The caravan leader gathers the travelers together and tells them that tribal warfare prevents them from continuing their journey. The caravan eventually reaches the oasis, and there Santiago meets an Arab girl named Fatima and falls in love with her instantly. While traveling, Santiago begins listening to the desert and discovering the Soul of the World. Santiago meets an Englishman who wants to learn the secret of alchemy, or turning any metal into gold, from a famous alchemist who lives at an oasis on the way to the pyramids. Should he return to Andalusia a rich man and buy more sheep? Or should he cross the vast Sahara in pursuit of the hidden treasure of his dreams? He joins a caravan traveling to Egypt.

He finds work in the shop of a crystal merchant, where Santiago makes improvements that reap considerable financial rewards.Īfter eleven months of working in the shop, Santiago is unsure of how to proceed. Shortly after he arrives there, a thief steals all of Santiago's money, so the shepherd boy decides to look for a way to make enough money to return home. Santiago wavers briefly before selling his flock and purchasing a ticket to Tangier, in northern Africa, to which he travels by boat. Melchizedek then gives Santiago two stones, Urim and Thummim, with which to interpret omens. He tells Santiago about good and bad omens and says that it is the shepherd boy's duty to pursue his Personal Legend. This man introduces himself as Melchizedek, or the King of Salem.

Next Santiago meets a mysterious old man who seems able to read his mind. Santiago is uncertain, however, since he enjoys the life of a shepherd. An old woman tells Santiago that this dream is prophetic and that he must follow its instructions. While sleeping near a sycamore tree in the sacristy of an abandoned church, Santiago, a shepherd boy, has a recurring dream about a child who tells him that he will find a hidden treasure if he travels to the Egyptian pyramids.

The alchemist book