In Search of King Solomon's Mines - Softcover

Shah, Tahir

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1559707240 ISBN 13: 9781559707244

Publisher: Arcade Publishing, 2004

Synopsis

The author recounts his journey into Ethiopia in search of the gold mines of the biblical King Solomon, a quest that brought him to the sites of a cliff-face monastery, the churches of Lalibela, and the cursed mountain of Tullu Wallel. Reprint.

About this title

About the Author:

Tahir Shah was born into a respected Afghan family and educated in England. He has lived in Japan, India and the United States and East Africa, and his books include 'Sorcerer's Apprentice', 'Trail of Feathers' and 'Beyond the Devil's Teeth'. He lives in London with his wife and young daughter.

From Publishers Weekly:

Travel writer Shah (Sorcerer's Apprentice; Trail of Feathers) paid 600 shekels in a Jerusalem souk for a dubious map of the route to King Solomon's mines; he admits, "I have an insatiable appetite for questionable souvenirs." The London-based writer is also fond of danger: "As soon as there's a bomb, an earthquake, a tidal wave or a riot, I call the travel agent and book cut-price seats." But the ultimate thrill is a challenging mission, and this time, it's finding the biblical land of Ophir, legendary source of the gold for King Solomon's Temple and perhaps of the Queen of Sheba's riches as well. History and geography point to Ethiopia. In Addis Ababa, Shah hires a vocally Christian taxi driver who becomes his guide, and the two set out on the quest. They wander rural Ethiopia, sleeping in brothels, slipping into illegal mines, walking through deserts in camel-led caravans and finally, riding mules to the alleged source of Solomon's gold. Along the way, Shah learns loads of useful things: prostitutes require customers to wash themselves with Coca Cola to avoid AIDS; the hyena-man of Harar feeds the hyenas nightly to keep them from carrying off the village children; gold miners fear disembowelment by thieves trying to extract the nuggets they've swallowed on the job. Does Shah get the gold in the end? Well... he's more Don Quixote than Indiana Jones. Shah is so entertaining, most readers won't realize that while walking on the wild side, they've also just done a quick course in Ethiopian history. 16 pages of b&w photos, one map.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Arcade Publishing
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1559707240
• ISBN 13: 9781559707244
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256