Unlike Astapor, real-life Essaouira is known for a more relaxed atmosphere. One of the city’s landmarks is its red fortified wall which makes the fictional Astapor so memorable on screen. While the Game of Thrones city of Astapor lies south of Yunkai, Essaouira is to the west of Aït-Ben-Haddou, and around 100km west of Marrakech, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.
In the fictional world of Essos, Aït-Ben-Haddou becomes Yunkai, the smallest of the three cities in Slaver’s Bay, and Pentos, the biggest of the Free Cities. Sitting majestically on a hill overlooking a desert, its ancient appearance attracts both tourists and filmmakers since the 1960s, it has played a role in many Hollywood films and TV series, such as Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth, The Mummy, Gladiator, Alexander, Babel and Prince of Persia to name just a few. Flights to Malaga Morocco Aït-Ben-Haddou (Yunkai and Pentos)įollow Daenerys Targaryen’s tracks at Aït-Ben-Haddou, to a ksar (fortified city) around 100km southeast of Marrakech.
