The Marrakech Rythm

I came back to the Riad to take a nap a found I had a roommate, an Aussi by the name of Andre. He is doing a bit of traveling before he starts university in Australia: he seems like a good person.
I awake with the setting sun, the sweet smell of hookah making its way into our room. It has gotten quite a bit cooler, which is what I think caused me to wake up from my short nap.
The plaza by night is a completely different place as, seemingly out of nowhere, dozens of small eateries have opened in the center, offering typical Moroccan cuisine for a decent price, if youre willing to negotiate a bit. The number of people moving about has doubled at least, the majority of them young people, younger than 30.
By night, the snake charmers have gone and in their place you will find several musicians with a circle of listeners around them. Music here in Marrakech, like in Salvador (Bahia, Brazil), is a catalyst for a communal experience. The musicians begin playing as the sun sets and Moroccans gather around at their leisure, drawn to the sounds and rythms amidst the crowded center of the Medina. The hustle, however, is that anytime a tourist draws near the music will stop and an upturned tambourine will appear with an urgent request for a 'donation.'
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In my short time here in Marrakech, peoplewatching has quickly become an enjoyable activity as the crowded center offers a great opportunity. The dynamics among men, women and between the two is particularly entertaining. The women, many--though far from all--of whom are traditionally clothed--with hair, faces and bodies covered--walk mostly in pairs, usually with an urgency in their gait. They are not all that flirtatious, though ocassionally a quick darting of the eyes or turning of the head will give away their interest in a particular passerby.
As one might expect, this same subtlety is foreign to the men. In contrast to the Moroccan women--whom they seem to greatly outnumber, at least in the street--men generally seem to roam in packs, very aware of their female counterparts. The true moments of comedy are when a group of men will roll up on a pair or group of women, using (I would imagine) some horrible/hilarious pick up line.
But to say that the men are solely fixated on women would be giving a false impression of things. In fact, one of the most interesting observations of Moroccan men is the juxta-position of a certain 'machismo' and very expressive affection for one another (among friends, of course). A typical greeting between two men will consist of a handshake and a kiss on either cheek; additionally, it is not uncommon to see two men holding hands in the street, or one with his arm around the other. As I understand it, there an openness within Moroccan society (at the least in Marrakech) for homosexuality; that said, I believe that this aforementioned affection is a characteristic of relations between many men, both gay and straight.
At the same time, it is by no means uncommon to see two men fighting in the street; sometimes it is clearly in jest, as one will try and humiliate the other in front of friends, while in other moments, it appears more serious. Verbal arguments are common and already I have seen many that have required a mediating third party to separate the two parties before they come to blows.