
Destination Mecca
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Narrated by:
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David Ault
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By:
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Idries Shah
About this listen
First published in 1957, Destination Mecca was both an ambitious travel book and a work of ethnographic and cultural research.
Shah documents a wide range of fascinating journeys, from his quest for the gold mines of King Solomon on Sudan's Red Sea Coast, to encounters in desert caravanserais and sojourns with Mediterranean contraband smugglers, to his time as a personal guest of the elderly King Ibn Saud.
As enjoyable now as it was when first published, Destination Mecca acts as a beacon for hands on adventurers and those of a more sedate kind.
©1957-2018 ISF Publishing (P)2018 Idries Shah FoundationListeners also enjoyed...
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Kara Kush
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- Length: 22 hrs and 23 mins
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In December of 1979, Soviet tanks rolled across the borders of Afghanistan, beginning a period of barbaric aggression that triggered a turning point in modern history. Idries Shah's brilliant novel chronicles the courageous 10-year resistance of the Afghan people, an epic story of triumph over tyranny that deserves to be immortalized.
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A MUST READ
- By JK on 09-15-22
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Special Illumination
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- Length: 1 hr and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Special Illumination is a term used by the great poet and mystic, Jalaluddin Rumi, to stress the importance of humor in metaphysical experience. Of it, Idries Shah says, "Rumi directly contradicts such numerous sour-faced religionists as, in all persuasions, find that humor disturbs the indoctrination which is all that they usually have to offer."
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For serious students only.
- By Kahlo on 08-05-19
By: Idries Shah
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A Veiled Gazelle
- Seeing How to See
- By: Idries Shah
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- Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
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Performance
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Story
A Veiled Gazelle, as the great mystic Ibn Arabi explains in his interpreter of desires, is a subtlety, an organ of higher perception. Sufi experientialists refer to the activation of these centres of awareness as the awakening of real knowledge of truth beyond form. A Veiled Gazelle considers the symbolic and instrumental employment of its literature in Sufi studies. Seldom didactic, and never meant only as entertainment, such works are regarded as some of the world’s greatest and most important writing.
By: Idries Shah
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The World of the Sufi
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Assembled by Idries Shah, The World of the Sufi is a comprehensive collection of learned essays and papers on the subject of Sufi thought. One of the book’s attractions is the way that it considers central questions and areas of study from different angles. Sufi literature, the use of humour, and Sufi communities in various cultural settings are some of the many subjects discussed. In addition, experts in their fields comment on areas such as Sufism and psychiatry, Indian thought and the Sufis, and therapy and the Sufi.
By: Idries Shah
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Seeker After Truth
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A treasure house of teaching materials, assembled in the Sufi manner. Seeker After Truth contains both traditional tales and stories gleaned from contemporary sources, and snippets of table talk, discussions and teachings, letters, and lectures by Idries Shah. Taken together, it constitutes a handbook of materials designed to provoke a different kind of thought.
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A treasury of wisdom for all of us
- By George R. Collison on 05-14-22
By: Idries Shah
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The Hundred Tales of Wisdom
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Traditionally known as The Hundred Tales of Wisdom, this collection comprises excerpts from the life, teachings, and miracles of the Sufi teacher Jalaluddin Rumi, together with certain important stories from his works. As well as being part of the bedrock of classical Persian literature, these tales, anecdotes, and narratives are believed, by Sufis, to aid in the development of insights beyond ordinary perceptions. Here, they are translated and presented by Idries Shah.
By: Idries Shah
-
Kara Kush
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 22 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In December of 1979, Soviet tanks rolled across the borders of Afghanistan, beginning a period of barbaric aggression that triggered a turning point in modern history. Idries Shah's brilliant novel chronicles the courageous 10-year resistance of the Afghan people, an epic story of triumph over tyranny that deserves to be immortalized.
-
-
A MUST READ
- By JK on 09-15-22
By: Idries Shah
-
Special Illumination
- The Sufi Use of Humor
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 1 hr and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Special Illumination is a term used by the great poet and mystic, Jalaluddin Rumi, to stress the importance of humor in metaphysical experience. Of it, Idries Shah says, "Rumi directly contradicts such numerous sour-faced religionists as, in all persuasions, find that humor disturbs the indoctrination which is all that they usually have to offer."
-
-
For serious students only.
- By Kahlo on 08-05-19
By: Idries Shah
-
A Veiled Gazelle
- Seeing How to See
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Veiled Gazelle, as the great mystic Ibn Arabi explains in his interpreter of desires, is a subtlety, an organ of higher perception. Sufi experientialists refer to the activation of these centres of awareness as the awakening of real knowledge of truth beyond form. A Veiled Gazelle considers the symbolic and instrumental employment of its literature in Sufi studies. Seldom didactic, and never meant only as entertainment, such works are regarded as some of the world’s greatest and most important writing.
By: Idries Shah
-
The World of the Sufi
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Assembled by Idries Shah, The World of the Sufi is a comprehensive collection of learned essays and papers on the subject of Sufi thought. One of the book’s attractions is the way that it considers central questions and areas of study from different angles. Sufi literature, the use of humour, and Sufi communities in various cultural settings are some of the many subjects discussed. In addition, experts in their fields comment on areas such as Sufism and psychiatry, Indian thought and the Sufis, and therapy and the Sufi.
By: Idries Shah
-
Seeker After Truth
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A treasure house of teaching materials, assembled in the Sufi manner. Seeker After Truth contains both traditional tales and stories gleaned from contemporary sources, and snippets of table talk, discussions and teachings, letters, and lectures by Idries Shah. Taken together, it constitutes a handbook of materials designed to provoke a different kind of thought.
-
-
A treasury of wisdom for all of us
- By George R. Collison on 05-14-22
By: Idries Shah
-
The Hundred Tales of Wisdom
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Traditionally known as The Hundred Tales of Wisdom, this collection comprises excerpts from the life, teachings, and miracles of the Sufi teacher Jalaluddin Rumi, together with certain important stories from his works. As well as being part of the bedrock of classical Persian literature, these tales, anecdotes, and narratives are believed, by Sufis, to aid in the development of insights beyond ordinary perceptions. Here, they are translated and presented by Idries Shah.
By: Idries Shah
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The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Many countries claim Nasrudin as a native, although few have gone so far as Turkey in exhibiting a "grave" of the wisest fool who ever lived, and holding an annual Nasrudin Festival. He is the greatest, most intriguing, character of folklore found in any Eastern land.
By: Idries Shah
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The Magic Monastery
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 4 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Many of Idries Shah's books are comprised of tales and teaching stories taken from both written and oral sources, which illustrate the instructional methods employed by Eastern wise men for thousands of years. The Magic Monastery differs from its predecessors in that it contains not only traditional tales - mostly unpublished - but also stories specially written by Shah to complete the book as a "course in non-linear thinking".
By: Idries Shah
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Thinkers of the East
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- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Thinkers of the East is a collection of anecdotes and "parables in action" illustrating the eminently practical and lucid approach of Eastern Dervish teachers. Distilled from the teachings of more than 100 sages in three continents, this material stresses the experimental rather than the theoretical - and it is that characteristic of Sufi study which provides its impact and vitality.
By: Idries Shah
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A Perfumed Scorpion
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The "perfuming of a scorpion", referred to by the great Sufi teacher Bahaudin, symbolizes hypocrisy and self-deception: both in the individual and in institutions. In A Perfumed Scorpion, Idries Shah directs attention to both the perfume and the scorpion - the overlay and the reality - in psychology, human behavior and the learning process. Crammed with illustrative anecdotes from contemporary life, the book is nevertheless rooted in the teaching patterns of Rumi, Hafiz, Jami, and many other great Oriental sages. It deals with the need for and the path to knowledge and information.
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INTERESTING
- By JK on 06-05-24
By: Idries Shah
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Sufi Thought and Action
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Previously published only as separate essays, Sufi Thought and Action - assembled and introduced by Idries Shah - covers an extraordinary diversity of Sufi ideas and activities in many countries and cultures. Included in the volume are papers on Sufi principles and learning methods; ritual, initiation, and secrets in Sufi circles; and key concepts in Sufi understanding.
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Thanks for the thoughts and examples of actions
- By Bryant Barber on 11-25-18
By: Idries Shah
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Tales of the Dervishes
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Although enormously attractive as sheer entertainment, Dervish tales were never presented merely on the level of a fable, legend, or folklore. They stand comparison in wit, construction, and piquancy with the finest stories of any culture, yet their true function as Sufi teaching stories is so little-known in the modern world, that no technical or popular terms exist to describe them. The material in Tales of the Dervishes is the result of a thousand years of development, during which Dervish masters used these and other teaching stories to instruct their disciples. The tales are held to convey powers of increasing perception unknown to the ordinary man.
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Very well done on all levels
- By Geology Justin on 01-16-22
By: Idries Shah
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Caravan of Dreams
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Caravan of Dreams distills the essence of Eastern thought in a feast of Sufi stories, sayings, poems, and allegories collected by one of the world's leading experts in Oriental philosophy and Sufism. Idries Shah builds up a complete picture of a single consciousness, relating Eastern mythology to reality, illuminating historical patterns, and presenting philosophical legends in this unique anthology.
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Awesome Narrator
- By Ulrika Eriksson on 11-26-15
By: Idries Shah
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The Way of the Sufi
- By: Idries Shah
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- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Way of the Sufi presents an unparalleled cross-section of material from Sufi schools, Sufi teachings, and classical writings as a basic course of Sufi study. The author begins with the outward aspects of the teaching most likely to puzzle the student coming fresh to the subject. He considers various attitudes to Sufi ideas and evidence of their absorption into medieval Christianity, Hinduism, Jewish mysticism, and modern philosophical teachings.
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Would Not Recommend.
- By Uniqleeme on 04-06-16
By: Idries Shah
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What listeners say about Destination Mecca
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Abdul-Infinite
- 05-20-18
Enchanting
Enchanting real life tale. This guy did a lot in his life time and he is a historical treasure.
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