I notice an unusual ratio of men to women on the street—though it is probably the same in all Moslem cities—that is, about twenty men to every one woman.
The few traveling women from America I have met who have passed through this part of the world tell me that their lives have not been made more pleasant by all the attention from these men. So far I have not visited the city where twenty leering, groping women follow me down the street but maybe that’s fortunate.
The women I do see here usually wear a shawl covering most of their face. They seem to keep it (the shawl) in place, by clenching a corner of it in their teeth.
The downtown theaters advertise karate movies-- more sex and violence. It seems like everybody’s interested in that stuff-- the new Greek Drama offering catharsis for the first global civilization. Kick and shout! That seems to be where we’re at civilization-wise. The global cultural tide is sure at low ebb, but the tide always changes.
(I think none of we of the living generation will live long enough to experience flood tide though. That may be a delight reserved for our great-great, ever-so-great grandchildren of the far-off future.)
I see few signs of poverty and no beggars.
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