In Arabian Nights

Shah frequents the Café Mabrook, which becomes for him the "gateway into the clandestine world of Moroccan men"{{cite book

| last = Shah

| first = Tahir

| title = In Arabian Nights

| publisher = Random House Inc.

| year = 2008

| page = 15

| isbn = 978-0-553-80523-9}}

and is told "if you really want to get to know us, then root out the raconteurs". He also hears of the Berber tradition that each person searches for the story within their heart.

Events at home are interwoven with Shah's journeys across Morocco, and he sees how the Kingdom of Morocco has a substratum of oral tradition that is almost unchanged in a thousand years, a culture in which tales, as well as entertaining, are a matrix through which values, ideas and information are transmitted.

Shah listens to anyone who has a tale to tell. He encounters professional storytellers, a junk merchant who sells his wares for nothing, but insists on a high payment for the tale attached to each item and a door to door salesman who can obtain anything, including, when Shah requests the first "Benares" edition of A Thousand and One Nights by Richard Burton, a translation that the author's father Idries Shah had once given away. As he makes his way through the labyrinthine medinas of Fez and Marrakech, traverses the Sahara sands, and tastes the hospitality of ordinary Moroccans, he collects a treasury of stories, gleaned from the heritage of A Thousand and One Nights. The tales, recounted by a vivid cast of characters, reveal fragments of wisdom and an oriental way of thinking.

Weaving in and out of the narrative are Shah's recollection of his family's first visits to Morocco and his father, Idries Shah's storytelling and insistence that traditional tales contain vastly undervalued resources; "We are a family of storytellers. Don't forget it. We have a gift. Protect it and it will protect you." As a father himself Shah now passes the baton on to his own children.

• {{cite news

| last = Maclean

| first = Rory

| authorlink = Rory Maclean

| title = Morocco: true stories

| newspaper = The Guardian

| date = 2 June 2008

| url = https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/jun/02/morocco.travelbooks.rorymaclean

| accessdate = 2010-02-02}}

• {{cite news

| last = Stroud

| first = Clover

| title = Travel books: In Arabian Nights by Tahir Shah

| newspaper = The Telegraph

| date = 2 June 2008

| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/artsandculture/2065245/The-Backbone-of-England-and-In-Arabian-Nights-Book-reviews.html

| accessdate = 2010-02-02}}

• {{cite news

| last = Thomson

| first = Hugh

| title = In Arabian Nights, by Tahir Shah

| newspaper = The Independent

| date = 23 May 2008

| url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/in-arabian-nights-by-tahir-shah-832688.html

| accessdate = 2010-02-02}}

• [http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=In_Arabian_Nights_by_Tahir_Shah Review] in The Bookbag
• [https://archive.today/20130117091158/http://www.avclub.com/articles/tahir-shah-in-arabian-nights,3132/ Review] in A.V Club
• [http://seattletimes.com/html/books/2004182138_shah17.html Review] in The Seattle Times
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110915045417/http://frequencyofwords.tumblr.com/post/4990845452/book-review-in-arabian-nights-a-caravan-of-moroccan Review] in Frequency of Words
• [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/tahir-shah/in-arabian-nights/ Review] in Kirkus Reviews
• [http://armchairarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/tahir-shahs-in-arabian-nights.html Review] in Armchair Archives
• [http://journalofthenights.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/in-arabian-nights-tahir-shah.html Review] in the Journal of the 1001 Nights
• [http://lotusreads.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/in-arabian-nights-caravan-of-moroccan.html Review] in Lotus Reads
• [http://storytellersweb.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/review-in-arabian-nights.html Review] in The Storytellers Web
• [http://seagreenreader.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/in-arabian-nights-in-search-of-morocco.html Review] in Seagreen Reader
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20240523024640/http://www.friendsofbooks.com/store/arabian-nights-book-152114.html Review]}} in Friends of Books
• [http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2008/02/trip-lit-in-arabian-nights.html Review]{{dead link|date=February 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} in National Geographic Intelligent Travel Blog
• [http://teetotalstranger.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/50-shades-of-real-literature-best-books.html Review] in Directions for getting lost
• [https://archive.today/20130202041457/http://www.shvoong.com/travel/destination/1777262-arabian-nights-caravan-moroccan-dreams/ Review] in Shvoong
• [http://www.travelbookmix.com/audio-review/5aw/in-arabian-nights Review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215811/http://www.travelbookmix.com/audio-review/5aw/in-arabian-nights |date=3 March 2016 }} in Travel Book Mix
• [http://albabblog.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/review-in-arabian-nights-caravan-of.html Review] in Al Bab: Impressions of a Middle East past and present
• [https://archive.today/20130130224922/http://traveller.outlookindia.com/issuecontent.aspx?id=1410&type=30&flag=issuehome Review] in Outlook Traveller
• [http://levantdream.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/tahir-shahs-arabian-nights.html Review] in Levantine Dreamhouse
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120629225019/http://www.adventurecollection.com/dons-blog/In-Arabian-Nights-Part-Four Review] in Adventure Collection
• [http://bookstotravelwith.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/in-arabian-nights-by-tahir-shah/ Review] in Books to Travel With
• [https://archive.today/20130121152159/http://www.criticglobe.com/in-arabian-nights-a-caravan-of-moroccan-dreams/ Review] in Critic Globe
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303234833/http://book.bonology.com/2010/10/in-arabian-nights-by-tahir-shah-review.html Review] in Book Buzz
• [http://kateslifeinbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/review-of-in-arabian-nights.html Review] in Kate's Books
• [https://archive.today/20121205220947/http://lyzzybee.livejournal.com/450759.html Review] in LyzzyBee's Books
• [http://provolibrarystaffreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/in-arabian-nights-caravan-of-moroccon.html Review] in Provo Library Staff Reviews
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110721212436/http://whitenoiseofeverydaylife.wordpress.com/2008/12/18/books-of-the-year/ Review] in White Noise of Everyday Life
• [http://www.worldhum.com/travel-blog/item/new_travel_book_in_arabian_nights_20080117/ Review] in World Hum
• [http://bibliojunkie.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/in-arabian-night/ Review] in Jov's Book Pyramid
• [http://athomewithbooks.net/2010/10/in-arabian-nights-by-tahir-shah-review/ Review] in At Home with Books
• [http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-553-80523-9 Review] in Publishers Weekly

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081019212851/http://www.tahirshah.com/Tahir%20Shah%27s%20Site/In_Arabian_Nights.html In Arabian Nights on the author's website] (Archived)
• [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laetitia-Bermejo/58974256220?ref=ts Illustrator Laetitia Bermejo's public page]

{{Tahir Shah}}

Category:2008 non-fiction books

Category:American travel books

Category:Storytelling

Category:Books by Tahir Shah

Category:Moroccan storytellers

Category:Doubleday (publisher) books

Category:British travel books

Category:English non-fiction books

Category:Books about Morocco