Rest day today. A day of getting together. Not only amplified calls to prayer, but an amplified sermon at midday for all to hear. But before, the nation is united: families gather round for a hearty couscous lunch.
It's like wiping the table in the kitchen. Why do it, Z asks, it will just get dirty in minutes. But we will enjoy the moment. In a country still, I would say, still tending to wounds past and present, a moment of unity gives a glimmer of hope.
Here in the burbs life is good. Random kids and people pass through for meals - today the director for Algerian Radio popped in for lunch, he is here in Ghardaïa for just a day. The burbs are fairly car-free, and full of natural sounds. The throbby, throaty sounds of pigeons and doves, and the chirps of small birds.
Mid-afternoon call to prayer, and people awake from their seista. Sounds of kids, and more kids.
Boys gather every evening in the open area between the 2 storey buildings, and enact World Cup matches. All the stairs become bleachers. The evening call to prayer at dusk defines the end of the game, and the start of dinner.
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