Highlights of Marseille #2: Quartier Du Panier

This was my favourite place to go for une balade in Marseille. Beginning at the Butte des Moulins you are slowly drawn back in time, hinting to a bygone era when this quartier was the hub of Marseille. As I strolled around its narrow cobbled streets and steep stairways I would fantasize about the Phoenicians who established this eclectic city, weary yet shrewd merchants fresh off the boat, ladies gossiping loudly on the street. In the bustling Greek agora, buyers and sellers are negotiating ferociously, while some are simply sampling and admiring each other's wares, women (yes, not men) beating the dust from their sheets as they holler at passers-by to greet them each by name. I picture tradesmen and craftsmen toiling away perfecting their skills, a rainbow of shopfronts proudly displaying their goods, and finally the sound of shutters clapping shut for a well-deserved siesta. These days, le Quartier du Panier is getting a facelift, albeit slowly. I'm not sure if it's in the best interest of the current residents, though. After seeing the 'gentrification' already taking place in the city and the numerous reportage in the media, including this article from Le Monde Diplomatique, there is certainly great cause to worry.