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For my father there was no sharper way to understand a country than by listening to its stories.

Tahir Shah

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Tahir Shah
Age: 57
Born: 1966
Born: November 16
Author
Comedian
Explorer
Journalist
Novelist
Writer
London
England
Sharper
Listening
Understand
Father
Stories
Country
Way

More quotes by Tahir Shah

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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.
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Most journeys have a clear beginning, but on some the ending is less well-defined. The question is, at what point do you bite your lip and head for home?
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There is nothing quite as unpleasant as wearing a pair of briefs which have been trailed through a Calcutta courtyard. Nothing, that is, except having one's elbows and knees lacerated by unseen slivers of glass and discarded razor blades.
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In Morocco, before you even get to the matter of the sale, you have to coax the owner to sell.
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I was no longer troubled when he pulled out a machete in a crowded bar, tried to pick up schoolgirls, or threatened to scalp us, then rip off our heads and scoop out our brains.
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Any man who has ever led an army, an expedition, or a group of Boy Scouts has sadism in his bones.
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Spend sixteen weeks in the jungle and you being to question your own sanity, especially when you are the one goading everyone else ahead.
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To be selfless, you would give charity anonymously, walj softly on the earth, and look out for others-even total strangers-before you look out for yourself. For the Arab mind, the self is an obstacle, an impediment, in humanity's quest foe real progress.
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The pursuit of illusion is not about studying for prizes, or for study's sake. There's no right or wrong, no pass or fail.
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There's nothing like a pack of mules to give one a sense of entourage.
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The taste for glory can make ordinary men behave in extraordinary ways.
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In India everything has a use and a value.
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On a harsh expedition, there's no space for anyone who does not intend to finish.
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I felt sure we could gain the upper hand by putting ourselves in the mindset of the Incas.
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Previous journeys in search of treasure have taught me that a zigzag strategy is the best way to get ahead.
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I believe that Marrakech ought to be earned as a destination. The journey is the preparation for the experience. Reaching it too fast derides it, makes it a little less easy to understand.
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On a hard jungle journey nothing is so important as having a team you can trust.
Tahir Shah
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In India an explanation is often more confusing than what prompted it.
Tahir Shah
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The inertia of a jungle village is a dangerous thing. Before you know it your whole life has slipped by and you are still waiting there.
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It is almost impossible to overemphasize the importance with which ancestry is held in the Middle East and North Africa.
Tahir Shah