Mos Eisley

Mos Eisley is a fictional city featured in the internal mythology of the Star Wars film franchise. It first appeared in George Lucas' 1977 seminal classic, Star Wars (later identified as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope). Though one of the more popular settings from the film series, it only appeared in one movie, though it has been seen and/or referenced in countless numbers of novels, comic books, video games and reference material. Mos Eisley is best known as the location of the infamous Mos Eisley Cantina where Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi first met smuggler pilot Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca.

Description
Mos Eisley is a city located beneath the Great Mesra Plateau on the planet Tatooine. A thriving spaceport community, Mos Eisley is one of the busiest districts on the planet and is home to many varying species of aliens, not all of whom are indigenous to the planet. As a center of commerce, Mos Eisley attracts denizens from all walks of life including pilots, traders, smugglers, bounty hunters and crime lords. Mos Eisley houses more than 362 spaceports within its environs as well as numerous cantinas, repair shops, speeder shops and casinos.

History
In 0 BBY, farmer Luke Skywalker brought retired Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and his droids R2-D2 and C-3PO to Mos Eisley seeking a pilot who would be willing to fly them to the planet Alderaan. Kenobi knew well the dangers posed by the criminal underworld of Mos Eisley and warned Luke to exercise caution. While driving Luke's landspeeder down Outer Kerner Way, a squad of Imperial Stormtroopers stopped them and questioned them about the droids they had been transporting. Hoping to avoid trouble, Obi-Wan used a Jedi mind trick to subvert the troopers' inqueries and allow them to continue on unmolested.

They stopped at Chalmun's Cantina in their search for a pilot, but were forced to leave Artoo and Threepio outside or else they would violate Chalmun's "No Droids" policy. Luke soon became embroiled in a fracas between two drunk patrons named Ponda Baba and Cornelius Evazan, forcing Kenobi to come to Luke's aid. Afterward, they found a smuggler and pilot named Han Solo who had been sitting in the back of the cantina with his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca. Kenobi negotiated their fare with Solo and arrangements were made to meet up at Docking Bay 94. Before Solo was able to leave however, an eager young bounty hunter named Greedo stopped him and tried to collect money from him that was owed to his employer, Jabba the Hutt. When Greedo threatened to take Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon, Han grew irritated with the Rodian. Shots were exchanged, but ultimately Solo's blast rang true and Greedo fell over dead.

Han met up with Chewbacca and the others at the docking bay, but by this point, the Imperials knew that the droids that Luke was in possession of was of vital interest to the Galactic Empire. The troopers opened fire on the group, forcing them to make a quick exit from Mos Eisley.

Points of Interest

 * Chalmun's Cantina: Chalmun's Cantina is but one of many such drinking establishments found in Mos Eisley. Located at 3112 Outer Kerner Way, the cantina was owned by a Wookiee named Chalmun in the years leading up to the Galactic Civil War. This was where Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi first met Corellian pilot Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca. This was also where Obi-Wan was forced to defend Luke from an attack wrought by the inebriated Ponda Baba and his colleague Doctor Evazan.


 * Docking Bay 94: As one out of 362 docking bays found in Mos Eisley, Docking Bay 94 earned itself historical notoriety as the sight of a fire fight between Imperial Stormtroopers and Han Solo and Chewbacca.


 * Dowager Queen: The Dowager Queen was a space vessel that crash-landed on Tatooine many years ago. Survivors of the crash built a settlement around the ruins of the ship, which they named Eisley. Future generations changed the name to Mos Eisley to fit in with the naming custom of other settlements. The wreckage of the Dowager Queen still exists and has been converted into a popular hostel.

Notes & Trivia

 * The initial aerial view of Mos Eisley seen in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was actually filmed in Death Valley, California.