"The morning rush is already underway as you exit the docking bay. Humans, numerous droid models, and aliens of every description move through the crowded streets, concentrating intently on their own business. The pace is hurried for such a backwater world, and not even the blistering heat of the twin suns -- not yet full in the sky -- can slow it down. Landspeeders roar by, uncomfortably close in these narrow walkways, and swarms of small, rancid-smelling creatures in hooded robes jostle past you. One stops a moment to paw at your shiny blaster. This is Mos Eisley spaceport, a more wretched hive of scum and villainy you'll not find elsewhere."
From Tatooine Manhunt
"Mos Eisley is a city where the use of a blaster is the rule of law. While the Prefect has tried to maintain a semblance of civility, the police force (little more than a glorified militia) is too small to enforce any kind of order. It is a city where one minds one's own business and doesn't ask too many questions."
Voren Na'al
Mos Eisley is the most important civilized area on the vast desert planet of Tatooine, though the term "civilized" must be interpreted rather broadly to encompass the sun-baked carcass of Mos Eisley. The starport city sees enough interstellar traffic to keep it going, and hundreds of spacers of all species move through Mos Eisley every week.
Far from the centers of Imperial or Republic power and influence, Mos Eisley is also the haunt of the dregs of the galaxy. Smugglers, pirates, criminals, and ne'er-do-wells of all descriptions drift into town amidst the more legitimate spacers, many drawn to Tatooine by the business generated by Jabba the Hutt's crime syndicate or the organizations that sprung up following the Hutt's demise.
The city's old central section is laid out like a wheel, while the newer sections are formed into straight blocks of half-buried buildings (to protect them from the heat of the twin suns). At the heart of the city are the original spaceport docking bays and the spaceport control tower, along with the power and water distribution plants that supply the city's core buildings. Instead of having a central landing area, the entire city serves as the spaceport. Dozens of crater-lined docking bays are scattered throughout the city, many of them privately owned.
The old ore mines which once drew settlers to Tatooine lie under the inner city. The ground is pocketed with shifting and unstable sands, and sinkholes occasionally open up under buildings, walls, and occasionally speeders, spaceships, and pedestrians.
There are many factories to the north of the central city, which produce desert-hardened speeders, droids, sand skiffs, and so on. Notsub Shipping is the largest of these companies.
Mos Eisley Spaceport
The spaceport isn't one large field of runways and docking bays.
Instead, a multitude of crater-like launch stations pockmark the wheel-shaped
cityscape. Each of the bays scattered through the city center consist of
enormous pits gouged from the rocky soil. Stairs lead up to the city,
while an entrance ramp provides access for ships with repulsorlift engines.
Ships not equipped with repulsorlifts cannot dock in the city, as there is no
room to maneuver or land using conventional propulsion units. The
shabbily-cut bays are run down, like the majority of Mos Eisley, their sloping
sides crumbling in places. Landing permits cost 20 credits per day.
Customs officers operate out of each bay, although contraband is frequently
overlooked with the addition of a small bribe to the docking fees.
Dowager Queen Wreckage
The first settlers to come to Tatooine crashed in the middle of what is now
Mos Eisley. The ruins of the colony ship, named the Dowager Queen,
can still be seen, as the settlers never cleared the wreck, but instead built up
around it; the city simply continued from there in an ever-widening
circle. What's left of the ruins is considered a planetary monument -- but
that doesn't stop a group of Jawas from using it as a home while in the city.
Serving as contacts between between the city and their own people out in the
Wastes, these Jawas are constantly on the lookout for anything to buy, sell, or
trade, and they can be quite pushy and annoying. They point, tug at
sleeves, paw at equipment, and jabber constantly, parading all kinds of
battered, partially-rebuilt machinery in front of whomever passes by.
Mos Eisley Cantina
Located in the oldest section of Mos Eisley, where old vices still flourish,
the Mos Eisley Cantina was the spaceport's first blockhouse. The diverse
nature of the transportation parked outside barely suggests the assorted
clientele. The building lies partially underground to provide some
protection from the heat. The dim interior, combined with the brilliantly
lit entrance, gives those within the cantina the distinct advantage of seeing
newcomers before they see them.
An astonishing variety of beings frequent the cantina at all hours. There are one-eyed creatures and thousand-eyed, creatures with scales, creatures with fur, and some with skin that seems to ripple and change consistency from moment to moment. Tentacles, claws, and hands wrap around drinking utensils of various sizes and shapes. A steady babble of human and alien tongues fills the room with noise, covering the crowd like a thick blanket. But above the noise, a catchy, infectious beat plays. It is a swinging, upbeat tune, and the alien band belts it out loudly.
The bar itself is stocked with many oddly-shaped flasks, bottles, beakers, and tubes overflowing with both strange and familiar liquids. The bartender is a tall, overweight, aging human who wears a gruff expression and doesn't appreciate violence in his establishment. He also doesn't answer questions.
Dockside Cafe
A small restaurant and bar, frequented by spacers.
Jabba's Townhouse
A small but well-appointed villa on the edge of the central sector.
After changing hands several times, it is now owned by a local shipping company.
Jawa Traders
Right around the corner from the Dowager Queen's wreckage is Jawa
Traders, which hosts a (slightly) more reputable group of traders than those
clustered under the shade of the colony ship. The shop, which specializes
in rebuilt droids, is owned by an ill-tempered female Jawa named Aguilae and a
Squib named Mace Windu.
Heff's Souvenirs
This souvenir shop, one of the oldest businesses on the planet, was sold by
Tebbi, Heff's daughter, upon Heff's death almost fifteen years ago to current
owner Moplin Jarron. The shop is almost always deserted, and many wonder
how Jarron has managed to stay in business all these years.
Kayson's Weapon Shop
Kayson's Weapon Shop sells personal weapons, both ranged and melee.
Lup's General Store
Located just east of the Dowager Queen, Lup's offers provisions,
supplies, and some machinery.
Market Place
Less a group of established businesses, and more of a Gundark-flea market,
Market Place is the spot where free enterprise agro farmers come to sell their
produce and fledgling businesses go to start trade. The area was nothing
more than a sandy lot when the farmers began setting up their tents here.
Over the years, the market place has thrived, and no one bothers it even though
no one has ever secured trade permits or any other official documentation.
Mos Eisley Power Station
Recharges droids, speeders, and so on. Also serves as a local
gathering place.
Regional Government Offices
Houses the offices of Prefect Zhaal, where the business of the city and
environs is managed.
Spaceport Hotel and Mos Eisley Inn
These two dilapidated inns provide all the comfort that the inner city can
offer to weary space travelers -- cheap food, semi-private rooms, and lumpy
beds. Fifteen credits per day, per bed is the standard rate at both, but
both the Hotel clerk and the innkeeper at the Mos Eisley will try to haggle with
the characters (enforced bargain rolls).
Spaceport Speeders
A modest repulsor vehicle lot where the Arconan proprietor, Unut Poll,
rents, sells, and buys used speeders, trucks, and bikes. It usually has a
half dozen landspeeders of assorted makes and models available for sale,
although trade has been unaccountably brisk recently, and models kept in stock
for any length of time are probably therefore less dependable. Poll
generally has a handful of speeder bikes in stock, and from time to time he has airspeeders available as well.