Casbah Cafe
It may come as a surprise to some to learn that the Casbah
Cafe is actually one of the more modern buildings in Aridia.
Built and furnished in the style of a western saloon, the
Casbah Cafe is the best restaurant in town — nothing
much to brag about, given that it's the town's only restaurant.
With transportation scarce in Aridia and most of the population
living in squalor, the cafe has known nothing but hard times.
The owner hoped that early interest in Aridia's ancient ruins
would bring a wave of scholars and archeologists to visit
his establishment. To that end, each menu in the Casbah Cafe
educates guests on Aridia's culture and the pyramid of King
Utmost.
The interior of the Casbah Cafe features the main dining
area, a bare-wood floor occupied by several tables and a bar
along the back wall. A second-floor balcony holds a dusty
upright piano, presumably there to lend musical ambiance to
the place (if someone's around to play it). Behind the double
doors lies the kitchen, where waiters cook up the house special
for whoever happens to pass through the cafe's swinging doors.
Once teetering on the brink of failure, the sleepy Casbah
Cafe has turned into a regular oasis as tourists flock to
Aridia to see the new Museum of Ancient History and stop by
the cafe to sample some of the local delicacies (formerly,
bean dip and potatoes).
Ministry of Culture
A prominent institution in Aridia, the Ministry of Culture
oversees the archeological and historical research done within
the desert country's borders. Established to promote education
in Aridia's cultural roots, the Culture Ministry painstakingly
catalogs every artifact that turns up amid the ruins of the
desert.
The Ministry of Culture office, located within walking distance
from the airport, functions as a veritable gallery for the
small collection of Aridian relics, tablets, pottery, and
statues either dug from the sands or identified on collector's
markets around the world. State archeologist and Minister
of Culture Myra Foxworthy supervises this office and also
curates the Museum of Ancient History, just next door.
Museum
of Ancient History
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| The site
of Aridia's state museum, shown while under construction. |
Aridia's Museum of Ancient History, situated next door to
the Ministry of Culture, underwent a miraculous transformation
— from a humble home for the surplus items in Myra's
office to the hottest spot in Aridia — when the long-lost
pyramid of King Utmost conveniently came crashing down on
the premises. For a modest admission fee, daily tour groups
can follow museum curator Myra on a tour back in time through
Aridia's greatest national treasure.
Porcelain vases and fragile items were destroyed when the
pyramid "dropped in," but the monument itself and
the rest of its contents remain intact. The visitors touring
the museum each day can gaze upon ancient works of art, survey
walls of Aridian hieroglyphics, and listen for "the voice
of the pharaohs" in the pyramid's halls.
Right: The Museum of Ancient History as it is since its
grand opening, packed with paying sightseers.
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