For many centuries, the Mediterranean Sea remained the center of global civilization, the banner of which was carried by the Greeks, then the Romans, then the Arabs. It was the Mediterranean Sea that was a link between the civilization of the East and the civilization of the West. This sea did not lose its place in the world of trade until after the discovery of the "Cape of Good Hope," and then it regained its position. Commercial after digging the Suez Canal. The East continued to fascinate and attract the great German writer Emil Ludwig. He spent many years on the shores of the Mediterranean, which he loved, and then, in three years, he compiled this great book, which is necessary for every intellectual and seeker of knowledge.