IN SEARCH OF KING SOLOMON'S MINES

by Tahir Shah

Book by Shah, Tahir

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Africa, History, Ethiopia, Adventure, Religion

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Tahir Shah was born in London, and raised primarily at the family’s home, Langton House, in the English countryside – where founder of the Boy Scouts, Lord Baden Powell was also brought up.

Along with his twin and elder sisters, Tahir was continually coaxed to regard the world around him through Oriental eyes. This included being exposed from early childhood to Eastern stories, and to the back-to-front humour of the wise fool, Nasrudin.

Having studied at a leading public school, Bryanston, Tahir took a degree in International Relations, his particular interest being in African dictatorships of the mid-1980s. His research in this area led him to travel alone through a wide number of failing African states, including Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Zaire.

After university, Tahir embarked on a plethora of widespread travels through the Indian subcontinent, Latin America, and Africa, drawing them together in his first travelogue, Beyond the Devil’s Teeth. In the years that followed, he published more than a dozen works of travel. These quests – for lost cities, treasure, Indian magic, and for the secrets of the so-called Birdmen of Peru – led to what is surely one of the most extraordinary bodies of travel work ever published.

In the early 2000s, with two small children, Tahir moved his young family from an apartment in London’s East End to a supposedly haunted mansion in the middle of a Casablanca shantytown. The tale of the adventure was published in his bestselling book, The Caliph’s House.

In recent years, Tahir Shah has released a cornucopia of work, embracing travel, fiction, and literary criticism. He has also made documentaries for National Geographic TV and the History Channel, and published hundreds of articles in leading magazines, newspapers, and journals. His oeuvre is regarded as exceptionally original and, as an author, he is considered as a champion of the new face of publishing.

www.tahirshah.com
www.twitter.com/humanstew
www.facebook.com/TahirShahAuthor
http://www.youtube.com/user/tahirshah999
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Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high expectations for this one based on my impressions of some of the other work I've read by this author. However, three stars is about as much enthusiasm as I can muster here. It's okay for what it is, but now I understand reviewer disappointment.

There are some books I've read, where I've come away feeling strongly that it would have helped to be a female reader; in this case, the opposite may well be true. "Silly" might be harsh, but I can't argue with folks who found the story superficial. I suppose he and his companions come across more as teenagers than grown men, perhaps? The exploits of their alcoholic driver play a more integral part in the narrative then any sort of historical background. Don't mean to make it sound quite so merit-less, but if anything it's one to be approached as escapist than an insight into Ethiopian culture.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tahir Shah takes us on a fabulous trip from Jerusalem and on to Ethiopia. This is not entirely a travel book, but another search for mythic gold and adventure. Shah is taken with the biblical story of Solomon’s gilded temple and its connections to the Queen of Sheba. He sees a maybe/probably not authentic map in the marketplace with Ophir and gold mines and it’s off from there. Could anyone be that credulous? No he doesn’t really believe.

Shah is not embarrassed to lie to people on his trip either. His poor guide is relentlessly taken advantage of—Shah knows he’ll stick with this fool’s errand because he is in desperate need of money. So should we believe Shah’s story. No reason why really, a lot of it is poppycock. His journey is supposed to locate fabulous gold. His preparations are ridiculous. We are told this magical country is lost to history and then he proceeds to name many sources ancient and modern who say it is all located in, guess what, Ethiopia. Before departing on this epic bad trip (there wouldn’t be much of a book if the trip weren’t miserable) he gives a helpful history of the country.

From there we follow our Don Quixote and his Sancho Panza on their slow, difficult travels to hear people tell him what they’ve heard of the mines and gold. It’s all fun. Perhaps the most interesting chapter deals with an enormous illegal gold mining operation. It seems like one of the worst circles in Dante’s Inferno. The minute people realize he is there they are all fixated on him and “America, America” is on everyone’s lips. He is actually a British citizen, but never mind. Poverty is endemic in Ethiopia and everyone’s aim is to reach America. That theme continues throughout the book.

Shah travels on to a vast legal mine, small remote towns, joins up with a camel train and visits Orthodox churches where for money he is shown golden crosses, old manuscripts, and the reputed ark of the covenant.

I might have given it a 4 for fun factor but it falls into my three category because after a while I just can’t be persuaded to even try to believe.

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

disclaimer of sorts: I am a bit of a fan of Tahir Shah's work, so I am not overly critical of one of his lesser developed books.

In Ali Baba's Tourist Emporium in the old city of Jerusalem, Tahir Shah allows himself to be sold a map to King Solomon's mines. It is an obvious piece of tourist merchandise, but it starts the wheels turning for an adventure in Ethiopia, and (obviously) a search for those mines. Partly inspired by the H. Rider Haggard classic tale (albeit set in completely the wrong country), and by the real travels of English adventurer Frank Hayter, amongst others, Tahir Shah sets out to locate the mines which supplied Solomon with the gold to line his temple (the Temple on the Mount, Jerusalem).

Haile Selassie, Ras Tafari, The Queen of Sheba, Prester John, the Ark of the Covenant, Coptic Christians, the Ethiopian Jews - all the well known images of Ethiopia fall into place in the disorganised travel that is Shahs expedition to search the seven spots on his map (not the map from Jerusalem) all of which have the potential to be the location of the mines.
His travels take him to the legal mines (ie the commercial gold mine), the illegal mines, to mountains and to remote areas. Along the way he meets interesting people, and touches on their stories.

It is perhaps not as polished as some of Shah's more excellent works, but there are worse ways to spend a couple of days dipping in and out of his adventures. He perhaps doesn't set himself up to be seen as the best of people, what with his food hoarding, the purposeful harsh treatment of his driver and muleteers (to establish himself as the boss), but at least he portrays himself honestly and not in a revisionist way to build himself up.

And admittedly the book ends when the story sort of runs out of steam. Don't enter into this book looking for an outcome - it is definitely a book of the journey, not the result.

As a Tahir Shah fan, I can live with this as a 4 star book.

Here is a bit I thought was interesting, and is an example of a paragraph of digression found through the narrative of the book: P94.
When it comes to time, Ethiopia has its own rules which place it is a sort of parallel universe. Instead of following the Gregorian calendar, as we do in the West, Ethiopians use the Julian Calendar, a system seven years and eight months behind us. In Ethiopia there are twelve months each of thirty days and a thirteenth month of just five days. Every year, thousands of unsold western calendars are shipped to Addis Ababa, stored for seven years, then sold to people like Abdul Majeed.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads quite well and there are some interesting bits about Ethiopia scattered throughout. It was a fairly entertaining read, enough so that I did not put it down even though I was sorely tempted to because of how arrogant and sad the author seemed to me.

I was expecting that someone who really wanted to discover such a historical site(s) would do plenty of scholarly research beforehand and that the whole thing would read a bit more legitimate than it did. He admits to not doing much research beforehand and the whole trip kind of feels like he's just winging it which amounts to a sugary travel account and not a devoted quest rooted in scholarship. In fact, the books he does quote from and seems most inspired by are the fictional ones and he seems to be so overtaken with seeing the sites from those books in person that he is convinced they must be where the mines are. Seriously? That is his evidence? The guy seemed a savvy traveler but otherwise just a sad little spoiled rich kid and try as I might, I could not shake the outline of him as a pampered brat who just happens to have enough cash to throw around so that he can play in the world as if it is his own private sandbox and style himself as an Indiana Jones wannabe on his own book jacket.

The whole thing seems a lot more about him convincing everyone in the book and us that he is indeed a Certain Kind of Adventurer than him truly (re)searching the topic. Far from being an adventurer that one would look up to though, he is rude and selfish to his traveling companions time and time again throughout the narrative to the point where he pretty much flat out ignores the medical needs of his faithful friend and spends loads of money on his own equipment without even bothering about his companion who cannot fend for himself. He insists on paying for a bigger than necessary mule "entourage," lies about his horsemanship abilities, and goes out of his way to try and impress them and gain their respect by pretending not to eat while he is shoving his face with food he has hidden all the while…honestly though, who cares this much about appearances and so little for others on a quest such as this? For a cause that seemed so important to him and one for which he went through so much, it strikes me as quite shallow and silly that so much of the book is devoted to him showing off and playing the petulant child who makes so many absurd demands of his fellow travelers while insulting what they hold dearest at the same time.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the author gives five to six locations within Ethiopia as proposed sites of the legendary King Solomon's mines - which are likely also the mines of ancient Egyptian located in the area known as Punt, he never really "explores".

He flies in and manages to convince a taxi driver to accompany him along his travels along with others now and then as he travels to location to location - if he can. Ethiopia is devastatingly poor and this travelogue disguised as a hunt for those old mines give poignant examples of that poverty. The desperation as well as the ingenuity finding the means to provide for themselves and their families - be it trade, employment or back-breaking work.

He did manage to spend time at one of the so-called illegal mines - determined illegal because of lack of government approval - where people - men, women and children - all work to extract some gold dust. Nuggets are unlikely. He also spends some time in jail when his ownership of a metal detector translates into being arrested as a spy. More likely, the technology would have been confiscated and sold if it wasn't for intervention from higher ups.

A trip to Lalibela and the unique churches carved into the ground along with a visit to the supposed location of the Ark of the Covenant. All requiring donations especially since he can be seen as a tourist and "obviously" wealthy. The goal of many Ethiopians is to go to America and just about any story is avidly believed.

Not so much a search for the mines themselves but a personal exploration when he bought a 'treasure map' in a small store. As the trip goes on, he is obviously bitten by the gold bug or gold fever as he turns to lies in order to convince some mule owners to travel to a mountain of caves inhabited by the Devil - previous explorers had commented on the location and Shah had devoured each of them.

Much less about history as it is more focused on gold along with the people of Ethiopia. Not really what I expected but it did provide an interesting insight once I left behind expectations regarding any serious intentions of discovering those lost mines.

2020-185

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Tahir Shah stumbles on a map that claims to show King Solomon's mines, he does not totally stumble upon this trip. He says that his father had sought out these mines. While this thread is not developed, Shah must have an unusual passion to have made such an arduous journey.

This is a travelogue that one does not need to care about mining or gold to enjoy. Shah leads an mini-expedition through rural Ethiopia to find the sites shown on the map. While the journey is rough, Shah seems to have a good supply of money to smooth the way. The money must be well hidden since it could be lost on almost any page. He does not refer to a cell phone, perhaps they do not roam this far.

Credit for coming out of this alive must be given to his translator and all purpose fixer, Samson. This man was a rare find. Shah understands Samson's need to scrape together a living in a land of little opportunity, but he is not totally empathetic to Samson's physical or emotional needs. He had some very tricky diplomatic assignments from dealing with the police to quelling bar scenes, to coaxing locals to join the expedition. I felt badly for him when he had to press on despite his health, when he landed in prison, lost his rain protection in a fire, saw the blanket he could have used lit for a torch, etc.

I would have given the book 5 stars, but it ended abruptly. Not only that, but there is an afterward which raised more questions than answers. What did they see at Tullu Wallei and how did they get back? Did any bad luck befall the expedition or its participants?

The journey is amazing as is the tale of gold. While I presume this is true, it may have been embellished. Shah admitted in his tale of his Pushtu heritage that he tends to do this. Even if the dramatic elements are stripped away, the journey is remarkable.

[Ita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tahir Shah shares with the Sufi classical master, Saadi, the extraordinary ability to write two different books simultaneously and present them under one cover. The first book is the account of his travels in Ethiopia. The second reveals itself when you realise that language is being used metaphorically. The simple, majestic prose in which 'In Search of King Solomon's Mines' is written is also a joy to read.

[Pat Beard · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I really like books on travel, this one could have been so much better. The author came across as condescending, being oh so kind and sympathetic to his inferiors. Places of interest historically or of interest to the quest were only covered in a by-the-way manner while the "poor" natives, harsh conditions, inconveniences, roadkill, and prostitutes, etc., were discussed ad infinitum. Then after I slogged through the whole book, hoping that there would at least be a satisfying ending, he gets to the mountain that was the goal (Not once but twice, since he did a second expedition that was only covered in a short final chapter.) spends a few paragraphs with almost no description and quits.

[Ita · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘In Search Of King Solomon’s Mines’ was first published over a decade ago, but it is still a treasure whose value becomes more apparent with the passing of years.

Ten years ago I was captivated by the journey through Ethiopia, by the ancient churches hewn out of solid rock in Lalibela, the hair-raising ascent to the monastery in Debra Damo, the desert trek with people from the greatly feared Danikil tribe and their sullen camels, the final leg under atrocious conditions after the dilapidated jeep that once belonged to Haile Sellasie had been abandoned and six mules had been hired.

What I now realise is that ‘King Solomon’s Mines’ is about much more than a physical country. This being Africa, ordinary people are exceptionally kind and generous, and spirits are never far from their thoughts. In the eastern town of Harar, Yusuf has the responsibility of slaughtering cattle and feeding the meat to jinn in the form of hyenas, which would otherwise come to the city walls at night and take the children. In the West, the mountain peaks known as Sheba’s Breasts are out of bounds to locals because of their association with the Devil.

At a deeper level, this book is about the People of the Book, Jews, Christians and Muslims, about their common heritage in the Old Testament of the Bible, and about the situation in which they now find themselves. It is written in language of majestic simplicity. For me, this treasure is still not completely in focus, but I trust that time and Tahir Shah will eventually succeed in dispelling my ignorance.
Ita

[thereadytraveller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinated by the conundrum of where the biblical figure King Solomon had acquired his vast reserves of gold, Shah sets out to find its reputed source in Ophir, which he believes to be located in modern day Ethiopia.

Shah's 2002 journey, accompanied by two reluctant Ethiopian travelling companions, is an absorbing one which takes him into the hinterlands of Ethiopia. His travels in search of the mines showcases both reasonably well known places such as the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and lesser ones such as Nejo (the Garden of Eden) and Harar, where we are introduced to the hyena man Yusuf Mume Salleh, who fed the hyenas for 45 years. In doing so we get to see the many faces of Ethiopia which make up this fascinating country and one well worth visiting.

Of particular interest is Shah's journey with the Danakil tribe where he travels as part of a salt caravan. In bygone eras the Danakil would wear the testicles of their vanquished enemies and we get a wonderful insight into what is, very much, a disappearing way of life. Likewise, his visit to one of the last Beta Israelis in Ethiopia who didn't take part in the mass exodus in the 80's and 90's simply illustrates just how wonderfully rich and diverse the country is.

While In Search of Solomon's Mines fades a bit into the finish, if you're looking for a travelogue that provides plenty of background information to Ethiopia then search no more, as Shah has produced what is a golden story and one well worth reading.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I love Tahir Shah's writing and the topic was fascinating, this book (for me) was like a long old road trip. It started out with great fun, big plans, and adventure in its heart, but toward the end I was just glad it was over. And maybe that's the POINT! It did give me a completely different idea of what Ethiopia was like, a bigger picture than I've ever imagined.
It's a good book for a long haul.
Like, if you're camping and feeling slightly abused by the conditions.
This read will cheer you right up and make you think, "You know what? This ain't bad at all..."

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Search of King Solomon's Mines: a Modern Adventurer's Quest for Gold and History in the Land of the Queen of Sheba. An Adventurer that shows us treasure and 'treasure'. Footprints in out of the way places take us across Ethiopia. Read it and see mining's and cuttings of unfamiliar life. With Solomon to help and aid off he goes. One of those books that one suspects is deceptively simple. This author has an inimitable beam to his torch light that fans into daylight.

[Aubrey Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cockeyed, hilarious, shocking romp through unfamiliar territory. Bursting with fascinating facts, people and strange but true tales. Challenged my assumptions about Ethiopia and Africa... Ostensibly a quest for gold, it is oddly generous...if you're lucky you may discover something far more valuable.

[Carol Buchter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book shortly after returning home from an unintentionally brief trip to Ethiopia - our plans cut short by the emerging pandemic. Given the circumstances, I found that reading the book was a gratifying substitute (no, that’s clearly not the right word) for the actual adventure. It was a fun read about a part of the world I still do not know very much about...

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew that the search for the legendary gold mines of Ophir of King Solomon could be a family quest that included the author as well as his father and grandfather?  As someone who is by no means unacquainted with crazy traveling quests inspired by my family [1], there was a lot in this book I could understand.  The author was certainly a far more unscrupulous traveler than I was and clearly he had mixed motives that were fascinating to watch.  Who, for example, brings a fancy gold detector on a trip to desperately poor Ethiopia and spends his time with all kinds of greedy wildcat gold miners while also uprightly claiming that he was not interested in mining for personal profit.  Only someone who was deeply ambivalent about what they were about would do such a thing, and yet that is what we find here, a travelogue of a man obsessed with ancient gold mines who has a somewhat critical but also humane eye towards the country of Ethiopia and its people.  It is ultimately that humane but critical eye that makes this book ultimately enjoyable to read even if the author is not an entirely trustworthy narrator.

The book takes a bit more than 230 pages and begins with a dramatic story about the author's encounter with a dodgy treasure map in Old Jerusalem (1), which leads the author to take a trip to Ethiopia and divide his explorations there with seven stones to find the most likely place where King Solomon's mines can be found (2).  After this the author goes to the Harar area where he finds a man whose job it is to feed hyenas (!) to keep them from eating little children (!!) (3) before visiting the wildcat mines in the southern part of the country where his religious guide is from (4) where the violence and depravity of the community leads them to be thought of as children of the devil (5).  A brief spell in prison for being a foreigner in an illegal mine leads the author to think of a brave fellow traveler who had promised breakfast with Idi Amin before his untimely death (6) and eventually the author is able to visit some mines and return to Addis Ababa where a Somali driver with a khat addiction promises to drive him to the north in one the ancient and decrepit jeeps of the late Ethiopian emperor (7).  This drive proves itself to be particularly difficult although there are discussions of some furtive gold mines that exist in the region (8) and a trip that is made by the author on some camels to a place of former savages where the author's Somali driver refuses to go (9).  When the author arrives at the supposed place of gold (10) he finds some comfort in looking at the history of Ethopia's glorious religious past (11) and the efforts of previous leaders to avoid central control over their mad violence (12).  Finally, the book winds to a close as the author takes some rented mules (13) on a trip to a mountain of supposed gold only to find his way blocked (14) and a second trip to the area leading the author to be concerned about his own sanity in searching after this gold (15).

How much you like this book will depend on a variety of factors.  Do you like travel books that look at travel into history and in dangerous places with some degree of illegality involved?  Are you okay with the narrator being unreliable and deceptive to a high degree?  Are you alright with discussions about the rivalries that exist between nations and cultures and frank discussion of prostitution and drug addiction as well as the death of people and beloved animals?  The more of this sort of thing that the reader is able to stomach or even able to appreciate, the more this book will be enjoyed.  Although this author is not one whose word I feel is necessarily trustworthy, he does paint a convincing enough picture of the land of Ethiopia and its complexity and the way that its glorious past and abominable present make it a combustible area lacking a great deal of stability and hope, and that gives me more than a little bit of pity for those who live there even if the author himself is not someone I would want to travel with myself.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

[Apocryphal Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Search of King Solomon's Mines is an account* of the author's journey into Ethiopia to investigate the legendary source of gold. Although it seems on the surface to be a search for the gold itself (and does include several trips to real and rumoured gold mines) it's really a book that traces the attempts of past explorers to find the gold.

The most notable of these was explorers was Frank Hayter, who travelled from England to Ethiopia for the first time in 1924 on a mission to bring back 100 Abyssinian baboons for the London Zoo, for which he was cursed by an Ethiopian monk. According to Shah:

"In the years that followed, Hayter returned time and again to Ethiopia. He was bewitched by the country. Travelling to the most distant outposts, he struggled to earn a living. He worked as a rat-catcher, a rare-butterfly hunter, a muleteer, and as a debt-collector, but it was as a gold prospector that he made his name."

Sounds like most author's bios, come to think of it.

It's in the company of Hayter and other explorers (like Richard Burton (of Arabian Nights fame) and the Polish explorer Byron de Prorok) that we travel all over Ethiopia, visiting Addis Ababa, Harar, Lega Dembi, Lalibela, Mekele, the Danakil Desert, Axum, Gondar, and the mythical mountain of Tullu Wallel.

On his travels, Shah introduces us (rather cynically, in my view) to local culture and character. He's accompanied by his faithful (in the Christian sense) guide, Samson, and sometimes driver of the Emperor's jeep, Bahru the Somalian. Their trials and tribulations are interesting, but must, I think, be taken with a grain of salt. *For all the interesting stuff Shaw give us, I find his accounts suspect. While I'm sure most of its truthful, some of it (and especially his framing story - the reason for the quest) feel a little forced, as if partly invented to create a good story. I don't mind this, exactly - Shah himself in the book refers to himself as someone prone to exaggeration - I prefer it when the line between fake and real is either more obvious... or less.

The real value in a book like this is exposure to interesting characters and traditions, like the hyaena men of Harar, who must feed the wild hyaenas nightly to prevent them from eating the town's children.

Then there's Byron de Prorok's account of The Mad Sultan Ghogoli, who kept legions of children enslaved.

"The despot forced them to work in the mines where they were guarded by brutal warders, who wielded hippopotamus-hide whips. The sultan was runoured to be a hundred years old, and to have a thousand wives. Anyone who crossed him was strung up on a tree by the thumbs until he fell away from them. Ghogoli was more than a little reminiscent of Rider Haggard's own antagonist, Gogool" [from his book King Solomon's Mines, which although set in South Africa is heavily informed by many of the same travels in Ethiopia as Shah].

And then there are characters. For example, Shah tells us:

"In a cafe on a back street in the ancient town of Axum I met a man who told me he was a god. I have spent time with deities in human form in India - the subcontinent has hundreds of them - but this is the first time I'd met a godman in Africa. His name was Michael and he was a former Rastafarian from Liverpool. His skin was the colour of dark apricots, pocked with mosquito bites..."

Shah has many books, and I'd encourage you to check them out for his unique perspective. He's of Royal Afghanni descent and his father was the Sufi writer, Idries Shah (who also wrote travelogues, as well as spiritual books). Tahir was raised in London with visits to relatives in India, and now lives in Casablanca.

Recommended to the armchair traveller, who doesn't mind going with someone prone to exaggeration.

[Darrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know what to think of this book when I first started reading it. It was recommended to me by a friend who I think knows the gist of what I like to read and she definitely got it right.

It is a lot travelogue, some history, a lot of adventure, some politics, a bit of religion and, at times, very funny. Shah is a good writer and he has the kind of sense of humor that I like...somewhat inappropriate and not interested in being overly politically or religiously correct. He also like to poke fun of ridiculous people and situations and is somewhat self-deprecating.

Ethiopia is one of those countries that I know through stamp collecting. Of the African countries, Ethiopia is one of the more popular collecting areas, especially the earlier stamps which are colorful, exotic and somewhat elusive. As it turns out, it also seems to be a beautiful country, at least as described by Shah in this book. And it also turns out it is a dangerous country to live in...crime, political strife and poor living conditions are rampant in parts of the country and, my guess is if it were anyone else but Tahir Shah making this same trip, they would not have survived.

I am not going to go into the substance of the book because that is what everyone else seems to do and there is already a brief overview in the Goodreads synopsis. I will say that it had me going to Wikipedia and Google maps to look at the various sites and locations he visits in his search for King Solomon's Mines and there were times his encounters with various people along the way were genuinely odd and funny.

I don't think a non-Muslim could have made a similar trip and survived, especially in the years after this trip was made and the book was written. Shah's travels and forms of transportation are hair-raising and some of the tribesmen and situations he gets himself into are just plain dangerous.

In the end I really like the book which is why I gave it 4 stars and I especially like when I get excited about something...I wanted to learn more about Ethiopia so I used google images, maps and wikipedia to look at and learn more about the places Shah visited. It was interesting going to the State Department's webpage and looking at what they had to say about visiting various areas of the country. The border areas with Eritrea, Somalia and Kenya are places to avoid. I also did a search of current archaeological digs/sites in Ethiopia...like Kenya, many of the earliest human ancestors have been found there.

What's more, Shah is funny and I appreciated the humor and it made me smile. I have said before that many supposedly funny books leave me wondering where the humor is...not this one. Trust me, Tahir Shah had to have a good sense of humor to put up with some of the circumstances he found himself in.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a combination of history, travel guide, biography, adventure and treasure quest as Tahir Shah researches and hunts for the source of gold behind King Solomon's wealth. The story is engaging and humorous and seems candid, though the narrator certainly demonstrates his willingness to play easy with the truth when he wants his way, sometimes describing his team as missionaries who have come to chase the devil away. As with any travel to new locales, he learns as much about himself as he does about those who meets and works with in Ethiopia. Early on, he's surprised by the interest in America and the constant requests for advice on how to reach its shores. Later, he's more weary:

"Up on the plateau, a herd of fifty oxen were grazing in long grass. I was about to ask Eyba how they'd got there but Eyba had more important things on his mind. Had I been to America he asked. I replied that I had.

"'I am going to America,' he said earnestly.... Eyba led the way through a maze of wattle and daub walls. As he walked, he foraged under his shamma and brought out a familiar sheet of paper. It was a Diversity Visa form for the United Sates. I rolled my eyes.

"'I think they will need me in America, he said."

While Tahir Shah obsessed for ancient gold, many Ethiopians are intent on finding opportunity, security and comforts associated with endless consumer goods in another far-off land. Individuals would not concede as much along the way, but as noted by T.S. Eliot, the journey matters more than the destination.

[Nurul Fitri Lubis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give 4 stars for the book. The book itself told the stories about the ambition of shah in finding King Solomon's mines in Ethiopia. He started his journey from Addis Ababa, with a company of one local man, they went for expedition to find the golds in the most rural and untouched places in Ethiopia. They passed many illegal mining, the legal one, another illegal ones, met the caravan group who sold the salt, bargained for mules to hike to the mountain, just to find the entrance of Solomon's mine. The language used by the author is easy, made it enjoyable to read. The way of Shah describing the country side, gave me another insight of Ethiopia, which I wish I could travel one day. It gave me some knowledge about the country that I've never known before. I love the story, overall. However, even though I know that it's not his fault, I was a little bit disappoint when I reached the end of the story. All those hard works seemed no use. The Solomon's mines remained an unsolved mystery.

[Msimone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know whether the author's adventure through Ethiopia to find the fabled mines of King Solomon' is fiction crafted to ressemble sometimes believable non-fiction but regardless, his tale is entertaining. He follows clues from a map he finds in Jerusalem, which he validates from research such as that found in literature (Rider Haggard), the bible (Solomon and Bathesheba), and ancient folklore archeological, religious, geological, and geographical facts . Tahir Shah's obsession with finding King Solomon's mines leads him from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. He travels through harrowing, outrageous, and unbelievable circumstances, all of which he shares with his hired local companions including a khat addicted driver, and his born again Christian guide.

This book is an enjoyable introduction to Ethiopian history, geography, anthropology, and religion, including the reverence of Haile Selassie as the returned Messiah by the Rastafari.

[Marmie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing and Very Adventurous

If it had not been for the photographs, I would have doubted that this account was actually a memoir of a recent African adventurer. The hardships were truly unbelievable, and even as unrealistic as they seemed to be, I had to keep reading. In the tradition of past explorers, the events were engaging and outrageous. The author's style was reminiscent of the great explorers of antiquity and kept me engaged to the end. I will definitely keep my digital copy in my Kindle library for a future return to this adventurous account. Although the writer was seeking the fortune of finding tangible wealth, his greatest achievement was in sharing the priceless gift of his greater accomplishment of the adventure.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writing style, with a mix of historical background on Solomon's mines and his own travel anecdotes along the way to finding the mines. I felt a bit duped when I felt lead to believe that he happened upon the map and an idea to find the mines, come to be told later that his father and grandfather had looked for the mines as well. I think he was out to find them from the beginning. I was disappointed when the book ended so abruptly, and a final tale of returning to the mountain was told in just a couple paragraphs. But of course it is the journey that is worth the read, not the outcome. We never expect him to find the mines but we continue reading...I loved learning about Ethiopian culture through the characters presented in the books.

[Brad West · Rating 3 out of 5]

A travel log through Ethiopia ostensibly in search of King Solomon's gold mines. The author himself seems like a throwback to famous English explorers of Africa: he sets out to retrace previous explorations and discover for himself the source of the gold used to build Solomon's Temple on the Mount. What we get is a wonderful tour of Ethiopia and its people. Far more diverse land than I'd imagined and certainly the people of Ethiopia are hospitable and warm despite the severe economic challenges. An easy fun read. Easier to read than obtain the book! It took many months to get it from the library and had to come from another county. But worth the wait.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story about one man's search throughout Ethiopia for King Solomon's mines. He travels all over the country and you get to learn about many different places and people. Nothing is resolved regarding the mines, and the book just ends all of a sudden. If you want to learn a bit about Ethiopia, this book will give you an introduction. I do wish it had a map of the country, as I kept going to the computer and looking up places to see where they are. From the reviews I have read, I will probably try another of his books.

[Patricia A Spring · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adventure

I strongly disliked this story, I didn't find one redeeming thing. The author or narrator was stupid and full of himself. He abused his guides. He could have sent or at least brought medicine and better clothing for Sampson on the return trip. The story had no purpose.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written account of the author's journey through Ethiopia, circa AD 2000. His stated purpose was to find the Biblical land of Ophir and the legendary gold mines of King Solomon, but his travails were ultimately unsuccessful.

Reading about Shah's difficulties only reinforced my opinion that I do not wish to travel to, or in, Ethiopia if I can avoid it.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author describes his quest to locate King Solomon's Mines and the gold buried within. Driven by the history of the Old Testament and other historical writings, the author puts together a crew to assist him as he travels to Ethiopia to unearth what no one before him has accomplished.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The descriptions of Africa were vivid. The story at its core was interesting. I just found that as the story continued, it got very repetitive.

[Child960801]

I'm going to call this. I'm not finishing this book. It's just not holding my interest. I'll have to find a different travel memoir.

[Kamila Jast · Rating 5 out of 5]

My top 1 or top 2nd by Tahir. I was very much interested in the history of the region and the legend. Was happy to find one of my favourite topics written about by Tahir.