The golden house of Samarkand - Hugo Pratt

Corto Maltese sets out on another globetrotting adventure after thediscovery of a Byron manuscript in a mosque on the isle of Rhodes.

Set inthe years 1921-22, the action soon shifts to Turkey, Azerbaijan, and the CaspianSea, following the footsteps of the legendary Silk Road, as Corto Maltesesearches for the fabled treasure of Alexander the Great.

A parade offascinating characters are introduced, including the Whirling Dervishes, JosephStalin (with whom Corto is on a first-name basis), the Hashinin sect ofassassins, the Turkish general Enver Pasha, and the return of VenexianaStevenson and Rasputin (who has just escaped from the dreaded prison known as"The Golden House of Samarkand.")

Pratt further explores the theme ofdual personality, as Corto tries to evade his doppelganger, the Turkishrevolutionary Timur Chevket, mindful of his mother's warning that coming face toface with his look-alike would bring about future tragedy.