No Cave Like Home

November 26, 2019

No Cave Like Home

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away in this instance means about a ten days ago in Matmata, Southern Tunisia. I’ll never get a better chance to toddle up to the neighbouring cave to ask mrs Skywalker, if Luke can come out to play.

Since the cave system next to my own was the set for Luke’s childhood home, both in the original Star Wars movie and a couple of its sequels (prequels?).

The people of the mountainous region around Matmata in Southern Tunisia have along the centuries developed a unique and eminently practical way of dealing with the scalding heat of summer and the chill of winter: They dig deep.

And for lack of any steep, vertical mountainsides, they have not dug horizotally into mountain sides, but vertically into the ground. The resulting so called troglodyte dwellings look like nothing much - in fact nothing at all - from ground level. Untill you stumble on a crater, which is the courtyard of a troglodyte home that is.

A single entry doorway opens up to a network of underground corridors

and several courtyards, with multiple little caves on various levels.

These caves acted as the homes for the local people for centuries, but in recent years with the advent of air conditioning, people have increasingly relocated to homes above ground. Well, I suppose it is nice to have a home with a window.

But sadly this leaves the old troglodyte homes to house only travellers (such as my hotel Marhala with a random tourist having her morning coffee - photo coutesy of Eva) and Luke’s home hotel Sidi Driss.

The other popular option for cave use seems to be livestock - usually sheep or goats with the odd chicken thrown in.

There being, apparently, insufficient tourists and goats in the region, many of the old troglodyte homes are sadly falling into disrepair - and so a very unique housing solution is in danger of being destroyed.

Personally I have to say my home cave was absolutely lovely, atmospheric and it had a very pleasant temperature, though there was no heating and the nights are very chilly. Old solutions sometimes are the best.