MOROCCO: AIT BEN HADDOU

Ait Ben Haddou is:
     - a really big fortified city made of mud bricks
     - built on the southern slopes of the High Atlas Mountains
     - a caravan stop between Sahara and Marrakech
     - a collection of six kasbahs and 50 palaces
     - a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987

A ksar is a fortified village

     - home to several families who still live there although everyone else has
       moved to modern accommodations in a nearby town
     - a film site for twenty movies (mostly as a replacement for Jerusalem),
       including:
          * The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
          * Marco Polo Mini-series (1982)
          * The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
          * The Mummy (1999)
          * Gladiator (2000)
          * Prince of Persia (2010)

     - located 32 miles from the city of Ouarzazate in the middle of Morocco

Local legend has it that Ait Ben Haddou was founded in 757 AD by Ben Haddou, who is supposed to be entombed somewhere behind the city, but none of the structures date prior to the 17th century.

And who was Ben Haddou? I have no idea. I couldn't find any info on the mystery man.

The old city is accessed by a long bridge that crosses a wide wadi that is usually dry . . .

. . . but which had a bit of flowing water the day we were there: