The New Gladiator of Morocco

valley in Morocco

ancient city where Gladiator was shot

Ancient ruins





(check out the coliseum they filmed with and then added CGI to Gladiator!) I sit atop the hill imagining what Maximus Desmudus Meridius, Commander Of The Armies of the North, father of a murdered son, husband of a murdered wife, thought when he gazed down upon the remnants of the coliseum below at the beginning of the first millennium. More than likely: “This is soooo cool!”

We didn’t stay long in Marrakesh, we were again on an eleven hour bus ride to our next destination. (Oh joy) The one thing keeping me sane is we are on our way to where they shot “Gladiator,” one of my all time favorite movies.Morocco, though mostly Sahara desert, also has a mountainous region, as well as sporadic oasis; flowering beauty in the midst of a vast expanse of nothingness. The mountain regions, I am told, bloom with great beauty after rains.We continue our journey, finally, in a scraggly hillside I see ancient buildings rising from the dusty hillside. This city is over 1,000 years old and has become quite the attraction for tourists brave enough to venture the vast stretches of nothingness that comprise Morocco.The car finally stops. Excitedly, I race past all the souvenir shops, up a hill, and into the ancient city. It is relatively well preserved and apparently a couple families still live amongst the ruins. I finally arrive at the top of the mountain and gaze down. A local river, although currently depleted of water, accounts for some of the green.