Plot Overview
Raban wrote 'Arabia' during the oil boom era when there was a flood of Arabs into Britain after the oil price was raised in 1973. Interested in the Arabs he sees on the Earls Court Road where he has a flat, Raban sets out to visit Arabia in the footsteps of writers like T.E. Lawrence and Wilfred Thesiger. He first attempts to learn Arabic with the beautiful Fatma in London before travelling to Bahrain, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Yemen, Saudi Arabia. His journey comes full circle with his return to London, described by Raban in the book's final chapter as 'The Biggest Souk in the World'.
Read more about this topic: Arabia Through The Looking Glass
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“Trade and the streets ensnare us,
Our bodies are weak and worn;
We plot and corrupt each other,
And we despoil the unborn.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)