Caravanserai Traces, Places, Dialogue in the Middle East

The caravanserai were roadside inns built to shelter men, goods, and animals along the Silk Road that connected China, Central Asia, and Europe in ancient times. These staging posts formed the world's first globalized overland network and stand as a testament to a flourishing period of multicultural exchange in the Muslim world. Today, the ruined and restored caravanserai of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, captured here by Belgian photographer Tom Schutyser, serve as a platform for an era of renewed cross-cultural exchange. Stunning photographs of these vanishing caravan routes and their surrounding landscapes welcome readers to engage in a dialogue on healing relations between the Muslim and Western worlds, in the same way the inns once welcomed travelers, traders, and pilgrims to share goods, ideas, and discoveries.

Tom Schutyser is a Belgian documentary photographer and researcher who specializes in architecture and history. His coverage of caravanserais has been shown in galleries in Paris, Beirut, and Portland, Oregon. Andrew Lawler, a contributing editor to science and archaeology magazines, also writes for Smithsonian, Discover, National Geographic and other publications. Reza Aslan, a scholar of religions and Professor of Creative Writing at University of California at Riverside, a member of the Council on Foreign relations and a bestselling author. Rachid al-Daif is a writer whose novels have been translated from Arabic into eleven languages. Robert Fisk is a multiple award-winning journalist on the Middle East, based in Beirut. He writes for The Independent and other publications. Dominique Moïsi is a senior adviser at the French Institute for International relations (IFrI), and the author of several books on international affairs. Paul Salem is director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Middle East Center.