Kala’a Chenini

OVERVIEW

Site: Kala’a Chenini

GPS: 32.912024, 10.263603

Location: Chenini, Tataouine Governorate, southeast Tunisia

Description: Amazigh mountain citadel (late 12th century CE)

Star Wars recce:
Episode I – Tunisia (December 1995)

Source: Original recce sketch (Reynolds)

Star Wars scouted set concept:
Mos Espa spaceport | various elements

Star Wars connection confirmation:
Galaxy Tours (5 August 2022)

Tourist attraction: Kala’a Chenini, marked by the whitewashed Al-Farajeen Mosque as the distantly visible landmark for the bustling ancient mountain village, remains one of the most visited sites on the tourism circuit in southern Tunisia.

Challenges: The popularity of the site coupled with its remote location and the relatively steep ascent to access the ruins likely resulted in only minimal consideration to transform Kala’a Chenini into fictional Mos Espa.

Canon reference: The name Chenini is associated (since 2015) with one of the three moons of fictional Tatooine. Nearby Guermessa and Ghomrassen represent the names of the other two moons. All three locales “orbit” around Tataouine city.