Chebika
Encyclopedia
Chebika is a mountain oasis
in southern Tunisia
, in Gafsa Governorate
.
Chebika lies at the foot of the mountains of the Djebel el Negueb and, because of its exposure to the sun, it is known as Qasr el-Shams ("Castle of the Sun" in Arabic
).In antiquity, it was once a Roman
outpost, named Ad Speculum and later a mountain refuge of the Berber people
.
The contemporary village of Chebika comprises several hundred people, build near the old one, abandoned in 1969 after catastrophic inundations.
Many scenes of the movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and The English Patient
were shot in this area.
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
in southern Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, in Gafsa Governorate
Gafsa Governorate
Gafsa Governorate is one of the 24 governorates of Tunisia. It is situated in central Tunisia, bordering Algeria. It covers an area of 8,990 km² and has a population of 324,000 . The capital is Gafsa....
.
Chebika lies at the foot of the mountains of the Djebel el Negueb and, because of its exposure to the sun, it is known as Qasr el-Shams ("Castle of the Sun" in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
).In antiquity, it was once a Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
outpost, named Ad Speculum and later a mountain refuge of the Berber people
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
.
The contemporary village of Chebika comprises several hundred people, build near the old one, abandoned in 1969 after catastrophic inundations.
Many scenes of the movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and The English Patient
The English Patient (film)
The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture...
were shot in this area.