Tahir Shah

An English travel writer and author of Sorcerer's Apprentice describes his and his family's experiences after purchasing a rundown palace in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, as they work to renovate the house, exorcise the jinns--mischievous invisible spirits--haunting the structure, and cope with the house's human guardians. Reprint.

The Caliph's House

Andrew Marti

The actual Caliph's House is a massive sprawling estate in Casablanca, right in the middle of Derb Bhalef, a large shantytown. The author, Tahir Shah, is tired of life in London and buys the decrepit old home. He desires to provide for his family a home of "serious dimensions...with arches and colonnades, towering doors fashioned from aromatic cedar, courtyards with gardens hidden inside, stables and fountains, orchards of fruit trees, and dozens and dozens of rooms." He also aspires for a new life that was different, and more challenging than his middle-class existence in London.

The real renovation is Shah's own, as he learns to exist in his new city. As he breaks down old walls in the home, he's also breaking down layers of his past. His father and his grandfather both had connections to Morocco, which Shah never understood, but uncovers during the book. In the process he realizes that his connection to the city is much deeper and stronger than he appreciated before.

The book reveals many charms and idiosyncrasies of Morocco and Casablanca. As part of the home purchase, Shah received the services of three guardians, men who are devoted to the upkeep of the home. The three are aware of many of its secrets and demons, or 'Jinns' - local spirits who haunt the guardians and cause endless trouble for Shah, and many laughs for the reader. We also meet Kamal, the mysterious right hand who helps him navigate through this world with his connections into the underbelly of Casablanca.

The Jinns are exorcised in the final chapters in a process that is bizarre, hilarious and beautiful. 

Over the course of a year, the house is transformed into a beautiful spacious home. Shah is also transformed, into a citizen of a new country and city. He becomes a citizen who loves and appreciates the richness and strangeness of his new country. In the process, my view of Casablanca and Morocco became richer, and I became more appreciative of this culture.

In a few weeks, I'll be departing for a month in Morocco. The book was a valuable way to get introduced to that culture as I prepare for that trip.

The Caliph's House

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