Ait Ben Haddou

Houses of earth mixed with straw step up the hill in tiers. A few families still live inside and their doors stand open.

A shared granary sits at the highest point where the grain was kept safe. From it the river and the palm groves spread out below.

When the water is low, sandbags are stepped across, and when it rises the bridge is used. If the current runs hard a donkey carries people over.

Temples and a ship built for filming stand nearby as sets. They are made of earth, so rain means repairs to keep them standing.

A mud brick residence of more than three hundred rooms is partly restored and open. Painted ceiling patterns differ room by room and are looked at one at a time.

The road crosses a pass at 2260 metres on the way toward Marrakech. Bend follows bend, the drive runs four hours and snow falls in winter.

Green palm groves appear without warning between bare stone hills. Only a dirt track reaches it and a four wheel drive is needed.

The road winds like a snake up between red cliffs. Where the bends stack, the whole road fits into one frame.

Damask roses planted along the field edges fill the valley with scent in spring. The flowers are picked in May for water and oil.

No lights and dry air let a great many stars show. Where a telescope stands, a guide names what is in view.

An earth kasbah of the Glaoui clan, in a village a short way north of Ait Ben Haddou up the Ounila river. Storks nest on top of its crumbling towers. Few visitors come, and the caretaker unlocks it to let you look inside.

The river valley running from Ait Ben Haddou up to Telouet, once the Saharan caravan route over the Atlas to Marrakech. Red earth villages and green fields form a strip along the river. On the paved road, the return drive fills half a day.

Artists inside the ksar paint with saffron, tea and indigo, then hold the paper over a gas flame and the hidden colours darken into view. They demonstrate the heating at the studio door. A single sheet of paper, it packs easily.