a trip to the Old City

Plush, steep, green hills lined the busy street as, by taxi, we approached the wall that surrounds the "Old City" (which we refer to as the Medina). While all western convinces do not follow me to North Africa, life in the Medina is much harder than our lives less than a mile a way. Many North Africans say they will never live in the Old City, while many others have never left.

The Medina consists of over 300 communities, each with a School, a Mosque and a public bath. Shops line the narrow streets - cafes, meat stands (camel & sheep), live chickens, pottery, spices, bread, clothing, fruits & vegetables - everything needed for the day's work of surviving. And bustling by with all the people in these crowded narrow streets, donkey - caring.... lumber, buta gas (gas tanks for heating water in stores.... maybe in homes) and coca~cola; men pushing carts of the seasons' fruit (Mandarin oranges are everywhere!); and street performers hoping for tourists to come by.

Hidden behind the main streets below are side allies, looking as if nothing but a stray cat inhabits them. If one were to walk down these (even more narrow) side streets you would see wooden, broken down doors. Maybe the back door of a shack or of the store that faces the main street - but instead each door opens up to a home. It could be a small one room home with dirt floors and no electric, hosting several generations of a family- or the door could open to an amazing palace.

The beauty of the city can be seen with every glance, but the eye needs a discerning look as the tile work, architecture and pure craftsmanship found in the nuances of even a door handle, are tarnished by centuries of dirt. You can see pictures in my album "Doors & Floors of the Medina" on my facebook page. I will add to it as I return to this ancient city in a few days.