Sufis represented the mystical dimension of Islam. This meant that they wanted and searched for a direct and …show more content…
His family was well known in the long-distance trade of the Black Sea and Mediterranean regions. His father, uncle, and him travelled to China, which was recently defeated by the Mongols, when he was only seventeen. They stayed there for seventeen years and Marco had the opportunity to travel all across China (Strayer 315). He collected material during his journeys and later dictated to one of his friends for a book about all of his expeditions. In “The Travels of Marco Polo”, Polo writes, “The city is beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world” (Strayer 316). He was discussing the Chinese city of Kinsay, which is known as Hangzhou. Hangzhou participated in vast amounts of importing and exporting from India and other foreign places. There are so many people in the squares wanting to purchase and trade that many people did not believe there would be enough food for them. Polo’s book about his travels inspired many Europeans to go out and explore in hope of finding sources of wealth. Polo went out onto the Road of China when it opened and came back with incredible stories to share. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Europeans went by sea to find sources of wealth in Asia and Africa. They were very willing to visit and borrow ideas and technology from more advanced regions and cultures in the East (Strayer