Book description
Shortly after the 2005 London bombings, Tahir Shah was thrown into a
Pakistani prison on suspicion of spying for Al-Qaeda. What sustained
him during his terrifying, weeks-long ordeal were the stories his
father told him as a child in Morocco.
Inspired by this, on his return to his adopted homeland he embarked
on an adventure worthy of the mythical Arabian Nights, going in
search of the stories and storytellers that have nourished this most
alluring of countries for centuries. Wandering through the medinas
of Fez and Marrakech, criss-crossing the Saharan sands and tasting
the hospitality of ordinary Moroccans, he collected a treasury of
traditional stories recounted by a vivid and eccentric cast of
characters: from master masons who work only at night to Sufi wise men
who write for soap operas and Tuareg guides addicted to reality TV.
Himself a link in the chain of scholars and teachers who have passed
such tales down from father to son, mother to daughter, Shah reveals a
world and a way of thinking that most visitors to Morocco barely know exist.
Tahir Shah was born into an Anglo-Afghan family with roots in the
mountain stronghold of the Hindu Kush. He lives with his wife and two
children in Casablanca. His website is: www. tahirshah. com
