Page 58 - Demo

4A mineral is a substance that is found naturally in rocks and in the earth.We learn from Marco Polo that, in the administration of his empire, Kublai Khan made use of a fast and simple message system. Horse riders spaced every 40 kilometers allowed messages to cover 500 kilometers a day. As soon as one horse had run 40 kilometers, the next horse would run the next 40 kilometers, and so on. Marco also learned the secret of asbestos cloth, which is made from a mineral4 and doesn%u2019t catch fire. Paper money also took him by surprise, since it was not yet used in the West at that time. Homes were heated with %u201cblack stones %u2026 which burn like logs.%u201d Those stones were coal%u2014unknown in most of Europe%u2014and were so plentiful that many people had a hot bath three times a week.Although the Khan did not want his visitors to leave, the Polos finally received permission to return home in 1292. Marco continued his observations while on the ocean voyage by way of Sumatra and India. After he returned home, Marco completed a book about his trip, full of details about his amazing cultural experiences. It was probably the single greatest contribution to geographical knowledge ever made to the West about the East.DEAn ancient fort in Jiayuguan, China%u2014a location Marco Polo is likely to have traveled through118Unit 8A