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Ouarzazate (Berber: Warzazat, Arabic: ورزازات) (called The door of the desert), is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the Souss-Massa-Draâ of southern-central Morocco. As of 2004 it had a population of 56,616. Ouarzazate is located at an altitude of 1,160 m in the middle of a bare plateau, south of the High Atlas Mountains. To the south of the town is the desert. The town is chiefly inhabited by Berbers, who constructed many of the prominent kasbahs and building for which the area is known for. Ouarzazate is one of the important holiday destinations in Morocco as a nodal point for excursion across the Draa Valley and desert in the area. The fortified village (ksar) of Ait Benhaddou has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The town and surrounding area is also a noted film-making location, with Morocco's biggest studios inviting many international film companies to shoot their films. Films such as Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Star Wars (1977), The Living Daylights (1987), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000) and Martin Scorsese's Kundun (1997) were shot in the Ouarazate area.
[edit] EtymologyIts name comes from a Berber phrase meaning "without noise" or "without confusion". It is also featured by its closeness to Atlas Mountains and Draa Valley. [edit] History  Once in its history, Ouarzazate had been a small crossing point for African traders seeking to reach northern cities in Morocco and Europe. During the French period, Ouarzazate expanded considerably as a garrison town, administrative centre, and customs post. It is home to the casbah of Taourirt, (the casbah of the former caïd and later the possession of T'hami El Glaoui). The Krupps field gun which secured Glaoui power is outside. The area is also known for its Ouazguita carpets with geometric designs of red-orange on black background. [edit] ClimateThe town is hot and dry in summer, but can be very cold in winter, with icy winds that originate from the High Atlas Mountains.
[edit] Film studios At present, it hosts the largest movie studios in the world, Atlas Studios. Several historical movies were shot on those studios, including Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, Lawrence of Arabia, The Man Who Would Be King, Cleopatra, Kundun, Gladiator and lately Alexander, Kingdom of Heaven and Babel. It was also the location of the November 26, 2006 episode of the television series The Amazing Race 10. [edit] Sights outside of OuarzazateThe casbah-town of Aït Benhaddou is nearby. Many excursions through the valley of the Draa River into the Sahara start from the city. These include trips to Zagora, an oasis town surrounded by palm tree plantations, and the traditional departure point for camel trains to Timbuktu (52 days away). [edit] MappingDetailed maps are hard to obtain in Morocco. The French IGN mapping at a 1:100,000 scale has been reproduced by the Moroccan Division de la carte. These maps are often out of date and obtained only with special permission in Rabat. Soviet mapping on a 1:200,000 scale is available on the internet, this is generally out of date and in Cyrillic. A new series of maps are now available that include the EWP and WCP. Ouarzazate Region [map], 1st edition, 1:160,000 Map and Guide, Atlas Mountains Morocco. Cartography by EWP. (2008) ISBN 9780906227992.
[edit] See also[edit] External links
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