Tunisia was used to portray Egypt. Spielberg described this phase as one of his worst filming experiences: the temperature was often over and over 150 crew members became sick with amoebic dysentery from the local food. Spielberg was one of the few to remain healthy because he ate food and water he brought from England. Lucas also suffered a severe sunburn and facial swelling. The Cairo village was filmed in the city of Kairouan. A day of filming was lost there because over 300 TV antennas had to be removed from the surrounding houses. The budget impacted Spielberg's desire to have 2,000 extras as diggers; he had to settle for 600. Stuntman Terry Richards, who portrayed the swordsman nonchalantly dispatched by Jones, spent weeks practicing sword skills for an extended fight scene. Ford was unable to perform for long periods while suffering from dysentery, and it was decided to shorten the fight scene significantly. The Sidi Bouhlel canyon near the city of Tozeur is where a rocket launcher-equipped Jones confronts the Nazis for the Ark. Lucas had used the canyon in "Star Wars" to portray the planet Tatooine. During the scene, a fly crawled into Freeman's mouth during his dialogue, but he continued to deliver his lines.