Morocco’s Ancient Ksar Aït-Ben-Haddou Ranks Among World’s Most Beautiful Castles

The Ksar Aït-Ben-Haddou (Morocco) occupies the 7th place in the ranking of the 21 most beautiful castles in the world made by CNN Travel. Inscribed on the World Heritage List, this palace is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. A dozen films and television shows, including "Game of Thrones," "Gladiator," and "The Man Who Would Be King," have been filmed in this immense earthen brick structure located on the edge of the Moroccan Sahara. "The complex includes a fortified lower town along the Asif Ounila River - where people still live - and a partially ruined citadel at the top of a hill," the American media reports. The Berber-style guest houses offer accommodation to visitors of a ksar originally built in the 17th century as an overnight stop for caravans traveling between Marrakech and Sudan.

The Himeji Castle (Japan) tops the ranking. It is followed by the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes (Greece), Neuschwanstein (Germany), the Alcázar of Segovia (Spain), the Pena Palace (Portugal), and the Amber Fort (India). Kalmar Castle (Sweden) takes 8th place, while the Castillo San Felipe del Morro (Puerto Rico) takes 9th place. Then come Topkapi Sarayi (Turkey), Edinburgh Castle (Scotland), Vianden Castle (Luxembourg), Novgorod Detinets (Russia), and Chambord Castle (France). Prague Castle (Czech Republic) and Krak des Chevaliers (Syria) complete the top 21.

"What makes a castle a castle is that it combines the functions of defense and habitation: it is both a fortification and a lordly residence. Creating a building that is both comfortable and defensible is complex. The ingenuity with which castle designers have reconciled this balance is always fascinating," explains Marc Morris, author of "Castles: Their History and Evolution in Medieval Britain." And he adds: "A castle tells not only stories of sieges, but also the private lives of the rich and famous. Castles are places where plots have been hatched, marriages consummated, murders committed, royal births, etc. With castles, we never lack fascinating subjects of conversation."