1. Constantinople is located at the most strategic place in the Gulf of Bosphorus, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black sea. This city was named after the Roman Emperor, Constantine. It remained as the capital city even during the reign of the Ottoman Turks. It was a great center of art and architecture. At present Constantinople is known by the name Istambul.

2. Baghdad is located on the banks of the River Tigris. This city is the background of the book Thousand and One Nights’. In the Thousand and One Nights, the city is depicted as the biggest and richest city in the world. It was here that the world famous University of Baghdad and the palace of the Abbasids are situated. Baghdad was conquered by the Mongolian ruler Timurandthe Ottoman ruler, Suleiman. During the Mongolian invasion, it is said that there were 36 public libraries in Baghdad city. It was also a cultural center of that period.

3. Timbuktu in the Empire of Mali was the most important cultural and commercial center of medieval Africa. Merchants from Venice, Granada, and Genoa reached Timbuktu for marketing their merchandise such as gold and ivory. It was also a center of slave trade. The University of Timbuktu was one of the leading centers of knowledge of that period. The university attracted students from all parts of the world. The ‘Great Mosque’ constructed by Kankan Musa at Timbuktu was the leading center of Islamic studies during the medieval period.