Ong Jemel outcrop
OVERVIEW
Site: Ong Jemel outcrop area
GPS: 34.015937, 7.912498
Location: Chott el-Gharsa salt flats (Tozeur Governorate) / Southwest Tunisia
Description: Meteorized rock zooform (Neogene Period)
Star Wars film: Episode I
Set construction start: Early August 1997
Production: Early August 1997
Star Wars locations | Film sets:
Mos Espa podrace circuit | Canyon Dune Turn
Mospic High Range | Sith landing desert mesa
Lead on set:
Ray Park / Darth Maul
Scenes:
84 [Darth Maul lands on desert mesa at dusk] — Filmed: 5 August 1997
108 [Darth Maul follows probe droid to Mos Espa] — Filmed: 5 August 1997
Final cut: 2
Deleted: 0
Sequences:
Tusken Raider sniper point #4 (podrace / lap 1)
Jawas scavenge at crash site (podrace / lap 2) <deleted>
Final cut: 1
Deleted: 1
Camel: No images of the north/northwest side of the outcrop—the best vantage point from which to view the formations loosely resembling the “camel’s neck” namesake of the zooform—are featured in the film.
Accessibility: Easy; desert/salt flats terrain; hard-packed sand roads; 4×4 vehicle advantageous, but not necessary; impeded by heavy rainfall; unrestricted parking surrounding the site; short low-impact hike required to climb outcrop and adjacent mesa.
Maguer Gorge
OVERVIEW
Site: Maguer Gorge
GPS: 34.036182, 8.280345
Location: Jebel Sidi Bouhlel, Dghoumès National Park (Tozeur Governorate) / Southwest Tunisia
Description: Geological formation (Campanian Age)
Star Wars films: Episode IV / Episode I
Set construction start: 26 March 1976 / n/a
Production: 26, 28-31 March, ~5 April 1976 / ~25 July 1997
Star Wars locations | Film sets:
Jundland Wastes | rock mesa canyon
Mos Espa podrace circuit | Canyon Dune Turn
Sluuce Canyon | desert wasteland bluff
Leads on set: Episode IV
Alec Guinness / Obi-Wan Kenobi
Mark Hamill / Luke Skywalker
Anthony Daniels / See Threepio (C-3PO)
Kenny Baker / Artoo Detoo (R2-D2)
Jack Purvis / head Jawa (Legends: Dathcha)
Peter Diamond (stunt supervisor) / Tusken Raider
Scenes: Episode IV
17 [Jawas neutralize R2-D2] — Filmed: 30 March 1976
18 [Jawas carry R2-D2 to sandcrawler] — Filmed: 30 March 1976
35 [Tusken Raiders spot Luke in landspeeder] — Filmed: 29 March 1976
37 [Luke and C-3PO find R2-D2] — Filmed: 26 March 1976
38 [Luke attacked by Tusken Raiders] — Filmed: 26, 29 March 1976
39 [Arrival of Ben Kenobi in canyon] — Filmed: 28-29 March 1976
40 [Luke finds injured C-3PO] — Filmed: 28 March 1976
B42 [Luke and Ben discover killed Jawas] — Filmed: 31 March 1976
E42 [Jawa bonfire] — Filmed: 31 March 1976
47 [View of Mos Eisley, “wretched hive of scum and villainy”] — Filmed: 29 March 1976
Final cut: 10
Deleted: 0
Back-projection: Episode IV
Scene 34 [Luke spots fugitive R2-D2] <90% deleted> — Filmed: ~5 April 1976
Final cut: 0
Deleted: 1
Sequences: Episode I
Tusken Raider sniper point #1 (podrace / lap 1) — Filmed: ~25 July 1997
Tusken Raider sniper point #2 (podrace / lap 1 and lap 2) <lap 2 deleted> — Filmed: ~25 July 1997
Tusken Raider sniper point #3 (podrace / lap 1) — Filmed: ~25 July 1997
Tusken Raider sniper point #6 (podrace / lap 2 ) — Filmed: ~25 July 1997
Tusken Raider sniper point #7 and #8 (podrace / lap 2) <deleted> — Filmed: ~25 July 1997
Tusken Raider sniper point #9 and #10 (podrace / lap 2) <deleted> — Filmed: ~25 July 1997
Final cut: 4
Deleted: 3
Nickname: Popularly known as “Star Wars Canyon” due to its prolific use by Lucasfilm crews.
Aerial footage: Only Star Wars film site in Tunisia filmed from an aircraft.
Native text: Arabic text names scratched into the eastern ridge wall in the central open area inside the gorge appear in the final cut, inadvertently distinguishing Arabic as the first written text presented on fictional Tatooine.
Wrap: Final film site for Episode IV principal photography in Tunisia (2nd unit).
Historic: First Star Wars prequels filming location in Tunisia.
Record: Only film site in Tunisia repurposed for three geographically distinct Star Wars locations on fictional Tatooine.
Cinematic overlap: Utilized for production in six full-length movies, including Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark and three other films separate from the Star Wars franchise.
Television: Only film site in Tunisia featured (to date) in a Star Wars franchise live-action series (The Mandalorian).
Accessibility: Very easy; foothills terrain; paved roads; parking area (34.032367, 8.282746) near the gorge entrance at the base of Jebel Sidi Bouhlel. Access to the western ridge summit requires moderate effort but no climbing expertise.
