What's for sale at this outdoor market? Cold, hard cash

TRIPOLI, Libya - The men stand in a maelstrom of money. There's lots of it: inch-thick wads of crisp Benjamins, 100-euro bills and Turkish liras. Brick-sized blocks of Libyan dinars bulge from suitcases or are spirited away in wheelbarrows.

Here in the cobblestoned pathway of the Musheer market, a few steps away from the Art Deco building of Tripoli's central bank, cash is not only king, it's the lifeblood of a black market. It is nurtured by Libya's dangerous mix of petrodollars, mafia-esque militias, and a war economy that has devoured the country's top institutions.

Though Libya has the raw materials of prosperity - it has Africa's largest proven oil reserves, the world's 10th largest - almost a third of its more than 6 million people live below the poverty line.

Meanwhile, the