The Unromantic Orient

This 1922-23 travelogue gives new insight and background on Muhammad Asad (1900-1992). Here we have a record of his initial encounter with the Middle East. The Unromantic Orient is not only an impressionistic journal of a young man in search of certitude, it also provides insights into the spiritual transformation of Leopold Weiss who would soon convert to Islam and spend the rest of his life in studying and writing about it. The travelogue starts on March 14, 1922 at the Jerusalem train station and takes us through Cairo, Amman, parts of the Transjordan, Palestine, Damascus and Istanbul. The book includes 32 pages of Muhammad Asad's original photos taken in 1922.