Bunkers, secret rooms, tunnels, underground chambers are things we have read about in history books. In times of war or danger, everyone from kings to commoners shifted to these underground passageways and chambers until the danger passed. A Tunisian city is home to permanent underground houses called troglodyte houses. In the North African country of Tunisia, there is a small town inhabited by the Arabic-speaking Berber people. The town is called Matmata. The town is located in the arid valleys of the Djebel Tahar region of southern Tunisia. The Matmata troglodyte dwellings, carved out of the earth and perfectly blending in with the Dahar highlands of southern Tunisia, are a wonder of surreal design and a window into the nation’s prehistoric past.
Situated 35 km south of Tunis, the country’s capital, the Matmata is a cratered terrain broken up by olive orchards and palm trees on the border of the Sahara desert at an elevation of 600 metres. Living underground in secret shelters tucked away in the valleys of the Djebel Dahar mountain range, people have lived here for ages and continue to do so. The homes, which are referred to as troglodytes, are remarkable architectural relics of the region’s
According to various estimates, the Berbers may have settled in the region as early as the 11th century, when they fled to the mountains to seek refuge from the Arabs who had taken over Tunisia and imposed an assimilationist policy. Settlement may have started earlier as well. The majority of Berber workers are in the agricultural sector. People started living underground when they moved from Arabia to Tunisia because they could not survive in the intense heat of the dry desert of Matmata. It was easier to escape the heat during the day, thanks to the unusual troglodyte architecture.
The subterranean homes were harmed by floods and torrential storms in the 1960s. But these homes have been updated with all the conveniences of the modern world. These houses have a courtyard connected to each backyard. An underground home needs this garden in order to function properly. Since it is the means by which outside air enters this house. Family members can socialise and perform errands together in this central location.
The city and its Berber population received many new amenities as Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba sought to modernise the country. In popular culture,the houses of Matmata were also featured in the Star Wars series as the dwelling of Luke Skywalker.
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