Anchorhead

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"Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get a transport there to Mos Eisley or wherever you're going."

―Luke Skywalker, to Obi-Wan Kenobi^[src]

Anchorhead was one of the first settlements on Tatooine. Abandoned and resettled many times, it lost significance until it was only a minor outpost for several nearby moisture farms where youths such as Luke Skywalker and his friends spent much of their free time. The Jawas often referred to Anchorhead as "Old City New". Anchorhead was part of the Great Chott salt flat region.

History

Settlement

Anchorhead was one of the oldest settlements on the planet Tatooine. Located nearly 80 kilometers from Mos Eisley, it was originally a mining outpost. It was abandoned and resettled many times, as each mining company came to discover the poor quality of the ore located there. The most notable of the mining operations was carried out by Czerka Corporation in 3956 BBY.

The companies would abandon their equipment each time, due to the prohibitive costs of transporting it off-world. The indigenous Jawas would take this abandoned equipment as their own. This gave rise to the use of Sandcrawlers—mobile smelting machines—as well as mobile homes for the Jawas.

Old Republic

The Jedi Revan and his companions landed at Anchorhead in 3956 BBY. They hoped to locate a hidden Star Map, a technological remnant of the Infinite Empire, which would help them find the Star Forge. At the time, Czerka Corporation's mining operations were going poorly, as the ore was substandard and word was getting out. Though Motta the Hutt established a Swoop racing track and the Ithorian Fazza Utral built a hunting lodge, attracting other forms of business to fill company coffers wasn't working, either. Worst of all, ore shipments were being intercepted and destroyed by frequent Sandpeople attacks. Revan offered his assistance, and was able to earn the Tusken Raiders' trust, enough to negotiate with them. They would not agree to stop the attacks, but the Sand people did agree to reduce them, and to free some of their prisoners, including several Jawas and Mission Vao's brother, Griff Vao.^[3]

Sometime after the ore operations ended, Czerka began a secret weapons research program on the planet. Czerka suddenly pulled out sometime during the Cold War, leading the settlement to become a hive for smugglers and other criminals.

By the rise of the Galactic Empire, it had been resettled, but cities like Mos Eisley and Mos Espa had been built, and stripped the settlement of its preeminence.

Galactic Empire

AnchorheadSWG — The town of Anchorhead during the Galactic Civil War.

By the time of the Galactic Empire, Anchorhead, along with other settlements on Tatooine, had become populated again. It could be found a few miles east of the Lars homestead, south of the now-bustling spaceport of Mos Eisley. Anchorhead itself primarily consisted of moisture farmers. It was governed by the Anchorhead Municipal Council. The city became a place where many youth, including Luke Skywalker and his friends, loved to visit and hang out.^[4]

Sometime after Biggs Darklighter left Tatooine, there was much unrest among the Tusken Raiders. They even raided the outskirts of Anchorhead.^[5] Anchorhead itself contained a dozen pourstone stores, two cantinas (including The Weary Traveler), a market, and Tosche Station on the outskirts of town. During the Galactic Civil war, Anchorhead Base served as a base for Rebel operatives assigned to purchase black market weapons from nearby cities.

In 8 ABY, Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo stopped there to evade the Empire on their quest to find a piece of Alderaan art, Killik Twilight.^[6]

Locations

Behind the scenes

Anchorhead distance — Anchorhead, from *Episode IV's* deleted scene

In A New Hope, Luke asks his uncle, Owen Lars, if he can see some of his friends there. In a deleted scene, Luke can be seen there with Biggs Darklighter, who would later fight alongside Luke in the Battle of Yavin. These scenes were filmed at Sidi Jemour in Djerba, Tunisia.

In the LucasArts game Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, Anchorhead is described as a town in which those sympathetic to the Rebel Alliance can walk out in the open, and it is noted that "If there was any town on Tatooine that was the farthest from Imperial rule, Anchorhead would be the one." In another game, Star Wars: Rebel Assault, Anchorhead Base is where pilot Rookie One trains on the T-16 skyhopper. The base's main hangar opens into Beggar's Canyon, which served as a perfect flight training route.