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He often describes himself writing in cafes in Casablanca in "The Caliph's House ". He loves Moroccan cafes and Yacout Info met him in the Cafe Negociant in Marrakech which, as he observed, has no television, so people can talk.
Yacout Info: Why do you write about Morocco?
Tahir Shah: Morocco is the easiest and nicest place to write about in the world. It is a joy to write about it. I find a sense of fraternity here. Moroccans are always ready to help and one learns how things work here and they love my less than correct French.
Q: Your father Idries Shah brought you and your sisters as children to Morocco on holiday?
A:He said that Morocco was like Afghanistan and it was the best place to come as it was then impossible to visit Afghanistan because of the war with Russia. It has the same characteristics of hospitality and chivalry as Afghanistan. He drove us all over the country and when we stopped in a mountain cafe he would take us in. He told us just to imagine we were in Afghanistan. Now my sisters are following me and are coming to live in Morocco. I can't think why it took them so long because Morocco was a huge part of our lives. My grandfather Ikbal Shah retired to Tangier and died there in 1969, so we have quite a family tradition in Morocco.
I have a major advantage because my father, Idries Shah wrote over a hundred books in his life and never made a big thing about writing. I was brought up to write easily and just get on with it and then get on with the next project. On my website I have included sites for my father, Idries Shah and my grandfather, Sirdar Ikbal Shah, my grandmother, Morag Murphy Abdullah (She eloped with my grandfather from Edinburgh to the Hindu Kush!) and my aunt, Amina Shah. They all wrote many books on Afghanistan and worked to bridge the East West divide and explain the East to the West. I never thought about this tradition until recently but what is essential to our family is trying to explain the East to the West and vice versa. The West really doesn't get the East, it thinks it does, but most of the time it doesn't. I do leadership courses because of my tough journies in Africa , Latin America and Asia. I was filming a documentary in Afghanistan and we were shot at, then imprisoned by Pakistani army intellegence. So I have a fair amount to pass on about tough environments and how to cope with adversity. What I would really like to do is to set up courses which explain the East to the West especially for western companies.
I had been working all hours in a tiny flat in London for years and then one day I was standing on a chair with my head touching the ceiling and I shouted to my wife; "We are leaving! We are going to Morocco and will live in Casablanca ! ". I had had enough of the ordinariness and greyness of our existence in London where no one had time to talk to each other. Walking in the gardens of the Mamounia just now, smelling the fragrance in the blinding light of Marrakech and hearing the sounds around me was like being in paradise. In Ramadan the experience of the silence during the breaking of the fast and the frantic rush to get home, the feeling of fraternity, charity and family values even amongst austerity is inspiring.
Q: Having been in Morocco now for a few years do you think have you really got to know it?
A: We thought we knew the country having visited so otfen but it is actually far more complicated than we thought. Our maid Zeinab explained to me that my problems as a foreigner who was paying far too much in the souk could be solved by a secret told to Moroccan women: I should carry a flour sieve with me in the souk because no tourist would carry such an item. I would then avoid being charged as a tourist!
Morocco gradually reveals itself. You never ask the price of something. You find something you really want and then bargain so that you get as near as possible to the price you want to pay for it. I love this!
Q: Treasure hunting plays a big part in your book . Is aquisitiveness important for you?
A: I am greedy and I think I need to be to have this drive that I have in my writing. It's the opposite of my wife who has no interest in objects at all. I love junk yards because you can find such marvellous things, I have cornered the market in art deco sinks! The skill of Moroccan artisans is still highly prized and unlike the West, apprenticeships are still common here which gives young men a skill for life. The skill of the men who worked on the Caliph's House was outstanding.
The West is always facing a harsh reality and is driven and constantly watching the clock. Morocco blurs the line between reality, fiction and a different perception of life so that you can have tales of mermaids, djinns and castles. Moroccans accept this magic world and it enriches their lives. As children we have this but we lose it in the West, whereas it is very much alive in the Orient. When you have lived in Morocco it is impossible to go back and live with the rigidities of London. Before the 1900's it was the Victorians who took up the tales of the Thousand and One Nights but the West has now lost its capacity for wonder.
We are fascinated by Marrakech, Churchill is just one of the many who came to Marrakech and was captivated. However I believe Marrakech should still be really hard to get to, I think the traveller should earn the pleasure of being here rather than just getting off a plane. It is no secret that many feel that Marrakech has been over developed. However, it has an incredible position whichever way you come to it and it stands out so vividly. It is almost a crime to fly to Marrakech because you miss the experience of coming to it overland. The view of the snow covered Atlas mountains is mesmerising.
Q: How does Casablanca differ from Marrakech?
A: Most expatriates are in Casablanca because they work there and life is very busy. People in Marrakech have more time and are more relaxed. You can sit in a cafe and soak up the atmosphere. Casablanca is more pressurised. I am a huge fan of Casablanca and it is very much part of the Orient. It is very exciting with its special identity and the drama of a great city with its wonderful colonial period buildings.
Q: The Caliph's House is surrounded by a bidonville or slum in Casablanca, how do you relate to this?
A: There is a tremendous feeling of fraternity, community and charity amongst poor people. I love it in Morocco when one greets people and you are greeted in return. I live in a flat for 5 years in London and never said hello to my neighbour ! This civility and courtesy still exists here, my great friend Wilfrid Theseinger lamented its disappearance from the Gulf that he knew forty years ago. The bidonvilles are changing and people are being moved to new modern accomodation on the outskirts of the city but the problem is that people in the bidonville work in the centre of the city and if they move to the outskirts they mayl lose their jobs. Many do not have sufficient money for a deposit on a new appartment. These problems need to be resolved, it is more complicated than it seems..
Q: Your children are 6 and 8 , how have they reacted to living in Morocco?
A: Thery love it! they respond instantly to the world of stories and Moroccans love children . They don't care if they are noisy or create a fuss. It is a wonderful atmosphere to grow up in and in fact the children are essential antennae for me as I speak no arabic or darija (dialect) and they have picked it up and can keep me informed.
The family is the centre of everything here and you meet your friends and talk about your lives and help each other if you can in a cafe like this one. its about having trust and confidence in each other.
Yacout Info: Why do you write about Morocco?
Tahir Shah: Morocco is the easiest and nicest place to write about in the world. It is a joy to write about it. I find a sense of fraternity here. Moroccans are always ready to help and one learns how things work here and they love my less than correct French.
Q: Your father Idries Shah brought you and your sisters as children to Morocco on holiday?
A:He said that Morocco was like Afghanistan and it was the best place to come as it was then impossible to visit Afghanistan because of the war with Russia. It has the same characteristics of hospitality and chivalry as Afghanistan. He drove us all over the country and when we stopped in a mountain cafe he would take us in. He told us just to imagine we were in Afghanistan. Now my sisters are following me and are coming to live in Morocco. I can't think why it took them so long because Morocco was a huge part of our lives. My grandfather Ikbal Shah retired to Tangier and died there in 1969, so we have quite a family tradition in Morocco.
I have a major advantage because my father, Idries Shah wrote over a hundred books in his life and never made a big thing about writing. I was brought up to write easily and just get on with it and then get on with the next project. On my website I have included sites for my father, Idries Shah and my grandfather, Sirdar Ikbal Shah, my grandmother, Morag Murphy Abdullah (She eloped with my grandfather from Edinburgh to the Hindu Kush!) and my aunt, Amina Shah. They all wrote many books on Afghanistan and worked to bridge the East West divide and explain the East to the West. I never thought about this tradition until recently but what is essential to our family is trying to explain the East to the West and vice versa. The West really doesn't get the East, it thinks it does, but most of the time it doesn't. I do leadership courses because of my tough journies in Africa , Latin America and Asia. I was filming a documentary in Afghanistan and we were shot at, then imprisoned by Pakistani army intellegence. So I have a fair amount to pass on about tough environments and how to cope with adversity. What I would really like to do is to set up courses which explain the East to the West especially for western companies.
I had been working all hours in a tiny flat in London for years and then one day I was standing on a chair with my head touching the ceiling and I shouted to my wife; "We are leaving! We are going to Morocco and will live in Casablanca ! ". I had had enough of the ordinariness and greyness of our existence in London where no one had time to talk to each other. Walking in the gardens of the Mamounia just now, smelling the fragrance in the blinding light of Marrakech and hearing the sounds around me was like being in paradise. In Ramadan the experience of the silence during the breaking of the fast and the frantic rush to get home, the feeling of fraternity, charity and family values even amongst austerity is inspiring.
Q: Having been in Morocco now for a few years do you think have you really got to know it?
A: We thought we knew the country having visited so otfen but it is actually far more complicated than we thought. Our maid Zeinab explained to me that my problems as a foreigner who was paying far too much in the souk could be solved by a secret told to Moroccan women: I should carry a flour sieve with me in the souk because no tourist would carry such an item. I would then avoid being charged as a tourist!
Morocco gradually reveals itself. You never ask the price of something. You find something you really want and then bargain so that you get as near as possible to the price you want to pay for it. I love this!
Q: Treasure hunting plays a big part in your book . Is aquisitiveness important for you?
A: I am greedy and I think I need to be to have this drive that I have in my writing. It's the opposite of my wife who has no interest in objects at all. I love junk yards because you can find such marvellous things, I have cornered the market in art deco sinks! The skill of Moroccan artisans is still highly prized and unlike the West, apprenticeships are still common here which gives young men a skill for life. The skill of the men who worked on the Caliph's House was outstanding.
The West is always facing a harsh reality and is driven and constantly watching the clock. Morocco blurs the line between reality, fiction and a different perception of life so that you can have tales of mermaids, djinns and castles. Moroccans accept this magic world and it enriches their lives. As children we have this but we lose it in the West, whereas it is very much alive in the Orient. When you have lived in Morocco it is impossible to go back and live with the rigidities of London. Before the 1900's it was the Victorians who took up the tales of the Thousand and One Nights but the West has now lost its capacity for wonder.
We are fascinated by Marrakech, Churchill is just one of the many who came to Marrakech and was captivated. However I believe Marrakech should still be really hard to get to, I think the traveller should earn the pleasure of being here rather than just getting off a plane. It is no secret that many feel that Marrakech has been over developed. However, it has an incredible position whichever way you come to it and it stands out so vividly. It is almost a crime to fly to Marrakech because you miss the experience of coming to it overland. The view of the snow covered Atlas mountains is mesmerising.
Q: How does Casablanca differ from Marrakech?
A: Most expatriates are in Casablanca because they work there and life is very busy. People in Marrakech have more time and are more relaxed. You can sit in a cafe and soak up the atmosphere. Casablanca is more pressurised. I am a huge fan of Casablanca and it is very much part of the Orient. It is very exciting with its special identity and the drama of a great city with its wonderful colonial period buildings.
Q: The Caliph's House is surrounded by a bidonville or slum in Casablanca, how do you relate to this?
A: There is a tremendous feeling of fraternity, community and charity amongst poor people. I love it in Morocco when one greets people and you are greeted in return. I live in a flat for 5 years in London and never said hello to my neighbour ! This civility and courtesy still exists here, my great friend Wilfrid Theseinger lamented its disappearance from the Gulf that he knew forty years ago. The bidonvilles are changing and people are being moved to new modern accomodation on the outskirts of the city but the problem is that people in the bidonville work in the centre of the city and if they move to the outskirts they mayl lose their jobs. Many do not have sufficient money for a deposit on a new appartment. These problems need to be resolved, it is more complicated than it seems..
Q: Your children are 6 and 8 , how have they reacted to living in Morocco?
A: Thery love it! they respond instantly to the world of stories and Moroccans love children . They don't care if they are noisy or create a fuss. It is a wonderful atmosphere to grow up in and in fact the children are essential antennae for me as I speak no arabic or darija (dialect) and they have picked it up and can keep me informed.
The family is the centre of everything here and you meet your friends and talk about your lives and help each other if you can in a cafe like this one. its about having trust and confidence in each other.
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