The old medina is one of the most fascinating parts of Tangier and you will immediately find yourself walking in narrow streets with intriguing but unfamiliar sights, smells and sounds. Here is an overview, looking north (uphill) from the roof a rather large store where we were looking at weapons, jewelry and carpets. Satellite TV is very popular here ... and I am still trying to understand how the old and the new are blended together.
On the first night of our arrival, Scott and I spent some time in a traditional Tangier street cafe. We were waiting for the dinner hour to start and were simply passing time. The Colon cafe is a men-only alcohol-free establishment, where they serve very fine mint tea in the traditional style. As we sipped our tea, we observed that there were two large-screen plasma TVs on, each with its own constituency. In one corner was news and public affairs programming from Washington, DC on Al Jazeera, the Arabic-language news network. In the other corner, also on a large-screen plasma TV, played the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005) featuring an endlessly smirking Brad Pitt and tightly-fitted Angelina Jolie engaged in serial portrayals of vicious but light-hearted violence. The movie had the full attention of a serious-looking older man who, for lack of better words to describe him, was dressed in a manner similar to that of Obi Wan Kenobi. He sat next to his friend, also an older man, who was wearing a red fez. They said not a word to each other during the entire time the movie was on.
1 comment:
Angelina has that effect on some people.
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