For decades, Karl May readers, collectors, and researchers have repeatedly asked whether, when, and where the famous writer actually traveled. This volume provides comprehensive information about May's real-world journeys and some equally exciting legends that belong to the realm of fantasy. Of course, Karl May himself has a voice in this: in the diary of his great journey to the Orient from 1899/1900, supplemented by letters, poems, and drafts created during this time. The profound impact of the Oriental world on his personality and work becomes evident. The well-known May experts Ekkehard Bartsch and Hans Wollschläger comment on the author's notes with expertise and detail. The equally knowledgeable expert Dieter Sudhoff dedicates an insightful documentation to the USA trip of 1908 and its literary processing in the novel "Winnetou's Heirs.".