If you are a lover of history and a world traveler, then I have just the place you must visit. It is called Ait-Ben-Haddou, a fortified village or ksar that is located on a hill overlooking the Quarzazate River in the beautiful country of Morocco. It is nineteen miles NW of Quarzazate on the west of the Wadi Mellah Valley and Quarzazate River. This amazing place is made up of several fortresses called kasbahs. They are approximately ten meters in height. The oldest constructions do not appear to be built earlier than the seventeenth century although their structure and technique were propagated from a very early period in the valleys of southern Morocco. This village was once a stop along the Sahara Trade Route. Traders who were carrying carrying cargoes of slaves, spices, and other goods would stop here to rest on their way to Timbuktu or the Western Sahara. 
The community areas of the ksar include a mosque, a public square, grain threshing areas outside the ramparts, a fortification and a loft at the top of the village, a caravanserai (a desert inn for caravans), two cemeteries (Muslim and Jewish), and the Sanctuary of the Saint Sidi Ali or Amer. The Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou is a perfect synthesis of earthen architecture of the pre-Saharan regions of Morocco.
Visitors have the great experience to go back in time to an era when life was slower and more peaceful. Approximately eight families still live in this area, but most of them inhabit more modern homes across the river. The ones that live in the ksar often open up their homes to tourists for a fee. Some even sell traditional Moroccan art and jewelry which can be unique souvenirs for tourists to take back home with them. 
Getting to the village is also part of the fun. Tourists can cross the river by riding on camels or horses or by crossing a small foot bridge. At this point magnificent views of Jebel Toubkal and the other High Atlas Hotel can be seen with explanations provided by a man in traditional Berber dress as a tourist guide. Tourists can delightfully wander around the narrow streets of the village or climb to the top of the granary above the ksar to get an incredible and breath-taking view of the entire mountains capped with snow despite Morocco’s extreme temperatures. Watching the sun and seeing the red color produced by the mud-brick walls of the Kasbahs is also a glorious sight to behold.
This historic place has been used in seventeen classic movies, such as the famous Lawrence of Arabia filmed in 1962, The Man Who Would Be King in 1975, Time Bandits in 1981, The Jewel of the Nile in 1985, The Living Daylights in 1987, The Mummy in 1999, Gladiator in 2000, Alexander in 2004, Babel in 2006, and Prince of Persia in 2010. This fantastic tourist attraction in southern Morocco was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987. 
Below is the Facebook link for this amazing historic attraction in Southern Morocco.
https://www.facebook.com/ksar.ait.ben.haddou
Much appreciation goes to my very dear friend Rachid who helped me with some information about Ait-Ben-Haddou. This is close to his home in Morocco. I wrote this poem for him several months ago. I will share it with you now. 
RACHID BOUTCHACHAFT
By Randi D. Ward
What heartfelt words can I share about one of my best friends online?
He is an amazing young man who has become so very close to me.
It is such a great honor and pleasure to know that he is a real friend of mine.
In fact, I now consider him to be like a special member of my family.
Rachid lives with his family in Agadir, Morocco, and is a university student.
He is highly intelligent and dreams of becoming a French teacher one day.
For this important reason his study habits are always serious and prudent,
So that he will continually achieve much success in each and every way
The Almighty God and his religious beliefs are extremely important to him.
He tries to be the best person he can be each day and live a pure life.
He never neglects his five prayers a day because he is a devout Muslim.
He believes true devotion to Allah will hopefully prevent unwanted strife.
He loves to play football, to swim, to cook, and to chat on the net.
He has a fantastic sense of humor, loves to tease me, and be crazy.
We have laughed for countless hours since that first day we met.
He constantly finds ways to keep forever busy and is never ever lazy.
He likes to be with his friend Mubarak when he is not busy with his school,
And one day he hopes to travel with him to visit other places in their country.
They both know this wonderful experience will be so incredibly cool
Because there are numerous amazing sites in Morocco they long to see.
So this poem is being written to express my sincerest respect and love
For a young man whom I am sincerely happy is my sweet and dear friend.
I truly believe our extraordinary connection was sent from God above
And pray that nothing will ever happen to cause our unique friendship to end. 
Due to technical difficulties with my website now, no pictures can be inserted. To see the photos of this amazing historical site, go to my book facebook page….https://www.facebook.com/pages/Randi-D-Ward/454452844603477
The photo problem has been fixed as you can see, but I would love it if you would still check out my Facebook book page mentioned above.
Randi D. Ward
October 25, 2013
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