Matmata Troglodyte Houses in Tunisia

Matmata Cave Town is a town of caves and a small Berber-speaking town in southern Tunisia's Djebel Dahar region. Made famous by Star Wars, some local Berber residents live in traditional underground "troglodyte" structures. Originally, "Matmata" was the name of one of the tribes of the Berbers who inhabited this area. Later, the name of the village was also used for the people who built their own houses in the form of in-depth excavations of caves with diameters of 8 to 13 metres. In some of these houses, you can only descend using a rope or a rope ladder.

Matmata

Matmata Underground Houses in Matmata-Al-Qadimal, Tunisia

In the village, builders create the typical structures by digging a large pit in the ground. Around the perimeter of this pit, builders then dig artificial caves to use as rooms, with some homes comprising multiple pits connected by trench-like corridors.

The origins of this strange place remain unknown, except for the myths that generations have passed down. The improbable account states that the Matmata underground houses began to be built in ancient times, when the Roman Empire sent two Egyptian tribes to make their own homes in the region of Matmata after one of the Punic Wars, with permission to kill everyone along the way. Locals had to leave their homes and dig caves in the ground to hide from the invaders.

However, they left their shelters at night to attack the attackers, which seemed to be very effective in sending assassination groups away from Mmatâta. Legend was told in those days that monsters came from underground to kill the invaders. In any case, underground passages remained hidden in this hostile environment for centuries, and no one had any knowledge of their existence until 1967. [Wikipedia]

First Image credit: Chris Rudge

Matmata, Tunisia

Image credit: Bruce Allardice

Matmata Tunisia

It was not widely known until 1969 that there were typical settlements in the area apart from the nomadic tribes. That year, torrential rains that lasted for 22 days flooded the troglodyte houses and caused many of them to collapse. The authorities helped them, and the rescue team was sent to a community centre in the district of Gabès. The visit was surprising, but help was provided, and the upper Mmatâta site was under construction. However, most people moved on to their new underground home, while only a few families moved to the new surface dwellings.

Today, Matmata is a tourist attraction, and most people live in underground buildings that are tourist attractions and folklore exhibitions. [Wikipedia]