So, I've just started reading my first German novel - 'Bretonische Brandung' by Jean-Luc Bannalec. The first paragraph of the novel reads as follows:
Wie auf Zauberweise schwebten die flachen, lang gezogenen Inseln über dem tiefopalen Meer, ein wenig verwischt, flimmernd. Wie eine Fata Morgana lag der berühmte Archipel vor ihnen.
What part of speech is 'Wie' here grammar-wise? And what exactly is the meaning/impression the writer is trying to convey by using it here? Please correct me if I'm wrong: it has here the simple meaning of 'like'? "Like in magic...", "Like a Fata Morgana..."?