“Do you always do this tour at night?” I shout.

My voice is lost in the din as a motorbike threads the gap between my guide, Cyrus, and me, and I’m forced to repeat the question when I catch up to him in an alcove minutes later.

“Yes, usually at night,” he smiles.  “So that visitors are able to get the full atmosphere.”  I take in the crush of shoppers and diners, awash in the fluorescent light and savoury aromas spilling from the open shop fronts into the ancient lane. And I have to concede:  Cyrus has got the “atmosphere” part nailed…

Read more of my column from the last issue of Taste & Travel International HERE (page 78) and  HERE (page 79).