Ouarzazate

Ouarzazate Warzazat / ⵡⴰⵔⵣⴰⵣⴰⵝ / ورزازات
Kasbah Taourirt in eastern Ouarzazate Kasbah Taourirt in eastern Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate Location in Morocco
Coordinates:
Country	Morocco
Region	Drâa-Tafilalet
Elevation	3,776 ft (1,151 m)
Population (2004)
• Total	56,616

Ouarzazate (Berber: Warzazat ⵡⴰⵔⵣⴰⵣⴰⵝ; Arabic: ورزازات‎‎), nicknamed The door of the desert, is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in Drâa-Tafilalet region of south-central Morocco. Ouarzazate is at an elevation of 1,160 metres (3,810 ft) 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 Berber-speakers, who constructed many of the prominent kasbahs (locally known as: iɣeṛman) and buildings for which the area is known. Ouarzazate is an important holiday destination in Morocco, as a base for excursions across the Draa Valley and into the desert. The fortified village (ksar) of Ait Benhaddou west of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Ouarzazate area is a noted film-making location, with Morocco's biggest studios inviting many international companies to work here. Films such as Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Living Daylights (1987), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Kundun (1997), Legionnaire (1998), Hanna (2011), and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011) were shot here, as was part of the TV series Game of Thrones.

The Ouarzazate solar power station is expected to open its first phase in December 2015.

Etymology

Its name comes from a Berber phrase meaning "without noise" or "without confusion".

The souk

History

For a long time, Ouarzazate was a small crossing point for African traders on their way to northern Morocco and Europe. During the French period, Ouarzazate expanded considerably as a garrison town, administrative centre and customs post. It is home to the kasbah of Taourirt, which was the casbah of the former caïd and later owned by T'hami El Glaoui. The Krupp field gun which secured Glaoui power is displayed outside the kasbah today.

The area is also known for its Ouazguita carpets with geometric designs of red-orange on black background.

Climate

The town is hot and dry in summer, but can be very cold in winter, with icy winds coming from the High Atlas Mountains.

Climate data for Ouarzazate
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	16.6 (61.9)	19.3 (66.7)	22.2 (72)	25.1 (77.2)	29.6 (85.3)	34.1 (93.4)	37.8 (100)	37.0 (98.6)	32.2 (90)	26.5 (79.7)	20.4 (68.7)	16.7 (62.1)	26.5 (79.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	9.3 (48.7)	11.9 (53.4)	14.8 (58.6)	17.6 (63.7)	21.7 (71.1)	25.9 (78.6)	29.5 (85.1)	28.8 (83.8)	24.6 (76.3)	19.4 (66.9)	13.7 (56.7)	9.5 (49.1)	18.9 (66)
Average low °C (°F)	1.9 (35.4)	4.5 (40.1)	7.4 (45.3)	10.0 (50)	13.8 (56.8)	17.7 (63.9)	21.3 (70.3)	20.7 (69.3)	17.1 (62.8)	12.3 (54.1)	6.9 (44.4)	2.4 (36.3)	11.3 (52.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	13.0 (0.512)	13.1 (0.516)	7.4 (0.291)	7.4 (0.291)	7.0 (0.276)	2.1 (0.083)	1.4 (0.055)	5.1 (0.201)	13.3 (0.524)	13.4 (0.528)	19.3 (0.76)	9.7 (0.382)	112.2 (4.417)
Average precipitation days	2.9	2.8	2.2	2.0	2.3	1.3	1.6	3.3	4.9	3.4	3.8	2.4	32.9
Mean monthly sunshine hours	251.8	244.9	297.2	315.2	332.7	335.0	317.7	293.2	266.4	271.3	242.9	248.1	3,416.4
Source: NOAA

Film studios

File:Atlas Corporation Studios Ouarzazate Morocco.JPG

250px

Atlas Studios is one of the largest movie studios in the world, in terms of land area. Several historical movies were shot here, including The Living Daylights, Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, Lawrence of Arabia, The Man Who Would Be King, Kingdom of Heaven and Babel. It was also the location of an episode of the television series The Amazing Race 10 and Game of thrones: Season 3.

Sights nearby

The kasbah-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 a departure point for camel trains to Timbuktu, a journey that would take about 52 days. These days the border to Algeria is closed, stopping the Timbuktu route.

Mapping

Detailed 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 with special permission in Rabat. Soviet mapping on a 1:200,000 scale is available on the Internet, but these are generally outdated and show the names of places in Cyrillic letters.

A new series of maps are available, including the

Views

Taourirt Kasbah, Ouarzazate, Morocco

Gallery

• OuarzazateStreet.jpg

  A street in Ouarzazate

• OuarzazateKasbah.jpg

  Kasbah Ait Benhaddou

• 

  Kasbah Aksar

• 093 Oasis du Fint.JPG

  Oasis du Fint

• Ouarzazate.jpg

  The back side of Kasbah Taourirt

• Ouarzazate Medina.jpg

  Ouarzazate old town

• Ouarzazate Atlas Studios -transferred.jpg

  Film props at Atlas Studios

See also

• Tizi n'Tichka: The mountain pass that leads to Ouarzazate
• List of Movies shot in Morocco
• Ouarzazate Airport
• Ouarzazate solar power station

External links

• Movies shot in Ouarzazate at IMDb
• Ouarzazate travel guide from Wikivoyage