AlEXANDRIA Alexandria is the chief port and second largest city in Egypt. The city lies on a strip of land of the Nile River delta and on a strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Margotis. It was founded in 332 BC by Alexander the Great. In AD 642 the Moslems occupied it. The city was also an important center of Christianity.(GyCu)

BAGHDAD Baghdad is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East. People have lived in Baghdad since about 4000 BC. This area formed part of ancient Babylonia. Persians, Greeks, and then Romans controlled this area from the 500's BC to AD 600's. An Islamic dynasty called the Abbasids gained control of the region in 750 AD. A few years later a political and religious leader chose Baghdad as the site for the Arab Muslim empire. At the time the empire extended from western North Africa to western China. In the 800's Baghdad had nearly a million people and was a world center of education and Islamic culture. Baghdad gradually lost power and wealth from the 1000's to the 1200's.(EaSy&LnAs)

BYZANTIUM The Byzantime Empire was an eastern part of the Roman Empire. The capital of the Byzantine Empire is Constantinople. The Empire was named for ancient Byzantium. In 467 AD, after the Western Empire fell, the Eastern Empire claimed all of the western land. (JmMy)

CARTHAGE The ancient city of Carthage(in North Africa in the present day Tunisia) was one of the greatest cities of its time. It was a wealthy trading center with many different types of people. In The Walking Drum, Mathurin Kerbouchard went to Carthage in search of information about his father. Carthage was founded 814 BC and was finally defeated and destroyed in 698 AD after many wars.(SnMa)

CATHAYCathay is what Europeans of Kerbouchard's time called North China. Cathay got its name from the Mongol people who ruled parts of China, the Khitan. Although it was known as the Liao dynasty, people continued to call northern China Cathay, even when the dynasty fell. The tern "Cathay" was used by Wiliam of Rubruck, Marco Polo, and missionaries from France. Since the Europeans had little knowledge of Asia, they assumed Cathay and China were different places. (KyOy,LnUn,EeMy)

CONSTANTINOPLE-ISTANBUL People probably lived in what is now Asian Istambul as early as 3000 BC. During the mid 600's Greek colonists founded Byzantium on the European shore. Byzantium later became part of the Roman Empire. In 324 AD Constantine the First changed the name to Constantinople (name after himself) The Roman Empire split into two parts in 395 AD. Barbarians conquered the West Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire was Eastern Roman Empire but left Constantinople as the capital. For the next several hundred years, Persians, Arabs, and nomadic peoples attacked Constantinople.(EcSy&LnAs)

DAMASCUS Damascus was a city of Syria on the Barada River. The Anti-Lebanon Moutains are to the west, and the desert is to the east. It was an ancient city ruled by the Egyptians and the Hittites. It later became an independent Aramaean kingdom in 1000 B.C. it fell before the Assyrians in 732 B.C. It was also included in kingdoms for the Babylonians, Persians, Alexander the Great, and others. Damascus is tied in with the The Walking Drum because Kerbouchard went there a few times in the book. (SmMs).

KIEV Kiev dates to the 600's AD. It prospered as a trading center. In the 800's it became the capital of the Russian State. By the 1000's Kiev was one of Europe's greatest centers of commerce and culture. The Mongols destroyed most of the city in 1240. It lost much of its importance. THe city eas rebuilt in the 1300's. There was Lithinen rule in the 1300's, Polish rule in the 1500's and Russian rule in the 1600's. (KeMn)

MECCA Mecca is the holiest city in the Islamic religion located in western Saudi Arabia. In Mecca, the Muslim prophet, Muhammad, was born. In this holy city, there is also a very important place where Muslims pray called the Kaaba. Mecca's people come from many different ethnic backgounds. In the book, The Walking Drum, Kerbouchard mentioned Mohammad, a camel driver from Mecca.(SnMa, AaVs, JaSr

MOUNT SAINT MICHAEL Mount Saint Michael is located off the coast of Northwestern France in the Gulf of St. Malo. The Benedictine Abby on the cone shaped island is connected to the mainland with a causeway. (LiBt, GnCu)

NUBIA Numia is located in Southern Egypt. The land has one of the harshest climates in the world. the Nile River flows through Nubia. the banks of the river are narrow making farming difficult. In the past there was great wealth in the land of Nubia. There were gold mines, ivory, and incense. Numia is the area of Africa's earliest Black culture starting in 3100 B.C.(MtSw)

VENICE Venice, Italy was founded in 452 A.D. It was built on islands in the Adriatic Sea. The earliest settlers of Venice fled to the islands to escape barbarians who were invading Italy. These early settlers were mostly fishermen and traders. by the 800's, Venice was trading with other cities such as Constantinople.(JmMy).