732 
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 
STREET SCENE; TUNIS 
saddle-bags, and purses are ornamented 
with silken embroidery and gold and sil- 
ver threads. 
Most of the souks are roofed over as 
a protection against the great heat, and 
small square holes are left for ventila- 
tion, so that the effects of sunlight sift- 
ing through are very curious and make 
photographing them almost impossible. 
Maribouts are built in the most un- 
expected spots, and are often not actual 
tombs, but spots made holy by some 
maribout during his lifetime and built 
on after his death. A hermit, a saint, or 
a crazy man are always maribouts and 
very fanatic. 
The little fruit-shops are most attract- 
ively arranged and very artistic in re- 
gard to color.. The love of flowers and 
color seems inborn to all Arabs. Even 
the smallest café has great bunches of 
flowers, and the butcher standing in his 
tiny shop has a rosebud and golden mari- 
golds stuck over his ear. The blue-green 
antique tiles around his shop are worthy 
of being shown in a museum. 
Many of the Arab entrances and court- 
yards are built of materials taken from 
the Roman ruins. The old Moorish 
arches are exceedingly graceful in form 
and the despair of modern architecture 
to reproduce. 
In the afternoon a large crowd is al- 
ways to be found at the Place Sidi- 
Bayan watching the snake-charmer and 
his large hooded cobras and other snakes. 
Some of the snakes are wriggling on the 
ground, with a large stone on top of each 
of their tails so that they cannot get 
away. he snake-charmer’s head re- 
sembles that of a male Medusa, as sev- 
eral snakes are twined about, while two 
huge cobras are coiled on the ground 
ready to strike as the snake-charmer ap- 
proaches. They seem hypnotized, but 
they hate him and strike his face again 
