Business at the old Star Wars set isn’t what it used to be. Miles into Tunisia’s southern desert wastes, fantastical structures define the desert landscape. Towers made of wood and fibreglass point fruitlessly into an endless sky. Pipes that lead from nothing to nowhere run between domed buildings that owe nothing to either region, country – or, strictly speaking, planet.

Revolution and terrorism have all but destroyed Tunisian tourism and the thriving film industry that helped produce three of the six Star Wars films. Locals who once worked as film crew live alongside the old sets, which now lie neglected, slowly being consumed by the desert.

Taieb Jallouli, art director on the prequels

“I’m retired now, but most of the old technicians don’t work in the film industry any more. A lot work in construction, anything really. We get by.” Jallouli was responsible for constructing all the sets that still remain. “Film companies talk about coming back. Ridley Scott was talking about filming here, Pompeii was due to be filmed here, but there’s always something.”

Mos Espa



This is the larger of the two Mos Espa sets from The Phantom Menace, which were constructed under Taieb Jallouli’s supervision in around 1998. The smaller was lost to the shifting dunes of the Sahara some time ago. It is presumed that it will emerge at some point, partially digested by the desert, but nobody knows when. Jallouli came back on a government contract in 2005 to renovate the set as a tourist attraction, before revolution and terrorist attacks rendered such notions moot. About 50 technicians were employed here during the making of the prequels, plus countless extras and other followers from the nearby towns of Tozeur and Nefta. Once filming was completed, the sets were left behind, where they gradually fell into disrepair before finding a short-lived second life as a tourist attraction.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Mos Espa set.

Sidi Bouhlel



Two white stuccoed mausoleums stand on either side of the entrance to the Sidi Bouhlel ravine. The larger is occupied by this man, who told me that he was the guardian of the mausoleum. The dramatic ravine, half an hour east of the city of Tozeur, south-west Tunisia, featured in so many scenes of the original film that the 1977 crew termed it Star Wars Canyon.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sidi Bouhlel in April 2014.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Mos Espa souvenir seller with his tame desert fox.

Makhlouf and fox

Makhlouf works at the Mos Espa set with the other boys. His fox, like all their animals, was born and raised in captivity. When tourists come, he charges whatever he can to let them pet and be photographed with it. Last year, Makhlouf and his fox earned about £6.50 a day. This year, after the terrorist attacks at Bardo and Sousse, that has dropped to around £1.50. He doesn’t know how long he and his fox will continue to come to the set.

Azziz and Chedly Abderazak

There is little that Azziz and Chedly Abderazak agree on, other than that they both worked on the original 1977 film, Chedly as a location scout and Azziz as a prop man and extra. Chedly remembers his younger brother being put inside the R2D2 model during filming at Sidi Bouhlel; Azziz remembers being asked to dress as a “sort of cow”. Neither have ever seen the film. Chedly is retired now, but for years he served as an accredited desert guide. Azziz operates, then and now, as his black market rival. For Azziz, recent business has not been good. Azziz has fond memories of meeting Harrison Ford while working on Raiders of the Lost Ark. His feelings towards the original Star Wars film are ambiguous.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ezzedinemlik and Chedly

Ong Jemel [the camel’s neck]

Ong Jemel, said to look like a sitting camel, featured in The Phantom Menace and The English Patient.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Ong Jemel.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tahar Kerig, driver to George Lucas.

Tahar Kerig, 56, driver to George Lucas

“Whenever George Lucas comes back he asks for me … He’s not much of a talker, but he speaks a little French, and I speak a little English, so we get on.” So says Kerig, who has worked as a guide for 20 years. “It would be good if the Americans and Europeans came back. It’s very peaceful here.” He reckons Tozeur has seen an 80% drop in numbers this year. “The terrorists say they’re Muslims, but they’re not. The rich people need to find a war. Who loses? It’s you and me. We stay and pay the price.” Tahar was given the job of driving Lucas through the desert flats around Tozeur, both on a scouting visit in 1996 and for every visit since. The two would meet at around 4.30 every morning and would later eat breakfast together on set. They’ve maintained sporadic contact since.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Lars homestead.

Lars Homestead Exterior

Lost in the endless stretches of a salt lake, the exterior of the Lars homestead is probably the most iconic of all the Star Wars locations. Miles from any signpost, road or habitation, the small fibreglass igloo sits in a perfectly still scene of abandonment. The present building is a replica of the 1977 original, built by Taieb Jallouli’s team upon the original’s foundations. This was then restored by a very enthusiastic group of volunteers in 2012.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sidi el Driss Hotel, Matmata, (Lars Homestead interior).

Sidi el Driss Hotel, Matmata

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘When there is no rain, the people leave. Everything ends. Even the birds leave.’

A traditional Berber troglodyte house, Sidi el Driss became a hotel in 1969, seven years before Lucasfilm first set up camp. The props that currently dominate the central courtyard date to the 2002 prequel, Attack of the Clones. The manager, Massoud Ben Rachid remembers between 250 and 300 people calling in just for lunch each day before the revolution. Currently, the number is closer to 20, nearly all Tunisian. You can stay the night for around £8.

The desert town of Matmata was a thriving tourist destination for nearly a century. Now it struggles to survive. The only other industry is agriculture. Ben Rachid says: “When there is no rain, the people leave. Everything ends. Even the birds leave.” Traditional Berber troglodyte houses dot the roadside, some functioning as outhouses or barns, some still occupied by families, some serving as hotels for the town’s dwindling tourist trade. The Sidi el Driss used to employ 15 people, now there are only six. The remainder have left for the capital.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Massoud Ben Rachid, Director of Sidi el Driss Hotel, Matmata.

Massoud Ben Rachid, director of Sidi el Driss Hotel

“There is a lot of poverty in Matmata, because of the revolution, because of Bardo, because of Sousse. Young people leave for the capital, finding work in grocery shops and hanoots [kiosks] and sending money home.” The Sidi el Driss has not made a profit for four years. Ben Rachid has worked here for 20 years, only recently being appointed manager. He is determined to turn the hotel’s fortunes around. “We can’t close. The people who work here have families. They need the hotel.”



