Sound arrives first: greetings traded in more than one language, the clatter of a cart, a vendor calling out prices, laughter across a courtyard. A few words of a local language earn real warmth, and each region, from the green river country in the southwest to the open sand and rock of the north, has its own accent.
The weather is hot and dry for most of the year, with a short summer rainy season in the south, so mornings and evenings are best outdoors. A Local Friend walks beside you instead of ahead, translating small talk and letting the day bend around the heat.