Matmata is a small Berber-speaking town in southern Tunisia. Typical structures in the village were created by digging an open pit in the ground. Around the perimeter of this pit, artificial caves are used as rooms, with some homes comprising multiple pits connected by trench-like passageways.
It was not known until 1967 that there were regular settlements in this area beside wandering nomadic tribes. That year, 22 days of hard rain inundated the troglodyte homes and caused many of them to collapse. A delegation was sent to the community center in the town of Gabès to ask for help from the authorities. Help was provided, and the above-ground settlement of Matmâta was built. However, most of the people continued their lives in re-built underground homes, and only a few of the families moved to the new surface dwellings.
Today, Matmata is a popular tourist attraction, and most of the population lives on tourism and folklore exhibitions in their homes.
(Source | Photo)
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