Ouarzazate, Morocco nicknamed “The Door of the Desert”
With the Atlas Mountains to the north and the desert to the south, the ancient city of Ouarzazate, inhabited and chiefly built by Berbers, was an important stop for traders from central Africa and the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of the continent. It sits on a plateau about 3,800 feet above sea level.
It was to Ouarzazte that Mother and Oliver traveled when scouting the location for the jetsetters resort he hoped to build. The French had converted the trading post into a garrison town but starting in the early sixties with “Lawrence of Arabia”, Hollywood was turning it into a movie location.
He never built his resort but Oliver was right about the area. It is now a major tourist destination for Moroccans and Europeans and the area is filled with luxury resorts and condo towns. It is also home to Atlas Studios one of the largest movie studios in the world where everything from “Lawrence” to “Gladiator” to “Game of Thrones” has been shot.
