Aït-Ben-Haddou, Morocco - The Living Daylights
Posted by: 
Narayan,
N 31° 02.837 W 007° 07.797
29R E 678453 N 3436344
Mostly abandoned village in the South of Morocco. Many of the Afghanistan scenes from "The Living Daylights" were filmed here.
Waymark Code: WMNRY4
Location: Morocco
Date Posted: 04/27/2015
Views: 13
Aït-Ben-Haddou is a mostly abandoned village ("Ksar") in the South of Morocco at the feet of the High Atlas. It was built approximately between the 12th and the 16th century and was part of the caravan route between the Sahara and Marakech. It consists like most ksars from that time of fortress-like clay buildings that are crowded together.
It's famousness all around the world comes from the fact, that the ksar was used and is still being used as film set for a lot of popular movies: Lawrence of Arabia, Indiana Jones, Gladiator, Asterix and Cleopatra, Prince of Persia, and Game of Thrones among many others.
Also, many scenes of the James Bond movie "The Living Daylights" have been shot here: After James Bond and Kara Milovy flee from a Russian Air Force base in Afghanistan, they are brought by Afghan rebels to their village in the desert where they spend the night. Actually, the outdoor recordings of this village have been filmed in Aït-Ben-Haddou and show the ksar. In addition, most of the desert scenes playing the following day, including horse rides through the desert and the drug deal, were shot in the surrounding desert of Aït-Ben-Haddou.
Multiple film studios have settled in the nearby town of Ouarzazate. The ksar has been included in the list of World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO in 1987.