ESCAPE FROM CENTRAL ASIA

The Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah

Octagon Press, London, 1980

In all history there is allegory, and all allegory finds its expression in the lives of men.' So writes the author through the mouth of one of the 20 travelers telling their story, in true Arabian Nights fashion, as they journey by caravan to the ancient cities of Jerusalem and Mecca. Each tale enthralls us and at the same time we are not surprised as elements remind us that 'accounts of unusual forces and the workings of the mind still remain unplumbed for their real meaning, except among those who prefer to know than to be made excited.' For this book contains some of the most important illustrative anecdotes of adventure and tales of mystical and entertainment content which Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah (Idries Shah's father) presented during a long life of study and teaching in the Sufi way.