The khat stand.
Hardware shops, secondhand clothes shops - the street is always bustling with people. The furniture (mostly secondhand) was displayed on the street, with more stuff stored in rooms and yards down side alleys. We wanted to pick up a cupboard we had bought, and happened to stop next to a 'khat stand'. Khat is a green leafy plant that people chew as a 'recreational drug'. Whilst my husband went to find the cupboard, I got chatting with the lady running the table. Lifting up Chops, who was 4 at the time, she put him on top of a sack underneath which was all the khat she was selling. Then she offered Chops camel's milk, which she was also selling. The creamy, white drink was in a refilled coke bottle - I refused on his behalf. Jokingly she gave him some khat. We all laughed. As I picked up Chops, who thankfully was showing no interest in the little stick with leaves on it - except perhaps as a stick to prod other people with - I gave the khat back to her. We cont