Ait-Ben-Haddou

You have seen Ait-Ben-Haddou before, but you just did not know it. It was a location in such films as Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, The Mummy, Jewel of the Nile, Babel, Last Temptation of Christ and many others.

Ait-Ben-Haddou is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a kasbah built along the caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech. It is estimated that it was built in the 8th century. It currently has no running water or electricity (although UNESCO is having both installed soon). About 10 families still live there, along with their donkeys, chickens and goats, in very close quarters.

As far as I can tell, the walls are made of a mix of dirt and straw. The floors and ceilings are constructed of bunches of small trunks and branches of trees no more than 4 or 5 inches in diameter spanned across the space and coated with the same mix of dirt and straw. This means that, when you walk on the second story, the floor/ceiling seriously shakes and gives. It is a very strange feeling - a little like walking on a trampoline or a bounce house.

I don't think any of the buildings would survive a major earthquake. And, given that a little of the buildings is washed away with each rain, it is a wonder that it is still around at all.