Mos Eisley

For the rapper, see Sweatshop Union.

Mos Eisley is a setting in the fictional Star Wars universe. It is introduced as a spaceport^[1] town on the planet Tatooine. In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness) describes Mos Eisley as a "wretched hive of scum and villainy." It is the home of the Mos Eisley Cantina and Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes.

From a distance, the spaceport looks like a haphazard collage of low-grade concrete, stone and plastoid structures that spread outward from a central power-and-water distribution plant like the spokes of a wheel. Also, at a distance, the smooth circular depressions of launch stations look like craters pockmarking the landscape.

The town is really larger than it appears, as a good portion of it lies underground. In fact, the town has a population of around 40,000 to 60,000 people, varying seasonally. It was built from the beginning with commerce in mind. Even the oldest of the town's buildings was designed to provide protection from Tatooine's twin suns. The buildings appear primitive from the outside and most of them actually are. The Mos Eisley Cantina was one of the spaceport's original blockhouses.

The first view of Mos Eisley in A New Hope is actually a shot of Death Valley in California from near the "Dante's View" lookout, with a matte painting added in the distance. Also of note, one of the Imperial stormtroopers present in the scene carries an MG-34 machine gun, used by Germany in World War II.

Docking Bay 94

Docking Bay 94 is a dock for parking ships in Mos Eisley for either maintenance or simply to take a break after a long day's work. It is also referred to as Dock 94.

Until it housed the Millennium Falcon in its hangar, Docking Bay 94 was the same as the other hundreds of docks in Mos Eisley. It is simply a circular area surrounded by white walls and had an opening on the top for ships to enter and exit. There is a sole door to the dock, which was flanked by Sandtroopers from the 501st Legion in its most famous moment.

In A New Hope, Garindan, a spy working for the Empire, tracked Han Solo and Luke Skywalker to the hangar where Solo's ship was parked. The squad of Sandtroopers from the 501st are called in and enter the bay. As the Sandtroopers file in and open fire, Solo, who evades their shots, lays down suppression fire in return until he boards the Millennium Falcon and takes off.

Mos Eisley Cantina

Main article: Mos Eisley Cantina

The Mos Eisley Cantina, officially named Chalmun's Cantina, or the "double-c" or "ceecee" (by city militia), is a bar located in Mos Eisley. It is the haunt of freighter pilots and a host of other dangerous characters and contains booths, a bar counter, and some free-standing tables. At times, a band of musicians named Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes performs there.

The cantina was featured in the popular MMO game Star Wars Galaxies, which revealed the cantina as having three back rooms and one entrance room with a seating area. In addition, the cantina has a strict anti-droid policy.

Chalmun's Cantina is the start location for Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, where players can access both standard and unlockable levels and items. Mos Eisley as a whole is featured in the game as the setting of Chapter 3 of Episode IV: A New Hope, "Mos Eisley Spaceport."

See also

• Cities of Star Wars
• Djerba
• Ajim

References

1. ^ StarWars.com Databank: Mos Eisley

External links

• Mos Eisley at the Official Star Wars website
• Mos Eisley on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars Wiki