Estalle Island Estalle Island was a small island located in the southern hemisphere of the planet Procopia in the Tapani sector . During the Imperial Period it was entirely covered by the Urban sprawl of Estalle city . The city was the ancient seat of Shey Tapani ' s Empire and continued to be the sector capital . The island was the social , political and economic center of the Expanse . The real estate on Estalle was extremely exclusive and within the reach of only the most powerful people in the sector . To obtain an apartment or villa in the city individuals had to have political patronage as well as millions of credits . The architecture of the historical part of Estalle Island was in the ancient Tapani style with domed towers and temples . At the time of the Galactic Civil War many of buildings were thousands of years old and were almost exclusively built of finely carved stone blocks . Despite their age the vast majority of the buildings were structurally sound and well cared for . Many of the buildings had a continual construction history where layers had been successively added to the original structure . It was common for these buildings to have several sub - buildings , extensions and tiers with rooks . A prominent feature of the Tapani style of architecture was the use of domed structures and indeed it was not uncommon to see several domes of differing sizes on a single building . Newer building , such as those in the Commercial district , reflected the trends of galactic architectural style . Despite the fact that vehicles could only get into and out of Estalle via cargo plane or ship the streets of the city were often congested . Many of the rich and influential residence of Estalle Island considered it a mark of their status to fly an aircar or repulsorlift vehicle into the city to travel around . The commoners that work on the island relied on the public transport system . There were two transit monorail lines that ran through the island on elevated platforms . The Coast Line ran the circumference of the island while the Crosstown line cut through the island from the Residential district to the Commercial district near the Harbor . Estalle Island was intersected with canals which were originally constructed to drain the swamps in the islands interior . As the city grew they evolved into an elegant transportation method and when the traffic on the streets of the city was bad provided a faster method of transport for commuters . The commercial traffic allowed to use the canals was restricted to public transportation craft such as water taxis , tour boats and ship launches from the harbor . There were also a few floating restaurants . Other craft that used the canal were the city police or maintenance craft , or privately owned vessels . The canal system was open to the sea and consequently it was possible to sail small water craft from the ocean into the heart of the city . Although the canals were relatively wide they were quite shallow and therefore prevented larger vessels from entering the city in this way and they would consequently have to dock at the harbor . Throughout most of the island the edges of the canals were made of ferroconcrete and were covered by a layer of moss . In the historical district , however , the edges of the canals were decorated with ornate frescos that were washed and maintained nightly by the city workers . Historical District . The Historical District of Estalle Island was the seat of the Tapani sector government . It housed the government institutions such as the Great Council and Senate as well as the embassies of the noble houses and other governments . It was a place of magnificent buildings , ornate statues , imposing fountains with numerous plazas and parks . Due to the zoning laws , buildings could not be greater than five stories high . These directives were passed so that modern buildings did not block the profile of the ancient constructions . During the working day the Historical District of the Island was open to all , however after hours access was restricted to nobles and commoners with access permits . Commercial District . The commercial district was the business region of Estalle Island . It contained numerous service industries that supported the process of governing the Tapani sector . These included restaurants , bars , banks and janitorial organizations . A number of lobbyists from a diverse range of businesses had offices in the commercial district as did major companies that catered for the needs of the noble classes . This district was also the heart of transport links to other parts of Procopia and the Tapani sector and included a spaceport , airport and seaport . Numerous buildings in the commercial district were large skyscrapers that utilized the limit space available on the Island . Residential District . Although most of the nobles that possessed property on Procopia had private islands those that had the means to procure accommodation on Estalle lived in the residence district . All of the noble houses had at least one official residence in the district for official functions . Most estates were compact but a few were quite grand and imposing such as House Melantha ' s Malgrin Palace that hosted the annual Raelli Ball during Capital Season . Residences were very rarely put up for sale and most had been in the same house for centuries . Many areas of this district were open to outsiders but certain areas were restricted to those who carried the appropriate admittance pass . The residences generally had a very good security system and most employed guards to patrol the grounds .