Kamar-Taj

Kamar-Taj is a fictional location featured in comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is generally featured in the Doctor Strange family of titles and is the home of the Ancient One, Wong and the wizard Kaluu.

History
Kamar-Taj is a small, isolated community located in the mountains of Tibet in the Himalayas. It is often used as a retreat for monks, philosophers and those seeking enlightenment and wisdom. There is a temple in Kamar-Taj which has been used as a school for those seeking to understand the ways of mysticism. A being known only as the Ancient One made his home in Kamar-Taj and it was here that he trained his students, Baron Mordo and later, Stephen Strange in the ways of sorcery.

A Chinese family lineage from Kamar-Taj has worked in service to the Ancient One for many generations. This includes Kan, a monk and a teacher who discovered the ancient Temple more than 1,000 years ago when it was ruled by Jehan of Siridar. Kan fell in love with Jehan's sister, Princess Shialmar, and led Jehan's army against the Wizard Kings, an act he would later come to regret. Later in his life, Kan pledged his fealty to the Ancient One and swore that each first-born male from his family line would serve as an attendant to the Ancient One. In the modern era this included Hamir the Hermit, and his son, Wong, who bore a strong resemblance to his ancestor Kan. Hamir kept vigil over the Ancient One during a time when he had fallen into a coma.

When the Ancient One took the American Doctor Stephen Strange under his wing, he assigned Wong to serve Strange as his manservant. Wong eventually left Kamar-Taj and immigrated to the United States with Strange.

Years after Doctor Strange ascended to the position of Master of the Mystic Arts, he frequently visited Kamar-Taj and used it as an alternate base of operations whenever he could not avail himself of his private Sanctum Sanctorum in Greenwich Village, New York.

The evil sorcerer known as Kaluu is believed to have hailed from Kamar-Taj.

When Doctor Strange was embroiled in an epic struggle against the Old Ones, he had to fake his own death in order to concentrate his efforts against the likes of Urthona and Shuma-Gorath. A public funeral was held for him at Crestview Cemetery in New York City and several monks from Kamar-Taj journeyed to the west to attend. (DS3: 1)

Residents

 * Ancient One
 * Wong
 * Kaluu
 * Hamir the Hermit


 * Jehan
 * Kan
 * Shialmar
 * Vung

Notes & Trivia

 * A version of Kamar-Taj was presented in the 2007 Doctor Strange animated film, though it was not identified by name.


 * Canonically, Kamar-Taj made it's first appearance in Strange Tales, Volume 1 #1100 with the introduction of Stephen Strange, Wong and the Ancient One. However, it was not identified by name until Strange Tales, Volume 1 #148.


 * Kamar-Taj is also the name of a martial arts discipline that is taught to the attendants of the Ancient One. Wong is a practicioner of this martial arts form, though he is by no means an expert. (See Kamar-Taj for a list of characters who possess this skill.)