The southern Moroccan town of Ouarzazate and its surrounding areas have been home to several international TV and film productions, including scenes for the global hit “Game of Thrones.” In this scene from the 10th episode of the third series of the TV show, the character Daenerys Targaryen is a princess living in exile — the filming took place near Ouarzazate. In “Game of Thrones,” Yunkai might be a fictional city ruled by an oligarchy of slave merchants, but the scenes had to be filmed in the real world.
The citadel of Ait-Ben-Haddou in Morocco near Ouarzazate (pronounced Wa-za-zat) was chosen as the location, and is one of the most popular film-making destinations in the region.
And scenes set in the ancient city of Astapor, which was a big part of the final episode of season three, was filmed in Essaouira — also in Morocco.
But the creators of “Game of Thrones” were not the first to use the region’s beauty as the backdrop for a major international production. More than a decade before them, Ridley Scott chose the North African country to film the gory glory of ancient Rome in his epic “Gladiator” starring Russell Crowe.
