Fantastic Travels in the Premodern World

Backgrounds for Monkey

Basic information about The Silk Road
– Link 1

A map showing the travels of Hsuang Tsang
– Link 2

Chinese Zodiac. Consider the pilgrims in Monkey in terms of the stereotypes associated with different animals.
– Link 3
– Link 4

Information about Journey to the West from the British Library site on pilgrimage
– Link 5

Backgrounds for Çelebi's Book of Travels

Castle of Lamia (called Zituni by Çelebi).
– Link 6

Backgrounds for Gulliver's Travels

The letter of Columbus to Louis de Santangel, the royal treasurer of Castile. One of the most famous documents of its time, this letter by Christopher Columbus typifies the kinds of descriptions that European explorers sent back to their sponsors at home.
– Link 7

What is a dervish? Compare Voltaire's and Çelebi's references to this term.
– Link 8