Westward to Mecca.: A Journey of Adventure through Afghanistan, Bolshevik Asia, Persia, Iraq & Hijaz, to the Cradle of Islam.

London: H. F. & G. Witherby,, 1928. First edition of this interesting and uncommon travelogue. Ikbal ali Shah was an Indian-Afghan author and diplomat who came to Britain as a young man to complete his education in Edinburgh, where he married the Scots author Morag Murray. He travelled widely undertaking assignments from the British Foreign Office, and became the publicist of a number of Eastern statesmen, King Abdullah of Jordan, Atatürk and the Aga Khan, writing popular biographies of these last two. He was also an active promoter of Sufism as a potential bridge between East and West, writing extensively on the subject and teaching Sufi "classes", an area in which he was succeeded and superseded by his son Idries Shah. The present work was reviewed by H. A. R. Gibbs alongside Philby's Arabia of the Wahabis in the journal of the Institute of International Affairs; "The Sirdar's book is the retort romantic to the classical severity of Mr Philby. Here is a well-spiced Eastern revue, featuring Afghan raisers, alchemists, enchanted walls, watery blue-eyed Bolshevists, singing dervishes, and mysterious caves, relieved by more commonplace political and literary interludes. Is it all true? How like the materially-minded West to ask such questions" (vol. 8, iss. 1, January 1929, p. 73). Octavo. Original green cloth, spine lettered in gilt, double panel in blind to the front board. Photogravure frontispiece, and 10 other similar plates. A little rubbed, corners bumped, spine sunned with beginning of splits at head of joints, top quarter of the front free endpaper excised, half-title correspondingly foxed, text-block lightly browned; a good copy. Macro 1272.