Step-by-step explanation:
Then, he passed through deserts of "surpassing aridity" to the Khorasan region of what is now eastern Iran. Gradually moving to the northeast, they entered more hospitable lands; Badakhshān ("Balascian"), especially in Afghanistan, pleased travelers. Marco indicates that they have lived there for a year; detained, perhaps by illness (possibly malaria) that has been healed by the benign climate of the district. Marco is also believed to have visited the territories to the south (other areas of the country).