Trade route is a route along which goods are transported from one area to another. In early times, trade routes brought the luxuries of Asia and the Middle East into Western Europe. Later, these routes enabled countries to exchange raw materials and manufactured goods. Commerce gave rise to great cities along the routes. Trade routes have also increased contacts between peoples and resulted in an exchange of ideas and ways of doing things. Trade with Muslims of the Middle East brought new goods and new knowledge to Europe during the Middle Ages. The famous travels of the Italian trader Marco Polo revealed knowledge of China and the Mongol Empire.