mystery meat on the street

the street is a paved two lane with a wide sandy shoulder on either side. billboards, garbage, parked cars, half built buildings and shops occupy the sides of the street. it is dark by now, the evening has set in and it has cooled significantly due to the passing storm. most nights the temperature remains in the sweltering digits, but because of the storm, a cool front had blown in. no street lights are along this street, but the glow from a major grocery store and other buildings shed some light to help navigate the garbage, open sewer and other toe stubbing hazards. in search of dinner, i was on my way to one of my regular spots when i caught scent of grilling meat.

looking across the street is a small store, tucked in a wall between a couple nondescript building, a red star is blinking, similar to the type one would use to decorate a house during christmas. a grill in front of the store was producing a steady stream of meat scented smoke. looking both ways and dodging an on coming tuk-tuk, i crossed the street and walked up to the store. a man had order and was waiting for his sandwich of grilled meat. when my turn came to order, a combination of hand motions and pointing communicated that i wanted a similar sandwich. at least this time i didn't have to cackle like a chicken as i did in some country while trying to order a chicken meal, for added measure and to ensure the message was clearly conveyed, i even threw in the folded arms and flapped them like chicken wings.

as two men worked on fixing the florescent light bulb, the cook fried up some chunks of meat mixed with green pepper. one guy was standing on a ladder and shoving a screw driver into the light casing, twisting and turning every which way. i watched waiting for him to get a jolt and go flying across the street. the only other customer tried to teach me the arabic word for what he was eating. i pronounced it several times to make him happy, knowing full well i wasn't going to remember next time i needed to use it. later on, after eating my one dollar sandwich, i think it was liver mixed with beef, but can't guarantee the type of animal that it came from. as long as i'm not puking my insides out tomorrow, i plan to go back and try the burger...or what the cook called 'hamburger'; he game we a tour of the fridge with all the meat awaiting the grill.

the storm passed without much of a drenching. this is the first rainfall i've experienced in khartoum, so i guess it does rain here. earlier i was out running along the river nile and the first drops hit. there was a short downpour but nothing that really deserves to be blogged about.