With local guide Mohamed, we crossed the dry bed of the Ounila River and entered the historic village of Aït Benhaddou in Morocco. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the hill town has existed since the 1000s.

Aït Benhaddou was once an important stop on the caravan route across the Atlas Mountains between the Sahara and Marrakesh.

Today, the walled village is inhabited by only a few families.

We visited one of the residents, a widow who has lived in Aït Benhaddou for thirty years. Upon our arrival, she poured glasses of hot mint tea for us—the traditional Moroccan ritual of hospitality.

A donkey stood with its head inside of the front door slurping water from a bucket. A small herd of goats was penned in one of the home’s stone-floored rooms. In the living area hung a movie poster from Gladiator.