Loms Galactic Tours
Star wars in Tunisia
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Probably the most famous location for Star Wars, A New Hope. The deserts of Tatooine were filmed he in 1976. This is where we first see Luke Skywalker and Ben Kenobi, R2-D2 and C-3PO. The dry desert landscapes gave a great vastness to this space fantasy in 1977 which made it an instant hit.
Tunisia was returned to for The Phantom Menace after many years again Lucasfilm and JAK productions used the countries weird landscape to create different worlds in galaxy's far away.
Djerba
El Jerid
Chott El Gharsa
Matmata
Medenine
Tataouine
Ksar Hadada
Sidi Bouhlel
Isle de Djerba
Ajim – is located on the southwest corner of the island of Djerba, which is just off Tunisia’s mainland west coast.
Ajim is the main ferry port to the island and is where most of the inhabitants live. The ferry takes around twenty minutes between ports and is quite a pleasant ride.
From the port travel along the main road into “town”, not too far from the main road you will find the dome of the building used for the infamous cantina which is in the residential area on Avenue Aboul Kacem Chebi.
Although the entrance was a façade the dome and walls are still visible.
Sarah and I went to Tunisia in February 2004. We stayed on the Island of Djerba as I knew that there were three SW locations on the island itself and most of the mainland locations were in the mid to south of the country away from the major tourist resorts of the north.
After the initial meet and great by the rep who informed us of the optional excursions available, Sarah and I planned our weeks stay to try and see as much as possible.
Monday, book a taxi from reception and try to see the three locations on the island. The driver arrived, an elderly Arabic man who spoke no English showed us to his car an old yellow Fiat which had already seen better days! (If he only knew what was to come). With my very limited grasp of French (Tunisia’s second language) I proceeded to instruct the driver on our expedition and negotiate a price. Once agreed it was off to the ferry port.
The drive from our hotel took about half an hour, when we got to Ajim the driver could not understand my instructions and so we wasted time just driving around back streets with him not willing to pull over and stop. Frustrated I asked him to take the road along the coast to Sidi Jemour.
The Corniche – the turning is located on the left just before you enter the town from the ferry port. When I said road I meant track and when I say track I mean uneven pot-holed dirt trail. Soon we were going along at under 10 mph and bouncing up and down due to the cars suspension. Luckily this was only for two and a half miles as the site of Ben Kenobi’s home used in the original releases of ANH came into view.
With nothing around to obstruct our view I got slightly excited at seeing this old run down fishing shack on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea (not the Dune Sea). With the taxi stopped and the driver taking a cigarette break I managed to persuade Sarah to get a few shots of me and the surroundings.
For the release of the Special Editions in 1997 ILM constructed a completely new home for Ben out of CGI.
The interior of Ben’s home was shot in April 1976 on stage 7 at Elstree.
Sidi Jemour – The marabout was used for the Anchorhead / Toshi Station scenes for ANH.
Approximately eight miles from the corniche or eleven from Ajim along the dirt trail. This large white washed building stood out against the blue sky surrounding it and was clearly visible from a couple of miles.
Just like the scene where Luke enters the outskirts of Mos Eisly on the landspeeder briefly seen in ANH.
Also shot here but famously deleted from the finished film were the scenes with Luke and his “friends” and most importantly Biggs Darklighter. The edited shoots can be viewed on the CD-ROM Behind the Magic.
Now the taxi driver looked bored and ready to leave us so I said my goodbyes to the place and we headed northeast to pick up the main road to take us back to the Hotel.
Chott El Jerid - Tozeur
Chott El Jerid is part of the vast dry salt lake flats that cover 5,000 sq km on the West side of central/southern Tunisia near the Algerian boarder.
The Chott is accessed by the causeway from Kebili to Tozeur, which was built by the Tunisian army. There are many souvenir stands selling the desert roses which have been coloured.
March 22, 1976 – The first day of principal photography in Tozeur, Tunisia for Star Wars. A crew of 130 ventures into the desert in 42 trucks and cars, including eight army trucks full of equipment. The first shot was completed at 9:35 a.m.
Out here in the middle of nowhere on the dry lake bed salt flats the scenes of the Lars family homestead took place.
The actual location for the Lars Homestead “igloo” is south west of Tozeur heading on road 57 toward Algeria. Whilst Sarah and I were on our 2 day organised safari with a group of others I felt as we were so close to the location and yet not scheduled to go there I would try to pursued our guide to “drop by” there if we had time !
Well the afternoon was soon on us on our first day and we had just gone north out of Tozeur to the Oasis’s of Tamerza and Chibika. The waterfalls and streams were lovely but I wanted to be elsewhere, I kept my eyes peeled along the P16 road as we travelled passed Chott El Gharsa, but no signs I could see of TPM site.
As light started to go the convoy of 3 4x4’s made its way back to Tozeur and our overnight hotel. As we pulled up and got out of the trucks, the guide rushed over and said he had persuaded a guide and a driver to take us out and get us to the location; we must first put our stuff in our room and be back to the trucks ASAP.
Our driver knew a little English and had heard of the location and so headed off. In my best French/Arabic I tried to give some directions to where I thought we were going. Directions I got from the internet stated travel out a couple of miles towards Nefta until you see a police stop on the left side and then take a left onto the salt flats. On the opposite side of the road to the right is “The Grand Dune” the place where C-3PO is lost and taken in by the Jawa’s in ANH.
Lucky we had a 4x4 the tracks of previous vehicles had caused some major ruts and we were being thrown about. We had been on the salt/sand for about 2-3 minutes before; in the distance we could see something. The igloo came into focus – what a site to see! The garage roof had gone either fans looking for a piece of set or the weather but the main dome was there next to the crater.
We quickly jumped out and started to take photos, Sarah was worried for our safety as the light was fading rapidly but we did manage to get a couple of images.
It was amazing to see how film slight of hand can put two completely separate places together; the “igloo” at Nefta and the homestead pit in Matmata are some 60km apart. Thanks to digital work for AOTC there is a scene were the two are seamlessly joined.
We got back to the hotel just as the stars came out to join the others.The next day meant an early start as we were heading back to Djerba with a stop off for lunch in Matmata!
Chott El Gharsa - Tozeur
Smaller than Jerid; Chott El Gharsa again near the Algerian boarder north west of Tozeur was used for the filming of the Mos Espa scenes for TPM.
Some pick-ups were done at the Ranch with Mark Hamill and some Ewoks. The last second unit pick-up was for the bonfire scene.
After just two days of shooting a storm wrecked the location on the night of July 29 1997. Lucas said it was a good omen as it had happened years before on ANH. You can see the devastation caused on TPM DVD docs.
Again plate photography, miniatures and digital additions combine to give a feel of a bustling spaceport as only a
T-shaped section of street was created.
Most of the shots of the static Podracers and Darth Maul on his speeder were filmed by a cliff edge known to the locals as “camel rock” because it has the shape of a camels back and head.
For AOTC the crew returned to the Chott around September 2000, the director and producer had a deal with the Tunisian government to keep the set standing and in turn it became a tourist attraction.
Filming only a few segments where Anakin and Padme arrive and then proceed to ask Watto what has happened to Anakins Mother.
Then on to the homestead.
Matmata
Located centrally in Tunisia Matmata is a small town best known for its Star Wars Connections.
Centered around the junction of the Gabes, Toujane and Tamezret roads about and hour or two from Djerba (depending on traffic and road surface conditions). Dating back to the 4th century BC, many of the underground houses are still inhabited, providing homes that are cool in summer and warm in the winter. Some of the traditional dwellings have been turned into hotels; such as the Hotel Sidi Driss
The Hotel is actually made up of 5 underground pits linked by numerous passageways. The entrance from the main road / coach park was innocuous enough, as you head down into the working of the hotel it is relatively hard to work out what direction to the “Lars” courtyard. At the Hotels reception desk there is a map and evidence of the Star Wars bandwagon that blew through town in March 1976 for ANH and in September 2000 for AOTC.
I stepped out into the midday sun and looked out into the courtyard. Again finding it hard to believe where I was. I did not hesitate and took in all the alcoves of the main area especially the dinning area, although I did not have any blue milk to hand. All too soon we had to pack up and get off.
Again finding it hard to believe where I was. I did not hesitate and took in all the alcoves of the main area especially the dinning area, although I did not have any blue milk to hand. All too soon we had to pack up and get off.
NB. The Lars kitchen was built as a set for AOTC from a photo from ANH.
Medenine
Our 2nd organized tour and our 5th full day in Tunisia was spent crossing to the mainland from Ajim by ferry, we headed south along the C108.
The journey did not take too long but I strongly suggest you have a 4x4 and if possible a guide, Tunisian Roads and etiquette leaves a lot to the imagination. (our driver and guide was 1st class)
We were visiting Ksars, Tunisian grain storage buildings or Ghorfas. We arrived mid morning to find many other tour buses and tourists already milling around a semi busy market. Trinkets, leather goods and even what looked like magic carpets we on sale, but I had other treasure to find. I had heard that the filming of Shmi and Anakin’s slave quarters for TPM were behind the main market square, I managed to climb the side of a storage unit to see over and beyond, and there I could see the street where Anakin says “will I ever see you again” to his mother.
Climbing back down and heading behind the row of Ksars I could feel the excitement growing all I had to do now was find the spot. Things look a little different in real life to what they do in the movies!
1) There was no sand on the floor only the cobblestones and 2) all the set decoration had gone; one grain storage unit looked pretty much like any other. But with some pacing up and down could work out the door to Anakin’s hovel. (see image).
By the time I had got the photo it was time to rejoin the group and head off to our next destination – Ksar Hadada.
Again we headed further south and somehow managed to go through Tataouine the real world name given to Luke and Anakin’s home planet.
Tataouine – what a desolate place !
Tataouine is a city and district located in southern Tunisia (Latitude: 32° 55' 60N - Longitude: 10° 26' 60E; altitude: 246 meters; time zone: UTC+1). It is one of Tunisia's 24 governates.
Whilst out in Tunisia we spoted many things that were used in the film, not directly but in passing. Many of the locals all wore head to toe robes with hoods in a dark brown colour, very similar to a Jedi robe. The main use has to be the slightly different spelling of this Tunisian city for what I consider to be the main planet of the Star Wars films.
We only drove through Tataouine on our way to the Ksars of Mednine but I did manage to get a shot out of the window of our 4x4.
Tataouine appeared in the end of the movie The X-Files as Foum Tataouine, where an extraterrestrial viral experiment facility was held.
Ksar Hadada
Our 2nd organized tour and our 5th full day in Tunisia was spent crossing to the mainland from Ajim by ferry, we headed south along the C108.
The journey did not take too long but I strongly suggest you have a 4x4 and if possible a guide, Tunisian Roads and etiquette leaves a lot to the imagination. (our driver and guide were 1st class).We were visiting Ksars, Tunisian grain storage buildings or Ghorfas Again we headed further south and somehow managed to go through Tataouine the real world name given to Luke and Anakin’s home planet.
Ksar Hadada has a nice big sign outside exclaiming its use in the Star Wars saga (see image).
Once we entered through the large wooded doors I headed left slightly down an alley of storage units. At the end of the alley were the strange curved structures that formed the rear shots of the slave quarters on Tatooine.
These can be seen in TPM when Qui-Gon is discussing Anakin’s skills with shmi as Anakin tinkers with his pod.
Sidi Bouhlel
Not easily found on a map of Tunisia is the small village of Bouhlel.
It is situated a bit northwest of Tozeur, on the rim of the Chott El Jerrid (salt desert) just before the GP16 road turns to the west. The marabout of Sidi Bouhlel (sidi = lord) can be found atop a cliff that is beautifully carved into the surface. This canyon was used in 1976 for no less than 9 shots ! Hence it has become known as Star Wars Canyon. Also the canyon was used in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indy threatens to blow up the Ark.
The valley of Sidi Bouhlel is in two parts; a narrow gorge walled by two hundred foot high cliffs and a wide, flat wadi that runs from the Jebel Krefane down to the chott.
In the gorge we saw Luke being attacked by Tusken Raiders and his first meeting with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Just outside the mouth of the gorge Imperial Stormtroopers attacked and massacred the Jawas who sold the droids on to Uncle Owen.
Although I never got to venture down the canyon in 2004 I am sure I will get another chance in the future.