Our visit to Star Wars filming locations in Djerba, Tunisia

Hi guys,

Well I’ve finally gotten around to posting about my recent trip to the remarkable Tunisian island of Djerba. What an amazing trip it was! I’ve mentioned before that my wife is Tunisian so we often travel there to see her family, soak up some rays (sadly missing in The Netherlands), swim in the warm waters of the Mediterranean (the second true love of my life) and to gorge ourselves on Tunisian cuisine. Some may remember that we’ve previously travelled to Star Wars locations in the deep south of Tunisia:

http://vintagestarwarscollectors.com/the-lars-homestead-in-tunisia/

Djerba is crammed with absolutely stunning beaches, plays hosts to some fabulous architecture and houses the famous El Ghriba synagogue, the largest of its kind in Africa. But most importantly, several famous Star Wars scenes were filmed on the island. Lucky for me, my in-laws were kind enough to drive me around to each location, as they did in the south of Tunisia; but this time the drives were a little bit shorter. Well they were meant to be, if it wasn’t for the fact that we kept getting lost and had to ask for directions every two minutes! Finding streets in Djerba can be quite difficult as there aren’t always street names like we are used to. Sometimes even when there are street names, the locals don’t even use them.

In the end I didn’t get to see all of the locations, such as the Stormtrooper check point scene at Anchorhead, but I did see the ones I was most excited about.

So let’s get into it!

First off was the Mos Eisley cantina! This is how it looked in Star Wars.

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In reality, the cantina is a small building that used to serve as a bakery but is now abandoned. It’s smack bang in the middle of a small town and unfortunately has become quite dilapidated. I was still pumped to see it though and just had to take a photo of Ben at the scene of the crime (yep Han shot first).

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Next stop was another great location. Whose house? Say, say, say what? Ben’s house!!!!That’s right, I finally saw the legendary building that Lucas used for his exterior shot of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s house. Check out how Ben’s hermitage looked in Star Wars.

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We drove there from the Ajim ferry port and I was absolutely over the moon when I saw the building appear on the horizon. While in the film it looked like a dusty and isolated outpost in the desert, it is actually a beautiful little structure, brilliant against the contrasting blues of the Mediterranean sea and the Tunisian sky.

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Of course I chose to mentally block out the bricks that were stacked up outside the house, nothing was going to ruin my Star Wars experience! The structure is now used by fisherman but at least the building still seems to be in decent shape. I checked out the inside of it (did not appear in Star Wars) but not much seemed to be going on.

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I previously posted this on our Facebook page but I have to post it again. A selfie of myself and my mate Ben, who was thrilled to finally be back home after all of these years.

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Well the final location was the scene of Lucas’ exterior shot of Toshi Station in Anchorhead, which in reality is the temple Sidi Jemour. This is the movie shot.

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The main building that is now a mosque that sits up on a hill overlooking a little inlet used by Octopus fishermen. This is how it looks today.

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 Some of this structure was also used in some deleted scenes.

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The sunset here was absolutely stunning so I have to share some of these snaps. My wife and her parents are my guest models… I was taking pics with my smart phone and I’m also the world’s worst photographer so these photos do not do the location justice.

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Anyone who is a Star Wars fan, and has the financial means, should get themselves to Djerba to check so many of these marvelous filming locations. Not only is it a great Star Wars experience but it’s a great holiday destination. Here are a couple of final photos that emphasis the beauty of the beach holiday aspect of island.

Enjoy!

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Back from holiday and ready to blog!

Hi guys,

Just a quick update to say that I’m back from an overseas break (relaxing on the beach in Djerba!) and ready to blog again. I have been posting a bit on our Facebook page but haven’t updated the blog page itself since Wolff’s hugely popular interview.

I’ll be working on some articles about my visit to some Star Wars filming locations in Djerba and also slowly putting together a HUGE four person interview. Hopefully we can pull it off….

Thanks again to everyone for the continued support. It’s hard work putting this together but I’m loving every second of it!

Christian

The Lars Homestead in Tunisia

Hi guys,

Have you any of you had the chance to visit the Lars Homestead in southern Tunisia? Do you remember it from Star Wars? Well here’s a little something that might jog your memory… For me it is film’s most iconic scene and the reason I focus on vintage Luke Skywalker figures.

If you have visited the homestead, you owe a gigantic thanks to the crew of the ‘Save Lars’ initiative, an eclectic crew of hardcore Star fans that came together just over two years ago, under the leadership of Belgian Mark Dermul, to restore the dilapidated film location. The homestead was located in Nefta, in the Tunisian desert, and had suffered at the hands of a unforgiving North African sun.

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Other key members of this crack team included Brits Mark Cox and Terry Cooper, Dutchman Imanuel Djik, American Robert Cunningham and Belgian Michel Verpoorten. While there were hundreds of people from across the globe who lent their support to the project, I was thrilled to hear that several prominent vintage collectors were among these individuals.

The project was funded by public donations and in May 2011 the team received the funds, just under 12,000 U.S dollars, required to begin their restoration work. In December 2011 they finally received authorisation from a newly elected Tunisian government and after sorting logistical issues the team flew into Tunisia on 26 May 2012 to begin their work.

I was lucky enough to speak with team member Mark Cox who gave me a brief outline of some of their work. It took the team five days to restore the homestead and they sweated in the sweltering heat from 6am until 12pm, escaping the sun once the incredible mid-day heat kicked in.

As you can see from this team photo, the homestead looked almost brand new post restoration. When I saw the site first hand I was amazed at how the stunning white paint presented a striking contrast to the permanent blue expanses of the Saharan sky. Absolutely cracking job lads!

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Mark also told me that they have further plans to continue the up keep of the homestead for many years to come but unfortunately they don’t have the free time to work on any other filming locations. He wishes that could save all of the locations but alas they are only a small team. Mark and the team are very proud of their work and hope the homestead will stand for many more years to come.

Here are a couple of photos of Mark relaxing and taking it easy while the rest of the team were slaving under the sun!

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While the efforts of this crew did receive publicity (is there ever enough coverage for a great deed like this?) what may not have been as widely appreciated is that Mark and Imanuel are both avid collectors of both carded/boxed and loose SW vintage! You’ve just got to love that. 

If you’d like to learn more about the crew’s gallivanting in Tunisia, check out their site:

http://www.savelars.com/

I am incredibly grateful myself to the crew, considering that I travelled down to the homestead last year with my Tunisian wife and her parents. It’s a long drive down from the capital Tunis in the searing summer heat but it was well worth the trouble. Seeing the homestead was one of the highlights of my 40 years. I almost wet myself (well not almost, I actually did) when I saw it on the horizon – much to the bemusement of my in-laws, who had never watched Star Wars. In many ways, I felt that I had arrived home, albeit my home from 35 years earlier. What a feeling. If you haven’t been there, you really need to go.

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Not only is the homestead amazing, but the surrounding area is spectacular. We visited an oasis in the middle of the bone dry Sahara desert and also saw some of the locations from the prequels. Okay not vintage but still cool.

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This September we are off to the Tunisian island of Djerba to chill out on the beaches and of course visit Kenobi’s house!

Thanks to Mark Cox for providing me with both photos and information about this great initiative.

Thanks for having me.