THE GREAT ATLAS OF DISCOVERY

Marco Polo
•<? in China
The GREATEST LUXURIES Europe - spices
in medieval
and silks - came from the Far East. Although the East had been trading
with the West for centuries, the two civilizations knew little about each
other. Asian merchants carried goods as far as the Persian Gulf or the
Black Sea. They followed an overland route along the old Silk Road, or a
sea route around the coasts of southern Asia. The goods were then sent to
ports on the Mediterranean, where European merchants bought them.
Traders were forced to use these roundabout routes because the
most direct path, across central Asia, was blocked by
The Polos travel east
Islamic countries, which would not allow free
In the 13th century. Venice was the richest city in Europe, thanks
travel across their land. This changed 5TANBUL to its trading links with the East. Once the Mongols opened
(Constantinople)
trade routes, Venetian merchants set out for Cathay
in the early 13th century when the
(modern China) for the first time. The brothers
Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, The Polosi
They stop again Niccolo and Maffeo Polo set out from Venice in
at Tabriz, a 1260 and reached the Mongol capital of
conquered a huge area stretching arrive in ,

onstantinople and V 1 1 \ entirely Cambaluc (modem Beijing), where the

from eastern Europe to China, '^tirnwickj-
mil for Venice. Mongol emperor Kublai Khan
'h drclxards
(grandson of Genghis)
bringing peace to the region. At last
welcomed them.
merchants could travel freely across
Asia. The Italian Polo brothers
were among the first Europeans
to set off, from Venice in 1260.

Tlu- Polos sail from

Venice to Acre,
1271. Theytravt
to Jerusalem for
holy oil request!
by KublaiKhan

Marco Polo 1254-1324

Marco Polo
In 1271 the Polos made
a second journey to the
East. This time they took
Niccolo's 16-year-old son Marco
with them. Other Europeans were The Polos reach Hormuz, whtf
now traveling across Asia, but Marco's a very strong hot wind blows w}^ "\-.
>

journey was unique because he stayed in from the sea. They continue tha!§c> ,^,
journey across land because
Kublai Khan's empire for 20 years. During
boats in Honnuz look soJtm
this time he traveled widely in the vast
W.
Mongol empire. On his return to Europe he
wrote a book describing all that he had seen. ^BIAN j
500 Miles **
/
The Polos return to Hormuz after
a 2-year voyage via India. They
— fr
leave the Mongol princess with
her Persian husband.

v
Crossing the Desert of Lop
It took European merchants at least six months to make the

journey across central Asia by horse, camel, or donkey. The

Polos were able to travel quite freely because they carried
"passports" from Kublai Khan in the form of engraved gold
tablets. They had to travel through the Desert of Lop (now
part of the Gobi Desert), which was said to be haunted.
While camping at night, travelers heard strange noises, such
as voices and drumbeats. These unusual sounds were
probably caused by sand and stones contracting during
the cold of the night after the heat of the day.

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