The agencies of the Mandala Tours group create personalized and tailored trips, integrating the most varied tastes and preferences. And one of the passions that moves many tourists is literature. While it is complex to create literary trips focused on a single work or author, it is possible to add monuments, places, or cities related to great works or authors, ideal for discovering “book in hand”. Here are some suggestions for you.
The Time in Between, by María Dueñas in Morocco
A highly successful tour in northern Morocco follows the footsteps of Sira Quiroga, protagonist of The Time in Between, by María Dueñas. This novel, which later became a television success due to its adaptation as a series, is set in very charming places, such as Tangier and its Continental Hotel, or Tetouan and its Ensanche, and many literary trips are organized to visit them in person.
Paul Bowles and His Novels of Tangier and Morocco
Paul Bowles is another writer closely associated with Tangier which, by the way, is considered by many as a literary city in itself. This American writer resided in the city and set titles like Let It Come Down there. Additionally, other great works set in Morocco are The Sheltering Sky and The Spider’s House. In the American Legation Museum of Tangier, you can visit a recreation of his workplace in the city.
Lawrence of Arabia in Wadi Rum, Jordan
The name Lawrence of Arabia is associated with the famous Hollywood movie of the same name. But the most bookish will know that the great literary contribution of this British writer and military officer (T.E. Lawrence) is Seven Pillars of Wisdom, recounting episodes of the Arab Revolt in which he participated. The Wadi Rum desert evokes this author and his work in many places, and, in fact, the most famous mountain in the area is named after him due to its unique pillar-like silhouette.
Orhan Pamuk, a Nobel Laureate in Istanbul
Orhan Pamuk is the only Turkish Nobel Prize winner in Literature, achieving this award in 2006. Among his works, the city of Istanbul has a capital importance, to the point that one of his most celebrated books is precisely called Istanbul. A work of memoirs and recollections in which he projects his personal vision of this city as interesting as it is surprising and diverse.
Agatha Christie in Egypt
Egypt, with its fascinating and ancient history, has inspired (and continues to inspire) thousands of writers from around the world. Therefore, it is difficult to select titles among so much variety. But without a doubt, one of the most successful is Death on the Nile, a bestseller by the British author Agatha Christie. In reality, the beautiful thing here would be to read this detective novel while on a Nile cruise, precisely where the crime in the work takes place. Additionally, the most bibliophile can follow the trail of its author, who had to travel, stay, and document in the country to write the work, at the Sofitel Winter Palace hotel in Luxor.
… and of course, the great classics
In addition to these and other great contemporary works, you can also explore many of our destinations with classic books in hand. Of course, the Bible, as both the Old and New Testaments are full of references to places like the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt or Bethany Beyond the Jordan, in Jordan. And given the importance of present-day Turkey in the ancient Greco-Roman world, it’s easy to locate Greek and Latin classics in Asia Minor, such as Homer’s Iliad about Troy.
So if your passions are literature and travel, don’t hesitate to pack some good books in your backpack and explore these and other places with us.
