Day 5 – From Matmata to Djerba: In Search of Mos Eisley

Waking up at Hotel Sidi Driss in Matmata feels very different from waking up in an ordinary hotel. Last night, we had dinner in the famous dining room of Luke Skywalker, Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. So this morning, we take our time to have another good look around. After all, sleeping at an original Star Wars filming location and then simply leaving straight after breakfast? That would almost be a crime.

We wander once more through the underground courtyards and rooms of Sidi Driss. The hotel is a traditional troglodyte dwelling: a home literally dug into the earth. It was exactly this kind of architecture that made Matmata so appealing to George Lucas when he was looking for the interior of the Lars Homestead.

And that is what makes this place so special: this isn't a film set built for Star Wars. This is an ancient way of living that existed here long before the movies.

Matmata – Above and Below Ground

Today, we also take the opportunity to explore more of Matmata itself. During a guided tour, we discover how generations of Berbers carved their homes into the ground. From the outside, you can sometimes barely tell that entire houses are hidden beneath your feet. Only when you walk down through a narrow passage does a large circular courtyard suddenly appear, with rooms built into the walls all around it.

Star Wars is, of course, an important reason for us to be here, but moments like these remind us that southern Tunisia has so much more to offer. The films used this landscape and architecture as their backdrop. The real thing had already been here for centuries.

After Matmata, we point the car southeast. Djerba is our next destination.

A Traditional Ksar Along the Way

On the way, we make another stop at a traditional ksar. These fortified granaries are among the most distinctive structures in southern Tunisia. Their small storage chambers – known as ghorfas – are often stacked several storeys high.

Once again, it is one of those places that seems to have a Star Wars look without even trying. No green screen. No CGI. Just Tunisia.

From here, we continue towards the coast, where we have a decision to make.

The Ferry to Djerba – If the Traffic Cooperates

Our favourite way to reach Djerba isn't by road, but by ferry.

And the ferry is an experience in itself.

Cars, trucks, scooters and pedestrians all seem to be heading for the same boat at exactly the same time. A little chaotic, slightly confusing and wonderfully Tunisian. If all goes well, we join the flow of traffic, drive onto the ferry and make the crossing to the island.

There is just one potential problem: the queue can sometimes be enormous. And with so much still to see on this trip, we're obviously not going to spend hours staring at a line of stationary cars.

If the wait is too long, we switch to Plan B and drive around to the other side, taking the fixed road connection onto Djerba.

Because however we get there, Djerba is where we're going.

In Search of Obi-Wan Kenobi

Once on the island, our next Star Wars treasure hunt begins.

One of our first stops is a very special little building by the sea. To anyone who doesn't know its story, it probably looks like nothing more than a simple little house. To us, it is something completely different.

Obi-Wan Kenobi's house.

George Lucas used this location as the home of the old Jedi Master in Star Wars: A New Hope. It's one of those places where its simplicity is exactly what makes it so special. No attraction, no huge signs and no theme park. Just a small building in the Tunisian landscape.

And there we are, standing right in front of it.

Mos Eisley Is Real – It's Called Ajim

Next, we head to Ajim.

In 1976, George Lucas and his crew transformed parts of this fishing town into Mos Eisley Spaceport. If you've watched A New Hope often enough, you'll suddenly start recognising façades, doorways, streets and corners.

And perhaps the best thing about Ajim is that everyday life simply carries on around it.

People do their shopping, cars drive through the streets and residents sit outside their homes. Meanwhile, we're walking around with images from a film almost fifty years old in our heads, trying to work out exactly where the camera once stood.

Luke and Biggs – The Scene That Didn't Make the Film

Then we visit another location – this one for the real enthusiasts.

The original version of A New Hope included scenes in which Luke Skywalker met up with his childhood friends on Tatooine, including Biggs Darklighter. Biggs had become a pilot and tells Luke about his plans to join the Rebellion.

The scenes were eventually cut from the theatrical release.

But they were filmed.

And today, we can still visit the location where part of these deleted Tatooine scenes was shot. It may not be the most famous Star Wars location in Tunisia, but that's exactly what makes it so much fun. This is one for the fans who want to look just a little further beyond the best-known filming locations.

And Then, Suddenly… Olive Trees

As if Star Wars, Berber homes, a ksar and a potentially chaotic ferry crossing weren't enough for one day, along the way we also encounter something completely different: some of the area's most famous ancient olive trees.

Naturally, we have to stop.

With all the film history surrounding us, it's easy to forget just how ancient the culture of this part of Tunisia really is. Some of the olive trees on and around Djerba have been cared for for many centuries, with enormous, twisted trunks that look almost like sculptures in their own right.

For a moment, no Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan or Mos Eisley.

Just a gigantic old olive tree, silence and the Tunisian landscape.

By the end of the day, once again it feels as though we've experienced several different journeys at once. We started deep underground in Luke Skywalker's home, explored traditional Matmata, stopped at an ancient ksar and – hopefully in suitably chaotic fashion – crossed over to Djerba by ferry.

And then, suddenly, we found ourselves standing outside Obi-Wan Kenobi's house, walking through the streets of Mos Eisley and even searching for a Star Wars scene that never made it into the original film.

Day 5 once again proves why this journey is about so much more than simply travelling around Tunisia.

Sometimes we're driving through the real history of the country.

And just a few kilometres later, we're driving straight back into our childhood.

Sleeping in a Traditional Dar

After such a packed day, it's time to find our accommodation on Djerba. And once again, where we stay fits perfectly with the spirit of this journey. We're not spending the night in a large, modern hotel, but in a traditional dar.

Dar simply means “house” in Arabic. In Tunisia, the term is often used for traditional homes built around a central courtyard. From the outside, they can look surprisingly simple and enclosed, but step through the doorway and you enter a completely different world: whitewashed walls, arches, decorative tiles, small alcoves, thick walls that keep out the heat and an atmospheric courtyard forming the heart of the house.

Many of these old homes have now been converted into small hotels or guesthouses, while preserving as much of their original architecture as possible. So no long corridors lined with dozens of identical hotel rooms, but somewhere with character, history and, above all, atmosphere.

And to us, that fits Binary Sunset Tours perfectly. During the day, we're driving past centuries-old Berber homes, Star Wars locations and small Tunisian villages. We don't want to end the day by suddenly finding ourselves in an anonymous international hotel.

So we finish Day 5 just as we started it: somewhere unmistakably Tunisian.

From sleeping in an underground home in Matmata to spending the night in a traditional dar on Djerba.

Tomorrow, another adventure awaits.