SW STORY UNCOVERED: KSAR OULED DEBBAB

29 May 2022

Building on the discovery in March 2021 of Ksar Ouled Debbab as a “lost” Star Wars recce site, Galaxy Tours CEO (Davin Anderson) confirmed critical new information on 29 May 2022 to expand the Star Wars story connected to the historic site and solve simultaneously a more than 45-year-old conundrum about the location featured in a recce sketch drawn by John Barry (production designer) during or shortly after the mid-November 1975 Star Wars location scout in Tunisia.

While exploring Ksar Ouled Debbab, Davin matched a vantage point approximately 40 meters southeast of the original courtyard to Barry’s recce sketch, relying on the remains of a distinctive archway at the site coupled with the outline of the Jebel Bou Louha mountains northwest of the ksar as key landmarks to verify the location.

As depicted in the sketch, Ksar Ouled Debbab was envisioned to function as the Mos Eisley slums for a scene in which Luke stops his landspeeder to ask a group of Jawas directions to the cantina. Due to budget constraints and logistical hurdles, Ksar Ouled Debbab was officially removed from the shooting schedule just two months before production began in Tunisia on 22 March 1976 for the original film.

The intriguing Star Wars connection to Ksar Ouled Debbab as a second almost fictional Mos Eisley location in Tunisia (paired with Ajim) elevates this site as a must-see fandom destination deep in the Tataouine region.