The Silk Roads evoke glorious days of past, mirages of exotic locales, and extraordinary tales - a far-cry from the grim reality most of the merchants experienced. These interconnected series of ancient routes are the veins of the world where peoples, faiths, and countries are intricately blended together. Rulers and explorers, from Genghis Khan to Marco Polo, were captivated by these syntheses. The Silk Roads are also the passageway from East to West, and it is here where both sides of the world dramatically clash to form a truly unique landscape where innovations thrived. It is also here where civilizations and religions have formed, setting the blueprint to our ever so complex modern world. The Silk Roads are not just remote corners of the globe, forgotten and unimportant.  Rather, the Silk Roads are perhaps the center of our complex globalization. The landscape of our planet would look vastly different if merchants, nomads, nobles, and explorers did not traverse the thousands of miles for hundreds of years. It's perplexing how such an important part of history can be so often overlooked.