This volume includes a fully annotated translation and Arabic critical edition of one of the earliest surviving Ismaili Shi'i writings, by the famous Yemeni author Ja'far Ibn Mansur al-Yaman (ca. 270-345 All). In addition to being a key source for pre-Fatimid Ismaili history, The Master and the Disciple is important for its unique role as the most elaborate example of the narrated dramatic dialogue form in Arabic literature. The work also vividly illustrates the processes by which early esoteric Shi'i ideas and institutions eventually contributed to the evolution of more familiar forms of...

James Morris challenges the tourist cliches and looks at the impact of human presence and the layers of history in the landscape. He reflects upon issues of identity, exploitation and regeneration; it is a land of beauty and of hardship where - in this post industrial, post rural economy - Tesco and tourism are now the great employers.