Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Marco Polo: Genoa
On returning to
Marco Polo: Persia
Kublai Khan ordered Marco to take his betrothed daughter to
Marco Polo: Acre
Marco was just a seventeen when his father and uncle came back. Marco’s father Niccolo and his brother Maffeo decided to take you Marco with them as they left once again to travel the world. From
Marco Polo: Sumatra
To get to Sumatra Marco and his father and uncle sailed through the
Monday, November 23, 2009
Marco Polo: China
An emperor of Cathay named Kublai Khan lived in Peking, China, and before Marco had ever left Venice, his father and uncle had been to Cathay and met with Kublai Khan many times. Marco’s father and uncle entertained the emperor with stories of Western Europe. When Marco’s father and uncle came back to Peking where Kublai Khan currently lived Marco came along. The emperor became so happy to see Marco (about 15 or 16 at the time) that later on, important positions in the Chinese court were given to Marco. Marco became a trusted friend of Kublai Khan. He lived in China for a couple of years moving around the country and studied the Chinese. Later on he was able to speak the language.
Marco Polo: Persian Gulf
Marco reached the Persian Gulf around 1272 with his father and uncle. They were planning to be head to china on ships, but the ships weren’t in a good enough shape to beat the storms of the Indian Ocean. Marco describes the ships as “being built without the benefit of nail but rather sewn together”. Instead of using ships the Polos traveled by land trough Afghanistan, where they found ruby minds. Marco got a fever while in Afghanistan, so the Polos stay in that region for about a year. Marco says that the almost magical quality of the high altitude and pure air cured his sickness.
Marco Polo: India
From Sri Lanka, Marco stopped in India. His account of his stay described the local customs, religion, dress and diet. He was very amazed by how differently the Indians lived compared to the Venetians He also talked about in his account the pearl-fishing industry in the Gulf of Mannar and the importation of Arabian horses from Hormus, Kais, Dhufar, Shihr, an Aden. India thrived with exotic produce that Marco had never seen. He also said in his account that India had the most vibrant culture. After leaving India he took with him many things. Marco took a lot what he learned from India to other places.
Marco Polo :Venice
No one is really sure on the exact date of Marco Polo's birth, but it was estimated to be around 1254 into a noble family of Venetian merchants. Mostly his mother raised Marco Polo because his father Niccolo and his brother Maffeo left Venice to travel the world. It was nine years until Marco could see his father and uncle again. Marco received the same education then the other boys of his time. He was a well-educated man. He knew a lot of the classical authors, understood text from the bible and knew the basic theology of the Latin Church. He also had a sound knowledge of commercial French and Italian.
Google Maps Project
This is the introduction to the Google Maps Project. The traveler I chose was Marco Polo. The link to the google map for Marco's travels will be located in the last posting of this project
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
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-Ray Ray