Until 1912 Morocco had never suffered foreign domination, and its mountainous interior was as closed to foreigners as Tibet. Walter Harris was the exception. He lived in the country for more than thirty-five years, and as The Times correspondent he observed every aspect of its life. He describes the unfettered Sultanate in all its dark, melodramatic splendour.
Harris was an intimate of at least three of the ruling Sultans and a man even capable of befriending his kidnapper. It was said that only three Christians had ever visited the walled city of Chechaouen: one was poisoned, one came for an hour disguised as a rabbi ... the other was Walter Harris.