Description: Through the two books Onder de gouden zon van het morgenland (1942) and Hellas, reis door Griekenland (1944), and the archives of the Nieuwe Instituut (HNI), this research retracts the trip of Arthur Staal through the Eastern Mediterranean. Thanks to his notebooks, sketches and photos, Staal’s journey presents an extremely rare case one could reconstruct entirety through its rich documentation at the archives of the HNI. Although his responsibility as a grantee of the Prix de Rome laid in the study of the ancient monuments, Staal invested himself to get to know contemporary culture, tradition, nature and the everyday life of the different local communities. Retracting Staal’s experiences, this project provides an intriguing point of view to understanding the early modernisation of this area, all seen through the eyes of a western architect. More importantly, Staal’s non condescending attitude and his appreciation of the local architecture, landscape and everyday life as a complete whole presents a complex narrative and a fascinating perspective, which was relevant then as well as to our globalising world today.