Star Wars & the Beautiful Ghorfa Ksars of Tunisia

Ksar Ouled Soltane, Tunisia - Star Wars Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace

From the Photo Series The Magreb by Paul E Williams

For Star Wars fans the reason why the desert planet Luke Skywalker grew up on is called Tetooine is probably well known. For the rest of us mere mortals its a question that has almost certainly never even entered our minds. The answer though is that the locations used in Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace are Ksars located in the southern Tunisia region around Tatouine (French tataween) changed by George Lucas to Tetooine. The location used for Luke Skywalker home was an underground house near Tatouine, now a hotel. Ksar Hadada was also used in the opening scenes of Many Pythons Life of Brian as the birthplace of Brian.

Ghorfa Ksars

Berber nomadic traders used to cross the Sahara in the winter with trains of camels and return with luxury items to sell in Tunisian markets. The traders then bought enough grain and rice to last a year but as they were nomadic and had no houses, the question of what to do with the food was a big problem.

A Ghorfa is a vaulted store house and a ksar is a fortified village, or in this case fortified ghofas. The mud brick ghorfas are built on top of each other up to 4 storeys high. They surround a square accessed through a fortified gate. The entrances to the ghorfas are on the inside with a protective wall on the outside. The cross Sahara traders could store their food in the ghorfas knowing that it would be safe in the months they were away.

For Star Wars fans this is what the Phantom Menace films sets look like minus film crew, skywalkers, wookiees and all. They are beautiful buildings set in a remote part of southern Tunisia on the edge of the Sahara and the Libyan border. Apart from Star Wars fans they are a bit too remote for most tourists. I hope you find the photos interesting. See More From the Magreb.

Ksar Ouled Soltane, Tunisia - Star Wars Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace

Ksar Ouled Soltane, Tunisia

Ksar Hadada, Tunisia - Star Wars Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace

Ksar Ez Zahra, Tunisia

Thanks for your interest in these photos.

See more of the Magreb

You may also like