Djerba is a tiny little gem of an island that is a popular holiday spot for local Tunisian people and tourists from North Africa and Europe alike. The appeals of visiting this small island are numerous; there is fascinating Berber history, stunning white buildings, gorgeous street art and of course, a little bit of Star Wars action.
We started our day at the small mosque of Sidi Jemour. This mosque was used to shoot the Tosche Station scenes in Star Wars episode IV. These scenes never made the cut of the final film but can be found online. Set on the coast, this small but scenic mosque was completely empty with not a single other visitor around – it was absolutely gorgeous!
Our next stop was just a short drive down the road from Sidi Jemour Mosque. This spot is affectionately dubbed ‘Ben’s House’ and was used to shoot the exterior shots of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s home on Tatooine.
This was once a place of worship and is now mostly used as a spot of shelter for local fisherman. It is set right on the coast, which was quite surprising to me! The way that this location was shot in the film made it appear to exist in the middle of the desert – that’s some movie magic right there!
This next image is a still from A New Hope and the following images are what it looks like today.
Dad wasn’t a huge fan of the Obi-Wan artwork on the side of the building but I dunno, I found it kinda kitsch and charming!
Overall, this was an understated yet super fun spot to visit! I think Jamel thought we were completely ridiculous with how much we enjoyed it but in the best way, from this point onwards he referred to me as Princess Leia for the entire trip, lel.
Our last Star Wars stop of the day was the filming location of ‘The Cantina’ from A New Hope. Unfortunately this site has not been well maintained by the local governate and has fallen into a saddening state of disrepair. It’s such a shame – I am sure I speak for most Star Wars fans when I say that I would be exceptionally happy to pay an admission fee if it meant that the site was taken care of and no longer used as a veritable rubbish dump.
This next shot is a still from A New Hope and I have linked a youtube clip of the scene below – skip to around 2:42 to see the exteriors used.
Our next stop was the Djerba Traditional Heritage Museum. This very kitsch museum provides an in depth (sometimes too much so) look at the lives and traditions of the Berber people who first inhabited the island.
Filled with sculptures of Berber people in various scenes it got old eventually but it was a good way to learn a little about the history of the area and the curator was so sweet and proud of his museum, plus the courtyard was stunning.
From there we headed to Djerbahood. Djerbahood was the name of a street art event that took place in Erriadh village in 2014 in which artists from all over the globe gathered to paint over 250 murals which still adorn the walls of this town to this day. Erriadh is now known for this street art so much so that the village is commonly referred to as simply ‘Djerbahood’.
This part of Djerba Island is easily walkable and it is very easy to lose hours of the day exploring. There were so many beautiful murals, but here are a selection of my favourites.
In addition the gorgeous artworks, this village is also just generally all kinds of gorgeous. White walls with brightly coloured doors and splashes of colour at every turn make it a feast for the eyes (and camera lenses).
I was absolutely obsessed with this next house. The white walls, blue shutters, pale blue dome and the bold colours at the front door? Utterly delicious.
Oh, and the mosaic tiles that surrounded this door were absolutely adorable.
I mean, come on, if you saw these pictures would you think this was Tunisia? I bet you’d think it was an island in Greece or a seaside Andalusian town – it’s very easy to see why this is such a popular holiday destination!
As the day wore on our explorations slowed and eventually it was time to head back to our hotel. In just one day on Djerba we had seen and explored so much and we were rapidly falling head over heels in love with Tunisia.
Little did we know that the best was absolutely yet to come.
Stay tuned for an exceptionally Star Warsy day travelling to the city of Tataouine (not to be confused with the planet Tatooine, lel)
Star Wars locations around Djerba Island: These three Star Wars filming locations are all free to visit, which is unfortunate! Given the disrepair and lack of maintenance that they see, it would definitely make sense to charge entrance fees and use the money to keeping them in better condition!
Radisson Blu Palace Resort & Thalasso: We stayed at this hotel and it was perfectly fine. Most people staying here seemed to be on ‘all inclusive’ kinda trips. The food was bland and unexciting but it was not expensive and the beds were comfy enough
Tours by Jamel: We absolutely loved our trip with Jamel and truly couldn’t have asked for a better guide. We booked our trip with Jamel directly via whatsapp messages, you can contact him through whatsapp on +216 98 202 283 or check out his website by clicking here
Remember: We visited in early November which was part of the low season but I truly don’t know why, the weather was gorgeous for our entire trip – sunny but mild! Definitely would recommend visiting at this time rather than during the blistering hot summer months
