COVER

Out to Sea With the Great Ships (Special Package)

The crew of Zheng He's imperial fleet faced violent storms, illness and uncertain welcomes. On today's junks little has changed

The Admiral's Isles (Special Package)

Phil Zabriskie explores the jostling peoples, religions and cultures that define Indonesia

The Land That Lost Its History (Special Package)

In India's Kerala state, Aparisim Ghosh finds only the faintest trace of the grandeur that lured traders and adventurers from halfway around the world

Shadows of Old Araby (Special Package)

The ports of Arabia once traded gold and frankincense. Now Pico Iyer finds Indians peddling makeup and wontons

TO OUR READERS

ASIA

The Evil That Men Do

A life dissolves in a splash of acid thrown in anger. Now, two victims of domestic brutality in Pakistan speak out

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Divided Lands and Lives

A veteran reporter turns to fiction, trying to make sense of what, ultimately, makes no sense

BRIEFING

TRAVEL