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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.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Bill Boden
reviewed The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca on October 29, 2015
The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca
The title sounded good and maybe that is how I ended up with this book in my bookcase. Good thing it did, because it was a very fun read, and so I couldn't put it down.
Tahir Shah had been to Morocco when he was a kid and never forgot the place. I had been to Morocco at the Epcot Center in Florida's Disneyworld and never forgot my meal there. Mix dried fruits in meats or any food, and yum. I have a meatloaf recipe with groundup dried apricots in the center that I used to make for myself when I was single. My husband would never try anything with dried fruit.
Tahir grew tired of living in sunless England, so he talked his wife into moving to Casablanca. How she lasted I will never know. While I would find it wonderful to live in such a place, I could not have put up with the remodeling of their house.
When they buy a 22 room house, they learn that three guardians (workers) come with it, but with these guardians come problems. First, Tahir is told that jinns live in the house, and they must get rid of them. (Jinns are evil spirits that are mentioned in the Quran.)
Next, he is told that it order to get rid of the jinns he must kill a goat in each of the rooms. Are you counting? Tahir doesn't believe in evil spirits and will not even think of killing 22 goats, so he ignores the guardians who are now constantly after him about these jinns and the trouble they can and will cause. Since he won't kill the goats, the jinns tell him that his family must be quiet when they talk, and that they must never use the bathroom in the middle of the night, because jinns are drawn to water, especially that in their commode. First time he gets up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, while in midstream, a guardian grabs him. Stop!!!
Tahir's remodeling doesn't go very well at all, because the people he hired, well, they created messes, and it looked as if nothing was ever going to get done. I believe that I would have fired them all or in my case, I would have my husband do the work, and I would be the clean-up crew. If I were doing it alone I would have just patched up holes and painted the place. Yet, when I look at the photo of Tahir's home that is posted here, the finished product is really beautiful and was worth it all.
Tahir's writing continued to charm me to the very end, but if this is a true story, then I feel for him and for his wife. Still, he learned from the experience and they are still living in Casablanca.
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