This is a lovely book full of wonderful tales and outstanding photographs.

I’ve been to most of the areas covered in this travel book and these stories brought back many happy memories. The tales cover the traditions of ‘Old Araby’ and its long-established occupations such as fisherman, Pearl diver, and baker. Some tales combine a teasing narrative with a description of the occupation such as the gifts the pearl diver will buy for his family when he finds a large pearl and how a fisherman supplements his income by ferrying hajj pilgrims to Jeddah on their way towards Mecca. He then goes to the cinema not necessarily to watch a film but to sample the air-conditioned interior.

There are tales about the roles date palms and falcons play in society and tales written from the perspective of a cat or an old carpet, which are humorous.

The cat..”sits on the steps of a incense shop watching passers-by. He never did anything beyond watch. It wasn’t necessary.”

“The old carpet had been in the shop for so long it knew the price of everything else.”

My favourite tale is ‘Kazem the Knafeh King’ as it contains a comedic part where the local dentist buys a kilo of baklava a day and swears his teeth are his own and a sad part when Kazem meets a Swedish girl and enjoys dancing with her, all the time knowing his parents want him to marry a Muslim woman. He keeps a photo of the Swedish girl above his knafeh oven all the same.

The books starts with the unfamiliar, with the older ways of existence and of earning a living and ends with a story about the effect the discovery of oil has had on people’s lives described in all the previous tales. I hope the traditional ways can find a way to survive.