The Russians visited Tibet long before expeditions by the Ahnenerbe and other Steiners and Crowley. One such journey to Central Asia was described by V. A. Obruchev: the Takla-Makan Desert, the City of unclean spirits, the Valley of Winds, the Temple of a Thousand Buddhas, and other places—all of which the main characters of the book visit in search of gold from old mines and treasures from ancient temples.