Leaving Ait Benhaddou
Today was a really fun day, especially for a movie fan like me, and we’re now in the town of Zagora which is our final stop before we head into the Sahara tomorrow for the night.
I woke up fairly early, not quite early enough to watch the sunrise although it was early enough to get some great photos of the golden hour after sunrise. This really brought out the colours of the local area in all of their glory.
I spent some time taking photos, and having a shower in my room, before a simple breakfast downstairs at the hotel.
Our first stop of the day was in another co-operative, this time selling traditional hand-made carpets. We had a tour of the facility, including a demonstration of the technique used to make them, before we had some time to shop. They were a bit out of my price range, but they were really nice and some people did decide to buy them.
After a visit to the co-operative, which was close to our hotel, it was onto the minibus for the ride to our next stop – the Atlas Movie Studios.
Atlas Movie Studios
These studios, located a short drive from Ait Benhaddou, have been used for loads of movies and TV shows including Jewel of the Nile, The Living Daylights, Gladiator, The Mummy, and Game of Thrones.
We spent time looking around the studios with somebody who, in addition to being a guide, was a camera operator when movies were filmed there. He was amazing, and he told us loads of information about both the movies that were filmed there, and the techniques used to make movies.
He also filmed a few short clips for us on our phones, to demonstrate these techniques.
Some of the sets that I really enjoyed seeing were those used in The Mummy, the Afghan village from The Living Daylights, and various ones from Gladiator – which I did watch last night, in the end. I could have spent hours looking around the various sets, but we only had time to visit for 90 minutes and this did give us a great overview of the facilities.
The studios were definitely worth a visit and so I’m glad that we decided to come here. I think that the guide made the visit even better, though, and it was only after we visited that we found out our tour leader called ahead and specifically requested him as he always goes the extra mile to make tours fun.
An unexpected tea break
After the studios we stopped at a hotel a short ride away for lunch. The restaurant at the hotel was not open, but Intrepid have an agreement that tours can stop there for drinks and to eat food that we brought ourselves. In our case, this was from a supermarket earlier in the day.
Following lunch, we stopped for a short time at the home of Mousa, our driver, who had invited us round for tea. He lives in the house with his extended family, and it was interesting to see inside a traditional Moroccan house – including how strong the emphasis is on hospitality areas to entertain guests.
Onwards to Zagora
Then it was onwards to Zagora, stopping briefly at a lookout point outside the city to stretch our legs and hear a bit more about the area.
We’re staying in a place called Chez Ali tonight, which is in the town of Zagora. The rooms are basic, and mine was an internal room with windows out into the corridors, but it was more than enough for a one night stay.
The hotel has a great pool area and so I decided not to join the group for a walk around the local farmlands. Instead, I decided to relax by the pool – partaking in the occasional swim – until it was time to get ready for dinner.
This turned out to be the right decision as the water was cool, and it gave me a chance to cool off after a long travel day in the heat. Intrepid trips do tend to be a bit rushed sometimes, and this is no exception, so I try to take the time to chill when I can if it doesn’t mean missing something that I want to do.
Dinner tonight was in the courtyard of the hotel and was great. With the usual company of cats, of course!
Onwards to the Sahara tomorrow!
A few more photos from Atlas Studios
Here are a few more photos from today which I didn’t have a chance to put in the main sections of the blog, but which I think should definitely be included.
