2000 October 18 : Wednesday

"You wanna go where?!"

Mom's tone was incredulous, but ever since the day I turned seven, I had wanted to go to Tunisia.

On February 18, 1978 I finally got to see the film that my friends had been discussing for the past nine months. I remember the 20th Century Fox drums. To this day, the sound of them makes the hair on my arms rise. I recall how I was introduced to each character and how I remembered each one by name as I walked out of the theater. I remember when the film ended and I felt as I had been stirred from a dream - the kind that you wish would continue. On that rainy winter day, I saw STAR WARS. Disney has been irrelevant ever since.

This past October [2000], I was able to realize my longtime dream of visiting the shooting locations. I had long known from books, magazines, and several behind-the-scenes TV shows that parts of the film had been shot in the North African country of Tunisia. In the mid-1990's another fan had pinpointed the exact locations in the Lucasfilm fanclub magazine. In addition, further details surfaced via Internet homepages created by other fans who made similar treks. With the return of the original three films to the big screen in 1997 and the production of the second trilogy well under way, the time was right for a trip. I had planned a four week trip to Europe. With Tunisia a ferry ride away from Italy, I added it and two more weeks to my itinerary.

 
KAIROUAN

Armed with my cameras, a binder of production stills, and a rented Citroen Saxo, I began my Tunisian journey in Tunis. However my Lucasfilm experience didn't start until I arrived in Kairouan a day later. Kairouan is significant as the fourth holiest city in Islam (behind Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem). It's also significant, from my western point of view, as the setting of Cairo in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Immediately after checking into a local hotel, I set out to explore the Medina where Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, and Steven Speilberg spent time some 20 years before. I walked through the twisting alleyways with my binder of stills wide open; comparing them with the views before me. As I did, the day became a treasure hunt. The reward was the rediscovery of places I had never been, but knew intimately from having seen the film countless times.

Occasionally, curious Tunisians would approach and peer over my shoulder as I went about my mission. I'd always let them look, but to my surprise I nearly always had to explain that the pictures were of a movie that was filmed in Kairouan. Most under the age of 30 would nod in approval and perhaps point to an image of Harrison and inquire, "Cowboy?", "You?", or "Your father?" then offer to show me their carpets, water pipes, or other assorted wares. However, the older shopkeepers remembered the filming that had taken place and were extremely interested in my goings on.

As the day wore on, I became something of a minor celebrity. My fair skin, blond hair, and complete disinterest in the souvenir shops stood me out amongst the crowded streets. As I walked, I would be offered tea and a soft place to sit in exchange for a look through my binder of stills. Kairouan's citizens would point to the places captured in the images and chatter excitedly in French and Arabic as I sipped my tea. Not being able to speak or understand these languages I could only smile and hope that a teenaged Tunisian would join in as a translator. Many did.

Over the course of several days, I rediscovered many shots from the film. The café where Indiana confronts Belloq is now a ceramics shop [or was in 2000, I've since read that it's now a pizza restaurant]. The square where Indy faces off with the swordsman is very much like it was in 1980 - only the fountain is gone. I was even invited to have a look from the balcony where the Nazis spy on Indy and Marion as they shop in the medina. This was an excellent beginning and warm-up of things to come. My research had paid off. I had arrived in Kairouan with very little concrete information. I had scoured the Internet for years without finding any evidence concerning the RAIDERS locations. Yet, armed with the name of the town and a few stills, I had spent a fascinating few of days of rediscovery. More adventures awaited and I spent most of the next day driving from Kairouan to the island of Jerba...

I stayed three nights in Kairouan - plenty of time to rediscover many of the shots from RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.

01) KAIROUAN | One of the shopkeepers offered to show me this second floor shooting location. He even let me take a photo of him at his work. The balcony beyond the french doors was used in the film.

02) KAIROUAN | Same place - October 2001. Note the arch has since been removed.

03) KAIROUAN | Same place - October 2001. Again, the arch has since been removed.

04) KAIROUAN | Across the street from photos 3 & 4. The balcony can clearly be seen.

05) KAIROUAN | Same place - October 2001. The two little boys loved having their photo taken. But moments after I took it, their mom appeared and after several sharp slaps, dragged them off by their ears (crying and kicking all the way).

06) KAIROUAN | Same place - October 2001. It seems much narrower in person than in the film. Note the cat.

07) KAIROUAN | Same place - October 2001.

08) KAIROUAN | Same place - October 2001. I located it by matching up the towers - no small task considering there are nearly a dozen within the medina and they all look very similar.

09) KAIROUAN | Same place - October 2001. The shutters have since been replaced with roll-down metal versions and the arched door just beyond them is new as well.

10) KAIROUAN | Same place - October 2001. In the film it looks like a large square. It's really just a section of the main street.

11) KAIROUAN | In the film, the Nazi's carry the basket containing Marion to their truck, which was parked where the tables and chairs are in this photo.

12) KAIROUAN | Same place - October 2001. The shop at the right was selling bootlegged Britney Spears CD's. The real ones are bad enough!

13) KAIROUAN | Same spot - October 2001. The building on the left is called the Bir Birouta. It is something of a tourist trap where you can pay a few dinars for the "pleasure" of watching a blindfolded camel turn a well all day. My guidebook claimed that it also is a hotel - one of the worst they'ed ever encountered.

14) KAIROUAN | The "bar" has since been subdivided. The front portion is now a ceramics shop.

15) KAIROUAN | My own photo didn't turn out, so here's a postcard view of the "Arab Bar." The Bir Birouta (see #13 above) is the domed structure at the right.

16) KAIROUAN | Same place - October 2001. Don't be deceived by the structure at the far left. Even though it looks similar to the building in the still above (16a), they are different buildings. Both appear in the shots below - which were filmed at the same spot from a different angle (and appear at a latter point in the film).