HOLLAND
GERMANY
AUSTRIA
ITALY
TUNISIA
Nights were spent in italicized locations.
2000 October 26 : Thursday
| Sep 20 |
Portland |
| Sep 21 | Charles
de Gaulle, Delft |
| Sep 22 | Amsterdam,
Delft |
| Sep 23 | Delft,
Rotterdam, Stromberg |
| Sep 24 | Dinkelsbühl,
Munich |
| Sep 25 | Schloss
Neuschwanstein, Munich |
| Sep 26 | Munich,
Solnhofen, Rothenburg ob der Tauber |
| Sep 27 | Rothenburg
ob der Tauber, Salzburg |
| Sep 28 | Berchtesgaden,
Salzburg |
| Sep 29 | Salzburg,
Vienna |
| Sep 30 | Vienna,
night train |
| Oct 01 | Venice |
| Oct 02 | Venice,
Verona, Florence |
| Oct 03 | Florence,
Pisa, Cinqe Terre (Monterosso) |
| Oct 04 | Cinqe
Terre: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso |
| Oct 05 | Cinqe
Terre (Monterosso), Rome: Coliseum, Forum |
| Oct 06 | Palestrina,
Rome: St. Peter's, Vatican Museum |
| Oct 07 | Rome:
Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountaine, Palatine Hill, etc. |
| Oct 08 | Santa
Maria Capua Vetere, Caserta, Naples |
| Oct 09 | Pozzouli,
Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Caserta, Naples |
| Oct 10 | Positano |
| Oct 11 | Mt.
Vesuvius, Pompeii, Positano |
| Oct 12 | Paestum,
Positano |
| Oct 13 | Positano,
Amalfi, Ravello, night train |
| Oct 14 | Taormina |
| Oct 15 | Catania,
Palermo, Trapani |
| Oct 16 | all-day
ferry, Tunis |
| Oct 17 | Tunis,
Thuburbo Majus, Zaghouan, Kairouan |
| Oct 18 | Kairouan |
| Oct 19 | Mactaris,
Sufetula, Kairouan |
| Oct 20 | Kairouan,
Monastir, El Jem, Houmt Souk |
| Oct 21 | Ajim,
Medenine, Ksar Hadada, Tataouine |
| Oct 22 | Ksar
Ouled Soltane, Douirat, Chenini, Foum Tataouine, Matmata |
| Oct 23 | Matmata,
Douz, Chott El D'Jerid, Tozeur |
| Oct 24 | Sidi
Bouhlel, Chott El Gharsa, Tozeur |
| Oct 25 | Chebika,
Tamerza, Mides, Seldja Gorge, Tozeur |
| Oct 26 | Sidi
Bouhlel, Chott El D'Jerid, Tozeur |
| Oct 27 | Chott
El Gharsa, Chott El D'Jerid, Sidi Bouhlel, Tozeur |
| Oct 28 | Chott
El D'Jerid, Sidi Bouhlel, Tozeur |
| Oct 29 | Dougga,
Sidi Bou Said, La Marsa |
| Oct 30 | La Marsa,
Rome |
| Oct 31 | Rome,
Atlanta, Portland |
|
|
|
| ©2001-2008 by Mitch Darby - all rights reserved. | |
STAR WARS CANYON
In a little less than two weeks I had seen the majority of the locations used for STAR WARS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, and THE PHANTOM MENACE. Only one location remained: "Star Wars Canyon." You won't find it on any maps and it's unheard of by locals, but my pre-departure research had me pointed in the right direction. I arrived at the base of a few low hills, parked the Citroen near a lone, tethered donkey, and grabbed my camera. The canyon entrance loomed before me, as a large gash in the hillside.
I walked a few meters forward and turned to look back at where I parked. Just over twenty years ago, the lower half of a Sandcrawler had been constructed on the spot. It was here that the Jawas carried a stunned R2-D2 from the canyon (the scene was later reshot in Death Valley). Shortly after that scene was filmed, the Sandcrawler set was partially destroyed so that another scene could be shot. In it, Luke, Ben, and the 'droids come upon the remains of the Jawas and their transport. Convinced that I was in the right spot, I continued on.
A few meters into the canyon, I came upon the very rock that the Jawas hid behind before zapping R2. Water bottles littered the area and I spent a few moments clearing them away so that I could take a "clean" shot. As I was setting up the tripod and camera, a young Tunisian entered the canyon. "Uh-oh," I thought to myself as my "spider sense" began to tingle. Though the Tunisian people were the friendliest I had encountered on my travels, I had grown weary of their hunger for the tourist dollar. As this person approached, I figured guide services or touristic trinkets would be offered to me.
Hoping to sidestep the situation, I smiled and offered him my book of stills. As he looked through them with great interest, I noticed that he was roughly my age, size, and build. He was of Arab descent and as I was soon to find out, only spoke Arabic and French. When he came to the right page, he paused for a moment and then looked up with a smile on his face. Speaking excitedly, he pointed toward the rock and then back to the binder. I smiled back, nodded, and offered to let him look through my viewfinder. An invitation he eagerly accepted! In his opinion, I needed to move the camera a foot to the left. Having already made an exposure, I did as he requested and made another. He pointed further on into the canyon and asked a question. Assuming he wanted to know if I was going in further, I nodded, and together we walked on.
Around the bend, the canyon walls soared to over our heads. As we progressed, a familiar vista came into view. The rim of the canyon with its familiar hammerhead shape at its zenith was before me. For many fans, the ruins of the Cantina on Jerba or the Hotel Sidi Driss would be heart stopping. For others, the ultimate experience would be the chance to stand on the lip of a built up crater at the Lars Homestead and gaze upon the sunset as Luke does in the film. For me, Star Wars Canyon, was the spot. I can't explain it, but for me Star Wars Canyon represents the film more than any of the other locations.
As we walked on, the canyon opened up a bit and I started to recognize specific locations that were long since familiar to me. The spot where Luke and 3PO catch up to the runaway R2, the rocks where Luke is attacked by the Sandpeople, and the niche where R2 hides after the assault were within meters of each other. As I started to set up the tripod, I was aware of the sound of Berber children chattering away on the canyon rim like a bunch of excitable Jawas. From where I had parked, the burrow began to bray and his call echoed loudly through the canyon like the anguished cry of a Tusken Raider. This was too much! It was almost like I was in the film. A sudden call from the young Tunisian snapped me back to reality. An elder Berber friend of his was relaxing in the canyon. Presently, he had made tea and was offering to share it with us. For the second time in as many days, I had tea in the Sahara.
It had been the most perfect day of my travels and yet it had just begun. With my Tunisian friend manning the book of stills and myself the camera, we spent the morning replicating shots from the film. I took pictures of R2-D2's hiding place and the rocks that Ben and Luke sat upon while discussing R2's "mission." A few meters beyond was the Cave Of Swimmers from THE ENGLISH PATIENT [actually, while I thought that it was at the time, a viewing of that film upon my return made it abundantly clear that it wasn't the same cave. I've since learned that it was actually built for a film called BENT KELTOUN (Keltoun's Daughter). It has since been destroyed.]. Like the other sets I had found, this too was built of plaster colored to match the surrounding rocks. Further up the ravine, I found the spot where Indiana Jones threatened to "blow up the Ark." I went through several rolls of film before joining my new friend to climb up to the canyon rim.
Exiting the canyon, he pointed towards the rental car and motioned that we should drive up to the rim. Using hand gestures I asked him if it was permitted and, not being a 4-wheel drive, possible. He nodded eagerly. So, we both got in and I started it up. The little Saxo made its initial mechanical protests, but I gave it some insistence and pointed it towards the steep incline. The road to the top was, in fact, deeply rutted in spots, a sheer drop in others, and by all means, would have been easier with one of the many Land Cruisers of the area. But with patience and determination, we made it to the marabout without incident. "C'est bon!" he exclaimed with a smile and together we got out.
A marabout is a shrine to a local holy man. As it turned out, my Tunisian assistant was the keeper of this particular marabout. Taking a break, he pulled out his ring of keys and led me inside to take a few photos from its terrace. Further up the rim, we paused again to line up a shot from THE PHANTOM MENACE. During the pod race sequence in that film, Sandpeople are seen shooting at the racers from a high, canyon rim. Although the backgrounds had been replaced by digital animation, the foreground was unmistakable.
Continuing on, the two of us climbed right up to the highest point: the hammerhead. From here, Ben points out the distant Mos Eisley to Luke. Just beyond this point, we rediscovered another Tusken Raider vantage point. This time it was from the original film and was the spot where the Sandpeople first spied Luke and 3PO entering the canyon via landspeeder. It had been a great day, but it was starting to get late, and together we walked back to the Saxo. Before I dropped him off in his nearby village, he inquired if I would be returning. Again using hand gestures and the broken French of my guidebook, I attempted to tell him that I would return...
In my initial research, I had thought that "Star Wars Canyon" was actually the Seldja Gorge (a few miles south of Metaloui). Follow-up research proved me wrong. I had visited Seldja the previous day to see what it was like. But the weather was foul and the place itself wasn't as remarkable as I had hoped and I only took a couple of photos - which I later gave away.
01) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Outside
of the canyon.
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
The eight Jawas carry Artoo out of the canyon to a huge tank-like vehicle the size of a four-story house. They weld a small disk on the side of Artoo and then put him under a large tube on the side of the vehicle and the little robot is sucked into the giant machine. The filthy little Jawas scurry like rats up small ladders and enter the main cabin of the behemoth transport.
The speeder stops before what remains of the huge Jawas Sandcrawler. Luke and Ben walk among the smoldering rubble and scattered bodies. LUKE: It looks like Sandpeople did this, all right. Look, here are Gaffi sticks, Bantha tracks. It's just...I never heard of them hitting anything this big before.
|
02) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | The
area outside the canyon entrance was the site of the two STAR WARS scenes
above. Look closely to see the little donkey a little to the left of my
car.
03) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | I
hadn't been that tan in well over a decade. Although, next to my Tunisian
friend, I'm still a paleface. By the way, he's dressed for fall. Everyone
kept asking me if I was cold!
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
The gargantuan rock formations are shrouded in a strange foreboding mist and the ominous sounds of unearthly creatures fill the air. Artoo moves cautiously through the creepy rock canyon, inadvertently making a loud clicking noise as he goes. He hears a distant, hard, metallic sound and stops for a moment. Convinced he is alone, he continues on his way. In the distance, a pebble tumbles down the steep canyon wall and a small dark figure darts into the shadows. A little further up the canyon a slight flicker of light reveals a pair of eyes in the dark recesses only a few feet from the narrow path. |
04) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | The
"rock" was the first thing I came upon as I entered the canyon.
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
The unsuspecting robot waddles along the rugged trail until suddenly, out of nowhere, a powerful magnetic ray shoots out of the rocks and engulfs him in an eerie glow. He manages one short electronic squeak before he topples over onto his back. His bright computer lights flicker off, then on, then off again. |
05) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Jawa's
hiding spot. I removed several dozen water bottles from here in order
to get a clean shot.
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
Out of the rocks scurry three Jawas, no taller than Artoo. They holster strange and complex weapons as they cautiously approach the robot. They wear grubby cloaks and their faces are shrouded so only their glowing eyes can be seen. They hiss and make odd guttural sounds as they heave the heavy robot onto their shoulders and carry him off down the trail. |
06) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Looking
down on the rock. The canyon walls begin to rise sharply from this point.
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
Little Artoo stands at the edge of a large sand pit and begins to chatter away in electronic whistles and beeps. Luke and Ben stand over a very dented and tangled Threepio lying half buried in the sand. One of his arms has broken off. Luke tries to revive the inert robot by shaking him and then flips a hidden switch on his back several times until finally the mechanical man's systems turn on. THREEPIO:
Where am I? I must have taken a bad step... Artoo makes a beeping sound. LUKE: No, you're not. What kind of talk is that? Luke and Ben help the battered robot to his feet. Little Artoo watches from the top of the pit. Ben glances around suspiciously. Sensing something, he stands up and sniffs the air. BEN: Quickly, son...they're on the move. |
07) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Same
place - October 2000. Match the rocks above R2's head in photo 07a with
the rocks in the center of this photo.
|
From
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
Belloq and Dietrich lead a procession through a steep, sandy canyon. Marion follows them, then Toht, the soldiers, and the Ark. |
08) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Turn
around 180° from photo 07 (above) and you find a RAIDERS shot.
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
The speeder is parked on the floor of a massive canyon. Luke, with his long laser rifle slung over his shoulder, stands before little Artoo. LUKE: Hey, whoa, just where do you think you're going? The little droid whistles a feeble reply, as Threepio poses menacingly behind the little runaway. THREEPIO:
Master Luke here is your rightful owner. We'll have no more
of this Obi-Wan Kenobi gibberish...and don't talk to me about your
mission, either. You're fortunate he doesn't blast you into a million
pieces right here. Suddenly the little robot jumps to life with a mass of frantic whistles and screams. LUKE:
What's wrong with him now? Luke swings his rifle into position and looks to the south. LUKE: Sandpeople! Or worse! Come on, let's have a look. Come on! |
9) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | All
too familiar!
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
|
10) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Same
spot as the publicity still - on an overcast day.
11) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | The
same spot in full sunlight.
12) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | R2's
hiding place. Boulders - possibly those near the left border - were placed
under the large rock to create the appearance of a cave.
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
Artoo forces himself into the shadows of a small alcove in the rocks as the vicious Sandpeople walk past carrying the inert Luke Skywalker, who is dropped in a heap before the speeder. |
||
13) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Close-up
view of R2's hiding place.
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
The Sandpeople ransack the speeder, throwing parts and supplies in all directions. Suddenly they stop. Then everything is quiet for a few moments. A great howling moan is heard echoing throughout the canyon which sends the Sandpeople fleeing in terror. |
14) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Same
place - October 2001.
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
Artoo moves even tighter into the shadows as the slight swishing sound that frightened off the Sandpeople grows even closer, until a shabby old desert-rat of a man appears and leans over Luke. |
15) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | The
view from R2's cave on an overcast day.
16) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | What
a difference the sun makes.
17) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | This
little item is a set piece from another film. At first I thought it was
the "Cave Of Swimmers" from THE ENGLISH PATIENT. When I returned
home, I viewed that film again and discovered that this particular "cave"
does not appear in it. The major failing of this photo is the lack of
something to indicate scale. So, I'll mention that I had to bend down
to enter. The door is about 3.5 feet high.
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
Luke carefully makes his way to the top of a rock ridge and scans the canyon with his electrobinoculars. He spots the two riderless Banthas. Threepio struggles up behind the young adventurer. LUKE: There are two Banthas down there but I don't see any...wait a second, they're Sandpeople all right. I can see one of them now. |
18) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | My
Tunisian friend positively ID'd this spot for me. Hint: look at the notch
in the rock the the right of Luke's right shoulder (his
right).
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
Luke watches the distant Tusken Raider through his electrobinoculars. Suddenly something huge moves in front of his field of view. Before Luke or Threepio can react, a large, gruesome Tusken Raider looms over them. Threepio is startled and backs away, right off the side if the cliff. He can be heard for several moments as he clangs, bangs and rattles down the side of the mountain. The towering creature brings down his curved, double-pointed gaderffii - the dreaded axe blade that has struck terror in the heart of the local settlers. But Luke manages to block the blow with his laser rifle, which is smashed to pieces. The terrified farm boy scrambles backward until he is forced to the edge of a deep crevice. The sinister Raider stands over him with his weapon raised and lets out a horrible shrieking laugh. |
19) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Also
located by a "notch in the rock." This one is in the canyon
rim (upper right).
20) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | This
is what Luke would have seen as he looked up at the Tusken Raider. Notice
the "cave" (from photo 17 - above) just a little right of center.
|
From
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
INDY:
Hello! |
21) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Same
place - no Ark.
|
From
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
Marion tries to run away but is grabbed by two soldiers. BELLOQ:
Your persistence surprises even me. You're going to give mercenaries
a bad name. Dietrich looks at Belloq, who shakes his head. |
22) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Shot
for shot.
23) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | At
one point, a group of French motocross enthusiasts found their way into
the canyon. They managed to get into some fairly rugged areas.
24) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | When
I wasn't trying to replicate film shots, I spent my time looking for fossils.
Here are a few I brought back with me.
25) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Looking
north from the back of the marabout.
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. I : THE PHANTOM MENACE
|
26) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | Same
spot. There are two marabouts. The second one can be seen in this shot.
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
From high on a rock mesa, the tiny Landspeeder can be seen gliding across the desert floor. Suddenly in the foreground two weather-beaten Sandpeople shrouded in their grimy desert cloaks peer over the edge of the rock mesa. One of the marginally human creatures raises a long ominous laser rifle and points it at the speeder but the second creature grabs the gun before it can be fired. The Sandpeople, or Tusken Raiders as they're sometimes called, speak in a coarse barbaric language as they get into an animated argument. The second Tusken Raider seems to get in the final word and the nomads scurry over the rocky terrain. |
27) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | It
looks like the very next day - not "25 years later."
|
From
STAR WARS : EP. IV : A NEW HOPE
The Landspeeder with Luke, Artoo, Threepio and Ben in it zooms across the desert. The speeder stops on a bluff overlooking the spaceport at Mos Eisley. It is a haphazard array of low, grey, concrete structures and semi-domes. A harsh gale blows across the stark canyon floor. Luke adjusts his goggles and walks to the edge of the craggy bluff where Ben is standing. BEN: Mos Eisley Spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. |
28) SIDI BOUHLEL GORGE | This
actually wasn't seen in the film. A matte painting of a view of Death
Valley was substituted instead. Here I'm looking south back down the
canyon, towards the endless salt flat of the Chott El Jerid. Look closely
to see the marabout in the center of the frame.