 US edition cover | |
| Author | Tahir Shah |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Tahir Shah (photos) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Morocco, folklore |
| Genre | Travel |
| Publisher | Bantam Dell |
Publication date | October 26, 2006 |
| ISBN | 978-0553383102 |
| Preceded by | House of the Tiger King |
| Followed by | In Arabian Nights |
The Caliph's House is a travel book by Anglo-Afghan author, Tahir Shah.
Unwilling to raise his two infant children in England, Tahir Shah drags them and his Indian-born wife to Morocco, where he traveled as a child. It was there that his grandfather, the savant Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah, passed the last decade of his life (he moved to Tangier after his wife died in 1960, declaring that he would go to a land where he had never been together). Shah's father was equally obsessed with Morocco, largely it seems because it reminded him of his native Afghanistan, in terms of the culture, climate and geography.
Arriving in 2004, Shah and his family move into a Jinn-filled mansion in the middle of a Casablanca shantytown. The house, named Dar Khalifa, (which translated as 'The Caliph's House), describes in detail the highs and lows of the relocation to what was essentially an unfamiliar country. The house came equipped with three hereditary guardians, who control every facet of life, straining to remind the Shahs of the danger of the Jinn. Eventually a grand exorcism was acted out, with the slaughter of animals and so forth, to the delight of the guardians.
The Caliph's House was published in 2006 on both sides of the Atlantic, and has been followed by a series of translations in a number of languages, including Spanish, French, [1] German, [2] Italian, [3] Swedish [4] and Dutch. [5] The wide appeal of this book seems to be the way in which it imparts (albeit in a humorous way) a deeper understanding of Arab culture—which is of interest in the post-9/11 world. The sequel, In Arabian Nights , picks up where this book leaves off.
The Caliph's House was nominated as one of TIME magazine's 10 Best Books of 2006 [6] It was also selected to be read on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week . [7] The book is to be the basis for a feature film, written and directed by identical twin Hollywood writers Chad and Carey Hayes. [8]
Jinn – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies – are invisible creatures in early religion in pre-Islamic Arabia and later in Islamic culture and beliefs. Like humans, they are accountable for their deeds, can be either believers (muslims) or unbelievers (kafir); depending on whether they accept God's guidance. Since jinn are neither innately evil nor innately good, Islam acknowledged spirits from other religions and was able to adapt them during its expansion. Jinn are not a strictly Islamic concept; they may represent several pagan beliefs integrated into Islam. To assert a strict monotheism and the Islamic concept of tawhid, Islam denies all affinities between the jinn and God, thus placing the jinn parallel to humans, also subject to God's judgment and afterlife. The Quran condemns the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of worshipping or seeking protection from them.
Idries Shah, also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi and by the pen name Arkon Daraul, was an Afghan author, thinker and teacher in the Sufi tradition. Shah wrote over three dozen books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.
Saira Shah is a British author, reporter and documentary filmmaker. She produces, writes and narrates current affairs films.
Tahir Shah is a British author, journalist and documentary maker of Afghan-Indian descent.
Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah was an Indian-Afghan author and diplomat descended from the Sadaat of Paghman. Born and educated in India, he came to Britain as a young man to continue his education in Edinburgh, where he married a young Scotswoman.
Mohamed Zafzaf was a Morrocon Arabic-language novelist and poet. He played a pivotal role in the development of Moroccan literature in the second half of the 20th century and, due to his contributions, came to be known by such titles as "the godfather of Moroccan literature", "the Moroccan Tolstoy", "the Moroccan Dostoyevsky" and as "our great author" among his Moroccan peers.
Mohammed Bennis is a Moroccan poet and one of the most prominent writers of modern Arabic poetry. Since the 1970s, he has enjoyed a particular status within Arab culture. Muhsin J al-Musawi states that "Bennis’ articulations tend to validate his poetry in the first place, to encapsulate the overlapping and contestation of genres in a dialectic, that takes into account power politics whose tropes are special. As a discursive threshold between Arab East and the Moroccan West, tradition and modernity, and also a site of contestation and configuration, Muhammad Bennis' self-justifications may reveal another poetic predilection, too."
Beyond the Devil's Teeth is a travel book by Anglo-Afghan author, Tahir Shah. The text was published in April 1995 by Octagon Press.
In Arabian Nights is a travel book by Anglo-Afghan author Tahir Shah illustrated by Laetitia Bermejo. which takes up where his previous book The Caliph's House leaves off, recounting, among much else, events at Dar Khalifa, the Caliph's House, in Casablanca where the Shah family have taken up residence.
The Middle East Bedside Book is a collection of stories and information about the Middle East, edited by Anglo-Afghan author, Tahir Shah. The book was published in June 1991 by The Octagon Press.
House of the Tiger King is a travel journal in which Anglo-Afghan author Tahir Shah recounts his search for the legendary Inca city Paititi. The book was first published by John Murray in 2004. Its title is a translation of a Machiguenga name for Paititi.
The Sufis is one of the best known books on Sufism by the writer Idries Shah. First published in 1964 with an introduction by Robert Graves, it introduced Sufi ideas to the West in a format acceptable to non-specialists at a time when the study of Sufism had largely become the reserve of Orientalists.
Safia Nafisa Shah, now Safia Thomas, is a British writer, editor, television news producer and member of the Afghan-Indian Shah family.
Octagon Press was a cross-cultural publishing house based in London, UK. It was founded in 1960 by Sufi teacher, Idries Shah to establish the historical and cultural context for his ideas. The company ceased trading in 2014.
Timbuctoo is the fictional account of the illiterate American sailor Robert Adams' true life journey to Timbuktu, and his arrival in Regency London. The novel is written by Anglo-Afghan author, filmmaker, and adventurer Tahir Shah. It was released on July 5, 2012, by Secretum Mundi Publishing.
Search for the Lost Treasure of Afghanistan is a 2007 documentary film, in which travel writer and explorer Tahir Shah heads off to Afghanistan, on a quest to find the alleged hidden treasure of Ahmad Shah Durrani. Following the clues in a notebook which was allegedly left to Shah by his ancestors, he teams up with Reza, a young Afghan archeologist and attempts to solve the mystery of the alleged treasure of Ahmad Shah. This film documents some of the adventures that occurred during three trips to Afghanistan between 2005 and 2006.
Caravan Film is a London, UK based independent film production company headed by feature and documentary filmmakers Leon & David Flamholc. They produce both documentaries and feature films, as well as shorts and animation.
The Idries Shah Foundation (ISF) is an independent educational and cultural charity, set up by the family of the late thinker, writer, and teacher in the Sufi mystical tradition, Idries Shah, who wrote over three dozen books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.
The Scheherazade Foundation CIC is a non-profit community interest company (CIC) established in 2020 to support cultural education and intercultural bridge-building. It is based in London, England.
Dar Khalifa, or The Caliph's House, is a large, historical landmark and private home in walled grounds. It is located in Ain Diab, an affluent suburb of Casablanca that was also host to a sprawling shanty town until the area was redeveloped. Constructed in a traditional Moroccan style, with numerous "riads", or garden courtyards, the property extends to some 5000 square metres, and is situated on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic shore. As its name suggests, the mansion was once owned by a wealthy Khalif or ruler.