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The Occident has never found it easy to grasp the strange netherworld of spirits that followers of Islam universally believe exist in a realm overlaid our own.

Tahir Shah

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Tahir Shah
Age: 58
Born: 1966
Born: November 16
Author
Comedian
Explorer
Journalist
Novelist
Writer
London
England
Spirit
Realm
Believe
Followers
Never
Realms
Netherworld
Islam
Overlaid
Exist
Strange
Universally
Easy
Spirits
Found
Grasp

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Once in a very long time you come across a book that is far, far more than the ink, the glue and the paper, a book that seeps into your blood.
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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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Respect was one thing. Survival was another. It was important that I kept my priorities in the right order.
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Foras Road has a sordid reputation (…) Old crones sat in doorways, while their daughters were pushed out to earn money. It is intriguing that a society which is very covert with sexuality should be so straightforward about prostitution.
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The very fact that a Frenchman was prepared, after two minutes of conversation, to be so friendly towards anyone, especially one who had come from England, made me restless.
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On a hard jungle journey nothing is so important as having a team you can trust.
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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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I felt sure we could gain the upper hand by putting ourselves in the mindset of the Incas.
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On a harsh expedition, there's no space for anyone who does not intend to finish.
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In India an explanation is often more confusing than what prompted it.
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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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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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Contemplation is a luxury, requiring time and alternatives.
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Buy a house in a foreign country and, it seems, that anything which can go wrong usually does.
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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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One senses that, in these conditions, no amount of wet-wiping could bring true hygiene.
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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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Stories are not like the real world they aren't held back by what we know is false or true. What's important is how a story makes you feel inside.
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Real travel is not about the highlights with which you dazzle your friends once you're home. It's about the loneliness, the solitude, the evenings spent by yourself, pining to be somewhere else. Those are the moments of true value. You feel half proud of them and half ashamed and you hold them to your heart.
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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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