You’ve just arrived at Morića Han. You’ve spent the day at Husrev-beg's Bezistan where you bought a number of silks and satins. Now you’re un-saddling your horse in a stable that houses seventy other horses as well. The Han itself houses around three hundred travelers. Silk, as you learned, was an important peace keeping tool. Diplomatic gifts were carefully formulated, and among them Italian silk was the most popular. Gifts like these were used to build favor with influential officials. As you’ll soon learn, gifts were not the only things to be exchanged between the Ottoman Empire and the West. Information traveled as well. You make your way out of the stable, into the courtyard and up the wooden stairs to the first story. Down the hall is the kitchen. In it merchants are making coffee and chatting. You sit by another traveler and strike up a conversation. This particular traveler knows a little too much about the political geography of the region. He tells you his name is Hauratio Lauretano. Having studied this trade route before traveling here you have a pretty good idea of what this particular persons occupation actually is. As he gets up to leave you notice an envelope sticking out of the sack on his chair which you discreetly grab. Once you’re back in your room you read its contents. As you had expected the letter contains information on Ottoman troops and their positions within the Empire. The overland routes were not only used by merchants, but by spies from both sides. “Hauratio” was the pseudonym of a Ragusan spy who sent information to multiple interested parties. He himself had his own network of merchant informants. From them he attained information on armies, navies, supplies, traders, and more. Of course, the Ottomans were aware of all of the possible uses of the trade route. In 1591 an order was issued by the Empire stating that imperial messengers accompany all Ragusan envoys traveling in Ottoman territory.