Friday, the Moslem holy day, and there are some signs of it. There seem to be mostly tourists at breakfast, when yesterday there were more businessmen. And quite a few of the small shops are closed, though by no meansall. We're finding new ways through the maze of the medina, guided at times by the tallest of the mosques. It's a good landmark from a distance and highly visible from the square next to it, but tends to disappear in the streets and lanes of the middle distance.
The most direct route starts through a market near the western wall. Really less a market than a lane lined witih the tiniest of shops and restaurants, catering almost entirely to locals. Children's toys - including little blonde plastic dolls reminiscent of the celluloid ones of my distant childhood and looking not at all like Moroccan babies. Vegetables - potatoes, radishes, aubergines and greens - on mats on the ground. Barber shops only gig enough to encompass the one or two chairs. Round loaves of bread and heaps of brightly coloured spices, as well as dates and figs - all wonderful to look at but unfortunately subject to the ubiquitous flies. As are the wares of the tiny butcher shops featuring three or four chickens or part of a lamb carcass.
The larger streets are home to electronics shops, more substantial restaurants or pizzarias, pharmacies, etc. At night the square seems more full, with more young families, perhaps enjoying a free day. Fathers seem as affectionate as mothers, and as happy to cuddle little daughters as sons.
Some very small children sell goods - such as packs of tissues - to tourists. A few hang out around the restaurants, less beggars than opportunists - happy no doubt to receive a coin or a sweet should it happen. Restaurant staff send them on their way, but gently, as they also discourage the hopeful cats. The square is again full of performers - musicians and acrobats collect small crowds of admirers. There are snake charmers and belly dancers - their encircling audiences no doubt a fruitful source for pickpockets who can count on distracted subjects and an easy escape in the dark. The dark is also a good backdrop for some of the wares on sale - displays of little metal lanterns with candles flickering behind coloured glass panes ranged on the pavement, or the little fluttering blue lighted whirligigs that young boys launch into the indigo sky and gather as they flutter down.
The most direct route starts through a market near the western wall. Really less a market than a lane lined witih the tiniest of shops and restaurants, catering almost entirely to locals. Children's toys - including little blonde plastic dolls reminiscent of the celluloid ones of my distant childhood and looking not at all like Moroccan babies. Vegetables - potatoes, radishes, aubergines and greens - on mats on the ground. Barber shops only gig enough to encompass the one or two chairs. Round loaves of bread and heaps of brightly coloured spices, as well as dates and figs - all wonderful to look at but unfortunately subject to the ubiquitous flies. As are the wares of the tiny butcher shops featuring three or four chickens or part of a lamb carcass.
The larger streets are home to electronics shops, more substantial restaurants or pizzarias, pharmacies, etc. At night the square seems more full, with more young families, perhaps enjoying a free day. Fathers seem as affectionate as mothers, and as happy to cuddle little daughters as sons.
Some very small children sell goods - such as packs of tissues - to tourists. A few hang out around the restaurants, less beggars than opportunists - happy no doubt to receive a coin or a sweet should it happen. Restaurant staff send them on their way, but gently, as they also discourage the hopeful cats. The square is again full of performers - musicians and acrobats collect small crowds of admirers. There are snake charmers and belly dancers - their encircling audiences no doubt a fruitful source for pickpockets who can count on distracted subjects and an easy escape in the dark. The dark is also a good backdrop for some of the wares on sale - displays of little metal lanterns with candles flickering behind coloured glass panes ranged on the pavement, or the little fluttering blue lighted whirligigs that young boys launch into the indigo sky and gather as they flutter down.