Abandoned film set in Morocco has featured in everything from Gladiator to Game of Thrones
The deserted Atlas Studios in Ouarzazete, Morocco, is now in various states of decay
IN THE middle of the Moroccan desert lies an abandoned city that is guaranteed to give you a sense of deja vu.
The area, nicknamed 'Hollywood in the Desert,' has been used in hundreds of blockbusters, including Game of Thrones, Gladiator and The Mummy.
Atlas Studios has featured as a set location in countless hit films and TV shows including Ben Hur, Lawrence of Arabia and The Grand Tour after opening in 1983 in Ouarzazete, Morocco.
Plenty of fake blood has been spilled in the temples and training grounds of the now abandoned movie set.
Photographer Bob Thissen, 31, discovered the faded glamour of the surreal site earlier this month.
Bob from Heerlen, the Netherlands, said: "It was cool to find such a big movie set abandoned and left alone in the desert.
He added: "It could easily become a part of a tour, we could simply walk in and find ourselves in a Greek environment.
"It looked like there had been multiple shoots, because the sets were slightly different compared to the old pictures I had found - and an extra wall had been built.
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"But it clearly hadn't been used for a long time, as part of the set had already collapsed and another part was close to collapsing.
"Pillars are skewed and some tiles are missing - decay happens fast because it's not an actual building but a cheap-as-possible decor."
Bob who has been an urban explorer, known as urbexing, for over ten years, discovered the sites on Google Earth and was uncertain whether they'd still be standing.
He said: "Most movie sets are located near the active studios and can be visited legally, but some are remote, abandoned and decayed.
"I found a few outside pictures of this place and for what I could see it looked really nice.
"I tried my luck and went there, hoping it was abandoned, forgotten and not demolished."
Several miles off-road into the desert, Bob discovered the "forgotten sets" that had been abandoned and documented his finds.
Bob said: "To my surprise there was also a small village next to the Greek Temple, where I found some houses, big walls with large gates and a bath house.
"The dome of the bath house had already collapsed and the interior was full of pigeon poo which really gave it an abandoned look.
"I also found a chapel or throne-like room at the set, there was a painting that looks like The Eye of Sauron from Lord of the Rings but it was made for either another movie or just for fun."
