A World of Alleyways

The old city is a world of stone alleyways. We followed the outer wall until a flight of stairs broke through, leading us through it’s passageway into the inner city maze. While open and spacious in some areas, many of the market place and side streets are narrow and enclosed. High walls of shops and houses rise up on either side of cobblestone passages and stairs, seeming to almost push them into the ground. It is a beautiful, isolated area fostering a unique way of life. The houses, shops, and mosques crowd the streets while you try to avoid pedestrians and the shopkeepers who encourage you to come into their stores. While fascinating, I’m glad that my visit to this part of the city was only temporary because it made me claustrophobic. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the West and am use to wide open spaces, but I don’t think I could live in such a walled in environment.
In some places, a narrow window of blue sky and sun-filled valley opens up before you, but in other places, you felt encapsulated in stone with shop awnings even closing out the sky. Besides, it’s hard for a girl to function in a shopping environment where you can’t admire the items laid out before you. If you want to look, you have to look like you're not looking. We were placed under strict orders (by a guy who had no idea how hard it was to obey!) not to openly admire anything because the shop owner would jump on any sign of admiration and barter with you until you left with some item from his shop. It’s a rough life!