Tataouine
Tataouine (; also transliterated as
Tatooine,
Tatahouine,
Tatahouïne,
Taţāwīn or
Tatawin, as well as
Fum Taţāwīn,
Fumm Tattauin,
Foum Tatahouine,
Fum Tatawin, or
Foum Tataouine) is a
city located in southern
Tunisia at . It is the capital of the
Tataouine Governorate.
The district is famous for its
ksour (fortified
Berber granaries) including the picturesque
Ksar Ouled Soltane,
Chenini and
Douiret. These abandonded settlements feature beautiful vaulted adobe buildings, or
ghorfas.
June 27 1931 a
meteorite of the rare
achondrite type impacted at Tataouine, about 12 kg of fragments were found. The mineral of this meteorite was named
Diogenite.
Tataouine's name became famous when
George Lucas, who filmed the original
Star Wars film in various locations of Tunisia (for example, the Lars Homestead, filmed at the Hotel Sidi Driss in
Matmata), named
Luke Skywalker's fictional home
planet Tatooine.
Tataouine appeared in the end of the movie
The X-Files as Foum Tataouine, where an extraterrestrial viral experiment facility was held.
*
Pictures and photos of Tunisia, including Tatouine*
The Real Star Wars? - Associated Press article, videos and photo gallery about Matmata by
Andy Carvin*
Quicktime VR image of
Ksar Ouled Soltane, also photographed by
Andy Carvin
