Diary
On this page, the Pioneers who traveled to Tunisia to Save the Lars Homestead, share with you their very own adventure.
Re-live the excitement of pulling off a restoration that has been one of the most anticipated projects in a galaxy far, far away.
Your guides are: Mark Dermul, Terry Cooper, Mark Cox, Robert Cunningham, Imanuel Dijk and Michel Verpoorten (more on our crew on this page). Oh, and lets not forget our 'caterer', Colin Kenworthy. After all, he supplied us with cool drinks and icecreams when we most needed them.
Day 5
Tuesday 29th May 2012
The Saviours got up
at 5am. Or as Terry called it ‘silly o’clock’. The others
soon agreed. They arrived at the construction site at 6am to
find the local builders already waiting for them with the
materials. So far, so good. While Imanuel got back to work
on the steps, Terry and Robert worked on the holes in the
roof of the igloo. Coxie got started on the wood panels that
needed to go all around the base of the homestead while
Michel and Mark started cutting up the chicken wire that
would be stapled on the wood panels. That way, the base of
the building would be reinforced. Screws were put into the
panels as well, to allow for a better grip for the cement,
that would be applied the day after. Around noon, the
temperature was an unbelievable 50°C (admittedly, in the
car) and we had to call it a day. But they were happy with
the work they had gotten done already. Progress was
definitely being made. They drove back to Tozeur in silence,
pretty exhausted. The desert had drained them. But a hearty
lunch of brick and couscous and a lot of drinks gave them
the opportunity to recuperate.
Since going back out to Nefta was no use – the cement and plaster would be delivered the next day – they drove out to Bouhlel once more. Not to revisit the canyon, but an oasis nearby, where Lucasfilm had shot scenes from another famous movie some three decades earlier: Raiders of the Lost Ark. The oasis still resembles the Tanis Dig Site from the Indiana Jones movie. The Well of Souls, the Map Room, the Landing Field, it is all still there. The landowner joined them to explain what happened. He was a 14 year old kid at the time of filming and remembered it well. Imanuel started digging at the Well of Souls and uncovered a nice piece of set dressing. As the wind started picking up, storm clouds forming on the horizon, the Saviours covered up the piece for future amateur archaeologists to (re)discover and returned to Tozeur. After all, they had to get back up at 5am and still needed to update their Facebook page at the local internet café. All work and no play!
Return to Day 4 - Forward to Day 6
Crew & Saviours
Find out who who donated to make this restoration possible and meet the crew who traveled out to Tunisia to make it happen.
Book
We are currently hard at work creating a wonderful coffee table book, with loads of never before seen images. Stay tuned!