The Caliph's House Quotes

“The backstreet cafe in Casablanca was for me a place of mystery, a place with a soul, a place with danger. There was a sense that the safety nets had been cut away, that each citizen walked upon the high wire of this, the real world. I longed not merely to travel through it, but to live in such a city.”
― Tahir Shah, The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca

“As the man was bundled into an armoured police van, he turned and shouted: ‘Don’t waste your life following others! Be individual! Live your dreams!’

I stood there thinking. He was right. Ours is a society of followers, trapped by an island mentality.”
― Tahir Shah, The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca

“In the West we are driven by an extreme form of guilt -- if you are not seen to be working like a dog, you're perceived as being slothful.”
― Tahir Shah, The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca

“We may yearn for rustic detail and old-world charm, but those who have it set their minds on vinyl wallpaper, fitted carpets and all mod cons.”
― Tahir Shah, The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca

“In Morocco," said Osman, "word spreads like a fire tearing through the depths of Hell.”
― Tahir Shah, The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca

“Moroccan traffic isn't like normal traffic. It's armed combat, a war of wills, in which only the very bravest have a chance to survive.”
― Tahir Shah, The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca

“Do not stand in a place of danger trusting in miracles.”
― Tahir Shah, The Caliph's House

“Two reeds drink from the same stream. One is hollow, the other is sugarcane. —MOROCCAN PROVERB”
― Tahir Shah, The Caliph's House

“Morocco, the lack of safety was an energizing force, but at the same time it was a constant concern. I had seen more accidents than I could count: car wrecks with people half dead lying on the ground, building sites where workmen had tumbled from scaffolding, children maimed by fireworks on a Sunday afternoon. For the first time in my life I became completely alert. In the West, you can drift from day to day in the knowledge that the society will protect you and your children.”
― Tahir Shah, The Caliph's House

“Don’t waste your life following others! Be individual! Live your dreams!”
― Tahir Shah, The Caliph's House