Afterwards, we went to one of the shops on a corner near the restaurant and looked for souvenirs. I saw several things that I plan to buy. I will, however, hold out for serious shopping in Ethiopia or Kenya because that's where the Djiboutians import a lot of their wares. One of the most intriguing items for sale was an ivory tusk. Not a fake tusk, but a true to life, likely poached, tusk (see the picture below). That was a very tempting purchase, but buying poached ivory is like putting a stamp of approval on slaughtering an endangered species. That and the U.S. has laws against that sort of thing, so I'd be out $350 smackers if it was confiscated by customs. www.fws.gov/international/pdf/salaet.pdf
One of the vendors, Abi George, at the shop decided he liked me and wanted to share his khat with me. He insisted it was no different than having a beer. Here's what the Department of State has to say about khat: "Although the narcotic khat is legal and widely chewed in Djibouti, it is considered an illegal substance in many countries, including the United States." Needless to say, it was out of the question. But I took his picture and he asked that I print him a copy and bring it back in one week. I'll try to remember. And maybe if I do that for him, he'll give me a better deal on something...not khat.
(The green leaf in his hand is the khat. I think he pulled it out of a shopping bag, i.e. "dime bag")
Keepin' it legit,
Marty
