Ajim

Anchorhead

By Pamela Green and Gus Lopez
Photography by Gus Lopez

Along a sand road leading from the port of Ajim on the island of Djerba are located two important locations from Star Wars, ANH: a tiny shack, which served as Ben's house, and this complex of white-washed buildings that comprise a mosque. This location served both as an exterior shot of Mos Eisley, as well as Anchorhead.

Location: 33° 48' 21" N, 10° 45' 01" E (approximate)
Directions: Ajim is located on the southwest corder of the island of Djerba, just off Tunisia's west coast. Ajim is actually the island side ferry terminal, so it is well signed. As you're coming off the ferry terminal, take the first possible left turn, heading north along a sand road that parallels the coast. Anchorhead is 14 km from Ajim along this coastal sand road (and 11 km north of Ben's house).

This was our first view of the Star Wars mosque as we approached from the south, crawling along a windy sand road that surely would have made our rental car company shudder. We weren't disappointed. There's a big trash can parked about where Luke's landspeeder was supposed to be, but it was still clear that this seaside mosque was none other than the entrance to Mos Eisley spaceport.

Here's the entrance to Mos Eisley from Star Wars: A New Hope. Notice the blue dumpster is missing from the shot. The Mos Eisley residents were very bad about waste disposal back then.

Further to the west, towards the beach, you can begin to see the balcony overlooking the sea.

This entire area was used extensively to film the Biggs' scenes which never made it on screen. Star Wars Insider displayed images from the Biggs scenes in a recent article by David West Reynolds, and these match up perfectly with all the different shots of the marabout on the Mediterranean.

This balcony served as Anchorhead, where, in scenes later deleted from the movie, Biggs confessed to Luke that he was flying away to join the Rebellion.

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