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Mos Eisley

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Mos Eisley

General information
Constructed	>100 BBY
Builder	Dowager Queen colonists
Location information
Planet	Tatooine
Location	Great Mesra Plateau, 80 km north of Anchorhead
Societal
Population	40,000 to 60,000 (estimated)
Era(s)	Rise of the Empire era Rebellion era New Republic era New Jedi Order era Legacy era
Affiliation	Jabba Desilijic Tiure's criminal empire Galactic Empire Alliance to Restore the Republic Alliance of Free Planets New Republic Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire

[Source]

"Mos Eisley Spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

―Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Luke Skywalker^[src]

Mos Eisley (pronounced /mɑs aɪzliː/, moss izelee, (Listen (help·info))), formerly Eisley, was a large spaceport town on the planet Tatooine. It was the largest settlement on the planet and generally known as the "armpit of the galaxy".

1 Geography
2 History
3 Locations
4 Behind the scenes
5 Appearances
- 5.1 Non-canon appearances
6 Sources
7 Notes and references
8 See also
9 External links
- 9.1 In other languages

GeographyEdit

Mos Eisley was located in a valley somewhere to the southeast of the Jundland Wastes^[1] and roughly 80 kilometers north of Anchorhead, near the desert palace of Jabba the Hutt.

From a distance, the spaceport appeared as a haphazard collage of low-grade duracrete, stone, and plastoid structures that spread outward from a central power and water distribution plant. The city lacked a main landing facility; therefore it relied on 362 individual hangars.^[1] By order of the Empire, all of these hangars were equipped with time-lock devices.^[1] Illegally parked vessels were not an uncommon sight. In 0 ABY, Mos Eisley was attacked by Imperial TIE Bombers and Viper probe droids.

The town was really larger than it looked, as a good portion of it lay underground. In fact, it had a population of around 40 to 60 thousand people, varying seasonally.

Streets in the city included Corporation Road, Curved Street, Outer Curved Street, Straight Street, Spacers Row, Paradise Road, Dune Street, and Kerner Plaza. Many citizens rode rontos, dewbacks, and other beasts of burden.

Mos Eisley was divided into the "New Quarter" and the "Old Quarter". The Old Quarter was originally wheel-shaped and contained a thriving marketplace.^[1] Jabba the Hutt also maintained a residence there, known as the Desilijic Complex, since it was difficult to make business from his palace. The New Quarter was more tourist-friendly and was a merchant district where tourists could relax (though there was still much crime). Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina served as the hub of the newer quarter.^[1] Each quarter had individual neighborhoods, such as the rough-and-tumble Tar Mass area.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Empire established a small garrison in Mos Eisley, although this did not help with the city's massive crime rates. The base was located near the cantina and whenever an expansion was required, the Empire would simply bulldoze surrounding houses.^[1] To support the constant flow of spacers, Mos Eisley featured a large number of hotels, casinos, and cantinas.

HistoryEdit

Mos Eisley was built from the beginning with commerce in mind. It was founded as a substitute for the nearby, yet more expensive, Anchorhead. Located around the crash site of the Dowager Queen, the survivors of this crash originally named it simply "Eisley". They later renamed it to fit with other towns such as Mos Espa, and Mos Gamos. These same immigrants would later found the planet's future capital, Bestine.

The city was reputed as being a hub for shady persons and illegal activity, notably the smuggling of spice and illegal arms.^[1] The city did not have enough customs officers to keep up with the crime and even when criminals were caught, they often successfully bribed the officers.^[1]

Because Tatooine was a desert planet, availability of water was at a premium and the sewers were very small. To reprocess water quickly, it was decided that the sewers should use a Bunkurd Reclamation System. Unfortunately, it was prone to leaking and often led to Bunkurd Sewer Disorder, which native Falynn Sandskimmer once contracted as a youth.

During the Galactic Civil War, the "hive of scum and villainy" became a target of notorious Imperial officer Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, who had been tasked with controlling the Outer Rim by Emperor Palpatine prior to the Battle of Yavin.

He began his conquest on the outskirts of Mos Eisley, seeing the city as an ideal outpost for their operations. Unfortunately for the Imperials, the Rebel Alliance had their own outpost station in nearby Anchorhead, and moved to intercept the Empire, thus the First Battle of Tatooine ensued.

Though the Empire emerged victorious from the desert battle, their task force was considerably diminished, and their eventual presence in Mos Eisley was less than had been expected. This came back to haunt the Empire, as R2-D2 and C-3PO slipped through the cracks in what would otherwise have been a mighty security force. The Rebel presence in Mos Eisley was finally routed during the latter part of the battle.

Chalmun's Cantina played a crucial role in these times, as the establishment was where Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi met Han Solo and Chewbacca in their quest to get to Alderaan in order to deliver the Death Star plans to the Alliance. The Imperials also searched Mos Eisley for R2-D2 and C-3PO, the holders of the missing Death Star plans.

In 1 ABY, Mos Eisley and other communities on Tatooine were put under Imperial curfew by a nameless Moff. Ackmena, the night bartender of Chalmun's Cantina, was the one to receive the message, and reluctantly responded by singing to her encourage her guests to leave.

Jabba the Hutt owned a townhouse in the city.

LocationsEdit

"Much of the business—legal or otherwise—is conducted in the seedy cantinas near the docking bays."

―Mammon Hoole^[src]

Behind the scenesEdit

The real-world locations for Mos Eisley are mostly in Djerba, Tunisia with the establishing shot on Dante's View in Death Valley looking toward Furnace Creek.