Ouarzazate – Kasbah, Crafts and Film History

If you are interested in architecture, crafts or film history, Ouarzazate offers specific themes to consider when planning your trip. The city is home to sites with different cultural focuses, including Kasbah Taourirt, the Ouarzazate Artisanal Complex and the Ouarzazate Cinema Museum. If you are looking for hotels in Ouarzazate, these sites can help you decide which aspects of the city you would like to shape your stay.

Kasbah Taourirt: Architecture and Cultural Heritage

The preserved sections of Kasbah Taourirt include an urban-style reception hall, a courtyard and ornamental façades. The reception room, courtyard and façade design offer different insights into the complex. The kasbah is also known for its crenellated towers and cedarwood ceilings.

The northeastern section was restored and opened to visitors in 1996. The Kasbah of Taourirt in Ouarzazate has been recognized as national cultural heritage since 1953. These two dates represent different aspects of its history: its recognition as cultural heritage and the later restoration and opening of a specific section.

Crafts and Carpet Weaving

The Ouarzazate Artisanal Complex is located near Kasbah Taourirt. Six workshops are dedicated to working with alabaster, stones from the High Atlas and fossilized rock, as well as wood, copper and jewelry. This brings together a range of materials and craft disciplines in one place.

The complex also has an exhibition room for carpets from the Ait Ouaouzguit and Hanbal tribes. There is also a women’s carpet-weaving cooperative. The workshops, carpet exhibition and weaving cooperative represent different forms of craftsmanship: working with various materials and making textiles.

Film History at the Museum and Studios

The Ouarzazate Cinema Museum covers two hectares and houses several film sets. Their themes relate to biblical history and notable films shot in the region. The Ouarzazate Cinema Museum officially opened on July 30, 2007. The sets and their themes give the museum a different focus from the kasbah or the artisanal complex.

Another film-related site near the destination is Atlas Corporation Studios. Founded in 1983, they are located five kilometers from the city entrance. Films have been shot there since 1984, including The Jewel of the Nile, Gladiator, Babel and Kundun.

The museum and studios offer two different perspectives on film: the museum focuses on several film sets and their connections to biblical stories and notable regional productions. At the studios, the founding year of 1983 and the filming that has taken place there since 1984 illustrate the location’s production history. When planning your trip, you can consider these film-related themes alongside architecture and crafts as separate interests.

Ouarzazate and the Regional Setting of Ouarzazate Province

Ouarzazate is a central hub for a large area in southern Morocco. Ouarzazate Province provides the broader geographical context; its landscapes should be distinguished from the sights within the city. The eastern foothills of the Anti-Atlas in the province include vast stony plains and valleys cut by major gorges.

The southern foothills of the Central High Atlas in Ouarzazate Province also shape the regional landscape: there are high vertical rock faces, and Jbel Azourki reaches 3,685 meters. The province’s river network includes the Dades, Ouarzazate and Ait Douchen rivers and their tributaries. Together, they form the upper Drâa Basin. To put your stay in context, it helps to distinguish between the city’s themes of kasbah, crafts and film history and the geographical features of the province as a whole.

Discover more destinations: Souk El-Khémis Dades, Azrarag, Corniche Aglou, Taliouine, Aguerzeka, Taddart, Afeggou, Khenafif.

For the broader travel overview: Souss-Massa-Draa.