Tataouine, Matmata
Tataouine is a city located in southern Tunisia and is the capital of the Tataouine Governorate. The below ground, “cave dwellings” of the native population, designed for coolness and protection, render the city and the area around it a tourist and film makers attraction.
The district is famous for its ksour (fortified Berber granaries) including the picturesque Ksar Ouled Soltane, Chenini and Douiret. These abandoned settlements feature beautiful vaulted adobe buildings, or ghorfas.
Tataouine’s name became famous when George Lucas, who filmed the original Star Wars film in various locations of Tunisia. Tataouine appeared in the end of the movie The X-Files as Foum Tataouine, where an extraterrestrial viral experiment facility was held.
Matmata a well-known Berber village famed for its Ghorfas, a fascinating dwelling once used by the nomad tribes, visit the ghorfas, ancient wheat granaries built in the rocks. Drive to Ksar Hadada, one of the most picturesque ksour, (a ksar is a Berber granary). It was built to store and protect barley, wheat, and olive oil. The ksar is made of stone, gypsum, and mud. The ksar is built of overlapping vaults stacked on top of each other, so it looks like the scales of a fish. It was also used as a movie set for Star Wars 1 – The Phantom Menace.