Stranger to History

by Aatish Taseer

Acknowledgements

  The journey I made for this book was longer than the text suggests. It began in Venice and ended in Delhi. There were countries like Jordan, Yemen and Oman that I travelled in, but was unable to write about. In eight months of travel, many more people helped than I can remember here. In some cases, I’ve had to leave out people because of the nature of the regimes they live in. For the same reason, certain names in the text have been changed. There are a few people whose generosity stands out, but I must emphasise it can only be attributed to the best traditions of warmth and hospitality, and is not an endorsement of what I have written, for which I am solely responsible. In Turkey: Eyup Ozer; Ömer Koç; Cigdem Simavi; Ömer Karacan. In Syria: Chad Sherif-Pasha; Even Nord. In Saudi Arabia: Fady Jameel; Salman bin Laden; Hisham Attar; Kareem Idriss. In Iran: Jack Gelardi. In Pakistan: Salmaan and Aamna Taseer; Shaan Taseer; Nuscie Jamil; Hameed Haroon; Yusuf Salahuddin.

  I would like also to thank Claire Paterson, Andrew Kidd, Andy Miller, Anya Serota, Chiki Sarkar, Nick Davies.

  Ajit Gulabchand, for his belief in me, and his unfaltering support.

  And Ella Windsor, whose love and friendship run silently through each of these pages.