Ksar Hadada

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2017}}

Image:Façade de l'hôtel Ksar Hadada 2.jpg

Ksar Hadada ({{langx|ar|قصر حدادة}}), sometimes known as Ksar Hedada, is a village in southeastern Tunisia. It is well known as being a filming location for 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.[http://www.markdermul.be/tatooine Star Wars Trip To Tatooine] by Mark Dermul.[http://theswca.com/travel/tunisia/jerid/jerid.html The Star Wars Traveler] by Gus Lopez and Pamela Gren.[http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2407541 Stars of the Desert – A journey across the dunes of Tunisia to discover lost "Tatooine"] by Brady Walters. The population at the 2004 census was 1298,{{Cite web|url=http://www.ins.nat.tn/fr/rgph2.1.2.php?code_modalite=0015355&Code_indicateur=0301001|title=2004 Tunisian Census|website=ins.nat.tn}} and 1142 in 2014.{{Cite web|url=http://dataportal.ins.tn/ar/DataAnalysis?nzOXM4mRPk2TBxnGo3i2SA|title=2014 Tunisian census|website=dataportal.ins.tn}}

Geography

Ksar Hadada is surrounded by a mountain range. The village is also home to a valley between 25 and 50 meters deep called Gattar.

File:Fossiles Ksar Hadada Tunisie.jpg

Several fossils have been found in and around the village.

=Climate=

The climate is semi-arid, as the Sahara is only fifty kilometers away, and rain is rare but abundant when it does occur. Temperatures can reach 48°C during the day in summer and go down to 0°C at night in winter.

Architecture and education

File:Bibliothèque publique Mohamed Jilani Ksar Hadada 2016 1.jpg

A mosque was built in the 1950s. There are also two cafés, a post office, a library, a football stadium and a dozen shops.

The village has a kindergarten and a primary school. On the other hand, the ksar does not have a middle or high school, but there are relationships established to link the village with the two middle schools and two high schools of the town of Ghomrassen.

Politics

= Government =

Ksar Hadada is run by a mayor and a village council. Seeing as almost all local government is located in Ghomrassen, projects concerning the village are discussed with the mayor of Ghomrassen and the town's council, and occasionally with the governor of Tataouine.

class="wikitable"

!Mayor

!From

!To

!Political party

Mohamed Yahiaoui

|circa 1991

|2011

|Democratic Constitutional Rally

colspan="4" |2011-2014: no mayor, only the village council
Tarek Yahiaoui

|2014

|2016

|Independent

Abdelmonem Yahiaoui

|2016

|incumbent

|Independent

= Elections =

class="wikitable"

!Election

!Year

! colspan="2" |First place

! colspan="2" |Second place

!Participation

!Ref.

Presidential

|2014

|Moncef Marzouki

|91.11%

|Beji Caid Essebsi

|8.22%

|61.53%

|{{Cite web|url=http://www.isie.tn/download/pv-bv-presidentielles-tour2/Tunisie/Tataouin/Ghomrasin/E.P.KSAR%20HADADA%20GHOMRASEN/27070110501.jpg|title=Résultats du deuxième tour des élections présidentielles de 2014 à Ksar Hadada|website=isie.tn|url-status=dead|access-date=June 28, 2019|archive-date=March 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305191339/http://www.isie.tn/download/pv-bv-presidentielles-tour2/Tunisie/Tataouin/Ghomrasin/E.P.KSAR%20HADADA%20GHOMRASEN/27070110501.jpg}}

rowspan="2" |Legislative

|2014

|Ennahda

|63.09%

|Chaâb Yourid (independent list)

|10.41%

|64.17%

|{{Cite web|url=http://www.isie.tn/wp-content/uploads/filebases/pv-elections-legislatives/Tunisie/Tataouine/Ghomrassen1/E.P.KSAR%20HADADA%20GHOMRASEN/27070610501.jpg|title=Résultats des élections législatives de 2014 à Ksar Hadada|website=isie.tn}}

2011

|Ennahda

|61.8%

|Progressive Democratic Party

|8.4%

|86.6%

|{{Cite web|url=http://www.isie.tn/wp-content/uploads/filebases/pvElection2011/IRIE-Tataouine/Ghomrassen/IRIE-Tataouine_015.pdf|title=Résultats de l'élection de l'assemblée constituante de 2011|website=isie.tn}}

Economy

File:Ksar Hadada 3.jpg

File:Hôtel Ksar Hadada à l'intérieur 5.jpg

The local economy depends mainly on olive cultivation as well as goat and sheep farming. Most of the village's residents no longer live there and only return during the holidays; this emigration is caused by a lack of employment. Ksar Hadada remains strongly tied to the nearby town of Ghomrassen, as it is the seat of the municipality.

Part of the ksar has been turned into a hotel where tourists can stay. In June 1997, American film director George Lucas used the area to shoot on-location scenes for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) to represent Mos Espa on the planet Tatooine, the birthplace of Anakin Skywalker.

Famous people

Tribute

An onshore oil field in the south of Tunisia is named Ksar Hadada.{{Cite web|url=https://africanmanager.com/tunis-petrole-la-licence-ksar-hadada-interesse-les-investisseurs/|title=Tunis-Pétrole : La licence Ksar Hadada intéresse les investisseurs|last=Manager|first=African|date=2015-03-03|website=African Manager|language=fr-FR|access-date=2019-06-28}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/108379/independent-resources-says-ksar-hadada-still-viable-farm-out-continues-108379.html|title=Independent Resources says Ksar Hadada still viable; farm out continues|date=2015-06-25|website=Proactiveinvestors UK|language=en|access-date=2019-06-28}}

References

{{Reflist}}