Hungry? Well if you're in Andur and it is daytime you're in luck! While it is true there are inns and other eating establishments in Andur where one can get a complete meal, for many of the busy inhabitants who are not at home they'll just buy something from the many food vendors who patrol the markets and neighborhoods.

If it can be carried and eaten while standing it is probably on sale from someone. Amongst the braying of livestock. The shouting of merchants and customers and the din of craftsmen doing their trade there is the cry of the food vendors.

Now the owners of the permanent eating establishments who all belong to a guild-like organization have always viewed the food vendors with dislike and suspicion, and the food vendors have always just viewed themselves as the little guy just trying to get along. Throughout the years on numerous occasions the innkeepers have tried to petition the Sultan to ban the vendors. However they have never been successful. Several theories abound.

One, is that throughout the years the various Sultans have realized that the food vendors have provided a useful service to the inhabitants of the city.

Two, that the vendors generated additional tax revenue for the city coffers.

But the food vendors prefer the explanation that it was one of the former Sultans who really liked one of the vendors meat pies, and would dress up in disguise and go down to the market to buy them!

Eventually a truce was found. The food vendors could keep their businesses but there were some conditions.
1. The food vendors could have no permanent structures from which they sold their food.
2. The food vendors could not use carts to sell from unless they could move them by manpower alone.
3. No food vendor can sell a complete meal. They can sell you a pastry, or a hot tea or coffee. A sauteed vegetable wrap. A meat kabob or a fish dumpling but they can't sell all of them.
4. Food vendors absolutely can not sell alcohol and they most close their operations at sun down.
5. Whether they are Muslim or not they must observe all Muslim fast days.

These restrictions have not had much impact on the vendors. In fact most of their customers seems to prefer this A la carte method of dining. Picking and choosing who and where they buy their lunch, snack, early breakfast. These two fellows sell little flaky pies that are filled with a mixture of mashed lentils, chickpeas, vegetables and spices. Then they fry them in oil at their base of operation. Load them into covered baskets put them into their wicker stand. Then it is off to the market to sell them. You get three to an order along with some yogurt sauce to dip them in. The sauce is served in an empty nut shell.

To make themselves more visible in the crowd these guys have hung tassels of brightly colored thread from reeds like flag banners.