The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca
by Tahir Shah
List Price:
Our Price: $4.19
You Save: $11.81 (74%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.99 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Tahir ShahEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-12-26
ISBN: 0553383108
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Bantam
Book Reviews of The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca
Book Review: Under the Moroccan Sun
Summary: 4 Stars
Shah is a master of the insightful, funny, exotic travelogue, and I've greatly enjoyed his adventures in India ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice"), Peru ("Trail of Feathers" aka "House of the Tiger King"), and Ethiopia ("In Search of King Solomon's Mines"). Those three books are masterpieces of the genre, and his latest escapade in Morocco carries many of the same qualities, but is a notch less enjoyable.
Others have characterized this book as a Moroccan version of "A Year in Provence" or "Under the Tuscan Sun", which is a rather apt comparison. Shah spent childhood vacations in Morocco visiting his Afghan grandfather, and years later, as an adult Londoner, found himself craving a different life. Thus, he embarked on the scheme recounted here -- to purchase an old villa in Casablanca and restore it to its glory. Naturally, this proves vastly more difficult than it initially appears, and Shah details each step in gloriously hilarious detail. Along with the house renovation, there is a subplot involving Shah's attempt to track down where his grandfather lived out his last days. This, along with the friendship he develops with an elderly local stamp collector adds an element of poignancy to what might otherwise be a one-note comic romp.
Much of the humor comes from the cross-cultural miscommunication between the rational Shah and the various Moroccans he encounters. High on the list of confounding people are the three caretakers who've lived on the property since time immemorial and are worried by Shah's sudden appearance. Their insistence that the house is plagued by an angry genie is a running thread which culminates in a kooky exorcism. Other obstreperous people include a local mobster type, who apparently has had his eye on the villa and is working behind the scenes to deny Shah's legal ownership, various bureaucrats who may be in his pocket or may be just naturally unhelpful (no doubt a legacy of the French tenure), and a slick but evasive architect. And naturally, there are the various bumbling contractors who operate on their own schedule, one apparently measured in years rather than weeks or months. Then there are some scary Wahabi Gulf Arabs who lurk in slums that surround the villa. As the difficulties mount, Shah realizes the necessity of a "fixer" to help him navigate his new environment -- such as getting his furniture and books through customs and locating building materials on the black market -- but finding one that's trustworthy turns out to be yet another labor of Hercules.
Although I did enjoy this book and would certainly recommend it, it suffers in two respects. One is the framework: a wealthy Westerner moves to a foreign place to live and restore a property to its former glory. While there's obviously an element of privilege in his ability to travel to distant lands, it's rather more pronounced here and to a certain extent it's hard to sympathize with such an endeavor. Secondly, his other books have all been adventures of his own creation in which he is the naive outsider who may or may not emerge unscathed. Here, he drags his wife and baby along for the ride, and it becomes hard to ignore the stench of self-centeredness that wafts from his family living in extreme discomfort for an extended time, if not outright danger (although the rats running around the property made me cringe for the baby). Next time, I hope he leaves the wife and kid at home instead of dragging him into his madcap schemes.
Summary of The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca
In the tradition of A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, acclaimed English travel writer Tahir Shah shares a highly entertaining account of making an exotic dream come true. By turns hilarious and harrowing, here is the story of his family?s move from the gray skies of London to the sun-drenched city of Casablanca, where Islamic tradition and African folklore converge?and nothing is as easy as it seems?.Inspired by the Moroccan vacations of his childhood, Tahir Shah dreamed of making a home in that astonishing country. At age thirty-six he got his chance. Investing what money he and his wife, Rachana, had, Tahir packed up his growing family and bought Dar Khalifa, a crumbling ruin of a mansion by the sea in Casablanca that once belonged to the city?s caliph, or spiritual leader.
With its lush grounds, cool, secluded courtyards, and relaxed pace, life at Dar Khalifa seems sure to fulfill Tahir?s fantasy?until he discovers that in many ways he is farther from home than he imagined. For in Morocco an empty house is thought to attract jinns, invisible spirits unique to the Islamic world. The ardent belief in their presence greatly hampers sleep and renovation plans, but that is just the beginning. From elaborate exorcism rituals involving sacrificial goats to dealing with gangster neighbors intent on stealing their property, the Shahs must cope with a new culture and all that comes with it.
Endlessly enthralling, The Caliph?s House charts a year in the life of one family who takes a tremendous gamble. As we follow Tahir on his travels throughout the kingdom, from Tangier to Marrakech to the Sahara, we discover a world of fierce contrasts that any true adventurer would be thrilled to call home.
From the Hardcover edition.
Africa Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Africa Books
Floyd on Africaby Keith Floyd
Penguin UK; Published: 1999-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $290.05
Insight City Guides: Cairo (Insight Guide Cairo)by Insight Guides
Prentice Hall; Published: 1992-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $50.00
In an Antique Landby Amitav Ghosh
South Asia Books; Published: 1992-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $39.87
The Chains of Heaven: An Ethiopian Adventureby Philip Marsden
Harper Collins; Published: 2006-08-21; Paperback; Book
A Far Country: Travels in Ethiopiaby Philip Marsden
Flamingo; Published: 1989-01-01; Paperback; Book
Tangier: City of the Dreamby Iain Finlayson
Harpercollins; Published: 1993-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $39.30
African Harvestby Hilary Ruben
HarperCollins Distribution Services; Published: 1972-05-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $34.00
Odysseys Mediations and Thoughts for a Life's Journeyby Freeman Patterson
Harpercollins Canada; Published: 1998-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $38.80
National Parks of East Africa (Collins Field Guides)by J. G. Williams
Harpercollins Pub Ltd; Published: 1995-12; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
Into Africaby Martin Dugard
Bantam; Published: 2004-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.49
Similar Books and other products
Moroccan Arabic: Lonely Planet Phrasebookby Dan Bacon, Bichr Andjar, Abdennabi Benchehda, Lonely Planet Phrasebooks
Lonely Planet; Published: 2008-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.74
Price in other shops:
Spider's House: A Novelby Paul Bowles
Harper Perennial; Published: 2006-10-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.44
Price in other shops:
The Voices of Marrakesh: A Record of a Visitby Elias Canetti
Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd; Published: 2002-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.92
Price in other shops:
Cultureshock Morocco (Cultureshock Morocco: A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette)by Orin Hargraves
Marshall Cavendish Corporation; Published: 2009-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.06
Price in other shops:
In Moroccoby Edith Wharton
Aegypan; Published: 2011-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.71
Price in other shops:
Morocco (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE)by DK Publishing
DK Travel; Published: 2010-11-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.97
Price in other shops:
Lonely Planet Morocco (Country Travel Guide)by James Bainbridge, Alison Bing
LONELY PLANET; Lonely Planet; Published: 2011-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.41
Price in other shops:
Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhoodby Fatima Mernissi
Perseus Books; Published: 1995-09-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.00
Price in other shops:
A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Moroccoby Suzanna Clarke
Pocket Books; Published: 2008-11-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.91
Price in other shops:
In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreamsby Tahir Shah
Bantam; Published: 2009-03-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.43
Price in other shops: