Tataouine
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| Tataouine Tiṭṭawin / ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⵉⵏ |
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Ksar Ouled Soltane, near the city of Tataouine
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Tataouine is located in Tunisia
 Tataouine
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| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
| Country |  Tunisia |
| Governorate | Tataouine Governorate |
| Population (2014) | |
| • Total | 95,775 |
| Time zone | CET (UTC1) |
Tataouine or Tatooine (Berber: Tiṭṭawin, meaning "eyes" or "water springs"; Tunisian Arabic: تطاوين <phonos file="Tatouine.wav">Taṭwīn</phonos>), also transliterated as Tatahouine, Tatahouïne, or Tatawin, is a city located in southern Tunisia. It is the capital of the Tataouine Governorate. The below ground, "cave dwellings" of the native Berber population, designed for coolness and protection, render the city and the area around it a tourist and film makers attraction.
The district is famous for its ksour (fortified Berber granaries) including the picturesque Ksar Ouled Soltane, Chenini and Douiret. These abandoned settlements feature vaulted adobe buildings, or ghorfas. Some people in Tataouine speak a Berber dialect. 63% of the inhabitants are Tunisian Berbers and 37% are Arabs.
From 1892 to 1951, Tataouine was the garrison town of the French penal military unit known as the "Battalion of Light Infantry of Africa".
The Ksour Festival (French: Festival international des ksour sahariens) is an annual festival held in Tataouine in March.[1]
On June 27, 1931, a meteorite of unusual achondrite type and green color impacted at Tataouine; about 12 kg of fragments were found. The meteorite consists largely of the mineral enstatite, and is of the rare Diogenite type. These are believed to be samples of cumulate igneous rock derived from the asteroid 4 Vesta.
Tataouine's name became famous worldwide when George Lucas, who coincidentally shot original Star Wars film in various locations in Tunisia,[2] named Luke Skywalker's fictional homonymous[3] home planet Tatooine.[4]
Tataouine appeared in the end of the movie The X-Files as Foum Tataouine, where an extraterrestrial viral experiment facility was held.
The city is sometimes also called Fum Taţāwīn, Fumm Tattauin, Foum Tatahouine, Fum Tatawin, or Foum Tataouine. There is a Moroccan city with a similar name: Tetouan.
References
- ↑ Festival international des ksour sahariens
- ↑ http://www.losapos.com/starwarstunisia
- ↑ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/homonymous
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Pictures and photos of Tunisia, including Tataouine
- QuickTime VR image of Ksar Ouled Soltane, also photographed by Andy Carvin
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