The Caliph's House By Tahir Shah - An Amazing Moroccan Book Review

The Caliph’s House by Tahir Shah is one of the best and most relatable books I’ve read in a long time and is by far one of my favorite books set in Morocco.

I don’t think those who have never lived in Morocco can truly understand just how accurate The Caliph’s House is, nor how maddening and amazing and frustrating and beautiful Morocco really is. I don’t need a gatekeep an entire country, obviously, but I’ve met many people who visit Morocco and have an entirely different perspective on the country than I have as somebody who lives here.

Don’t get me wrong, I get it. When I was just a visitor, I had entirely different thoughts about the country, too. Things changed when I moved here permanently. Shah does an extremely good job at communicating all of the insane contradictions of Morocco: modernity versus tradition, culture versus religion, wonderful and horrible. West and East. Africa and Europe.

I have so many thoughts on this wonderful book, and I can’t wait to recommend it to anyone and everyone who is considering moving to Morocco.

To buy the book, click here (Amazon Affiliate link).

The Caliph’s House summary

This book is about the author, Tahir Shah, his wife, and their two small children who leave their comfortable lives in London to pursue a wild, unknown future in Casablanca. Shah purchasing is a massive, but derelict mansion on the outskirts of Casablanca to renovate and restore it. Part of his goal is to get out of the “rat race” of the Western world and also to recapture the roots of his youth and explore the final footsteps of his grandfather, who passed years before while living in Tangier.

What follows is a maddening series of distinctly Moroccan mishaps. He is scammed and taken advantage of, his house is overrun by myriad unwelcomed guests, and his workers are incompetent and lazy (or often both). He struggles with knowing who to trust and who to believe. His car is stolen (and promptly returned), his house is invaded by Jinns (or so his employees believe).

Why I love this book

On a personal level, it can be frustrating trying to explain what it’s like to live in Morocco. To say it’s “good” or “bad” isn’t entirely complete, nor would either option be an accurate description of such a dynamic place. It’s equal parts good and bad. It’s equal parts amazing and horrible. It’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen across the street from death and decay.

Many people talk about the importance of Moroccan culture, and this concept frustrated me for a long time. I’m from the United States, and culture is not something I think about very much. Sure, we have hamburgers and the Fourth of July, but who really cares about culture? However, Morocco is steeped in culture. Morocco has culture and history and lineage, and stories dating back thousands and thousands of years, and many Moroccans feel intimately connected to their ancestry. My husband has strong ties to his Amazigh lineage. He speaks Tamazight and loves the music and traditions, and feels empowered by his people.

But sometimes culture isn’t always good. It can keep you stuck, keep you feeling trapped. It can keep you doing harmful things, just because that’s how they’ve always been done. Shah does a really good job of showing just how frustrating this can be. Especially somebody from the West, like myself, coming to Morocco and trying to navigate a society where things are just done differently for seemingly unknowable and mystical reasons.

Navigating Morocco can be really difficult

There were many situations in The Caliph’s House that had me rolling because they were just so freaking relatable. Getting anything done in any sort of reasonable timeframe feels Herculean, and people will say one thing and do another more than they’ll do what they actually say they will do. I don’t understand this part of the culture because, in the West, it is considered disrespectful to not do what you say you will. But it’s so normal here that people come to expect it and are pleasantly surprised if people actually follow through.

I remember when I first moved to Morocco, it took us over eight weeks to get our fiber update Internet installed. Between the Internet office telling us that “somebody will be there today” over a dozen different times (and nobody ever showing up), our landlord going behind our backs to tell the internet company not to touch his house (despite giving us repeated permission) and refusing to let us move forward until we bribed him (and let his son use our internet, of course), the internet office manager always conveniently being “out” when we would request him… it was exhausting. Frustrating. Endlessly irritating.

The Caliph’s House reminds me of my incident with the internet. People say one thing, mean another, do a third, and then act like nothing ever happened. Oh, and you’re the crazy one for getting upset. But then imagine that 20, 30, 40 times a week. It makes you paranoid, suspicious, confused, and frustrated. Until you lean into the culture, learn to relax, and lower your expectations, you’re going to be exceedingly and constantly angry.

Like the author, I had to learn to let go of my western expectations. Things do not happen on your time because they simply do not matter that much. You can kick and scream and cry, and yell all you want, but Morocco is powerfully steeped in tradition, and it will not bend or change just because of your arbitrary deadlines. So grab some atay, and enjoy the wait.