To market, to market

To market, to market, to buy komash...home again, home again, I'm looking so posh.

Bad, right?

But hey, did I tell you about the time I was taking a taxi and I needed him to turn by a place called Saad's Palace, but I said "Saad's Material" instead?  Awesome, right?

"Komash" means material, but at the time, I had it a little confused with "palace."

Anyway...back to my material story.

This is inside one of the bazaars I frequent during the week.



It reminds me of Africa in that everything that is similar is clustered together.

For example, hardware stuff is all together (it might look like 7 hardware stores all next to each other in a row); food is all together; houseware stores are all together, etc.

This is the tiny aisle for material stuff.  I just stood out of the way and sneaked in a few pictures.  It's crazy, and getting knocked down is not out of the question.

I was waiting for my neighbor, Jasmine* and friend, Jennifer* to buy what they needed.

BUT, something different about this part of the market is the white grate cover you can see running down the middle of the path.

Most of the time, it is just the ditch under it you see, with no cover.  It has filth, liquid, trash, and who-knows-what running all day long.  

It's pretty gross, and walking down the path, holding hands with Keira is quite the game as we cross from one side to the other multiple times trying to stay out of the way of people, the ditch, and huge rolling carts of drinks and snacks pushed by men that regularly make their way up and down the path all day, pushing people off to the side.

It should be an Olympic sport!

Some of the material is glittery and organized, but as you can see on the floor, some of it is just in piles for you to look through.

A JoAnn's Fabric store manager might have a problem with the organization of this place.

The power went off twice while we were there, and it was pitch black, but no one said a word.  Everyone just stood still until the power came back on.

I can imagine that kids in another country might scream if the lights suddenly went out.


Look below at the big silver tube hanging down from the ceiling.

That is their "air conditioner."

It's attached to a swamp cooler somewhere, and it sends air down that tube.  So basically, in this case, only the pile of material scraps on the floor is getting the benefit of any cool air.

I looked around, and besides me, I only saw one other woman with beads of sweat on her head.

I guess everyone has simply spent their entire life adjusting to the heat.  And they are wearing two more layers of clothes than I am.


This is a typical fabric dukan, and several people crowd in here at once.  Usually you are stepping on each other's feet and the material constantly.

 This is just a big pile of fabric.

I took this picture at the same shop where I bought material for my national outfit.  The man selling the material just walks barefoot up and down the pile all day screaming out his prices until someone asks him to cut some for her.

 On a side note, I really like this green paisley fabric.

I'm on the look out for something a little bit shinier and fancy than what I have.

After watching three wedding videos, I know that if I ever attend a wedding, my outfit is not going to cut it in the "glamour" department.  I would mess up the whole dancing video if I showed up in my mostly brown dress.

 Outside the fabric market, I definitely felt a little cooler.  Just getting away from all of the bodies helps.

They've got everything you need.

And one last shot.  I told you about my neighbor picking out a maxi dress for me, and I told you they are a little like muu - muu's.

Well, here they are.  They come in all colors and either glammed up or simplified down.  Both of mine are pretty plain because it just doesn't seem natural to clean and visit neighbors in a dress with fake jewels all over it.

However, I'm sure I haven't seen my last maxi.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll get some glimmer and shine and show you sometime.