tunisia

Decades later, Luke Skywalker's 'Star Wars' home stands

Any fan of "Star Wars" will immediately recognize the Lars Homestead, where Luke Skywalker grew up. But they may not realize that the sets used to film those scenes in the 1970s were left essentially untouched after George Lucas and his crew departed Tunisia.

Thanks to Laughing Squid, I stumbled across the beautiful and haunting photographs by visual artist Ra di Martino, who visited the location in Chott el Gharsa, Tunisia, where Lucas filmed those scenes, and captured their decrepit state years later.

Of course, there are a lot of people who want to keep the Lars Homestead … Read more

Meet the stewards of the 'Star Wars' sands

For some people, the real-world locales featured in "Star Wars" stand as historical sites that deserve preservation and restoration. One of the most inspirational tales in the "Star Wars" universe exists outside of the official canon: a group of superfans tapped a fanbase to fund the restoration of the original Lars homestead shooting location in Chott el Gharsa, Tunisia.

This tale doesn't have a simple beginning. According to the official project Web site, the idea materialized in May of 2010 after a group of "Star Wars" fans led by Mark Dermul visited Luke's home and observed its disappointing condition -- blasphemy for any sci-fi fan. … Read more

A modern-day visit to the Skywalker homes

Fans may never forget the numerous sandy scenes of the "Star Wars" saga, which George Lucas and crew mostly filmed in the North African country of Tunisia.

A recent glance by RocketNews24 at famous "Star Wars" locations such as Mos Espa (where Anakin grew up) and the Lars Homestead (where Luke grew up) paints a much different picture of the movie sets beloved by countless geeks around the world. … Read more

Egypt's Internet still offline, a day later

Editor's note: This story was updated many times as the story evolved Friday. Please see updates below and click here for a more recent story on the situation.

Egypt has gone offline.

In a stunning development unprecedented in the modern history of the Internet, a country of more than 80 million people has found itself almost entirely disconnected from the rest of the world.

The near-disconnection--at least one Internet provider is still online--comes after days of street protests demanding an end to nearly three decades of autocratic rule by President Hosni Mubarak. Those followed this month's revolution in … Read more