You know it. You are walking along a perfectly fine, well-lit street. You approach an opening and peer to your right or left down a dark narrow lane. You catch a glimpse of something moving in it or perhaps you just see something that draws your eye . . . down the DARK ALLEY.
What’s down there? Should you go? Is it safe? Why should you leave this perfectly fine, well-lit street to go down the DARK ALLEY?
Who’s down there? What are they doing? Why is it so dark?
Everyone (your parents, cops, friends, that guy who told you your fortune for 5 bucks) has already cautioned you away from going down a DARK ALLEY, but yet you STILL want to go.
How dangerous can it be? It is the middle of the day. This town seems perfectly safe. I mean, what’s the worst thing that can happen to you down that DARK ALLEY?
You make the turn and take a couple of steps. There is a sudden chill. The sun has disappeared. A wind is growling behind you. Your eyes begin to dart and are struggling to adjust to the darkness.
You become a little unsure of your footing. The walls seem to be closing in on the confined space. There is clearly some commotion in front of you. You begin to hesitate. You begin to question why you needed to come down the DARK ALLEY after all.
Should you keep going? What is it you were trying to see or find? Someone is approaching. Should you turn and . . . run?
At that moment, your eyes finally adjust from the harsh light of the bright sun to the soft shade. The person approaching holds up . . . a menu and offers you a seat at an outdoor table at his little restaurant tucked into the alleyway.
You welcome the chance to sit and cool off. You take the opportunity to look around at your surroundings. There are numerous little cafes up and down the alleyway. Hanging above you is laundry drying on lines strung up in the narrow space between the buildings. That makes sense given the cool breeze coming through the alleyway.
In the time before air conditioning, towns were constructed with narrow alleyways between the buildings which provided shade and channeled the air, hence cool breezes and drying laundry.
Beyond the practical nature of alleyways, they also offer a place to linger. Tucked away from the main drag, they provide the opportunity to rest and reset. Here you can savor a cool beverage, take off your hat, enjoy the breeze, or even smoke a cigar.
So, ignore the dire warnings and occasionally, go down a DARK ALLEY. Not where furtive men lurk in the shadows, but ones that offer a glimpse of the brilliant past like here in Dubrovnik. I’m glad I did.
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