Ksar Hadada is a large granary (a ksar is a Berber granary) that was used for hundreds of years, but is now a tourist site. It is a few miles northwest of the town Tatouine. This ksar was used as a hotel that was closed in 1998. It was also used as a movie set for Star Wars 1 – The Phantom Menace. It was built to store and protect barley, wheat, and olive oil. The ksar is made of stone, gypsum, and mud. The ksar is built of overlapping vaults stacked on top of each other, so it looks like the scales of a fish. It reminded me of New Mexican adobe houses.
When Hadada was used as a ksar, their were soldiers patrolling at all times. There was also a high wall that protected the ksar. There was a trusted holy man whose job was to make sure that no one took too much wheat or barley out of their savings. This made something like a bank. Each vault was called a garfa. Each family owned a garfa. The people stored there grain here so it would be safe from lootings.
Only a small part of Ksar Hadada was used to film Star Wars. That part was rebuilt, but in about 20 steps from the set was the part that was in ruins. When we got to Ksar Hadada, we first went through the large high walls surrounding Hadada. The place that we first came to was where Star Wars was filmed. We ran through the arches, vaults and rooms. In about 20 steps from the entrance, we came to the three story high buildings. They each had two or three garfas stacked on top of each other. There were steps usually on the outside of the buildings. The farther we went in, the more ruined it became. It was very fun (and dangerous) to play hide-and-seek among the rubble.
Hadada is being made into a hotel, like many ancient ruins in the area. Hopefully other tourists will come and share my great experience.
Tags: Berber · Tunisia
1 response so far ↓
Hi Cyrus, Your report makes me want to watch “The Phantom Menace” again to see the place you have described. How fun for you to experience where the movie was filmed and to experience being inside these structures. Did you have thoughts about what it was like for the people who lived during the times these structures were built? When were they built and for how long were they used? Love you and so appreciate your website and all the work you put into sharing your learning and adventures with us. XXOO Grandma Cole