Ladies of the Night

I can't say that I ever really understood the phrase "ladies of the night" until I lived in Morocco.

Last night I got off work at 8 P.M. Many eateries close between 8 and 9 here, but one of my favorite restaurants, just around the corner from my house, is open much later. So I stopped by and had a quarter chicken while watching the end of the Chelsea/Inter Milan game.

When I left it wasn't yet 10 P.M., but the streets were empty. That's quite normal, as far as Meknes is concerned. Of course, the streets are never completely empty. There are a few people here and there, a drunk trying to get up, a boy huffing glue, a rowdy group of young men joking around...and then every once in a while, you see a man walking down the street with a woman.

At 10 P.M., it's never a man and his wife. And it's rarely a boyfriend and girlfriend. After a few months here, I have come to recognize those couples; those ladies with their night-time company are none other than the ladies of the night.

A number of English phrases come from an older time, a time I have never had access to. So they have no real resonance for me.

But now, in a new culture, suddenly they come alive.