tyre’s tetrahydrate tea weather or what’s that smell

i woke up this morning to the sound of a goat bleating outside my window and immediately knew today was a good day for chaos. tyre, as it turns out, has a personality. or maybe it’s just the weather. i just checked and it’s 22.79 celsius right now, hope you like that kind of thing. not too hot, not too cold, just enough to make you contemplate why you’re wearing socks with sandals.

there’s this place on the edge of town where the salt from the sea gets mixed with the exhaust from cars and it smells like a blender full of regret. i walked past it a few times but honestly i was too busy staring at my phone to realize i’d taken 20 photos of the same rusted gate. dumb me.

my neighbors are not people you’d expect. there’s a guy who plays the accordion every night outside his shop even though no one seems to care. i think he’s just there to prove he’s alive. meanwhile, the woman across the street has a garden full of plants that defy all logic. one of them is a cactus that somehow sprouted a tiny palm tree. science doesn’t have answers yet.

someone told me that the best way to find good food in tyre is to follow the smell of frying onions. i tried that once and ended up in a bakery that sells bread so crusty it could double as a weapon. not sure if that’s a good thing. i also heard that the beach at hal abyad is haunted by a guy who sells knockoff flip-flops but don’t believe everything you hear. probably just someone trying to make extra cash during tax season.

i stopped by this little café for lunch and it was listed on yelp with five stars. turns out, half the reviews were written by people who had never been there and were just trying to boost their profile. classic. the almond latte was decent but way too sweet. i asked for extra cream and they gave me what looked like motor oil. probably safe, i think.

if you get bored, amman is like a 30-minute drive and honestly i’m tempted to go just for a proper iblis but then again why spend money on coffee when you can get it free in hilltops? i tried their version once and it tasted like someone microwaved a plastic cup. take that as you will.

someone else mentioned that there’s a hidden tunnel behind the souk where people go to dance to weird techno music. i didn’t follow through on that rumor. too scared. i did, however, find a street artist painting a mural of a cat wearing a hat. it looked like it was done in about 10 minutes. probably not serious art but hey, it made me smile.

i ended up going to the coast anyway because the weather kept bugging me. the sea was calm and the sand was way too white. like someone dumped a bag of sugar and called it day. i sat there for hours with a book that someone lent me. it was a history nerd’s guide to tyre but i only read the chapter about ancient towers. nope, not my jam.

there’s this app called tripadvisor that has maps but i forgot the exact link. if you want to explore, just search tyre and it’ll show you all the weird spots locals swear by. also, the coindesk for local news is kinda useless but i checked it anyway. found an article about a new coffee shop opening next to a sushi place. i guess that’s not a bad thing.

here’s a map of where i wandered today. not sure if it makes sense but it’s a mess just like my thoughts.

i took some photos but the lighting was bad. here’s one of the souk with way too many random people holding their phones.

another of the cat mural.

and the beach where i almost jumped into the sea because the waves looked inviting.

in the end, i didn’t find much new about tyre. just reminders of how small and weird life can be. but hey, at least i got a good laugh out of trying to explain to a man why i wasn’t buying his knockoff flip-flops. he ended up giving me a discount. win win.

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