31st March
A very hot and sunny day, the hottest so far! We ate breakfast as usual with our family! Laughs and jokes at the breakfast table to start the day. Then on to the largest and most authentic souk experience one could ever imagine. Chaperoned by our faithful Mohamed and Mustafa, We dive in to a swarm of life at its peak. Absolute bedlam would be one way to describe it but watching our two friends negotiate the endless stream of people, donkeys and mayhem, we see them at their version of a supermarket. We would be at the mercy of the masses, attracting all sorts of tourist attention both good and not so good but as it is, we cruise through the various areas of the Souk as if protected by an invisible shield.>
Mohamed is infuriated by his own people who inflate the price of ordinary goods because we are with him! He has none of it and walks away from anyone who doesn't give the correct value. He has lived and shopped here all his life, like us in the coop, he knows what things cost and can't believe that he is being asked to pay more because of us! The prices he refuses are what we are used to paying almost every time we shop. Its a fact of tourist life.
We, in the meantime are having the time of our lives, the animal market and butchers souk are fascinating, full of life and death. Food here is as fresh as you can get it. You want a chicken and its killed and prepared in front of you! All meat is killed the same day as its sold, there's strict enforcement. You can't get fresher food than that, its fantastic to see. We eat kebabs which consist of liver, heart and tripe! You chose it at the butchers and take it to the stall to prepare it for you!
We attract the attention of minstrels who play a tune for a dihram so I I play them one for free! We have finished our tour of the souk so its down to the serious business of shopping for Mohamed, he is the head of his family as his dad died a year ago, so he does the weekly necessity. Its so cheap by our standards and the right price by theirs. So after buying a couple of woven hats for Krysia and I, he jumps into the job at hand and shops with a keen eye for quality and price. Meats, fruits and vegetables by the sac load are all piled into a cart, which waits patiently with its pusher, to enable this load of food to be safely transported back to Mustafa's parked car.
Through this jungle of people, Mohamed darts to and fro as we wend our way to the finish line! And we're done, it's 30 deg c or more and back to mums house we go to escape the increasing heat! Phew its hot.
The rest of the day is spent entertaining or being entertained by the family, having a siesta and trying to find a small solitary moment to reflect on our situation. Incredible hospitality is very demanding, Adam excels at amusing any one of the extended family who wants our attention, Krysia fits in with us lads even though she could easily be swamped up into the female roles so defined here, Ayiesha as she's been nicknamed. I constantly endeavor to parler francaise wherever possible to aid in comunication which would be much easier if we all spoke Arabic or preferably Tamazirte if the older uncles had their way! Its a wonderful melange of effort and joy, its hard work to keep on being centres of attention yet we know these are special times for us.
The evening cools down as the sun sets and we walk through the countryside to hang out and chat. Its then time to eat yet again as the whole family gathers for the evening meal. We are starting to feel at home here and dive into the targines with a new learned dexterity that eating with ones hands requires! Its been another long and amazing day and I can only assume that things can only get better!
Ted, Krysia and Adam
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