We decided an organized tour would reveal more about this unusual place than we could glean on our own. Even more intriguing, the brochure mentioned the tour would stop at the Prostitution Information Center....now that did catch our eye.

As darkness fell, the red neon lights reflected across the murky canal, as they have for decades, beckoning all comers with a promise of perfectly legal nightly ecstasy, or, for many tourists, glimpses of the forbidden.

We passed the windows, where the scantily-dressed girls sit displaying their wares, oblivious to the stares, gawks and comments of those on the other side. And all the while, we were regaled with lurid, scintillating tales of the district’s famous madams and mysteries.

Toward the end of our tour, we made our way to a nondescript little building, just steps away from window women. Prostitution Information Center was engraved on the front glass window as if it were nothing more extraordinary than an accountant’s office. Considering this was Amsterdam, perhaps it was nothing unusual, but for us non-Dutch, the sign might as well have read, "Sex Education Center!"

According to our guide, Mariska Majoor, a former prostitute, founded the Prostitution Information Center in 1994 to provide support and information to prostitutes and the public. We quietly filed in. I can't speak for the others, but I was feeling awkward. Wasn’t this off-limits? Illicit? Illegal? The corn-fed, conservative Hoosiers from my home state of Indiana would certainly look askance at this! But here, prostitution, like marijuana and hashish, is perfectly legal, quite well organized, government regulated and even socially acceptable. Dorothy, we’re not in Kansas, anymore!

Mary Ann (Mirjam), our hostess, offered drinks of beer, wine or juice. Since there were only a few seats, most people stood. Still, I wouldn't say we looked like a relaxed group. The guys looked nervously over their shoulders or unconsciously flipped through some of the many pamphlets they had picked up upon entering, and the women tried not to stare in fascination.

Mary Ann proceeded to discuss "the business," as she called it. Her talk was casual, yet informative. The center was meant for everyone, she explained, the girls themselves, their clients, the public, or anyone with questions.

Though prostitution is legal in Amsterdam, there is still a lot of misunderstanding about it, and there are dangers for the girls. We learned of the special alarm systems devised for the girls’ protection, the typical work schedules and how they rent their small rooms.

The average time spent in this occupation is about seven years and most of the girls range in age from 18 to 26. The founder herself worked as prostitute from the age of 16 to 21, and quit, in her words, "because I feel different now about sex and relationships than a couple of years ago …but there are plenty of people, who like me, have made a well considered choice to work in prostitution, and they deserve our respect."

One small room in the back was set-up as a replica of a working prostitute's room. It was tiny, just a twin bed, porcelain sink and barely room for a chair. We all dutifully poked our heads in, as if looking at some exotic animal on display. But a short question and answer session made it even more clear to us that the Prostitution Information Center, and "the business" itself are, in practice, no more exotic than an accountant’s office.

Twenty minutes quickly passed and our visit was over. The young man from Morocco bought a T-shirt from the gift shop rack next to the condoms, fridge magnets, and other souvenirs, we finished our drinks and filed out again.