![]() Polo was but one of many medieval European travelers, yet certainly the most famous, to venture through what we now consider the Middle East to the Far East during the thirteenth century, helping to create an important cultural connection between the West and the East, with the Middle East as the bridge. In addition, he traveled eastward beyond the Middle East into India and China, lands anciently connected to the West by the Silk Road, yet still mysterious to most Westerners. Polo’s travels brought him into contact with various cultures that make up what we refer to today as the Middle East. Over seven hundred years later, Marco Polo’s tale remains exciting for would-be adventurers and instructive for historians and other scholars. At the time, most Europeans traveled very little, so Polo’s descriptions of Armenia, Baghdad, Tabriz, Persia, Kashmir, the Desert of Lop, Karakoram, and Shangdu (Xanadu) tantalized his audience. The travels of Venetian merchant Marco Polo (lived 1254-1324, traveled 1271-1293) captivated readers when his book was published c. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |