Tunisia
These unique underground dwellings gained international fame after standing in for Luke Skywalker’s home on Tatooine.
For thousands of years, the Berbers of Matmatat-Al-Qadimal have had a simple solution to escaping the desert heat: make their homes underground. The basic process is to dig a deep circular pit, and then dig underground rooms around the perimeter, leaving the main pit as a courtyard. These unique structures were largely unknown, even to other Tunisians, until the 1960s when severe flooding forced the locals to ask the government for aid. Ten years later, Matmatat was brought to the attention of millions when George Lucas used the Hotel Sidi Driss as Luke Skywalker’s home on Tatooine. While the hotel is the best known and easiest to access, the area is dotted with these subterranean settlements, such as nearby Haddej with its underground olive press.
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