Matmata ( ';

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

: ⵎⴰⵜⵎⴰⵜⴰ) is a small

speaking town in southern

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. Some of the local Berber residents live in traditional underground " troglodyte" structures. In 2004 it had a population of 2,116. The structures typical for the village are created by digging a large pit in the ground. 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 A trench is a type of digging, excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale (landform), swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or trapping ...

-like passageways.

History

It was not generally known until 1969 that there were regular settlements in this area besides wandering nomadic tribes. That year, intensive rains that lasted for 22 days inundated the troglodyte homes and caused many of them to collapse. In order to get help from the authorities, a delegation was sent to the community center of the region in the town of

Gabès Gabès (, ; ), also spelled Cabès, Cabes, and Kabes, is the capital of the Gabès Governorate in Tunisia. Situated on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès, the city has a population of 167,863, making it the 6th largest city in Tunisia. Located 327 ...

. The visit came as a surprise, but help was provided, and the above-ground settlement of Matmâta was built. 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. Today, Matmata is a popular tourist attraction, and most of the population lives on tourism and folklore exhibitions in their homes.

In popular culture

*The Hotel Sidi Driss in Matmata was used in 1976 as a filming location in '' Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'', in which it was featured as the home of

Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the original film trilogy as the main protagonist and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a poor moisture farmer on the desert planet Tat ...

, his Aunt Beru Lars and Uncle Owen Lars on the planet

Tatooine Tatooine ( ) is a fictional desert planet that appears in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was fi ...

. The hotel is designed as a traditional Berber troglodyte underground building. It was featured again in the 2002 prequel film '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones''. * Two of '' Call of Duty: Finest Hours missions take place on the outskirts of Matmata, one involving destroying a radio mast, and another a German fuel depot. * One of ''

Call of Duty 2 ''Call of Duty 2'' is a 2005 first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in most regions of the world. It is the second installment of the Call of Duty, ''Call of Duty'' series. Announc ...

s missions and multiplayer maps takes place in Matmâta as part of

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

. * Film ', an adaptation of the book from Swiss author Hans Ruesch starring

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received numerous accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award ...

and

Freida Pinto Freida Selena Pinto (born 18 October 1984) is an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British films. Born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra, she resolved at a young age to become an actress. As a student at St. Xavier's Colle ...

References

External links

A travel report from Matmata

The Real Star Wars?
- Associated Press article, videos and photo gallery about Matmata by Andy Carvin
Matmata has many of the best examples of troglodyte architecture in the world.

Visitors' guide to Hotel Sidi Driss
{{Authority control Populated places in Gabès Governorate Berbers in Tunisia Communes of Tunisia