2000 October 23 : Monday

MATMATA

Matmata is remarkable in that much of it is underground. A thousand years ago, the Berber tribes that inhabited it and several neighboring villages, dug down into the soft tufa to escape the desert heat as well as their enemies. Large pits with rooms cut into the sides of them became their homes. Today, several hotels have been fashioned by joining several of these dwellings together. The most famous of them is the Hotel Sidi Driss. I had known since the late '70's that the interior scenes of Luke Skywalker's desert home had been shot here. More recently, I had learned last August that George Lucas and his Episode II film crew were scheduled to start shooting here in September. I hoped that this fact would not jeopardize my October pilgrimage. I was pleased to discover that it had not.

After booking a room for the night, I followed the previously mentioned sign to the largest pit. Walking out into the sunlight I was amazed to find that it had been completely redecorated by the film crew during their visit a few weeks prior. Nearly every detail matched my 1977 stills. The only things missing were the vaporators that would have been in the center of the courtyard (most likely the crew took these with them when they left). Inspecting the décor, I found that most of it was made of painted plywood and metal heating ducts. Pool filters and PVC pipe comprised some of the machinery that was still attached to the walls. Simple pieces of molded plastic with small squares of reflective tape had been attached to the walls to simulate "door actuators."

Since 1977, the town and hotel have experienced a boon in tourism. So much so, that the only bar in town - located within the Hotel Sidi Driss - has been renamed the "Mos Eisley Cantina." Many of the guidebooks further the legend by stating that the Cantina scene was filmed here. In reality it was filmed on a London sound stage and then re-shot in Los Angeles several months later. Regardless, I was charged by what I saw in Matmata. I even struck up a friendship with an Englishman named Greg, about my age, who was also in Tunisia alone on vacation. The next day he accompanied me as I drove northwest to Tozeur.

TOZEUR

Tozeur is an oasis town - a narrow band of palm trees, camels, and Land Cruisers that is sandwiched between Tunisia's two great salt flats: the expansive Chott El Gharsa to the north and to the south, the seemingly endless Chott El D'Jerid. We arrived in town in mid-afternoon. After setting up in a hotel and getting some lunch, we decided to visit a few of the nearby STAR WARS locations.

The road west out of Tozeur continues on to the smaller oasis town of Nefta and beyond that, stretches into civil war-torn Algeria. We stopped short of Algeria, instead turning off onto a sandy road and parking at the edge of a few sand dunes. A small souvenir stand was set up and as Greg and I ventured out onto the sand, we were immediately tailed by several Tunisian youths leading camels. It was clear that they wanted us to hire their camels. Greg casually waved them off with "Non, merci," but they followed anyway. The wind was really blowing that day and with the swirling sand and dust, visibility had been poor ever since we left Matmata. We watched as our footsteps disappeared nearly as quickly as we made them.

Halfway to the largest dune, we noticed eight small figures rushing down a side dune towards our position. A few minutes later and we were being pestered by Berber children trying to sell us sand roses and cloth dolls. "Non, merci," we replied with a smile and kept walking. The children joined the others in following us. Within five minutes of parking the car, our procession reached the crest of the highest dune. This was the location of the escape pod landing at the beginning of the original film. It was also where C-3PO had walked by a huge skeleton prior to being picked up by the Jawas. I had known from one of the few biographies on George Lucas that the skeleton had been left in the sand after filming was completed. I had also known that it was still here in 1995, as pictures taken of it at that time had been published in the Star Wars Insider. Since that time, other fans and locals interested in making a quick Dinar have collected the remainder of the fiberglass dinosaur replicas. The only bits of plastic we found residing in those dunes were the ever-present non-refundable water bottles. A few "Non, mercies" later we were back in the car and headed across the Tunisia-Algeria road towards the Chott El Jerid.

THE CHOTT EL JERID

Under the intense African sun, the small silhouettes danced and shimmered above the endless horizon. A mirage. Slowly, the shapes congealed into the forms of several reconstructed craters and the domed entrance to the Lars Homestead. The exterior of Luke Skywalker's house originally had been constructed on the Chott in 1977. In 1994 it had been reported that all that was left were a series of low, heavily eroded crater rings that were barely discernible from the rest of the flat landscape. Armed with satellite co-ordinates of the location, we let the GPS guide us to the spot. Greg was flabbergasted! I had known from an Internet report the month before that the site had been rebuilt, but chose to keep it to myself in order to see his reaction.

We braved the wind to take a few photos and inspect the construction: a remarkably strong plywood frame overlain with chicken wire and plaster. As the sun dripped towards the horizon, Greg insisted on getting a photo of me overlooking the larger crater as Luke does in film. Content, we drove back to Tozeur.

CHOTT EL GHARSA & OUNG JEMEL

The next day, the wind was still blowing, but we decided to see if we could find the Episode I sets. Like the Lars Homestead set, I had acquired the satellite coordinates and the approximate location. Unfortunately, I only had the journey's end and not its beginning. Together, Greg and I drove the roads in and around Tozeur looking for a sign or other clue to point us in the right direction. By early afternoon, we realized we were at a loss.

Arriving back at our hotel, we bumped into several 30-something Canadian tourists. Sitting in the lobby, they looked with through my collection of stills. However, they only had a passing interest and when the rest of their party arrived to go to lunch, they went. In their absence, a tall Arab man with designer sunglasses approached and asked if he could have a look. He introduced himself as Kamel and told us that he ran a Land Cruiser safari business and could take us to the sets the next day for 30 Dinars each. Suspicious and not ready to give up our search just yet, we told him we would consider his offer and get back to him later.

That afternoon, Greg decided to pass on the rest of the adventure and instead checked out of the hotel in order to catch the next shared taxi to El Kef in the northern part of the country. Having now lost my French translator, I was more inclined to accept Kamel's offer. He did, after all, speak English. So, the next day I met up with him...

The Hotel Sidi Driss was the inspiration and location of Luke Skywalker's home in STAR WARS.

01) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | A few weeks before I left Portland, I read Internet reports that the hotel had been redecorated by the Episode II crew. Sure enough...

02) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | The largest of the five "pits" that comprise the hotel was redecorated almost exactly as it had been over 20 years prior.

03) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | Some of the set dressing from the original movie has survived intact. This arch is such an example.

04) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | The ceiling of this dining room is visible in the 1977 film. The design you see is a recreation/restoration of the one originally seen in the film (below).

05) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | A similar shot. Sharp eyes will notice that the element on the wall at the right differs from the one seen in the original film.

06) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | The ornament on the stairs is also "left over" from the original film.

07) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | Rubber molding and PVC are the main ingrediants of this recipe.

08) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | Add heating duct for spice.

09) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | Asside from a few stolen buttons, the vaporators were the only pieces of the set that were missing. Presumably they were needed elsewhere.

10) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | I'm standing a few steps up on the raised part of the courtyard. The passage on the far left connects this "pit" to the next one.

11) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | Looking down from the rim. The oval door (up the steps at the right) is the entrance to the bar - which is nicknamed "the Mos Eisley Cantina." Over the years many guidebooks have stated that the hotel was used as a shooting location for the cantina. However, all the cantina shots in the film were done on a soundstage in London and then later reshot on a soundstage in LA.

12) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | You'll notice in the film that the courtyard is shown from the lip down. That's because in the film, everything above the lip was shot 150 miles away on the Chott El Jerid salt flat.

13) MATMATA: THE HOTEL SIDI DRISS | Front door .

14) SOUTHERN TUNISIA | On the road from Matmata to Douz.

15) DOUZ | This castle rises from the sand on the outskirts of Douz.

16) DOUZ | After photographing #15, I turned around to find this caravan. The Arab on the horse, came to ask me if I wanted to join the other tourists.

17) DOUZ | It's not a real castle. It was built for the French film LE CIEL SOUS LE DESERT (so says the sign at the right of the door). It's not very large either. The door is human scale.

18) DOUZ | Note the figure looking over the ramparts. He was in charge of the set and didn't like his photo to be taken (he'd hide). I managed to sneak a shot while he was preoccupied with the donkeys.

19) DOUZ | Closeup view.

20) DOUZ | I'd love to see the film to see how the set was shot.

21) DOUZ | Set constrution: metal scaffolding, wood planks, plaster.

22) DOUZ | This photo comes from a Tunisia guidebook. I discovered upon my return home that several other sets were also built in Douz for another French film called PEUT-ÊTRE (directed by Cedric Klapisch). Had I known about them, I would have looked for them as well.

23) CHOTT EL D'JERID | Crossing the Chott El D'Jerid. By the way, this is a typical Tunisian road. If you happen to find the shoulders, let me know...