A visit to Matmata, Tunisia will take you through both movie history and a cultural introduction to the nomadic people who settled the area. This stark, remote landscape looks like another planet. Matmata, Tunisia. The hotel was already there as pictured, complete with a bar serving Cokes. In 1995, a French inveterate fan by the name of Philip Vanni restored it all into the same theme as in the movie by scratching the lime and drawing the motives back with a brush. Matmata has another claim to fame—it was one of the location for the filming of Star Wars. Located in Matmata in Tunisia, Hôtel Sidi Driss has become one of the most famous filming locations of Star Wars, nicknamed the Star Wars hotel. I have never seen such dirt! MATMATA, Tunisia (AP) — There's a reason the original "Star Wars" movie was filmed here in the deserts of southern Tunisia. These ingenious dwellings only come into focus up close and are a testament to our urge to domesticate anywhere. We do not want to do the 2-day trip as we are only staying for one week. Known for its troglodyte dwellings- traditional underground structures created by digging a large pit in the ground, Matmata’s history goes beyond two centuries. Many areas appears to have been tested for creating new troglodytes, as they are unusually bumpy. In 2004 it had a population of 2,116.[1]. It's a traditional Berber house, built centuries ago. From US$10/night per person including breakfast. 2:11 : Petrified dunes - Scenes from the first episode were shot here! Photo about Old movie set left over in Matmata, Tunisia. Welcome to Matmata Matmata has one of Tunisia's most unusual village landscapes: it's a place of underground homes burrowed into the rock. The hotel is open all year and the decorations are still intact. Hotel Sidi Driss: Star Wars - See 72 traveller reviews, 107 candid photos, and great deals for Hotel Sidi Driss at Tripadvisor. The Hotel Sidi Driss (6070 Matmata Ancienne, +216 (0)75 240 005) is the must-stay location in Matmata for any Star Wars fanatics. He also helped them to renovate the room in the same way as in the movie, and even today all visitors can dine in the Lars dining room, while before 1995 this was simply a storage room. The set was built in a studio in England. Star Wars fans know that Matmata is also home of Sidi Driss, where the interiors of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's house were Around the perimeter of this pit artificial caves are then dug to be used as rooms, with some homes comprising multiple pits, connected by trench-like passageways. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}33°32′33.5″N 09°58′0.5″E / 33.542639°N 9.966806°E / 33.542639; 9.966806, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, "Recensement de 2004 (Institut national de la statistique)", "Matmata accueille bientôt une grosse production". Just a few kilometers southwest of Gabes is the mountain town of Matmata, home of distinctive underground dwellings of Les Troglodytes. How Wookieepedia treats Canon and Legends, Stars of the Desert - A journey across the dunes of Tunisia to discover lost "Tatooine", Lionel Noetzlin description of his visit to Matmata, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Hôtel_Sidi_Driss?oldid=8746623. Hotel Sidi Driss in Matmata – Lars Homestead Interior on Tatooine in Star Wars Stay Overnight in a Troglodyte Hotel in Matmata. One of Tunisia's vast desert regions is even called Tataouine, like Luke Skywalker's home planet, Tattoine. Since the production of the film, nothing has been changed in any way, since the place already looks more like a foreign village than a town. Hotel Sidi Driss should be on the map for every hardcore “Star Wars” fan. On the way to Ksar Hadada is another film location of the Slave Quarters Row in Star Wars Episode I. In the movie there are five steps, but in Sidi Driss Hotel there are eight.[source?]. The Hotel Sidi Driss (6070 Matmata Ancienne, +216 (0)75 240 005) is the must-stay location in Matmata for any Star Wars fanatics. The 1967 discovery date seems erroneous. I visited Matmata with friends in December 1965 while living in Tunisia with the Peace Corps. In order to get help from the authorities, a delegation was sent to the community center of the region in the town of Gabès. The hotel is designed as a traditional Berber troglodyte underground building. Sidi Driss is the location of the Star Wars movies, but Mar… The Lars dining room fresco used to be covered with many quick lime layers applied by the owner for years. In the decades since, Matmata has become a place of pilgrimage for fans of the films. The home of Luke Skywalker is actually an underground hotel named Sidi Driss. It's a traditional Berber house, built centuries ago. It served as the for Lars homestead on Tatooine, the exterior being filmed 300 kilometers west, on Chott el Jerid. The visit came as a surprise, but help was provided, and the above-ground settlement of Matmâta was built. Matmata (Arabic: مطماطة‎ maṭmāṭa) is a small Berber speaking town in southern Tunisia. When you are ready, travel to Matmata for dinner and night. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Matmata,_Tunisia&oldid=990418717, Articles needing additional references from March 2008, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The Hotel Sidi Driss in Matmata was used in 1976 as a, This page was last edited on 24 November 2020, at 10:53. That year, intensive rains that lasted for 22 days inundated the troglodyte homes and caused many of them to collapse. Matmata has many of the best examples of troglodyte architecture in the world. Visiting the town will remind you of Star Wars, since Matmata was the actual location for filming of Sidi Driss, the place where Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen lived with Luke Skywalker. Located in Matmata in Tunisia, Hôtel Sidi Driss has become one of the most famous filming locations of Star Wars, nicknamed the Star Wars hotel. Our son is crazy about Star Wars. It was featured again in the 2002 prequel film Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. It is said that when George Lucas was shooting this Star Wars, he stayed in Matema for two months, and together with his entire shooting team ~ at the shooting location, you can still see a lot of Star Wars's … Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. Located about 40 kilometers from the oasis of Gabes, Sidi Driss is set in a rugged, arid environment that was deemed the perfect location for the filming of Star Wars Episode IV: A … In Hôtel Sidi Driss, it is used as storage room, and no filming was done in it. Star Wars Filming Sets in Matmata, Tunisia Promotes Desert Tourism for the Berbers Posted on January 28, 2013 by Maurice Picow in Cities, Lifestyle R2D2 – Tunisia’s landscape and subterranean dwellings have made it ideal for filming our Star Wars movies! Mostly, they visit Sidi Driss, the rundown underground hotel that was cast as the fictional Tatooine home of “Star Wars” protagonist Luke Skywalker. An example of a troglodyte hotel is Hotel Marhala located in Matmata. Image of skywalker, desert, attraction - 138371534 Since 2012, Najet has tried to cash in on tourist interest. Answer 1 of 17: We are heading to PEK next month. Some of the local Berber residents live in traditional underground "troglodyte" structures. That can be seen in few minutes, but if you were unlucky enough to have to spend one night there, you will regret it. 0:00 : Mod Espa - Captivated by the film's scenery which is still there! However, most of the people continued their lives in re-built underground homes, and only a few of the families moved to the new surface dwellings. • The Hotel Sidi Driss in Matmata was used in 1976 as a filming location for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which it featured as the home of Luke Skywalker, his Aunt Beru Lars and Uncle Owen Lars on the planet Tatooine. Matmata, Tunisia is a popular Berber village which is most famous for the Star Wars filmsStar Wars films The hotel has about 20 rooms / caves, shared bathroom facilities and a restaurant and small bar. When visiting Matmata, you can choose to experience what life would be like underground by staying in one of the many Troglodyte hotels. From US$10/night per person including breakfast. It served as the for Lars homestead on Tatooine, the exterior being filmed 300 kilometers west, on Chott el Jerid. The landscape of Matmata is quite nice, with a couple of small table top mountains around it. "ANH" and "AOTC" locations at the Hotel Sidi Driss, Matmata (Lars Homestead "interior") The structures typical for the village are created by digging a large pit in the ground. Tataouine: Mos Espa Slave Quarters. Assess : Tag the talk pages of Star Wars-related articles with the {{WikiProject Star Wars}} banner. There are five pits in the hotel, four of them with rooms; the fifth one, the Star Wars pit, is the hotel's restaurant. The underground dwellings in Matmata by early Berber settlers. Of Lars' dining room there are a few steps that lead down to Beru's kitchen. Wookieepedia is a FANDOM Movies Community. Can anyone recommend the best way to go to Matmata /Tatouinne for the day? This can easily be confirmed by comparing the number of steps leading down to her kitchen. The toilets were horrible. Practicalities Hotels and Alternatives Matmata is the place to stay the night, and you should aim for one of the hotels where you can spend the night in a real troglodyte. There is a scene inside Ksar Hadada where a balcony was used to film Shmi and Qui-Gon Jin talking about Anakin as he works on his Podracer. Matmata is a village in the south of Tunisia, famous for its troglodyte (cave) dwellings. Today, Matmata is a popular tourist attraction, and most of the population lives on tourism and folklore exhibitions in their homes. It was not generally known until 1969 that there were regular settlements in this area besides wandering nomadic tribes. Matmata was the ideal setting, not only for “Star Wars,” both the classic one and the most recent film but also for the refugee Berber founders who, centuries ago, literally “dug in” against hostile attacks and created the troglodyte caves like the Sidi Driss; the enemy never even knew they were there! If you’re a Star Wars fan, coming to Matmata is like making a pilgrimage. Mattema, also the location of the movie "Star Wars", is the location of the alien disco scene in the "First Star Wars" film. Although it is not allowed to sleep in the sets, it is possible to dine in the same room as in the film. The Tunisian town of Tataouine is not a … Matmata City Tour, Tunisia Matmata is a small Berber speaking town in southern Tunisia. Scenes from a number of Star Wars movies were filmed here. The hotel has about 20 rooms / caves, shared bathroom facilities and a restaurant and small bar. Matmata, Tunisia Perhaps the most famous Star Wars filming location is Tunisia, which fills in for Tatooine, the birthplace of Luke Skywalker. If some of its movie decor still remains, the region itself is known for its troglodytes underground living structures which is one of the main touristic attraction and especially following the Star Wars sequels, the place has attracted many of the movie fans eager to see the home town of Luke Skywalker. After the filming of the first movie, A New Hope, the decorations were taken down, only to be completely rebuilt in 2000 for the filming of Attack of the Clones. Beru's kitchen was in fact never built there, though it's obvious that this is where it was supposed to be. And the … Matmata undoubtedly holds a special connection to the original Star Wars, but at Mos Espa, you can actually move around the streets and between buildings and towering moisture vaporators, half-expecting a jawa to pop up at any moment. The Berber underground homes of Matmata lie in an arid, pockmarked landscape in the parched valleys of southern Tunisia ’s Djebel Dahar region. A small town in southern Tunisia, Matmata is best known for its underground cave or troglodyte structures, which house some of the local Berber population. The hotel is famous for its troglodyte rooms and for some scenes of star wars.