Ouarzazate

Ouarzazate
ورزازات
Nickname: 
Door of the Desert
Ouarzazate is located in Morocco
Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate
Location in Morocco
Coordinates: 30°55′N 6°55′W / 30.917°N 6.917°W / 30.917; -6.917
Country Morocco
RegionDrâa-Tafilalet
ProvinceOuarzazate
Population
 (2014)[1]
 • Total
71,067
 • Density233/km2 (600/sq mi)

Ouarzazate (/ˌwɑːrzəˈzæt, -ˈzɑːt/; Arabic: ورزازات, romanizedWarzāzāt, IPA: [warzaːˈzaːt]), nicknamed the door of the desert, is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of Drâa-Tafilalet, south-central Morocco.

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 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 Man Who Would Be King (1975), The Living Daylights (1987), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Kundun (1997), Legionnaire (1998), The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011) and The Wages of Fear (2024) were shot here, as was part of the TV series Game of Thrones. It was the filming location for the fictional city of Agapenta in the fourth season of the Netflix series Outer Banks.

  1. ^ "POPULATION LÉGALE DES RÉGIONS, PROVINCES, PRÉFECTURES, MUNICIPALITÉS, ARRONDISSEMENTS ET COMMUNES DU ROYAUME D'APRÈS LES RÉSULTATS DU RGPH 2014" (in Arabic and French). High Commission for Planning, Morocco. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2017.

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