Moving the palace
(Book)

First published in French in 2007 as Caravansérail.

"This book has been translated with the assistance of the Sharjah International Book Fair Translation Grant Fund." - CIP

"This work, published as part of a program of aid for publication, received support from the Mission Culturelle et Universitaire Français aux Etats-Unis, a department of the French Embassy in the United States." -- CIP

First published in French in 2007 as Caravansérail. Copyright ©2007 Éditions du Seuil. Translation copyright ©2017 Edward Gauvin.

"At the dawn of the 20th century, a young Lebanese explorer leaves the Levant for the wilds of Africa, encountering an eccentric English colonel in Sudan and enlisting in his service. In this lush chronicle of far-flung adventure, the military recruit crosses paths with a compatriot who has dismantled a sumptuous palace in Tripoli and is transporting it across the continent on a camel caravan. The protagonist soon takes charge of this hoard or architectural fragments, ferrying the dismantled landmark through Sudan, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula, attempting to return to his native Beirut with this moveable real estate. Along the way, he encounters skeptic sheikhs, suspicious tribal leaders, bountiful feasts, pilgrims bound for Mecca and T.E. Lawrence in a tent. This is a captivating modern-day Odyssey in the tradition of Bruce Chatwin and Paul Theroux." -- back cover.