Tuesday, August 7, 2018 10:58 AM

The famous clocktower is not where I expect it to be. Making my way down the coast from the newer city to the old, I set my sights on an ancient steeple, far taller than everything else. When I finally get there, after too much time wandering in narrow streets, I find that it's the minaret of a mosque at the edge of the sea. I had walked past the actual clocktower, several blocks away. The real thing is only a few stories tall and scarcely more than a century old. It's quite beautiful, with deep blue stained-glass windows and an exterior that shines like gold in the glow of the hidden lights. Designs that look like careful graffiti on a wooden door are really made of bent strips of metal. I sit and watch it quietly. Its look changes as the sun sets. Endless tourists, not noticing, take selfies there against the door, adding it to their online galleries of places they can show that they have visited. Perhaps, when the images completely circle the globe, they can claim some sort of prize.