The Caliph's House

A wonderfully entertaining book - Tahir Shah's talent is to make you laugh while you are admiring the insights given by his most original and lively view of life. -- DORIS LESSING Funny, moving, fast-paced and thoughtful, it confirms Shah as one of the best travel writers of his generation...a rich mosaic of a book as intricate, complex and beautiful as the Arabian Nights world it describes -- JASON WEBSTER Reading about restoring houses overseas can be as tedious as watching paint dry...yet I can't fault this joyful and resplendent addition to the genre. Shah writes without artifice or condescension, his language is fluent and direct. His characters leap off the page...I couldn't put the book down. -- RORY MACLEAN * SUNDAY TIMES * A book full of charm and humour, elevated by a consistent sense of the beauty and mystery of everyday life. What also shines through the narrative is the author's decency and respect for the people and the cultures he encounters, the sort of qualities we like to think of as fundamentally British ...a tribute to our potential for understanding and learning to live with irreconcilable differences * GUARDIAN * Shah...with good humour and wit...gives a vivid evocation of the spirit of the place...The Caliph's House is charmingly escapist, and combines the pleasures of good property porn with those of the best travel writing -- DAILY TELEGRAPH