HORMUZ
During the time of Marco Polo, Hormuz was a large trading island in the middle east.The Strait of Hormuz is a very important strait between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. About 20-40% of world oil supply - primarily from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait - travels through the Strait of Hormuz, which at its narrowest is only 21 mi (34 km) wide. The Strait of Hormuz is located between Musandam, an exclave of Oman in the south, and Iran in the north. The Strait of Hormuz is part of the national waters of Oman and Iran, but ships are permitted to pass under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which has been ratified by most but not all signatory countries. Trade made Hormuz very wealthy and since it's close vicinity to china many goods were exported/imported to and from them. Polo during his journey visited Hormuz more than once because of the various trade goods there. Marco Polo even said, "Merchants come thither (to Hormuz) from India, with ships loaded with spicery and precious stones, pearls, cloths of silk and gold, elephants' teeth, and many other wares, which they sell to the merchants of Hormuz, and which these in turn carry all over the world to dispose of again. In fact, 'tis a city of immense trade." Like Polo said, merchants went to hormuz with loaded ships with different items from their country and would trade them for rarer goods. The island was usually hot so very large wind towers were created to capture the cool air and bring it into the core of the tower to be released into the city. The culture of Hormuz was very closely tied to culture in Iran, both socially and politically.
During the time of Marco Polo, Hormuz was a large trading island in the middle east.The Strait of Hormuz is a very important strait between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. About 20-40% of world oil supply - primarily from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait - travels through the Strait of Hormuz, which at its narrowest is only 21 mi (34 km) wide. The Strait of Hormuz is located between Musandam, an exclave of Oman in the south, and Iran in the north. The Strait of Hormuz is part of the national waters of Oman and Iran, but ships are permitted to pass under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which has been ratified by most but not all signatory countries. Trade made Hormuz very wealthy and since it's close vicinity to china many goods were exported/imported to and from them. Polo during his journey visited Hormuz more than once because of the various trade goods there. Marco Polo even said, "Merchants come thither (to Hormuz) from India, with ships loaded with spicery and precious stones, pearls, cloths of silk and gold, elephants' teeth, and many other wares, which they sell to the merchants of Hormuz, and which these in turn carry all over the world to dispose of again. In fact, 'tis a city of immense trade." Like Polo said, merchants went to hormuz with loaded ships with different items from their country and would trade them for rarer goods. The island was usually hot so very large wind towers were created to capture the cool air and bring it into the core of the tower to be released into the city. The culture of Hormuz was very closely tied to culture in Iran, both socially and politically.
Sources:
http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/hormozgan/tradeTravellers.htm
http://www.dataxinfo.com/hormuz/illustrations.htm
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200504/the.explorer.marco.polo.htm