Friday in Rabat

Friday in Rabat: vegetable couscous and bitter milk; Berber orchestra on the tv; men gathered beneath the loudspeaker sounding a shiekh's sermon; fancy German cars on the street, green tea with mint a silver pot, reading A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote.

A man rides past on a three wheeled bicycle. He wears a white and gold galabeya with a matching round, flat cap. A half smile covers the weathered skin of his face. His ride is made from steel bars painted a dull blue. He sits upon a chair covered with worn cushions and folded cardboard. To propel himself he pushes a steering wheel to and fro in a fluid motion continued by the decline of the street.