Hanout el-Aouina

OVERVIEW

Site: Hanout el-Aouina workshop

GPS: 33.882018, 10.855994

Location: Houmt Souk, Médenine Governorate, Djerba island, Tunisia

Description: Djerban wool weaving workshop (abandoned) (18th century CE)

Star Wars recce:
Episode IV – Tunisia (November 1975)

Source: Original recce photograph (Barry)

Star Wars scouted set concept:
Mos Eisley | Cantina (exterior)

Star Wars connection discovery:
Galaxy Tours (13 May 2022)

Name: Built in the 18th century CE by the Seoud family, the name Hanout el-Aouina in Tunisian Arabic means “the plum workshop,” suggesting the presence of a prominent plum tree in the immediate vicinity in former times.

Limited space: Situated in a compact area along the busy Avenue Habib Bourguiba near the Houmt Souk city center, securing adequate production space at Hanout el-Aouina would have been highly problematic, suggesting that likely only minimal consideration was given to transform the workshop into the Cantina.

Houmt Souk: Although unconfirmed, several unidentified recce photos from John Barry’s collection might possibly conclude that the Episode IV recce team also scouted various market streets inside the Houmt Souk city center in the general vicinity of Hanout el-Aouina.