to save water. They designed a hat-like lid that you can cook without even using water. The ingredients are piled up in a pyramid shape, with the vegetables on the bottom and the meat on the top. The moisture of the vegetables evaporates at high temperature, then condenses and drips back into the pot. This not only reduces the loss of water, but also retains the original flavor of the ingredients.
"African Hollywood" in the desert
At dusk, the setting sun renders the desert like a dream. The collapsed ruins of the "pyramid" village, the rough bricks with uneven heights, and the small oasis in the distance seem to be telling the past and present of this desert. The surroundings were quiet, except for the wind from the Sahara.
This ancient castle is strong enough to withstand the erosion of the years, but it cannot withstand the inconvenience caused by the backward living facilities. So the young people and the old people moved out one after another and lived in the new city across the river. The huge red castle was only the yellow sand rolled up by the strong wind, rustling against the thick red city wall.
Xiao's sense of defeat seems to be swallowing up the fortified village of Ait Ben Haddou... Fortunately, the opportunity has finally come! In the early 1960s, the famous British director filmed Lawrence of Arabia here.
Following "Lawrence of Arabia", more directors and filmmakers have set their sights on this magical village in the desert. After all, there are primitive aboriginal customs, abundant and gorgeous sunshine, and uncontaminated natural environment... "Iron King" in 1975, "Jesus of Nazareth" in 1977, "Treasure of the Nile" in 1985, 1987's 007 series "Iron King Kong vs. Agent Flying Dragon", 1988's "The Last Temptation of Christ", 1990's "Love in the Sahara", 1999's "The Mummy", 2000's "Gladiator", and "Gladiator" in 2000. Cleopatra", "Alexander the Great" ... dozens of Hollywood blockbusters are shot here.
And what really made this ancient village famous in the world is undoubtedly the top American TV series "Game of Thrones". There is a very important city in the play, the city of Yunkai, which was filmed on the basis of the fortified village of Haddu.
More than 200 film and television dramas were filmed here
Sahara Desert
More than 200 film and television works have been filmed here, making it known as "African Hollywood", and even spawning a film and television base, Ouarzazate has become a world-famous "City of Movies"! The "Super Burning" movie "Operation Red Sea", which was released in the Spring Festival in 2018, filmed a large number of real scenes in the fortified village of Ait Ben Haddou.
Morocco is also rated as a "filmmaker's paradise" by the industry because of its "very sought-after construction workers, painters, extras and electricity resources". People from different cultural backgrounds can easily meet the needs of diverse roles. In addition, the Moroccan government also strongly supports the development of the domestic film industry, such as providing military equipment for war-themed film and television dramas and reducing taxes for foreign film crews, which are quite attractive to directors from all over the world.
After the village became a film and television city, all Berbers became extras, props artists, etc., and their incomes increased many times over before. And they have infinite wisdom and dexterous hands. Even in such a modern society where industry is so developed, Berbers still inherit unique handicraft products: colorful handmade carpets, handmade bronzes, porcelain and hand-dyed various Leather products... are full of regional customs and are very popular among tourists.
Today, many Berbers in the fortified villages of Haddu sell all kinds of handicrafts in the red castle. They hang colorful rugs on the red walls of the house, neither for sale nor active recommendation. They don't seem to care much about the accumulation of wealth, as long as life can continue.
In the Sahara Desert, far from the city, Berbers live here. Although the economy is backward, their spiritual wealth allows them to enjoy the life in front of them. Perhaps it is the "ancient" that collides with civilization here, which attracts tourists from all over the world. So far, in the vast desert, reluctant to leave. Walking through this ancient village that has experienced vicissitudes of life, looking at these remnant walls and broken walls, the stories on the screen will open the valve of memory and continue to emerge, making people full of fantasy...
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