Tatooine on the brink of destruction - a sand dune threatens the photo set in Tunisia

The dunes of the Sahara desert threaten to swallow the film set of the Jedi's hometown from the film Star Wars - The Phantom Menace located in Tunisia, after already destroying the nearby film set used in the original film (Star Wars 4)

Sand dunes swirling above the deserts of Tunisia may cover the set that was used "to shoot many scenes in the movie "Star Wars 1: The Phantom Menace".

More than ten buildings, real and fake, still stand on the site of the fictional settlement of Mos Aspa, on the planet Tatooine where the young Anakin Skywalker grew up. However, a team of scientists reported that sandstorms last month reached some of the buildings and threaten to destroy the site, which is naturally a tourist destination.

In recent years, scientists have used an uninhabited site that was set up for the purpose of photography as a marker to measure the crescent-shaped migration of the sands, known as Barchans, which results from the movement of winds mainly in one direction. A group of researchers headed by Ralph Lorenz from Johns Hopkins University in the USA, along with American and Tunisian partners (Nabil Ghasimi from Sousa University) visited the site, located in the Tunisian province of Aoung El Jamal in 2009 and noted that most of the sand had already overcome a nearby set that was used to film a war The Stars 4 – A New Hope (or the original 'Star Wars').
When they recently examined satellite photos of the area, they determined that the speed of the movement of the dunes is about 15 meters per year, and that they had already covered the buildings in which (in the film) Anakin Skywalker, Watto and Suvolba lived. The dune will probably continue its passage inside the city, and it is expected to reappear from the sand, but it is estimated that much damage will be caused by the passage.

By the way, the houses are not inhabited by real residents on purpose because this area is known for its sand dunes, and in the Sahara countries it is customary not to build in the path of the progress of dunes.

The scientists estimate that the threat to a site of this type will bring the desert issue to the public's attention worldwide.

On the same topic on the science site

A park inspired by the series Star Trek will be established in Aqaba

SAVE LARS project

However, in recent years fans of the Star Trek series have been conducting operations to renovate the buildings on the site. At the head of the operation is the Belgian Marc Dermol, who guided many groups of travelers including a group of over 50 science fiction enthusiasts to the photo sites of the desert planet Tatooine in Tunisia.

In 2010, he was approached by enthusiasts who were shocked by the level of maintenance of the place subject to the elements of the weather and the climate of the Tunisian desert. Following this visit over a lemon drink at a local buffet, some of them began to joke about being able to return there one day and restore the Lars Homestead to its glory days in the movie.

After the initiative was posted on Facebook and received positive responses, the operation began. Ten thousand dollars were collected easily, but in the meantime a coup occurred in Tunisia that started the Arab Spring, the entrepreneurs had to wait for the formation of a new government and with the help of Tunisian members of the group they received the long-awaited license. In the end, the renovations were carried out in May 2012. It's just a shame that now it will be necessary to wait for the sand to pass and carry out the project again.

In the gallery at the end of this article we bring some of the photos taken by the members of the delegation. In the possession of Dermoll. all The photos and videos taken during the project are on savelars.com

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