“I’d much rather hang out in a cafe. That’s where things are really happening.” – Joe Sacco My husband, Ahmed, promises me a special treat: he’s going to take me to his favourite café. My vision of an incense-clouded grotto with belly dancers twisting to the dherbouka and mezwed is soon vaporised by the sight of a grimy cafe with a grimier, all-male clientele, one big room furnished with old plastic garden furniture whose original whiteness is embarrassed by stains and scratches. The thick tobacco smoke fails to mask a melange of unsavoury odours. “This is your favourite cafe?” I … Continue reading The Tunisian Cafe: Caffeine Oasis in a Wayward Urban Desert (Part I)