Photographs by
Jon Levy
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It took Kamel three weeks to "clean the desert" with twenty helpers and some heavy lifting machinery. He hopes now to clean up financially with international collectors of memorabilia and visiting movie fans. A substantial shipment has already been sent to the U.S. and with other films and future Star Wars episodes likely Kamel is hoping to salvage a good living from the desert sands. Currently he is looking for a partner to coordinate shipping in Europe or the US.
The desert certainly is clean, though luckily Mos Espa itself remains. There are other sites dotted around the stunning south of Tunisia, such as the strange underground world of the Troglodyte people in Matmata (recognizable to film buffs as Luke Skywalker's home in the original Star Wars film) but Mos Espa is the hot destination of the moment. Deserted and pristine, you can have it to yourself with no worries of disturbing the non-existent local residents. French tourists at the nearby Tozeur Club Med resort were preparing to have a soirée and spend the night camped out under the stars when I was there in June.