Eastern travelers to Europe sought wonders just as Europeans did in the East

Evidence

The scientific, geographical interest was supplemented by another motive, a liking for the strange and wonderful (al-‘ajı¯b wa’l-gharı¯b). There was a general taste for curious and wonderful stories that found its apotheosis in the Thousand and One Nights. Travellers from the East to Europe, like travellers from Europe to the East in another age, had no difficulty in finding wonders and marvels and curious tales with which to regale their readers. This element continues into comparatively modern times. Thus, an Ottoman janissary officer who visited Vienna in the early eighteenth century adorns his otherwise factual, prosaic ac­ count of his trip with strange and wonderful stories of miracles performed during the Turkish siege and retreat some years previous to his visit. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1063

Categorization

• XREF: Mirrors Said’s Orientalist ‘marvel-seeking’ trope but reverses the direction — the appetite for wondrous traveler’s tales was symmetrical across cultures.