THE SCENE: Marco Polo sheds light on a technicality that he claims allowed Muslims to drink wine in 14th century Iran.
THE TEXT: Someone may object that the [Arabs] do not drink wine; for their law forbids it. My answer is that they gloss the text of their law thus: if wine is boiled over a fire, so that it is partly consumed and turns sweet, they are free to drink it without breach of commandment or law; for they no longer call it wine, since the change of flavor carries with it a change of name.
– The Travels of Marco Polo, 14th Century AD
