Mapping the Silk Road and Beyond

In the early geographical awakening of the Classical Mediterranean period, the mysterious East was mostly a concept, a faraway paradise, an ideal. Nonetheless, from that time forward and for at least two millennia, Asia has held a fascination for Europe. This book by Kenneth Nebenzahl helps us understand why. Asia, source for precious and rare commodities, birthplace of major religions and home to strange civilisations on the other side of the world, became the subject of fantastic myth and, for an intrepid few, the destination of a lifetime.