تاریخ سیاحت های اکتشافی و جهان پژوهی

A History Of Discovery and Exploration: Africa and asiac Mapping two continents
Nathalie Ettinger, Elaperh Huxley, Paul Hamilton
Aldus Books/Jupiter Books
First Edition 1973
488 Pages
26.4×19.6×4 cm
Hardcover, dust wrapper Included
English Language

Persia, Gateway to the East

A rugged land of mountains and narrow valleys, high plateaus and sweltering deserts. it had an irresistible appeal for Western travelers in the 1500s and 1600s. And, just as important, it possessed all the mystery and glamour of an utterly foreign world.

Before the 1500s, Europeans knew very little about Persia. For hundreds of years, the caravan routes connecting it to the Mediterranean had been jealously guarded by the Moslems, who possessed an exclusive monopoly over all trade with the East. Europeans did know that Persia was a vital link in the chain of sea and land routes by which the Moslems brought precious stones and spices from India and the Orient to Mediterranean markets. They also knew that Persia itself was the source of many luxuries: raw silk and dyes, wines and perfumes, delicate paintings, and rich brocades embroidered with roses, tulips, and lilies. Such luxuries suggested that Persia might be a fairy-tale land of Eastern romance.