The Atlas Studios in Ouarzazate, Africa's largest film studio complex

Atlas Film Studios

Hours

Daily 8am-6pm

Entry

50 MAD

Duration

60 minutes

Location

5km west of center

Hollywood discovered Morocco in the 1960s and never left. Gladiator, Game of Thrones, Kingdom of Heaven — the sets stand in the desert, plaster painted to look like stone.

Morocco's Hollywood

Atlas Studios opened in 1983 and has hosted over 200 productions. The sets — Egyptian temples, Roman streets, Tibetan monasteries, a full-scale Jerusalem — stand in the desert outside Ouarzazate, rotting slowly between productions. The studio claims to be the largest in the world by area. The economics are simple: Moroccan light, Moroccan labour costs, Moroccan landscape variety within a short drive.

The Sets

Plywood and plaster constructions in the desert, some enormous, some falling apart. The Kingdom of Heaven Jerusalem set, the Asterix Egyptian palace, fragments of unnamed productions. It looks like a civilisational graveyard — which has its own strange beauty.

Visiting

5 km west of Ouarzazate on the road toward Marrakech. Guided tours walk you through the standing sets. Allow an hour. The experience depends on your tolerance for plywood spectacle. If you love film, it is fascinating. If you don't, it is a large parking lot with props.