{{Hatnote|For Tahir Shah's house of the same name, see Dar Khalifa.}} {{Infobox book | name = The Caliph's House | title_orig = | translator = | author = Tahir Shah | country = United States | image = the caliph's house.jpg | caption = US edition cover | illustrator = Tahir Shah (photos) | language = English | editions = | series = | subject = Morocco, folklore | genre = Travel | publisher = Bantam Dell | pub_date = October 26, 2006 | english_pub_date = | media_type = | pages = | isbn = 978-0553383102 | oclc = | preceded_by = House of the Tiger King | followed_by = In Arabian Nights }}
'''''The Caliph's House''''' is a travel book by Anglo-Afghan author, Tahir Shah.
==Overview== Unwilling to raise his two infant children in England, Tahir Shah drags them and his Indian-born wife to Morocco, where he traveled as a child. It was there that his grandfather, the savant Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah, passed the last decade of his life (he moved to Tangier after his wife died in 1960, declaring that he would go to a land where he had never been together). Shah's father was equally obsessed with Morocco, largely it seems because it reminded him of his native Afghanistan, in terms of the culture, climate and geography.
Arriving in 2004, Shah and his family move into a Jinn-filled mansion in the middle of a Casablanca shantytown. The house, named Dar Khalifa, (which translated as 'The Caliph's House), describes in detail the highs and lows of the relocation to what was essentially an unfamiliar country. The house came equipped with three hereditary guardians, who control every facet of life, straining to remind the Shahs of the danger of the Jinn. Eventually a grand exorcism was acted out, with the slaughter of animals and so forth, to the delight of the guardians.
==Translations== ''The Caliph's House'' was published in 2006 on both sides of the Atlantic, and has been followed by a series of translations in a number of languages, including Spanish, French,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.evene.fr/livres/livre/tahir-shah-la-maison-du-calife-34933.php|title = Le Figaro - Livres : Actualité de la littérature}}</ref> German,<ref name="frederking-thaler">{{cite web | author = Staff| title = Tahir Shah im Haus des Kalifen | trans-title = Tahir Shah in the Khalif's House | language = German | work = | publisher = Frederking & Thaler | date = | url = http://www.frederking-thaler.de/artikel5674-tahir_shah__im_haus_des_kalifen | access-date = 27 September 2022 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}</ref> Italian,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.webster.it/libri-casa_califfo_shah_tahir_ponte-9788879288897.htm|title=La casa del califfo}}</ref> Swedish<ref name="Bokrecenension.se">{{cite web | author = Staff| title = Kalifens hus : ett år i Casablanca | trans-title = The House of the Caliph : a year in Casablanca | language = Swedish | work = | publisher = Bokrecenension.se | date = | url = https://www.bokrecension.se/9151846535 | access-date = 27 September 2022 }}</ref> and Dutch.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cosmox.nl/bestel/het-huis-van-de-kalief-tahir-shah-9789027427816 |title=Het Huis van de Kalief | Shah T | 9789027427816 - Gratis verzending bij Cosmox |access-date=2008-10-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718093018/http://www.cosmox.nl/bestel/het-huis-van-de-kalief-tahir-shah-9789027427816 |archive-date=2011-07-18 }}</ref> The wide appeal of this book seems to be the way in which it imparts (albeit in a humorous way) a deeper understanding of Arab culture—which is of interest in the post-9/11 world. The sequel, ''In Arabian Nights'', picks up where this book leaves off.
==Awards== ''The Caliph's House'' was nominated as one of ''TIME'' magazine's 10 Best Books of 2006<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081123030316/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570768,00.html?iid=digg_share Time (magazine)]</ref> It was also selected to be read on BBC Radio 4's ''Book of the Week''.<ref>{{cite web |last = Staff |authorlink = |title = Thursday 4 May 2006 |publisher = BBC |date = |url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/schedule/2006/05/04/day/ |format = |doi = |access-date = 2008-09-23 }}{{dead link|date=September 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The book is to be the basis for a feature film, written and directed by identical twin Hollywood writers Chad and Carey Hayes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mania.com/hayes-brothers-making-caliphs-house_article_54081.html |title=Hayes Brothers making "The Caliph's House" - Mania.com |access-date=2008-10-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522191454/http://www.mania.com/hayes-brothers-making-caliphs-house_article_54081.html |archive-date=2011-05-22 }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090225215457/http://www.tahirshah.com/Tahir%20Shah%27s%20Site/TCH.html ''The Caliph's House'' on the author's web site] (Archived) {{Tahir Shah}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caliph's House}} Category:2006 non-fiction books Category:American travel books Category:English-language non-fiction books Category:Books by Tahir Shah Category:Books about Morocco