Kala’a Guermessa

OVERVIEW

Site: Kala’a Guermessa

GPS: 32.986201, 10.251390

Location: Guermessa, Tataouine Governorate, southeast Tunisia

Description: Amazigh mountain citadel (7th century CE)

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

Source: Original recce photograph (Reynolds)

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

Star Wars connection discovery:
Galaxy Tours (10 February 2021)

Isolation: Although arguably more impressive than Kala’a Chenini, Kala’a Guermessa receives comparatively very few visitors, creating a palpable sense of remote isolation framed by its two peaks of assorted ruins engulfing the stand-alone Sidi Hamza Marabout.

Challenges: The remote location of the site paired with the relatively steep ascent to access the ruins on both peaks likely resulted in only minimal consideration to transform Kala’a Guermessa into fictional Mos Espa.

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