Rating: 
Summary: Extraordinary modern adventure...
Review: This is a travelogue with a difference. Shah becomes obsessed with the tale of the Queen of Sheba and her relationship with King Solomom. While in the holy city of Jerusalem, he purchases an old map from a dubious shopkeeper. The map points to the mysterious country of Ethiopia, the land that allegedly possesses the prized Ark of the Covenant. He then takes on the quest to find the legendary city of Ophir, the ancient home of Makeda, the Queen of Sheba. It is this location that King Solomon's mines might have existed. In the Ethiopian holy text, Kebra Negast, (The Glory of Kings) tells the story in full of Sheba's relationship with the wise king, their exchange of unimaginable riches, and the theft of the Ark, which supposedly still resides in the city of Axum. Shah begins his journey in this mysterious and misunderstood country, experiencing many hardships, adventures and disappointments along the way.Tahir Shah is a walking-talking anachronism - as he models himself after the great explorers of the 19th century - Stanley, Burton and Livingston. He has that dogged-persistence and general Romantic spirit of the old explorers, which makes this text inspiring and enormously entertaining. The book contains a myriad of strange characters that have many unusual, funny and macabre stories to tell. Shah's central guide, Samson, an Ethiopian taxi driver and devout Christian, reluctantly accompanies our narrator to the end, and the reader will empathize with Samson because of his many hardships throughout the journey. Then there is Bahra, the 'qat' consuming Somalian, who chauffers Shah and Samson around Ethiopia for most of the trip. Close to the end of the journey, Bahra simply stops the truck, claiming adamantly that 'his luck has run out' and simply refuses to go any further. This proves to be extremely frustrating for Shah, and totally hilarious, but there's nothing he can do about it, and must leave the man behind. Most Westerner's usually think of Ethiopia as a barren, dusty desert. Surprisingly, though, we discover that parts of the country are rich in vegetation and quite beautiful. However Ethiopia ia a developing country and one is constantly reminded of this with Shah's descriptions of the people's general living conditions. This is an irony because the country still, after thousands of years of mining, continues to be rich in gold deposits. The big question is who is benefiting from this wealth, because it certainly isn't the common people? This is an extraordinary modern adventure that rings of the 19th century Romantic traditon. Shah writes with enthusiasm and wit and makes one envious of his adventurous spirit. Excellent reading.
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