Customer Reviews

Among the Faithful

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Dahris Martin was a young Irish American woman in her early twenties when she bravely travelled to the middleast with another female companion. Their mission was to live amongst the Tunisians, to learn their life and culture, and then bring their combined knowledge back to the states. Dahris was the author of a few childrens books and her friend a budding artist. Arriving in the mid 1930s, their destination was the city of Kairouan. Immediately after disembarking their ship after the long voyage, they are met by a rather cartoonish character, a local tour guide named Kalifa who has recently been forced out of his job due to the fact that his brother is an assassin. Kalifa still the tourist chaperone lays claim to the two girls and takes them under his wing, establishing them in local lodgings, showing them the sites, and introducing them to his family, friends and the best of the local shopkeepers and cafes. This is a wonderful and truly evocative adventure travel narrative full of excitement of the exotic landscape and it's passionate people. Humorous in the telling, Dahris details her three year stay as friend to Kalipha and his beloved kinsmen. For those interested in learning the culture of Tunisia this book will provide you with insight to the personalities of its people, their religion of devout Muslim faith, their food, their clothing, their history. Told to us in a light hearted narrative, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Dahris' story and felt I was alive and well accompanying her on her journey. Riding camels with her across the desert sands, learning to cook lamb and couscous over a firepot, hearing her perform her own exquisite muezzin calls to prayer as if she were born and raised in Tunisia, watching with her as bridal ceremonies and death rites were enacted, all allowed me to feel transported to this wonderful and colorful region of North Africa's Arabic city. I read the first US edition published in hardcover titeled "I Know Tunisia" in 1943 which is scarce to find, but this fabulous true story is now available from Eland publishing in a reprint trade paperback.