Tataouine تطاوين |
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Ksar Ouled Soltane, near the city of Tataouine
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Location in Tunisia | |
Coordinates: 32°56′0″N 10°27′0″E / 32.93333°N 10.45000°ECoordinates: 32°56′0″N 10°27′0″E / 32.93333°N 10.45000°E | |
Country | Tunisia |
Governorate | Tataouine Governorate |
Population (2014) | |
• Total | 67,291 |
Time zone | CET (UTC1) |
Tataouine (Berber: Tiṭṭawin; Arabic: تطاوين Taṭāwīn) is a city in southern Tunisia. It is the capital of the Tataouine Governorate. The below-ground "cave dwellings" of the native Berber population, designed for coolness and protection, render the city and the area around it a tourist and film makers' attraction.
The name Tataouine means "water springs" in Berber language and is sometimes transliterated as Tatahouine, Tatahouïne, Tatawin or Tatooine. The city is sometimes also called Fum Taṭāwīn (فم تطاوين), alternatively spelled Fumm Tattauin, Foum Tatahouine, Fum Tatawin, or Foum Tataouine, which means "mouth of the springs".
From 1892 to 1951, Tataouine was the garrison town of the French penal military unit known as the "Battalion of Light Infantry of Africa". After the French established the town, a mosque (built in 1898) and homes were built in Tataouine.
On June 27, 1931, a meteorite of unusual achondrite type and green color impacted at Tataouine; about 12 kg of fragments were found. The meteorite consists largely of the mineral enstatite, and is of the rare Diogenite type.