Page 68 - Introduction to Tourism

perfumes, dyes, textiles, as well as the

grapevine, alfalfa, chives, coriander, sesame,

cucumbers, figs, and safflower.

For protection against marauders, merchants

formed caravans of up to 1000 camels, protected

by armed escorts. Each two - humped Bactrian
camel could carry 400 to 500 pounds of

merchandise. The long route was divided into
areas of political and economic influence. “ The

Chinese traders escorted their merchandise as
far as Dunhuang or beyond the Great Wall to

Loulan where it was sold or bartered to Central

Asian middlemen — Parthians, Sogdians,

Indians, and Kushans — who carried the trade

on to the cities of the Persian, Syrian, and Greek

merchants. Each transaction increased the cost

of the end product, which reached the Roman

Empire in the hands of Greek and

Jewish entrepreneurs. ”

The Classical World

The lands of the Mediterranean Sea (2000

B.C.E. to 500 C.E. ) produced a remarkable

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