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People still living in George Lucas' Star Wars set in Tunisia

mysanantonio.com — Nowadays, the poor desert people of Tunisia are the inhabitants of the futuristic houses built by George Lucas and company. The Skywalker ranch houses a few dozen people; meanwhile, three hours away, "Troglodytes" live in houses dug vertically into the ground, a couple of stories deep, complete with doors and staircases, but no windows.

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  • VtmnR, on 10/12/2007, -4/+218I'm almost jealous. Seriously, who else can say: "The previous owner was a jedi."
    • artofwar420, on 10/12/2007, -29/+13That is just damn cool. Good for the people that get houses too.
    • ezweave, on 10/12/2007, -32/+16Interesting, however the use of the word "Troglodyte" is a bit inaccurate and sort of insulting to these poor people:

      1 : a member of any of various peoples (as in antiquity) who lived or were reputed to live chiefly in caves
      2 : a person characterized by reclusive habits or outmoded or reactionary attitudes

      http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/Troglodyte
    • skyshock21, on 10/12/2007, -8/+52Woo taihn-ee!!!
    • rglover, on 10/12/2007, -31/+2@ VtmnR

      Your mom.
    • DeezNutz420, on 10/12/2007, -34/+7"futuristic houses built by George Lucas and company"

      Am I missing something? the houses in the picture look like old mud huts, definately nothing "futuristic". was expecting to see futuristic spaceship type houses, and these are really nothing exciting. If anything they look like mud huts you see built by natives, not a hollywood set. but they do seem fitting for the people who inhabit them, and its good to see them have some shelter at least even if it is just a crappy mud hut
    • lordsandwich, on 10/12/2007, -3/+52Well yeah, it's great if you're willing to put up with crazed Banthas during their mating season...
    • scyform, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21I've actually had the chance to visit Tunisia and go down to the town of Tatooine as well. The underground houses were VERY cool and the people there were actually pretty welcoming to tourists. I remember that certain houses had this awesome door mechanism where you press a small wood button and the doors open and close on their own. Anyone interested in buying "authentic Tatooine rocks?"
    • DangerMouse9, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11I'm sure those ppl would trade you living places/situations in a heartbeat.
    • bud38, on 10/12/2007, -18/+2Interesting, however the use of the word "Troglodyte" is a bit inaccurate and sort of insulting to these poor people:

      Well.. I seriously doubt anyone from living on an abandon movie set is going to hop online and see this.. So I'm not really sure it's insulting. I mean, to insult someone they would have to actually read it.. You ***** idiot.... (and if you don't read this it shouldn't bother you)
    • Mulo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+27The underground dwellings are not "movie sets" they were shooting locations. They existed well before Lucas was even born. The above ground "mud huts" ARE sets because they were built exclusively for the movie.
    • DeezNutz420, on 10/12/2007, -61/+2"Seriously, who else can say: "The previous owner was a jedi."

      um, only the nerdiest of nerds would sputter stupid BS like that. These houses are native mud huts, and no "jedi" ever owned them. so stating that "the previous owner was a jedi" would technicaly be a a lie and misleading. and FYI jedis are not real, they are fictional movie characters so there is another reason why your statement is false. lol at star wars loser nerds you guys really need to get lives.
    • yadobaka, on 10/12/2007, -3/+25@DeezNutz420: Seems as though you've got a stick in your ass.
    • Zippo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Many geeks I know. Like to live in those sets they would. *nods*
    • mfratt, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8What nerds, seriously, I would much rather live in Enterprise's crew quarters
    • TheKidd, on 10/12/2007, -10/+2Am I missing something? How are these houses "futuristic?"
    • loconet, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2@yadobaka

      No, I believe it's actually a red lightsaber.
    • mrFREEZE, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2"@DeezNutz420: Seems as though you've got a stick in your ass."

      He's a known troll, just click on the blue circle to the right of his name to ban him.
  • Popdmb, on 10/12/2007, -4/+80Articles like these are the reason Digg thrives.

    Human interest story + Star Wars + Unconventional Living Quarters....simply awesome.

    +Digg, +My #1
  • soulpunisher, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12I bet they can sell them on ebay and make lots of money.
    • Mistoffelees, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Alot of overzealous fans will probably want to offer them a grotesque house in trade for their Star Wars homestead.
  • akarpo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+40I wonder if they still have my droids.
    • Waterispoison, on 10/12/2007, -2/+114These aren't the droids your looking for...
    • ngtvtw13ve, on 10/12/2007, -19/+2These aren't the droids you're looking for.

      edit: damn you beat me to it!
    • djmik83, on 10/12/2007, -15/+7Move along... move along
    • Waterispoison, on 10/12/2007, -17/+7You should see how fast I do the Kessel Run.
    • brianez21, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19Must ... resist ... urge to correct grammar!
  • fegul, on 10/12/2007, -15/+16I wonder what the Force does to Real Estate value?
  • eradicator, on 10/12/2007, -3/+39I hope they did something with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. Can you imagine the smell?!
  • bloodylip, on 10/12/2007, -1/+86Futuristic? It happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
    • vp0ng, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11Come on now, clay huts and holes in the ground are the wave of the future!
      I for one know where I'm gonna dig my next house!
    • expiredmeatbag, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5"I for one know where I'm gonna dig my next house!"
      dugg
  • mississippiman, on 10/12/2007, -5/+23Road trip anyone?

    We can take my speeder
  • impulsiveboy, on 10/12/2007, -5/+32Somehow, I don't think "previous owners murdered by intergalactic evil" is a major selling point in a home, but hey, diff'rent strokes for different folks.

    "2br/1bth - Good fixer upper! Interesting neighbors!"
  • Xsol, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16Wonder if there is an HOA?

    Rule 8: No used droids on blocks in front of hut.
    • Waterispoison, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18We don't serve their kind here, they'll have to wait outside!
    • MonkeyMCSE, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3guess that would be considered the futuristic version of trailer trash(living for you PR folks)? A washing broken washing machine, and a droid on cinder blocks.
  • rkenward, on 10/12/2007, -4/+23I'm amazed it survived the Jawas for this long.




    Wait they aren't real?
  • wnathans, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17Has anyone found this on Google Earth yet? I haven't even looked at the resolution in that general area but I'd be curious to know if it's visible.
  • otheruser, on 10/12/2007, -3/+24"Surprisingly, his French was perfect and he explained to me that since he had neither family nor money, he came to live in the movie set. He looks after the place, the real roof of the fake house protects him from the sandstorms, and if a tourist throws him a small coin every once in a while, he can buy some more tea and some food. And he is hardly the only one living in the Lucas-built wonderland in the middle of the Sahara."

    What a life. Tea, coins, movie-sets, and visitors. Poor? No, he's quite rich.
    • drizek, on 10/12/2007, -21/+5Your post is about as ignorant as when barbara bush said black people were better off living in the astro dome than they were when they were living in New Orleans.
    • umbra, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11@drizek: Calling his post ignorant? Trust me, many of the desert folk lead richer and more fulfilling lives than you or me. They don't need your damn materialist corporate whore view of life. You know, just because someone doesn't have many goods, doesn't mean they don't have many goods. And I'm saying this having lived in Tunisia for 4 years. So stfu okay, it has absolutely nothing to do with Barbara Bush's comments. Ignorant...now that's ironic, innit? you self righteous sonova....
    • ICSU, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2That's so shocking that people in a former French colony in which French is still a second language treated almost as a mother tongue speak French...
    • Psych77, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2ICSU: I think the point is that the driver (presumably from a largish town or city) didn't speak much French, so the writer didn't expect that an old man living in the desert would either. Hence the suprise to find he did.
      I assume you were being sarcastic, but I may be mistaken and you were just trying to be bitchy.
  • otheruser, on 10/12/2007, -1/+34Here's a site with tons of photos and descriptions:

    http://lexicorient.com/tunisia/matmata.htm
    • CiXeL, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7wow that site page-by-page has the most annoying ads ive ever seen
    • vp0ng, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15Firefox +Ad Block Plus = no ads
  • mojorojoe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Furthermore the report went on to say

    "But you may still have a chance to live in a star wars locale as all sets from Episodes I and II still go largely unpopulated."
  • thomashallock, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3Has anyone been able to Google Maps this?
  • airship, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8Truth. Always stranger than fiction.
  • Homerr, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15Matmata, Tunisia and the hotel:
    http://lexicorient.com/tunisia/matmata.htm

    Look on Google Earth at for Mos Eisley:

    http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/50169

    33d 32' 59"
    09d 58' 03"
    • wnathans, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Thanks for coming through Homerr.
    • ikrit2006, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
    • muddied, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2For Google maps. Matmata is south of Gabes and west of Medenine. You can get in close enough to see the holes in the ground, but who knows which one is the hotel.
  • SirBotchness, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Goddamnit, thats badass. now i want to visit.
  • shamu, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Where are all the land speeders?
  • quarsaw, on 10/12/2007, -1/+37Lucky bastards,

    I'm still living on the set of waterworld.
  • dend, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I was in Tunisia a few years ago, and visited this place. Was really cool, the actual star wars set is in the middle of nowhere in the Sahara desert, armed guards were keeping watch of the area, but they let us in. Not much at the set but it certainly looked like mos eisley from a distance, the buildings had nothing inside them sadly. Oh and if you have seen Lawrence of Arabia, the set used in that movie is also pretty close to the star wars set.
  • sliderocity, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Awesome story...I just wish he had taken more pictures. I'd like to see more of what the set looks like today.
    • Urusai, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6One lousy shot...did they have to pay George Lucas for the privilege?
  • JoCliMe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5That's cool...but I live on Tatooine...well, sort of. Not sure how much was filmed down here (Buttercup dunes), but I know the Pit of Sarlac scenes were.
    Remnants of the Pit still exists.
  • incabulos, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I'm a little disappointed that he went through all that effort to get that story and came out with one picture in the article. Like I want to watch Star Wars /again/ just to see the underground hotel and bar scenes!
  • djdole, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Troglodyte.
    Heh, makes me think of elementary school days playing "Number Munchers" and "Word Munchers" on an old Apple IIc, with their "Troggles".

    Suddenly I have a craving for Ecto-Cooler and a peanut-butter & jelly sandwich.
  • panic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Sand People!
  • banter, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3What!? No moisture vaporators?
    • EricAnderton, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Hey, who else wants to go into town for some "power converters"?
  • usherzx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5only 1 picture...
    are you kidding me?
  • copelanda, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Star Wars joke.

    "Quote from Star Wars" - Han Solo
  • idathunkit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I'm terribly jealous-- I live only a dozen miles from the redwood area seen in "Return of the Jedi" where the ewoks helped destroy the death star's shield generator.

    A running joke was that someday we were going to go search for ewok droppings, unfortunately, a local logging company totally logged out the area right after they finished filming... apparently they couldn't comprehend the significant attraction that place might have for fans.
    • D3koy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I can walk to the redwoods from my house...I wish that set was still up, I'd move in...but there are a lot of homeless guys around here, that may have something to do with it...
  • Ghazi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2The adobe structures found around Tataouine and known as "ksour" were built by Berbers almost 1000 years ago not by George Lucas and company.

    Some pictures: http://www.mccullagh.org/photo/1ds-4/ksar-hadada-exterior
  • aquax, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1From the article: "The closest I ever came to appreciating the movie was singing along to the "Star Wars" ring tone on my colleague's cell phone."

    How do you sing along with an instrumental theme? Perhaps hum along?
  • atomicrobot, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1This article is sort of inaccurate.

    All of the Tatooine scenes from Star Wars: A New Hope, were filmed in Death Valley, CA.

  • Fogdelune, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The dual sunset is the only thing missing.
  • rodgerdodger5, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4aquax..you sing it like this. "duh..duh...DA..TA..DA..DAH..DAH...DA..TAH..DAH..DA..DAH..DAH..DAAAH..DAH..DAAAAA..



  • schitzo15, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0They're goddam lucky no one's noticed them living there yet, i'd be well angry if i came home to find a bunch of humans living in my home, i bet they're not even paying tatooine taxes.
  • merdiesel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I want one of those in my backyard...
  • chatty82, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Outside of Tunis is the ruins of the ancient city of Carthage...visitors ought to find a native guide and go out there for a tour...
  •  

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