22 July 2011

Tataouine – the Real Tatooine

The name is best known the world over as the fictional home planet of Luke Skywalker. Yet Tatooine is not only a dry desert planet of a binary star system in the Arkanis Sector.  It has been on the world map (at least the one of planet Earth) a lot longer than George Lucas - yet in a somewhat different guise.

A small city in the North African country of Tunisia, Tataouine (one of many spellings) is home to the ksour – amazing fortified granaries used by the Berber population. 

Yet for millions of movie goers they are instantly recognizable as the slave dwellings of the city of Mos Espa, the childhood home of Luke’s father, Jedi gone (very, very) bad Anakin Skywalker. In Berber, the city of Tataouine has two meanings, Eyes or Water Springs – that despite the fact it looks as arid as a city can get.

George Lucas used the area of Ksar Ouled Soltane in Tataouine when he filmed The Phantom Menace but his Star Wars connection with Tunisia goes back to the original Star Wars episode when he chose various locations in the country to depict the wider world of the fictional desert planet Tatooine.

He named the planet, with a slight variation in spelling, after the historic French garrison city.  This was perhaps a homage or perhaps simply because to Western ears the place does have a cool, out of this world ring to its name. Yet the buildings that served as a backdrop for Mos Espa are to be found in one part of that city - in an area known as Ksar Ouled Soltane.

Ksar Ouled Soltane began life several hundred years ago as a ksar.  This is a fortified granary which is spread out around a courtyard.  The granaries are multi-storied and made from adobe.  They are always located, like the one in Tataouine, on the top of the hill.  In this way the valuable grain was better protected from raiding parties intent on stealing it.

Although the granaries are now uninhabited the filming of Star Wars there has assured their survival.  As well as becoming one of the more important stops for anyone visiting Tunisia for a vacation which focuses on the history of the place, the granaries of Tataouine has also become a pit stop for fans of the Lucas movies undergoing an exotic Star Wars themed vacation.

By all accounts the place has not become themed beyond the point of redemption. There is only a single tourist shop there and while some of the locals do go around in Obi Wan-Kenobi robes it is sometimes difficult to tell whether it is in homage to the Jedi master or their traditional clothing.

There are no hotels in the town and very few restaurants so those visitors who arrive come in hired cars or mostly buses and only stay for a few hours.   This at least assures that when you visit you do not feel surrounded by other tourists.

The granaries of Ksar Ouled Soltane have, in this way, a feeling of exclusivity for those who arrive there. You might almost, after all, be somewhere in the Outer Rim Territories – but do watch out for the Hutts. Nasty lot by all accounts.

25 October 2010

What is YOUR Favourite Sculpture?

The response to our recents Hands in the Sands was so good that we decided it would be a great idea to hand things over to you for a while.  So, with no more ado, let's get on with it.  What is your favorite sculpture?  I know that these things can change and I did think of appending the post's title with at the moment.  However, we will leave the question as it is.

If you could, please send me your favorite sculpture (I wish!  I should say details thereof) to taliesyn30@aol.com - or leave a message in the comment box below.  Please tell us what, where and by whom - and if possible a few sentences explaining why it is your favorite.  Plus your own name or handle (and country too if possible). We can start with mine. Although it is contemporary, don't let that stop you submitting something from Ancient Greece if it is your favorite!  I should be able to source high quality copyright free images - fingers crossed - but if it is something lesser known and you have taken some cool pictures yourself, please send them too!

Mine is a fairly new sculpture, only two years old.  It is called El alma del Ebro or in English The Soul of the Ebro, after the largest river in Spain.  It is the work of Jaume Plensa who was born in Barcelona in 1955. The sculpture is was specially commissioned for the International Exposition in Zaragoza.  The theme of the exhibition ws Water and Sustainable Development.  It encapsulated both my interest in the environment and in very, very large pieces of art - it is eleven meters in height.  The letters represent the cells of the human body which of course is made mostly of water.  White lettering and a hollow interior invite you to take a look inside, to peer indeed - and perhaps to reflect on our very personal relationship with H20.

Direct emails first!

1. Nike of Samothrace
From Melissa, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
"When I was 19 I took a 'sabatical' from college (after failing most of my classes) and convinced my parents to let me go to Paris and study french for a semester.  Among other things, I wandered around museums and parks, writing in my journal, trying to figure out the course of my life and generally wasting time.  One day at the Louvre I turned the corner and there she was, in all of her winged glory, soaring high above me.    I swear I heard trumpets.  It was there that I decided to start on the long road of unemployment and became an art history student.  I worked for an auction house but am now a repressed housewife who dreams of those afternoons spent wandering with my journal & colored pencils.  Some day I'll see her again......"
Commenter's Choices..(with a comment or two of my own!)

From Rozelle:
My favourite is The Motherland Calls in Mamaev Kurgan, Volgograd (previously Stalingrad). It's 85m tall and was named the tallest sculpture in the world from 1967 to 1989. I love the ferocious look on her face, it really does conjure up a Mother protecting her children from threat.
and here she is...
Yes, she is certainly scary - you wouldn't want her to be your mother if you were late for your dinner, that's for sure!  She belongs to a school of sculpture that isn't necessarily in vogue at the moment, representing such a full on and dare I say nationalistic stance.  However, having said that I am sure that history will judge her for her aesthetics more than the politics that stimulated her birth.

From Kaylar:
When I read the title, immediately Picasso's Goat came to mind. I've tried to shove it out, electing other, nicer scuptures; but there is just something about an artist using virtual garbage to create an animal that eats garbage..and I won't mention how he got the patina to look that way either
There were a few to choose from here (for reasons best left to a psychologist, Picasso had a thing about goats), so I am guessing that you meant this one, Kaylar!  It certainly does have a certain patina - now just how was that created?

OK - over to you!

9 May 2010

Voyager 2 Suffers Slight Technical Hitch

It has taken quite a while, but at some point something like this was bound to happen.  NASA is not able at the moment to interpret the data transmissions from Voyager 2.

Fortunately, the control systems are not affected so NASA engineers should be able to fix the problem.  There is one slight disadvantage however – it takes thirteen hours for a transmission from earth to reach Voyager (and of course the same amount back).

While Voyager traverses the edge of the solar system, data has been coming through with improper formatting since the latter part of April.  With engineering data still being read properly it is hoped that the fix can be introduced and implemented – albeit very, very slowly.

It is thought that the memory that stores the data before transmitting it back to earth has gone awry – something familiar to anyone who has ever used a floppy disk or a USB.  What has to be remembered, effectively, is this is 1970s technology which is still, to a greater extent, working. 

Voyager 2 is about three billion kilometers behind its twin probe, the original Voyager 1.

They are both nearing the boundary between our solar system and interstellar space and may well be in for a bumpy ride over the next few years.

However, it is hoped that they will send NASA data from outside the solar system within two years – a first for humanity.