Where Is Lars Homestead in 'Star Wars'?

Star Wars: A New Hope shot in the salt lake Chott el-Jerid, Tunisia. Photo via Stefan Krasowski

Tracing the home of the universe's most famous 'moisture farmers' brings us not to a galaxy far, far away but to Tunisia. George Lucas decamped to the North African nation to shoot scenes set in the two-sunned planet Tatooine. 

For Lars homestead, residence of prophesied messiah Luke Skywalker and adoptive parents Owen and Beru, the salty wastelands of Chott El-Jerid in Tunisia fit the bill.

Obi-Wan or just a Tunisian beggar? Photo via Mashable

Any Star Wars fan would know this. But it takes a certain caliber of fanaticism to actually save the beloved set, with its iconic igloo-like entrance, tall 'vaporators,' and gaping crater. In 2012, Belgian Star Wars stan Mark Dermul and friends raised funds to restore the abandoned, deteriorating set, a move applauded by Lucasfilm itself.

Meanwhile, the Hotel Sidi Driss staff have done a swell job of maintaining the other Lars homestead set. The famous courtyard in the crater was not filmed in Chott El-Jerid but 250 km away in the town of Matmata. The set has since been converted into the hotel: For $10, you can have bed and breakfast fit for a Jedi.

Here lies cavemen of the future. Via STML

You can find more vestiges of Star Wars at Tunisia. With its sheer number of galactic filming locations, the country must already be swarming with midi-chlorians.