Our Oasis
We have been having a heat wave in Southern Europe. The worst of it seems to be over now.
This is actually a winter scene of a local hangout (not the one described in this post).
We don’t have air conditioning in our home and one of our coping strategies has been to go to the cafe in the city that has the best air conditioning. I think part of the reason for their above average climate control is the fact that the cafe is attached to a retail space with imported fabrics and decor from the Far East. It is called The Fort Lai Thai. There is also an internet cafe and a DVD rental. We work at home, so it’s a nice change of pace to go where there is lots of stuff happening.
The cafe serves delicious sandwiches on a local bread called ftira.
Hobz biz-zejt is a ftira that is cut in half, spread with tomato paste and covered in a mixture of chopped olives, tuna, capers, parsley, onions, tomatoes, olive oil and fresh mint.
We don’t watch television at home. The cafe has NileSat, which includes Al Jazeera among its hundred channels. It feels strange, as a North American, to watch the news through that particular media filter. When I see American news coverage, I am aware of the bias and yet not disconcerted by it. The Middle Eastern news report puts me on edge because I don’t have any short hand for recognizing the spin. I am still glad that I am exposed to it because they cover some stories that the Western media ignores entirely.
We sit in a cafe in what is possibly the most Christian country in the World with an Islamic newscast on one side of us and a giant airbrush poster of Buddha on the opposite wall.
When we had our afternoon sandwich and drink there yesterday, they were playing Mr. Bean’s Holiday. Variety is the spice of life.
I am submitting this post to the Carnival of Cities, check it out on July 2nd.
July 2nd, 2007 at 12:20 pm
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