The Mummy (1999) — Hamunaptra, City of the Dead, at Aït Benhaddou

In 1999, Universal Pictures used Aït Benhaddou as the exterior backdrop for Hamunaptra, the fictional City of the Dead, in Stephen Sommers’s adventure film The Mummy. The ksar’s ancient towers and the surrounding Ounila River valley appeared in the approach sequences as the expedition of Rick O’Connell and Evelyn Carnahan arrives at the buried desert city. The choice of Aït Benhaddou established a pattern that dozens of subsequent productions would follow: the ksar’s UNESCO-protected setting provided an authentic-looking ancient desert city that no studio set could replicate at equivalent cost.