So, seeing as I won't be going outside the wire for at least another two weeks I thought I would say a little bit about bazaars. There are two kinds of bazaars out here. There are the on-base ones, and then there are the local bazaars (the ones in the villages that the locals go to). The local bazaars are like the ones you see in the movies. They mainly consist of mud huts laid out on dusty roads and are very lively, with people bargaining and yelling at each other and children playing soccer in the street (often without shoes). These are the center of life for the locals as this is where they buy everything, but they are also very welcoming to us. What is not so great about them is that no matter how much fun you have you always have to be aware because you are still right in the middle of a combat zone, and the insurgents have demonstrated they will not hold their fire for innocent civilians (not in my presence thank God).
The other option is much safer, if not entirely authentic, is the on-base bazaar. These shops are on base, but run by local shopkeepers, and they have nearly all the same things with the exception of food (no fresh goat meat sadly). These are great places not only to buy locally made items, but also counterfeit items from India, based on popular American and European products.
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| The approach to the Camp Leatherneck Bazaar. |
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| Outside the bazaar I pose by some of the wares. |
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My good friend Tommy poses with my favorite
carpet merchant, Saladin. |
