The bizarre crater attracts tourists in Morocco

Crater in Morocco used to be the filming location of many famous Hollywood movies.
The 1999 Hollywood movie ‘The Mummy’ was set in Egypt, but was mostly shot in Morocco.

Gara Medouar reappeared in the 2001 sequel ‘The Mummy Return’ in 2001. The eerie location then becomes the wicked lair of 007 Bond character Franz Oberhauser in the 2015 Specter film Oberhauser His cave is located inside a crater, but in reality, Gara Medouar is a crater. Gara Medouar, which in the local language means “round mountain”, is the remains of a large mass of limestone that has been eroded away. The current state is 50 meters higher than the desert, about 50 hectares in area. The central region collapsed, forming a valley. The partially broken circular mountain mass creates a central entrance. The bizarre crater attracts tourists in Morocco The interior was quite flat and probably because the water had washed away all the material long ago. The unique irregular terrain of the Gara Medouar makes it a very impressive natural haven. Many caravans choose this area to hide when they encounter a sandstorm during their desert journey. Later, at a time Gara Medouar became a temporary detention area for slaves sold from Africa to Portugal. In the 11th century, it developed into a fortress capable of protecting the nearby commercial city of Sijilmasa, where gold coins were minted and trade routes from the south. The defensive wall, built around a third of the mountain’s natural circumference, is currently the remains of the fortress. But the most impressive is the wall straight through the large ravine blocking the only entrance to the mountain. The wall was about 8 meters high, some were 12 meters long and 80 meters long and 4 meters thick. The wall has an extremely solid structure, limestone blocks bound together by lime mortar. The fortress with high ground is well protected, providing extensive control, from the height of the Gara Medouar, one can observe the area with a radius of up to 50 km. After Gara Medouar appeared in the famous movie ‘The Mummy’, the site became more and more popular, attracting many tourists. However, tourism activities also disrupt archaeological investigations.