January 20, 2004 - page 2

We spent the afternoon meandering through the marketplace. Many of the shops were still closed; siesta extends even this far from the coast of the Mediterranean. Though very few of the artisans were at work then, we still caught a couple of people weaving silk thread and whittling outside shops of thuya wood. It was fun walking past the metalworking shops. There were loud clangs and sparks flying everywhere. There was lots of energy in the air – quite literally!

By the time we reached the main plaza of the souk, the market was back in full swing. We got to smell the innumerable strange aromas floating across the square from the restaurant stalls. Nearly two thousand people eat there every night! Perhaps one of the most foreign things we have seen this trip were the snake charmers out in the square. It seemed to me to be mostly music with a man antagonizing the snakes, but the potential for the snake to dance was certainly there. Just the concept of toying with poisonous snakes was enough to keep us all enthralled.

We were supposed to eat dinner in the square, but ended up at a rather high-class restaurant instead. We were going to watch belly dancing there after dinner. Instead, the dancer was a prostitute who shook her hips rather than rolling her belly and left after two numbers. Bummer, but it was a good try.