Ouarzazate is a primary tourist destination in Morocco during the holidays, as well as a starting point for excursions into and across the Draa Valley and the desert. The fortified village Aït Benhaddou west of the city is a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.
Its name comes from a Berber phrase meaning "without noise" or "without confusion".[citation needed]
History
For a long time, Ouarzazate was a small crossing point for African traders on their way to northern Morocco and Europe.[2] In the 16th century, Sheikh Abu al-'Abaas Ahmed bin Abdellah al-Wizkiti al-Warzazi, emir of the qasba of Ouarzazate and father of Lalla Masuda, helped establish Saadi control over the Sous-Dra'a region.[3][4]
Ouarzazate was home to a thriving Jewish community. In 1954, about 170 Jews lived in the Mellah.[5] The "Old Synagogue", a synagogue said to be nearly 300 years old, is located in Ouarzazate.[6] There is also a Jewish cemetery, which is no longer in use.[7]
During the French period, Ouarzazate expanded considerably as a garrison town, administrative centre and customs post and a church (Eglise Saint Therese) was built in 1931.[8] It is home to the Kasbah Taourirt, which was the kasbah of the former caïd and later owned by T'hami El Glaoui. The Kruppfield gun which secured Glaoui power is displayed outside the kasbah today.[citation needed]
Ouarzazate is at an elevation of 1,160 metres (3,810 ft)[citation needed] in the middle of a bare plateau south of the High Atlas Mountains, with a desert to the city's south.
Source 2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (record highs for February, May, July, August, and November, record lows, and humidity)[16] Meteo Climat (all other record highs and record lows for June, July, September and October only)[17]
Landmarks
The Kasbah Taourirt is the city's historic kasbah (fortified residence, or tighremt in Berber languages). It was owned and expanded by the Glaoui family in the late 19th century and the 20th century.[18][19] Built mainly of rammed earth, it is one of the most impressive examples of this type of structure, which characterizes the architecture of the predominantly Berber-inhabited Atlas mountain and oasis regions of Morocco.[18]
Film is a major industry in Ouarazazate and constitute a major part of its economy.[21] Its success is due to the presence of desert landscapes and historical architecture, the availability of trained technicians, low productions costs, and Morocco's streamlined process for obtaining film permits.[21] Most productions are from the USA or Western Europe, but the number of Indian and Chinese productions has also increased in recent years.[21] According to a study published in 2020, about 20 to 50 foreign film and television productions are shot in Ouarzazate every year.[21] In 2017, the heads of Moroccan film studios claimed that about 80 percent of staff used on film productions were Moroccan.[22]
Another large studio in Ouarzazate is CLA Studios, established in 2004.[22]
The Cinema Museum, located across from the Kasbah Taourirt, opened in 2007 and is housed in a former film studio. The museum displays film sets, props, and technical equipment from previous productions.[23][22]
^The record highs and lows are based on the Deutscher Wetterdienst link for the period 1941–1963 while records beyond 1965 come from the Meteo Climat link. As a result, the most extreme values from either source are used.
^"Klimatafel von Ouarzazate / Marokko"(PDF). Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
^"Documentation for emergency condition mapping of Decorated historic surfaces at the Caid Residence, the Kasbah of Taourirt (Ouarzazate, Morocco)". ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. 2 (5/W3): 229–234. 2015.
