Alley may be paved, or unpaved, and a blind alley is a cul-de-sac. Modern urban developments may also provide a service road to allow for waste collection, or rear access for fire engines and parking. Because of geography, steps (stairs) are the predominant form of alley in hilly cities and towns. This includes Quebec City in Canada and in the United States Pittsburgh (see Steps of Pittsburgh), Cincinnati (see Steps of Cincinnati), Minneapolis, Seattle, and San Francisco as well as Hong Kong, Genoa and Rome. Some alleys are roofed because they are within buildings, such as the traboules of Lyon, or
Open Sesame (phrase) Open Sesame (phrase) "Open Sesame" () () is a magical phrase in the story of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" in "One Thousand and One Nights". It opens the mouth of a cave in which forty thieves have hidden a treasure. The phrase first appears in Antoine Galland's "Les Mille et une nuits" (1704–1717) as "Sésame, ouvre-toi" (English, "Sesame, open!"). No earlier oral or written version of the story is known in any language. Galland's phrase has been variously translated from the French into English as "Sesame, Open", "Open, Sesame" and "Open, O Simsim". Open Sesame has been classified