This travel book was written in 1933-4 when the author travelled to Persia and Afghanistan. It is a record of his journeys, full of observation of people and places, and funny dialogue. The author, Robert Byron drowned in 1941 when his ship to West Africa was torpedoed. In his short life he travelled as far as China and Tibet. In 1932, attracted by the photo of a Seljuk tomb-tower on the Turkoman steppe, he set out on a quest for the origins of Islamic architecture through Persia and Afghanistan. This book is the result, a record of his journeys. In this new edition Byron's photographs, which have been omitted from all editions since 1950, are restored.