Three of the Star Wars saga movies had been shot in Tunisia, and by the point I went on this film pilgrimmage it had been eight years since filming final befell within the nation for Episode II which got here out a yr later in 2002. It could shock many who to go to these filming areas was really very troublesome once I went there within the late 2000s. The political unrest within the nation definitely didn’t assist in the intervening years however for a very long time after that there have been no particular Star Wars package deal excursions * and really, only a few Tunisians had even heard of, not to mention seen the sci-fi saga.
The wheels for this journey of a lifetime had been set in movement earlier that summer season once I booked my air tickets at a journey company! There actually wasn’t an excessive amount of data on the market about these filming areas. There was little or no on the web and so all I had was a ebook known as ‘Journey to Tatooine’ by Mark Dermul and a ‘Star Wars Insider‘ journal article (subject 27) by Dr. David Reynolds from 1995 which had been each extremely helpful.
Having lastly made it all the way down to Tozeur the day earlier than after an arduous bus journey or three, I set concerning the following morning to get began on my journey to the galaxy that was not so distant! Having walked the streets of Tozeur within the early hours I’d discovered nothing that might assist me equivalent to a tout or a tour operator. Actually the entire city appeared to be closed!
Finally I returned to one of many higher-end accommodations (I used to be staying elsewhere in a less expensive possibility!) and enquired at reception about hiring a non-public 4WD driver for just a few hours. I needed to pay what was costly by native requirements however nonetheless very cheap when transformed to kilos or {dollars}. My reminiscence is somewhat hazy however I feel it value roughly 130 TND which is about $40 in at present’s cash!
My driver Amar first took me to Sidi Bouhlel which is thought (exterior of Tunisia) as Star Wars canyon and was utilized in ‘Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope‘ (1977) in addition to ‘Raiders of the Misplaced Ark‘ (1981). The identical view of the canyon beneath was flipped in post-production.
It was a fully superior sight. Subsequent, I went down into the canyon the place a number of the surroundings (Artoo’s hideout and Jawa rock) was so immediately recognisable. It was a fantastic begin to the tour and I used to be utterly alone.
Ong Jemal (a.okay.a. camelhead rock) adopted. That was seen briefly in ‘Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace‘ (1999) however is possibly extra well-known for being in ‘The English Affected person’ (1996) which I had watched as a part of my preparation for the journey.
A brief journey away from this was the Yardangs (protruding rocks resembling shark fins) which was the duel website between Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul.
Subsequent up in the course of the desert was the Mos Espa set from Episode I which simply sits there alone with none fencing, safety, entrance cost or no matter. It actually was superb and doubtless the spotlight of my complete time in Tunisia.
The set itself is manufactured from wood moisture vaporators, multi-domed buildings and archways manufactured from plaster with nothing inside aside from just a few sleeping touts ready for the subsequent vacationer bus to reach. This place is supposedly on the vacationer circuit for individuals coming to this space although it’s solely billed as “The Star Wars”.
I assume I should have arrived in between buses as unbelievably I used to be alone once more and in a position to wander comfy finding the likes of Watto’s junk store, Qui Gonn’s alley, Sebulba’s café and Jira’s fruitstall.
I used to be in my factor and completely delighted however my world was about to come back crushing down quickly after that if I might be barely overdramatic! I used to be wanting ahead to seeing the Skywalker residence exterior which was one of many websites I used to be most enthusiastic about seeing. Nevertheless, I used to be dealt a crushing blow once I couldn’t discover the tiny igloo and communication issues with the driving force made it troublesome for me to actually information him to the place I wished.
After exhibiting a photograph of the place in my ebook to a neighborhood I couldn’t imagine their ignorance in simply saying it wasn’t within the space however what are you able to anticipate when a foreigner tries to let you know that one thing you’ve by no means seen is in your neck of the woods! It was a very irritating expertise and I actually remorse not stopping the driving force on the 26 km marker and on the lookout for it on foot. Nevertheless, he drove somewhat previous that time to a turning the place there was a side-road to comply with however we simply couldn’t find it from there.
An indication has since been constructed by the writer of the aforementioned ebook when he and a gaggle of different volunteers went there in Might 2012 to restore it. I’m fairly certain that the GPS co-ordinates are out within the public area today, and little doubt some YouTubers have been there too however an excessive amount of analysis into the topic would deliver again unhealthy reminiscences for me!
It was then over to the opposite facet of Tunisia the subsequent day to essentially the most well-known and generally visited of all of the Star Wars locales. The Resort Sidi Driss doubled up because the Lars Homestead within the authentic 1977 film, after which once more within the second prequel in 2002.
You don’t must be a Star Wars fan to be intrigued by any such underground “troglodyte” residence as is proved by the numerous, many buses which make a cease at this place on their method up and down the nation.
I used to be certainly one of solely two company to be staying within the lodge that evening as it’s fairly rundown with poor service however small issues like that had been by no means going to discourage me! It value me simply 16 TND ($5) for the evening and meant that I might leisurely line up photograph pictures aplenty all through the day inbetween all of the vacationers popping by.
The next day was a taxi tour of some Ksours that are varieties of fortified villages in North Africa. The primary one with a Star Wars hyperlink was Ksar Hadeda which was the placement of Shmi Skywalker’s residence in Episode I for the scene the place she advised Qui-Gon Jinn that her son Anakin didn’t have a father. It was sadly a foul time to go to this place because it was going by some repairs and was a little bit of a constructing website that bore little resemblance to what had been seen on display screen. I imagine it has been spruced up since then and appears way more like its former self.
The ultimate Ksar was in Medenine the place a again alley was used as the house of Anakin and Shmi Skywalker. The scene the place Anakin needed to say bye to his mum was filmed there with sand added to the road to make it look extra desert-like so inevitably it appeared somewhat totally different in 2009 with no set dressing remaining. It appeared like individuals really lived there too.
My penultimate day in Tunisia started early with a brief journey throughout the ocean to Djerba the place I discovered a taxi driver to take me around the three locations I wished to see. First cease was the marabout of Sidi Jemour which performed Anchorhead in a deleted scene within the authentic film, and was additionally used because the outskirts of Mos Eisley. I wasn’t too bothered about this place however as I used to be within the neighborhood I assumed I could as nicely see it.
Additional down the coast close to the ferry port was Ben Kenobi’s hermitage; a lone derelict constructing which appeared on display screen for about one second with Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder exterior it.
The movie portrays it as being in the course of the desert by utilizing a low digital camera angle however it’s in reality proper subsequent to the ocean. It was really thrilling to see this fisherman’s hut with nothing in anyway inside. Little question the studio was used for the inside pictures.
My remaining port of name on the Star Wars path was the Mos Eisley Cantina bar the place Luke and Ben had been launched to Han Solo. This was extremely troublesome to search out and it took some time even with the maps supplied in my areas guidebook. At the moment, it had been over 30 years because the film was filmed there so it was no shock that the buildings weren’t in such good situation.
Close by sidestreets had been used for the the stormtrooper checkpoint and the blast-off alley the place the protagonists escape within the Millennium Falcon. It was good to complete my Star Wars pilgrimage at such a pivotal place in the entire saga.
There was simply sufficient time again in capital metropolis Tunis to see the Grand Resort du Lac which can have been an inspiration (or impressed by) for the sandcrawlers in Star Wars.
Not seeing the Lars Homestead exterior was (and nonetheless is!) a crushing disappointment, and possibly again then I assumed I might even return to Tunisia. Certainly I’d however life is kind of totally different for me now and likewise for Tunisia. I could have missed out on that however I did get to see all the pieces else in addition to loads of non-Star Wars sights so I can’t be too down about all of it.
* Nowadays there are some specially-themed excursions of Tunisia equivalent to Galaxy Excursions and Star Wars Excursions.
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