The Caliph's House
Page 31
Fasi: someone from Fès, or the style of that city.
F’lous: Moroccan Arabic word for money.
Garagab: large iron castanets, played by Moroccan musicians.
Genie: see Jinn.
Ghaytah: piercing woodwind pipes popular in the Atlas Mountains and other regions of Morocco.
Hajj: the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca; one of the life duties of all Muslims.
Hammam: literally “bath,” but often used to refer to a Turkish-style steam bath.
Harem: a section of a traditional house, reserved for the womenfolk.
Hejab: the act of covering the hair with a scarf or veil used traditionally by Moroccan women.
Imam: the leader of prayers in a mosque, who also usually recites the call to prayer (see Muezzin).
Inshallah: Arabic, literally “If God wills it.”
Jelaba: long, flowing hooded robe worn by both men and women in Morocco.
Jinn: a fraternity of spirits created by God from fire and mentioned in the Qur’an; Muslims believe they inhabit the world along with humans.
Jnun: Moroccan Arabic term for a Jinn.
Kasbah: a fortified castle or citadel, particularly one situated in rural desert areas.
Kelim: a brightly colored woven carpet.
Khalifa: Arabic word for Caliph.
Khobz: literally “bread,” often referring to hard round loaves of home-baked bread.
Kif: hashish resin.
Kura: a shape of hand-cut zelij mosaic.
Magic square: a mathematical arrangement of numbers, in which the lines add up to the same total in whatever direction they are read.
Manqash: a heavy, sharp-edged hammer used for cutting zelij mosaics and for excising a pattern on glazed tiles.
Marrachi: someone from Marrakech, or the style of that city.
Medina: an older walled city, with narrow streets and tight mass of houses and markets.
Menzeh: a pavilion for relaxation, typically set in the gardens of a palace or large house.
Merguez: spiced mutton or lamb sausages.
Minaret: the tower attached to a mosque from which the prayer is called.
Moualem: literally “master,” referring to a craftsman in a traditional Moroccan form of art.
Muezzin: the call to prayer or, more correctly, the person who calls the prayer.
Nafir: a long brass trumpet or horn, up to seven feet in length.
Qermud: the curved green or blue glazed titles used in roofing traditional Moroccan buildings.
Quandil: a shape of hand-cut zelij mosaic.
Qur’an: the holy book of Islam, revealed over a number of years to the Prophet Mohammed in Arabic.
Ramadan: the holiest month in Islam, in which Muslims are required to fast between dawn and dusk.
Riad: a traditional courtyard garden of Morocco; also used to describe a house with a central courtyard of this type.
Sabra: form of natural silk, woven from the fibers of the agaz cactus.
Salon Moroccain: a formal reception area common in Moroccan homes, reserved for the receiving of guests.
Sehura: a sorceress.
Sharif: literally “noble,” a title reserved for a descendant of the Prophet, but also used in Morocco as a term of respect.
Souq: a market, often a particular specialty market within a medina.
Sufi: an adherent of an Islamic mystical fraternity.
Tadelakt: traditional Moroccan plasterwork, said to have originated in Marrakech, created with lime, marble dust, and egg white. Similar to Venetian plaster.
Tagine: popular Moroccan stew, named after the round conical pot in which it is cooked.
Taliya: a shape of hand-cut zelij mosaic.
Tarboosh: the proper term for a round velvet-covered or felt hat, commonly known in the West as a fez.
Tbilat: traditional Moroccan clay drums, often arranged in pairs, with a larger and smaller drum attached.
A Thousand and One Nights: see Arabian Nights.
Thuya: a scented gnarled wood from the region near Essaouira.
Zelij: traditional Moroccan crafts of geometrical mosaics, hand-cut from glazed tiles.
Zeliji: a person skilled in cutting zelij mosaics.
ALSO BY TAHIR SHAH
HOUSE OF THE TIGER KING
IN SEARCH OF KING SOLOMON’S MINES
TRAIL OF FEATHERS
SORCERER’S APPRENTICE
BEYOND THE DEVIL’S TEETH
THE CALIPH’S HOUSE
A Bantam Book / February 2006
Published by
Bantam Dell
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York, New York
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Tahir Shah
Illustrations by Laura Hartman Maestro
Bantam Books is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shah, Tahir.
The Caliph’s house / Tahir Shah.
p. cm.
1. Shah, Tahir. 2. Morocco—Description and travel. 3. Travel writers—Morocco—Biography. I. Title.
DT310.2.S527 2006
964'.38053—dc22 2005053656
Published simultaneously in Canada
www.bantamdell.com
eISBN: 978-0-553-90231-0
v3.0