20 photos from Hollywood Morocco, where everything from Game of Thrones to Gladiator was filmed (22 photos)

This is one of the largest film studios on the planet, and it is located in the middle of the Moroccan desert. Local residents star in famous blockbusters, ranging from historical dramas to popular TV series.





How do you imagine the landscape of any biblical or historical epic? These are probably barren sandy lands that are surrounded by hills and rocks of red and gold hues. The buildings here are made of clay, and the roofs are covered with thatch. This is exactly what the endless landscapes of Atlas Film Studios look like, where famous directors come to realize their ideas. “The Mummy”, “Game of Thrones”, “Gladiator”, “Asterix and Obelix”, “The Passion of the Christ” - this is only a tiny part of the films that were shot on these lands.



The house of little Jesus, which recently appeared in a foreign TV series

Atlas Film Studios is located near the town of Ouarzazate and occupies thousands of square meters. It is customary at all film studios to dismantle the sets, but here they remain as local attractions. This is because the size of the desert has no limits, and there is simply a huge field for storing props.

About half of the local population is employed on film sets: in films they play extras, and sometimes they even get small roles with a few lines. When local residents hear that a film crew is coming to Ouarzazate, they prepare for the casting.

Sometimes this means dyeing your hair, cutting your hair or shaving your beard, depending on what the film is about. Then Moroccans may become like Afghans, Iranians or Egyptians. We invite you to take a walk through this film studio and see everything with your own eyes.

The studio was founded in the early 1980s, but still attracts directors due to its low prices





Locals have long been accustomed to working in the film industry: about half of the population earns money from this



They do not always work as actors, but also as decorators or landscaping assistants



The scenery is left for tourists: this plane appeared in “The Pearl of the Nile” (1985) with M. Douglas



During the existence of the studio, more than two hundred films and television projects were shot here



These trucks have appeared in several films, including The Mummy and Black Hawk Down.



The studio is like a land of huge toys: all the props are stored so that they can be used again later



Chariots from the 2016 film "Ben Hur"



One of the largest buildings is a Tibetan temple created for the film “Kundun” about the Dalai Lama.



Up close you can see that the structure in front of the temple is made of polystyrene foam; it has become pretty worn out over the years.



The inside of the temple is also very believable: there is also a Buddha statue



But there are rails along the building along which a cart with a camera rides, and there are also lamps



In some places the scenery stands side by side, showing different eras: for example, Ancient Egypt



And another house next door served as a filming location for Prince of Persia.



There is also an ancient Egyptian temple decorated with hieroglyphs.



But behind the gate there is a square where Christ, performed by M. Gibson, carried his cross



A stunning copy of the Temple of Karnak: it became the setting for “The Mummy” and “Asterix”



A street with nothing behind the walls of the houses, only construction seams



Replica of Abu Simbel temples from Egypt



And this town appeared in Ridley Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven” and was Yunkai in “Game of Thrones”