Arabeyes: 1001 Tales from Libyan Taxi Rides

My car was in the garage for three weeks. In this period I had to use taxis and I came across interesting things which can only be expressed in the Libyan dialect. I would like to narrate some of what has happened to me here. All of it is true and who doesn't believe me can ride a taxi to experience such marvels for themselves.

One day, when the scorching sun was at its peak at 1pm, I stopped the first taxi which I saw. I didn't wait to choose the one I liked as I usually do. I thanked Allah (God) as soon as I entered the cab and sat under the shade. I tried to open the window but it wouldn't open. The driver smiled and said that is had just broken two days ago. I told myself that it would be fine for as soon as the car moves, there will be some breeze coming from his window. The catastrophe however was that the road was crowded and the traffic was at a standstill because there was a girl's school down the road.

I cannot start to describe all the guys standing in a crowd as if they were in a football stadium. I just don't understand what they see standing there like that. This is just a good example of how these men were raised because I see them standing there with no shame and the sad part of all this is that I sometimes see men the same age as my father, standing in front of a girls’ high school, checking out the girls there. I really don't know what the solution for this problem is but I usually avoid driving by any girls’ high school when I am taking my mother around town to avoid embarrassment as I fear I would see an undesirable scene of sexual harassment.

It really hurts to see such young men and how shallow they can be. Everything is so superficial, all they care about is their hair cut, sun glasses and some are so young that they still don't even have any facial hair. Yet you see them smoking and making clouds of smoke from their mouths. And of course, we can't forget those that just love to show off with their cars, drifting, twirling and doing all these crazy moves – guys cruising around the neighborhoods with music banging out of their cars. Some men even listen to Zemzamat, which are old ladies singing and are usually performed in weddings.

If it was up to me, I would whip them with a green stick and make them look like zebras so next time they pass by any girls’ high school, they would lower their head and carry on their way and none of these shameful acts would happen.

The driver was looking at his watch while we were waiting in the jam. He would also look at me as we were melting in the heat and from what was happening outside. Perhaps he was counting how long it would be for us to stand what is happening. Finally, we managed to get away from the traffic. He then looked at me and smiled, showing me all his teeth. He asked if it was fine for him to leave me there as he was running late and had a prior appointment. I was glad that it came from him as I was starting to get suffocated. I told him it was OK and left the cab without paying him anything. Just as I was telling myself that I will not take the first taxi which I see and that I will be as selective as I usually am when a brand new sparkling Chevrolet stopped. I told myself that was 100 per cent what I wanted. To be frank, I wanted to check if the windows worked before sitting in the cab but I didn't want the driver to misunderstand me. Besides, the car looked new. I sat in my place and just like the last ride, I placed my finger on the button and tried rolling the window down. When it didn't move, I looked at the driver and burst laughing. He laughed too despite not understanding what had happened. He then asked me what was the matter and I explained to him what happened to me with the window in the last taxi. He said he didn't know what was the matter as the car was new and asked if I wanted to take another cab. I said it was fine and agreed to continue with him as I was already dripping wet from the heat.

Once again after the Maghreb (after sunset) prayers, I took a taxi from the mosque, with a driver who had just completed praying with me. He first inserted a tape in the cassette played of Shaikh Doukalli reading verses from the Holy Quran. Five minutes later, he changed the tape with one of dance music and started swaying to the music. I asked him to switch off the music. He asked why and I complained about the noise. He said he will put something slow and I just asked him to shut it. I then kept quiet as I didn't know what to say. As I was leaving the cab I couldn't stop myself from praying to Allah to show him the rightful path.

This time the ride was the most annoying. The driver's phone rang and it was clear it was a girl talking because I could hear her. He pretended he was speaking to a man and said: ‘Listen I will call you again. I am quite busy.’ She, however, didn't stop talking so he just laid back and leaned on his window whispering ‘Me too, Me too, yes, so much, me too, me too, no no, me too, me too’ – as if he was trying to hide from me that he was not talking to a girl. Man, I know it's your girlfriend so why you are so ashamed of it. Say it out loud and tell her: I love you or I miss you because by now I am starting to get fed up of this ‘Me too’ business that I too wanted to tell him ‘Me too.’ This didn't end and continued for the whole duration of my trip to my house as his phone was ringing and the same thing was happening over and over again. I was left checking my phone waiting to get a call like his so that I could tell her ‘Me too’ as well.