Marco Polo was a merchant and an adventurer. He travelled with his father and uncle from Venice (Italy) to China. Marco Polo a spent 17 years in China before returning to Venice. Let us read and learn more about this adventurous explorer.
Long, long ago when there were no planes and trains, no a cars and buses, people had to travel to other countries by ship or caravan. Marco Polo was one such traveller who went to many countries because he wanted to learn about the people, their food habits and their culture. Marco Polo was bor in Venice in 1254. When he was 17, he set out on his first voyage with his father, Niccolo and his uncle, Maffeo, He wanted to visit China to find out about the country and its people. It took him three years to reach China.
Along the way he visited many great cities andsaw many sites including the holy city of Jerusalem. He also saw the mountains of the Hindu Kush, Persia and the Gobi Desert. He met a lot of different people and had many adventures.
The wealth and luxury of the Chinese cities impressed Marco Polo. He was fascinated by the grandness and the greatness of Kublai Khan's court. It was nothing like he had experienced in Europe. The capital city of Kinsay was large but well organised and clean. The roads were wide.
All this was well beyond anything he had experienced in Venice. Everything from the food to the people to the animals, like orangutans and rhinos, were new and interesting. Marco Polo lived in China for many years and learnt to speak the local language. He travelled throughout China. He served as a messenger and spy for the emperor. He visited a lot of countries in Westem Asia, North Africa and Southern Europe.
During these visits he learnt about different cultures, foods and people. He saw many places and things that nobody from Europe had ever seen before.
After travelling for twenty-four years, Marco along with his father and uncle decided to return to Venice. They had left home in 1271 and finally returned in 1295. A few years after returning home, Venice fought a war with the city of Gen. Marco was captured and put in a Genoese prison. He was released from prison in 1299. He became a wealthy merchant. He married a lady named Donata Badoer and had three children. He died on 8 January 1324 at the age of 70 and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice.
It was in the prison that Marco met a well known story writer. Marco narrated detailed stories of his journeys to the writer, who wrote all the staries in a book called The Travels of Marco Polo. It became a very popular book. It was translated into many languages and read throughout Europe. It is said that Christopher Columbus, another explorer was greatly inspired by the book. It is believed that he carried it along with him on his travels.
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