Tunisia

Ksar Ouled Soltane

April 2012 • Visitors usually snap a few photos of the impressive granary then speed away, but they're missing the real charm of Ksar Ouled Soltane—how life ricochets in slo-mo from the cafe to the Publinet to the foosball parlor. Intended to visit for only an hour but got caught up in the hospitality and slow pace. New friends gave me everything they had: coffee, Internet, art, foosball, dinner, and a mat to sleep on. Many thanks to Zied, Feteh, Khalifa, Soltan, and Lazhar for their well-timed kindness. And a special thanks to the crazy old toothless guy who wanders around wearing a cape and straw hat. He said a few words sharply in Arabic then banged on my head with his walking stick. Likely translation: Happy Birthday!

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