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June 7th
Travels with Anzie - Part 25: Living Underground in Tunisia
Anzie and I spent two weeks in Tunisia in May. Why Tunisia? It was a nostalgia trip. Anzie spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer there 30 years ago, 1972-74. She wanted to show me her Tunisia. We saw that plus a lot more, too much to give you all at once. One of my Dad's favorite sayings was: " How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." Our first bite will be about how people live underground in Tunisia. Yes, we lived underground, too.
But first, you need to get acclimated geographically. Tunisia lies on the coast of North Africa between Algeria and Libya. The northern two-thirds of the country is all arable land: plenty of olive trees, vineyards, vegetable crops. The further south you travel the more arid it gets until finally in the bottom third you reach the Sahara Desert. You can make the trip from Tunis on the North coast to Tatouine, where the Sahara begins, in about six hours on excellent roads. Correct that:. The roads are excellent compared to those found in most West African countries.
The semi-arid land just north of the Sahara reminds us of Arizona: arroyos, buttes and mesas in those same warm, reddish brown hues. Anzie: "That's a beaut of a mesa!" ( Yup, it was a long two weeks.) This is the area where we found the underground dwellers. The people began to live underground to escape the roving hordes of Arabs who were out to conquer and to plunder.
We found two different types of underground dwellings, both of which are categorized as "troglodyte" dwellings:
We visited one underground hotel in Matmata, Sidi Driss, whose claim to fame that it was the sight for the movie "Star Wars". The movie's first scene takes place on the planet Tatouine -- named after a town in southern Tunisia. Luke Skywalker returns from a ride through the desert in his flying "skimmer" to discover smoke billowing from his underground dwelling and his parents turned into crispy critters. It was fun to wander from courtyard to courtyard through the connecting tunnels.
Tunisia's interesting dwellings
We stayed in an underground hotel, the Hotel Diar el Barbar just outside of Matmata. Matmata resembles a lunar landscape. The arid hills are pockmarked with pit dwellings. Apparently "Star Wars" placed Matmata firmly on the tourist map. But our intrepid traveler, Anzie, was there in 1973, before George Lucas ever heard of the place. We had some trouble finding our hotel until we came upon a sign, which was located on level terrain:
HOTEL ?
Sure enough, we turned at the sign and descended a steep hill to the hotel entrance. Our room was dug out of a hillside. Not for the claustrophic, it consisted of an entrance foyer and bathroom with windows to the courtyard outside, while the long, rather narrow bedroom really looked like the cave that it was. Although it was plastered and whitewashed, when the lights went off it was black as a coal mine.
The man who guided us to our room was the overseer of the original construction, which took seven years. It consists of 162 rooms, built up three levels around three courtyards.
As a four star hotel it offers all the amenities: outdoor swimming pool with a lovely view of the surrounding hills, a bar and two large dining rooms with better than average quality food and service.
One other structure is peculiar to this region: the ghorfa. The ghorfa is a stone cell in which grain, olive oil or fodder was stored. It measures over 6 ft. high and wide by 7-12 ft. in length., rectangular with an arched roof. Units are added in a line and on top of each other up to a height of five stories, all connected around a central courtyard. Their blank outside walls were meant to deter marauders. They remind us of an ancient precursor to the U-Store-It complexes that have sprung up around the perimeters of most U.S. cities. Eventually some of these ghorfas became family dwellings.
A complex of ghorfas built around a central courtyard is called a ksar, which also means fortress. From the outside one can see that a ksar would be easily defensible, at least from small arms fire. Two of the most interesting ksars we visited were Ksar Haddada and Ksar Ouled Soltane
Ksar Haddada, located north of Tatouine, is a large complex, with ghorfas up to three levels. Entry to the top levels is accomplished either by climbing precarious rock or wood outcroppings, or by manipulating a pulley arrangement of dubious design. This ksar was also featured in the movie "Star Wars". Remember the bar scene where denizens from around the galaxy were gathered? This is the place. Unfortunately the hotel is now closed and has been left to the ravages of nature for a number of years. However, we could see the evidence of massive renovation. Our guide explained that it will be reopened as a hotel next year.
Ksar Ouled Soltane is situated about 20 kms. South of Tatouine in the beginning of the Sahara. Proclaimed as one of the best preserved Ksars in Tunisia, it is built on a slight rise, which allows good views across the desert towards Libya.
Here we met Hallil, a handsome, well-mannered artist with a withered arm. He ran the café and sold his watercolor paintings of the ksar. He also spoke excellent English. He gave us a tour of the ksar. Since we were the only tourists in sight, he spent some time with us, explaining what we were seeing. His paintings were very good, so we bought one.
There is a saying in the Arab world about the character of the North African nationalities: " Moroccans are lions. Algerians are men. Tunisians are women." Although at first glance this may strike one as a putdown, I think it speaks to the gentility of the Tunisian people. They would rather avoid a fight. Their underground habitats, besides being comfortable year round in a harsh climate, were easy to defend when necessary.
For more on our fantastic journey into the land of Arabian Nights, see Travels with Anzie - Part 26.
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