Glory in a Camel's Eye: Trekking Through the Moroccan Sahara (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "IN 1986, while in graduate school writing a master's thesis on famine in the Soviet Ukraine, I discovered two books that pointed me toward transformational..." (more)
Key Phrases: hundred rials, faux guides, sand wall, Jbel Bani, May God, North Africa (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Inspired by his studies of North African history and well-schooled in classical Arabic, Tayler, an Atlantic contributing editor and author of two previous travel books, set out to taste for himself the traditional lifestyle of the Bedouin nomads by trekking through southern Morocco's Drƒa Valley by mule, camel and foot. Unlike most travel accounts, this book doesn't describe famous places, and cuisine is mostly memorable in its absence (e.g., the time Tayler refused to eat sand-baked bread with the density of fecal matter). Instead, it treats readers to something infinitely rarer: a glimpse of nomadic Muslims' worldview. Some proselytize from morning to evening prayer, while others commune with their beloved camels, but for all, "no matter what happened, they praised God." Would a flash flood take their lives? Would their camels starve for lack of forage? "God writes every man's ajal" (hour of death), they'd answer, fully accepting God's will. Daily ritual in the desert pulses with faith, as Tayler's companions determine dawn prayer time by distinguishing a black from a white thread and perform ritual ablutions with scorching sand instead of water. Conversation on less religious themes reveals highly nuanced tribalism, occasional snippets of Al Jazeera- sourced world news and inexplicable rumors (e.g., is Al Gore Arab? Did ancient Portuguese cut stone villages in the Atlas Mountains?). Tayler offers a camel driver's point of view of a complex society, a view that's at once unassuming, extremely informative and even entertaining. Photos and map not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Tayler, author of Facing the Congo (2000) and Siberian Dawn (1999), takes readers on a 300-mile journey through the wasteland suffering from an eight-year drought, accompanied by Bedouin guides and a one-humped Arabian camel. He describes the heat, the exhaustion, and the dust storms that "blew through the valley, bending the palms and browning out the sky, filling the air with dirgelike gales." Tayler, who speaks fluent Arabic, writes eloquently of the plagues of insects, the jackals howling at night, and the mud villages. He tells how families live in poverty and filth; most of them are illiterate but they welcomed him in their homes. Tayler discusses their beliefs and traditions in an Islamic society. A fascinating and informative book. ^B George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (June 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618155473
• ISBN-13: 978-0618155477
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #825,176 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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