Rock and Khat

Africa » Djibouti
July 15th 2006

Published: July 15th 2006

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rickmoore

Khat Booth

Hidden under a burlap bag - to keep it fresh.

The passangers from the Air France A340 crammed into the small terminal to wait for the baggage. To make matters worse, there were two conveyor belts, and you could not see both at the same time. There were a lot of soldiers on that flight, and a lot of camoflaged duffel bags unloaded from the plane.

The night we arrived was the World Cup final. In Arta, we watched the game on the huge tv screen with a thousand or more people from the village. They ran around and cheered for both the French and the Italians. I sat on a rock and watched the
entertainment by the light of the moon.

During the day, the heat is oppressive and the fierce wind will suck away the sweat from underneath your clothes. As the sun goes down more people come out to be on the street.

Around 2 pm, the driving gets crazy, and then the streets get quieter. The daily Khat supply has arrived from Ethiopia. Each small town has several 'Khat booths', but Djibouti must have hundreds. Khat is ok, but cold beer and a hockey game is better.

Additional photos below

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