I have a tag from rob clack to complete but I'm going to wait until Monday since I'm short on internet time.
I want to share you with the biggest laugh I've had all week. This is the comment that Omega Mum left on my post concerning the origins of life and where we go after this shot...
"The alternative is to be a giant panda. They lead an almost completely solitary existence, bound by no rules, amble through their bean-shoot rich countryside, meet each other rarely and then only to mate but then, and get this, often loathe each other on sight and never get it together. And we wonder why they're endangered. Anyway, my plan is to come back as one, as long as it has keyboard skills."
Friday, 11 January 2008
Thursday, 10 January 2008
I get two, actually three...
Moroccans will celebrate the Islamic New Year (1429 anno hegirae) Thursday, January 10, a communiqué of the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs announced on Wednesday.
The Islamic New Year begins with the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. This day is celebrated to pay homage to Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) emigration from Makkah to Madinah. Since the Islamic lunar calendar, introduced in 634 A.D., is 11-12 days shorter than the solar calendar, the date of the holiday changes each year.
Tibetan New Year is the most important festival in Tibet and falls on 7 February this year in the Gregorian calendar. It is an occasion when Tibetan families reunite and expect that the coming year will be a better one. Known as Losar, the festival starts from the first to the third day of the first Tibetan month. Preparations for the festive event are manifested by special offerings to family shrine deities, painted doors with religious symbols, and other painstaking jobs done to prepare for the event. Tibetans eat Guthuk (barley crumb food with filling) on New Year's Eve with their families. Eating Guthuk is fun since the barley crumbs are stuffed with a different filling to fool someone in the family. The Festival of Banishing Evil Sprits is observed after dinner. Signs that the New Year is approaching are when one sees lit torches, and people running and yelling to get rid of evil spirits from their houses. Before dawn on New Year's Day, housewives get their first buckets of water for their homes and prepare breakfast. After breakfast, people dress up to go to monasteries and offer their prayers. People visit their neighborhoods and exchange their Tashi Delek blessings in the first two days. Feast is the theme during the occasion. On the third day, old prayer flags are replaced with new ones. The festivites in Mcleod Ganj, India are the same. His Holiness usually gives a special audience and conducts services in the Temple. It's a hoot!
I'm going to need more Cristal champagne!
The Islamic New Year begins with the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. This day is celebrated to pay homage to Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) emigration from Makkah to Madinah. Since the Islamic lunar calendar, introduced in 634 A.D., is 11-12 days shorter than the solar calendar, the date of the holiday changes each year.
Tibetan New Year is the most important festival in Tibet and falls on 7 February this year in the Gregorian calendar. It is an occasion when Tibetan families reunite and expect that the coming year will be a better one. Known as Losar, the festival starts from the first to the third day of the first Tibetan month. Preparations for the festive event are manifested by special offerings to family shrine deities, painted doors with religious symbols, and other painstaking jobs done to prepare for the event. Tibetans eat Guthuk (barley crumb food with filling) on New Year's Eve with their families. Eating Guthuk is fun since the barley crumbs are stuffed with a different filling to fool someone in the family. The Festival of Banishing Evil Sprits is observed after dinner. Signs that the New Year is approaching are when one sees lit torches, and people running and yelling to get rid of evil spirits from their houses. Before dawn on New Year's Day, housewives get their first buckets of water for their homes and prepare breakfast. After breakfast, people dress up to go to monasteries and offer their prayers. People visit their neighborhoods and exchange their Tashi Delek blessings in the first two days. Feast is the theme during the occasion. On the third day, old prayer flags are replaced with new ones. The festivites in Mcleod Ganj, India are the same. His Holiness usually gives a special audience and conducts services in the Temple. It's a hoot!
I'm going to need more Cristal champagne!
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
...just thinking
Thinking about it, we begin life as the most helpless of creatures, so of course we look to some outside source for protection and guidance. We do what we are told not because it is right or just, but because we fear punishment or withdrawal of affection. As we grow most of us go along with whatever spiritual/religious beliefs we are reared with or rebel against them totally, then as teenagers we pull away looking for our own path. We then have society telling us what the rules are that we must follow and the consequences of noncompliance. I don’t think the majority of people stray too far from the beliefs of their origins, or if they do, they return to what’s comfortable. There are those of course who do embark on a spiritual journey that last from the moment you begin until the end of life because it is not possible to know the answer. Is it?
What came before? That is the ultimate question of cosmologist. What happened before the Big Bang? If there is a singular god, a supreme being controlling creation, where was She before? And if She is all knowing, all-powerful, and all goodness, what possible reason could there be to create an inferior form of life and then watch it suffer? Why create it on one planet like an experiment in a petri dish? Buddhists handle this question with dependant origination – there is no beginning, and there is no god – we are responsible for our own fate, and we have to keep doing it until we get it right.
How could a human understand the divine? Won’t that understanding always be filtered through the human brain, through our instinct for survival? Even when holy texts are revealed through divine revelation, that text is filtered through a human mind, then through translation and the current political prism. The interpretation of that text, as we have seen, depends on the man and his agenda.
If we concur with modern thought, then evolution moves from simple to complex. A human thought process is infinitely more complex than a star. We are all made from stars you know. The atoms that were dispersed throughout the universe after the Big Bang are contained within us. There is a line of thought that what we call god or dependant origination is the Universe becoming aware. The swirling mass of atoms becomes aware. But that still leaves us lonely doesn’t it? No great father figure, no justification for a patriarchal society and control. No hell, so we are responsible for our own morals and ethics. If there are levels of humans (evil, not-so-evil, good, better-than-good, exceptional) does that not by definition imply that there are levels of gods? If there is a learning curve for humanity would that not apply in a divine sense? Doesn’t that make more sense than an all powerful, all knowing being with nothing better to do than create one race of inferior beings and let them run?
I read in various text and publications that the majority doesn’t care if it’s real, their faith gives them comfort and a sense of protection from the callous arbitrary events of life on Earth. I can understand that. That’s what faith is, not asking for proof. But what if you are not one of the majority where do you find comfort then? What is your explanation for the presence of evil? How do you explain the presence of evil if God is goodness yet evil exist? What is the reason for your existence? Why live a moral or ethical life? To what end?
But can it be possible that the genius or compassion or sacrifice that we see in the lives of humans is only in existence for sixty or ninety years? Does that make sense? That the music of Mozart was here and then blinked out of existence forever? The genius of Hawkings? The compassion of King? Or is that just human hubris to think that anything we are capable of as individuals is worthy of survival in the universe?
I’m making no judgment, I’m just thinking…
What came before? That is the ultimate question of cosmologist. What happened before the Big Bang? If there is a singular god, a supreme being controlling creation, where was She before? And if She is all knowing, all-powerful, and all goodness, what possible reason could there be to create an inferior form of life and then watch it suffer? Why create it on one planet like an experiment in a petri dish? Buddhists handle this question with dependant origination – there is no beginning, and there is no god – we are responsible for our own fate, and we have to keep doing it until we get it right.
How could a human understand the divine? Won’t that understanding always be filtered through the human brain, through our instinct for survival? Even when holy texts are revealed through divine revelation, that text is filtered through a human mind, then through translation and the current political prism. The interpretation of that text, as we have seen, depends on the man and his agenda.
If we concur with modern thought, then evolution moves from simple to complex. A human thought process is infinitely more complex than a star. We are all made from stars you know. The atoms that were dispersed throughout the universe after the Big Bang are contained within us. There is a line of thought that what we call god or dependant origination is the Universe becoming aware. The swirling mass of atoms becomes aware. But that still leaves us lonely doesn’t it? No great father figure, no justification for a patriarchal society and control. No hell, so we are responsible for our own morals and ethics. If there are levels of humans (evil, not-so-evil, good, better-than-good, exceptional) does that not by definition imply that there are levels of gods? If there is a learning curve for humanity would that not apply in a divine sense? Doesn’t that make more sense than an all powerful, all knowing being with nothing better to do than create one race of inferior beings and let them run?
I read in various text and publications that the majority doesn’t care if it’s real, their faith gives them comfort and a sense of protection from the callous arbitrary events of life on Earth. I can understand that. That’s what faith is, not asking for proof. But what if you are not one of the majority where do you find comfort then? What is your explanation for the presence of evil? How do you explain the presence of evil if God is goodness yet evil exist? What is the reason for your existence? Why live a moral or ethical life? To what end?
But can it be possible that the genius or compassion or sacrifice that we see in the lives of humans is only in existence for sixty or ninety years? Does that make sense? That the music of Mozart was here and then blinked out of existence forever? The genius of Hawkings? The compassion of King? Or is that just human hubris to think that anything we are capable of as individuals is worthy of survival in the universe?
I’m making no judgment, I’m just thinking…
Friday, 4 January 2008
A neighborly visit
A neighborly visit
Returning from the Medina (bank and food) I met one of my neighbors from next door. We acknowledged greetings and she then went on to carry on a conversation with me that I did not understand but did acknowledge with smiles and nodding my head in agreement.
About an hour later, Ouiwa came to my door, asked if she could come in, and presented me with a gift! She had taken a frilly, silvery and gold garland and wrapped it around a piece of dark brown pottery and inside was a long string of colored wooden beads and a necklace of red and white linear beads that the lady on the corner sells to the tourists. To say I was shocked is an understatement. Now some of my neighbors have brought food to my door during Ramadan, but they just handed it in and beat a hasty retreat. I think most of them, even though they find it very odd, know that I am a loner.
I know from our time in Fez that Moroccan women are so good at nothing as much as they are at visiting. I do not speak the language but I am an adept at intuitive translation. Once when we had attended a wedding in Fez, one of the wedding party came to Q and told her what a nice long conversation we had – much to Q’s surprise. “How do you do that?” she asked.
“Years of practice my dear.” I can, it’s true, converse with almost anyone in any language, within certain common areas of course. The down side is that this method is exhausting as it requires paying rapt attention to body movements, posture, facial expressions, hand movement, and eye contact. We don’t notice how little we actually have to pay attention in our normal day-to-day conversations within our own environments. When I speak Spanish and the other languages that I have some small proficiency with I have to pay closer attention true, but nothing like when I have no idea what they are saying verbally.
I can tell you that my neighborhood is a widow. She lives with her brother and his wife, as well as her son and his family. Her son is the father of the neighborhood baby, the one who gives out the kisses. She is a grandmother and she has diabetes. She has some leaks in her house because of the rain as well, and thinks I should take my towels that I used to catch my own leaks up to the roof to dry. She thinks it is very good that Q has gone to America for school, but sad that I live in this whole house by myself – an alien concept in Morocco I assure you. She thinks I must be lonely.
And I can tell you I am exhausted now. She caught me in the midst of writing a report for a friend of mine and I had to compartmentalize the thought process I had been pursuing in order to give my full attention to the conversation. I think she caught my drift when I explained that I needed to get back to work and that I am leaving shortly on another trip.
It was a very brief visit by Moroccan standards but for me – the hermit who likes her socialization planned and away from home – it was longer. I am not one who enjoys chit chat. I like an agenda and purpose.
What a kind gesture it was and one I appreciate. Just another day in the Kasbah Oudayas that reinforces the fact that kindness and neighborly consideration exist worldwide, and aren’t we glad?
Ciao.
Returning from the Medina (bank and food) I met one of my neighbors from next door. We acknowledged greetings and she then went on to carry on a conversation with me that I did not understand but did acknowledge with smiles and nodding my head in agreement.
About an hour later, Ouiwa came to my door, asked if she could come in, and presented me with a gift! She had taken a frilly, silvery and gold garland and wrapped it around a piece of dark brown pottery and inside was a long string of colored wooden beads and a necklace of red and white linear beads that the lady on the corner sells to the tourists. To say I was shocked is an understatement. Now some of my neighbors have brought food to my door during Ramadan, but they just handed it in and beat a hasty retreat. I think most of them, even though they find it very odd, know that I am a loner.
I know from our time in Fez that Moroccan women are so good at nothing as much as they are at visiting. I do not speak the language but I am an adept at intuitive translation. Once when we had attended a wedding in Fez, one of the wedding party came to Q and told her what a nice long conversation we had – much to Q’s surprise. “How do you do that?” she asked.
“Years of practice my dear.” I can, it’s true, converse with almost anyone in any language, within certain common areas of course. The down side is that this method is exhausting as it requires paying rapt attention to body movements, posture, facial expressions, hand movement, and eye contact. We don’t notice how little we actually have to pay attention in our normal day-to-day conversations within our own environments. When I speak Spanish and the other languages that I have some small proficiency with I have to pay closer attention true, but nothing like when I have no idea what they are saying verbally.
I can tell you that my neighborhood is a widow. She lives with her brother and his wife, as well as her son and his family. Her son is the father of the neighborhood baby, the one who gives out the kisses. She is a grandmother and she has diabetes. She has some leaks in her house because of the rain as well, and thinks I should take my towels that I used to catch my own leaks up to the roof to dry. She thinks it is very good that Q has gone to America for school, but sad that I live in this whole house by myself – an alien concept in Morocco I assure you. She thinks I must be lonely.
And I can tell you I am exhausted now. She caught me in the midst of writing a report for a friend of mine and I had to compartmentalize the thought process I had been pursuing in order to give my full attention to the conversation. I think she caught my drift when I explained that I needed to get back to work and that I am leaving shortly on another trip.
It was a very brief visit by Moroccan standards but for me – the hermit who likes her socialization planned and away from home – it was longer. I am not one who enjoys chit chat. I like an agenda and purpose.
What a kind gesture it was and one I appreciate. Just another day in the Kasbah Oudayas that reinforces the fact that kindness and neighborly consideration exist worldwide, and aren’t we glad?
Ciao.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
wind in the kasbah...
As Q said to me one day, “When it comes to writing, some days one good sentence is all you can ask for.” Today may well be one of those days..
That old saying, “blew into town” was certainly true for me today. The wind was blowing billy ‘ups all over the city. The palm trees were bowing toward the palace in submission and the whitecaps were dashing the rocks on the beach like a March day in Wick! The rain and wind have almost closed down the Medina, as I made a run out to the bank and picked up some dates and bread I saw a few hardy souls with open hannouts but most were covering with plastic or taking in the verandas.
*here's an interesting note - I googled for the home site for Wick, and it won't let me in because it's too busy? Who's headed for the North Sea this time of year?
I am trying to find some organizing-type software for my manuscripts. As I have more than one going at a time, and I want to submit some articles as well, I need some cyber folders and a cyber cabinet to keep them in. The time it takes to find a program is not so much, but figuring them out! I have been playing with Curio all morning. I like the different goodies, but I can’t find them after! I filled out one of the projects with notes for my conversations and then – poof! Gone! I spent an hour trying to find the bloody thing. I am now trying Tinderbox. I have read about one other with cyber note-cards that I may try later. I need to settle on one so that I’m not retrieving pages from all over before the trial runs disappear! ‘Vat a day!
What about the mess in Pakistan eh? Did you read that the government is calling in Scotland Yard? Let’s hope they don’t get anyone of the unfortunate caliber of the Inspectors of Sherlock Holmes fame. On the other hand could the waters get anymore murky?
My Africa is on fire again – Kenya. Are there enough tears to shed for this continent?
On a cheery note I’m all snug and warm now with a fresh pot of tea and I’m off to the land of cyber shopping and playing with cyber toys…. If I’m not out in a few days, send someone in after me will you?
Ciao.
That old saying, “blew into town” was certainly true for me today. The wind was blowing billy ‘ups all over the city. The palm trees were bowing toward the palace in submission and the whitecaps were dashing the rocks on the beach like a March day in Wick! The rain and wind have almost closed down the Medina, as I made a run out to the bank and picked up some dates and bread I saw a few hardy souls with open hannouts but most were covering with plastic or taking in the verandas.
*here's an interesting note - I googled for the home site for Wick, and it won't let me in because it's too busy? Who's headed for the North Sea this time of year?
I am trying to find some organizing-type software for my manuscripts. As I have more than one going at a time, and I want to submit some articles as well, I need some cyber folders and a cyber cabinet to keep them in. The time it takes to find a program is not so much, but figuring them out! I have been playing with Curio all morning. I like the different goodies, but I can’t find them after! I filled out one of the projects with notes for my conversations and then – poof! Gone! I spent an hour trying to find the bloody thing. I am now trying Tinderbox. I have read about one other with cyber note-cards that I may try later. I need to settle on one so that I’m not retrieving pages from all over before the trial runs disappear! ‘Vat a day!
What about the mess in Pakistan eh? Did you read that the government is calling in Scotland Yard? Let’s hope they don’t get anyone of the unfortunate caliber of the Inspectors of Sherlock Holmes fame. On the other hand could the waters get anymore murky?
My Africa is on fire again – Kenya. Are there enough tears to shed for this continent?
On a cheery note I’m all snug and warm now with a fresh pot of tea and I’m off to the land of cyber shopping and playing with cyber toys…. If I’m not out in a few days, send someone in after me will you?
Ciao.
Wednesday, 2 January 2008
a few photographs
Here's a look at the neighborhood sidewalks freshly whitewashed before the holiday; and the market meat department.
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
the calendar begins anew...2008
I wish a year full of adventure and discovery for all my lovely readers.
Even though I don’t believe that time is linear, I think the calendar new year affords the opportunity to reevaluate. I do believe that regret and guilt can not only make your life unhappy, but actually shorten it. If we live every day with a sense of the possible, I think we can ‘repair’ the yesterdays. Regret nothing, for even if it was a ‘bad’ decision, it brought you to where you are today. We learn something from each turn in the road don’t we, and how can we regret that? If you are not where you want to be today, start toward your goal – there is always enough time because it is the journey where we learn, not the destination. Anything is possible because if you change your mind, you change matter – that is a scientific truth. What you think is what you are.
I think we cannot possibly conceive of what the Universe truly has to offer, not only in the physical sense but the spiritual. It is not only more advanced machines we need to measure the components of space, but more developed minds to comprehend the truth of the Universe. I have never understood the tendency of established religions to narrow the perceptions of their believers to what they dictate as dogma. Why would you do that? Oh all right I do know why – power. But why would we settle for that? If we continue to search for what is true, for what we are capable of, for what we can understand, for what we can sense and perceive – doesn’t that make us as individuals more knowing?
It seems to me that people are at different levels of understanding the Universe – by education, culture, upbringing, physical restraints, or fear. I think there is room for all levels of understanding, but only if there is compassion and tolerance. I think we can see in the world today what intolerance, rigidity, and fear have brought us – war and the violence of terrorism, poverty, hunger, and children dying from diseases that can be controlled with a simple vaccine. I think in this new year it is time to take power away from those few, controlled by fear and the hunger for power, and those who want a wider worldview to take power. I see no reason why this can’t be so. Aren’t there more of us than there are of them? But do we want a more tolerate and peaceful world more than they want money and power? That appears to be a question that needs an answer.
Those are my thoughts at the beginning of 2008. As always I hold that I could be wrong. If proven so, I am willing to revise my views.
Now back to Eid Al-Adha. On Friday, the second day of the holiday, I took a walk through the medina. It was quite a singular experience. As I entered the medina I saw several young boys building a fire with apparently whatever they could gather – pieces of wood from orange crates, scattered pieces of charcoal, and wood from broken walls. Stretched over the fire was what appeared to be chicken wire, you know that thin wire in an egg crate pattern. I thought, they must be cold, but they would do better to build the fire in a lee. Walking further in I began to see a fire about every twenty to thirty paces and the purpose became clear. They were roasting the sheep heads! From the feasting of the day before I can only imagine. Young boys were sitting to the sides of the fire with hammers and knives removing (with a great deal of enthusiasm and glee) the horns from the heads of the sheep and goats. All of the fires were catch as catch can, made from whatever was handy that would burn; and the means by which the heads were held over the fire varied from chicken wire to old rolling carts. One group outside a bank of apartments had a real outdoor bar-b-que set-up with walls around their fire and a metal grill formed from an old bedstead. The people from inside were bringing out the sheep’s heads to the young entrepreneurs who had an assembly line working to roast the heads, put them on a piece of wood that was then returned to the owners. I watched this little scenario for a while before turning into the depths of the medina. I have read that the face meat is very tender and the eyeballs are considered a delicacy. The brains are eaten with fresh bread.
As I walked further into the almost deserted medina, which I expected it being a holiday, I noted what I did not expect – there were NO WOMEN except for me. NO CHILDREN, NO TODDLERS of any sort. The fires were all tended by young boys and teenagers. The men were gathered outside the doorways of the closed shops. And nowhere did I see another female. It was creepy and I began to feel a bit edgy, like I didn’t “get the memo”. By the time I was truly nervous I was all the way through the medina and the only way home was back through. I actually considered a taxi but there were none to be found at the usual station by the market. I walked on to the New City where again groups of men were gathered at the occasional café that was open and serving tea. Finally I did see ONE woman – a westerner having tea with a western young man – tourists. I decided I best hoof it back home. I can assure you I made my best time ever through the shortest route through the medina to the Oudayas! Let me say that not one chap gave me a threatening look nor in any manner made me frightened, it was simply the situation and memories of Afghanistan long ago.
I ventured back out on Sunday and all that was left of the celebration was to be found looking down – there were fresh blood trails everywhere I walked.
A few shops were opened and I stopped for some Clementines. I spotted some peaches while there and discovered the fallout from a drought year – the peaches were 130dhs/kg! Yikes, but they were yummy.
Ciao lovely readers.
Even though I don’t believe that time is linear, I think the calendar new year affords the opportunity to reevaluate. I do believe that regret and guilt can not only make your life unhappy, but actually shorten it. If we live every day with a sense of the possible, I think we can ‘repair’ the yesterdays. Regret nothing, for even if it was a ‘bad’ decision, it brought you to where you are today. We learn something from each turn in the road don’t we, and how can we regret that? If you are not where you want to be today, start toward your goal – there is always enough time because it is the journey where we learn, not the destination. Anything is possible because if you change your mind, you change matter – that is a scientific truth. What you think is what you are.
I think we cannot possibly conceive of what the Universe truly has to offer, not only in the physical sense but the spiritual. It is not only more advanced machines we need to measure the components of space, but more developed minds to comprehend the truth of the Universe. I have never understood the tendency of established religions to narrow the perceptions of their believers to what they dictate as dogma. Why would you do that? Oh all right I do know why – power. But why would we settle for that? If we continue to search for what is true, for what we are capable of, for what we can understand, for what we can sense and perceive – doesn’t that make us as individuals more knowing?
It seems to me that people are at different levels of understanding the Universe – by education, culture, upbringing, physical restraints, or fear. I think there is room for all levels of understanding, but only if there is compassion and tolerance. I think we can see in the world today what intolerance, rigidity, and fear have brought us – war and the violence of terrorism, poverty, hunger, and children dying from diseases that can be controlled with a simple vaccine. I think in this new year it is time to take power away from those few, controlled by fear and the hunger for power, and those who want a wider worldview to take power. I see no reason why this can’t be so. Aren’t there more of us than there are of them? But do we want a more tolerate and peaceful world more than they want money and power? That appears to be a question that needs an answer.
Those are my thoughts at the beginning of 2008. As always I hold that I could be wrong. If proven so, I am willing to revise my views.
Now back to Eid Al-Adha. On Friday, the second day of the holiday, I took a walk through the medina. It was quite a singular experience. As I entered the medina I saw several young boys building a fire with apparently whatever they could gather – pieces of wood from orange crates, scattered pieces of charcoal, and wood from broken walls. Stretched over the fire was what appeared to be chicken wire, you know that thin wire in an egg crate pattern. I thought, they must be cold, but they would do better to build the fire in a lee. Walking further in I began to see a fire about every twenty to thirty paces and the purpose became clear. They were roasting the sheep heads! From the feasting of the day before I can only imagine. Young boys were sitting to the sides of the fire with hammers and knives removing (with a great deal of enthusiasm and glee) the horns from the heads of the sheep and goats. All of the fires were catch as catch can, made from whatever was handy that would burn; and the means by which the heads were held over the fire varied from chicken wire to old rolling carts. One group outside a bank of apartments had a real outdoor bar-b-que set-up with walls around their fire and a metal grill formed from an old bedstead. The people from inside were bringing out the sheep’s heads to the young entrepreneurs who had an assembly line working to roast the heads, put them on a piece of wood that was then returned to the owners. I watched this little scenario for a while before turning into the depths of the medina. I have read that the face meat is very tender and the eyeballs are considered a delicacy. The brains are eaten with fresh bread.
As I walked further into the almost deserted medina, which I expected it being a holiday, I noted what I did not expect – there were NO WOMEN except for me. NO CHILDREN, NO TODDLERS of any sort. The fires were all tended by young boys and teenagers. The men were gathered outside the doorways of the closed shops. And nowhere did I see another female. It was creepy and I began to feel a bit edgy, like I didn’t “get the memo”. By the time I was truly nervous I was all the way through the medina and the only way home was back through. I actually considered a taxi but there were none to be found at the usual station by the market. I walked on to the New City where again groups of men were gathered at the occasional café that was open and serving tea. Finally I did see ONE woman – a westerner having tea with a western young man – tourists. I decided I best hoof it back home. I can assure you I made my best time ever through the shortest route through the medina to the Oudayas! Let me say that not one chap gave me a threatening look nor in any manner made me frightened, it was simply the situation and memories of Afghanistan long ago.
I ventured back out on Sunday and all that was left of the celebration was to be found looking down – there were fresh blood trails everywhere I walked.
A few shops were opened and I stopped for some Clementines. I spotted some peaches while there and discovered the fallout from a drought year – the peaches were 130dhs/kg! Yikes, but they were yummy.
Ciao lovely readers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)