China Sea as the edge of the world and is used to imagine the margins of the world as a realm of marvels and unknown dangers.

Benjamin's travelogue is a product of his imagination, influenced by biblical authority and rumors, rather than actual geographical knowledge.

Jewish utopia in the Arabian Peninsula, where 300,000 Jews live in 40 cities and 200 villages, free from the rule of gentiles.

universal Jewish community that despite its dispersion among various Muslim and Christian regimes still managed to preserve a strong sense of unity and cohesion

"a day's journey" to indicate close social interactions among Jewish communities,

rather a way to link places along a real but somewhat abstracted route.

medieval understanding of travel writing.

mprecise unit of "a day's journey" and the parasang, an ancient Persian unit of measurement

geography is experienced through human movement on specific routes.

literary grid that allows the author to reflect on the medieval world from a Jewish perspective.