FAYE MOSS: Hello, and welcome to another episode of Superstars in History, the only talk show that lets you meet some of the most famous people in history! I'm your host, Faye Moss, and I've got a globetrotting guest for you today. He was a merchant and explorer who wrote a hit book about his marvelous travels. Please welcome Marco Polo!
MARCO POLO: It's a pleasure to be here. This may be my longest journey ever.
FAYE MOSS: Well, you're no stranger to long trips. In fact, traveling for extended periods runs in your family! When you were born in Venice, Italy, around 1254, your father and uncle were away on a long trip.
MARCO POLO: Yes, my father and uncle had left on their journey before I was born. They were wealthy merchants, you see, and in those days merchants traveled far and wide to find beautiful goods to sell in Europe. While my father was away, my mother died, so I was raised by relatives. Years passed, and I was 15 when I met my father for the first time, upon his return with my uncle.
FAYE MOSS: Fifteen? That was a very, very long trip! Did they bring you any souvenirs?
MARCO POLO: They did have a souvenir . . . from the Mongol emperor, Kublai Khan! But it wasn't for me—it was for the pope. My father and uncle's journey had taken them all the way to Yuan Dynasty China, where they visited Kublai Khan. The khan was thrilled to meet travelers from Italy since he was curious about the pope and the Catholic Church. The khan decided to make my father and uncle his ambassadors, and he sent them to Rome with a personal letter for the pope.
FAYE MOSS: The pope must've been pleased to hear from such an important ruler.
MARCO POLO: Actually there was no pope at that time! By the time my father and uncle returned, the pope had died. The khan was expecting a reply, but it took nearly three years before a new pope was elected. Finally, with a letter from the new pope to the khan, I set off for China with my father and uncle on the Silk Road. That was the overland trading route between Europe and Asia.
FAYE MOSS: I bet it wasn’t an easy trip. What was it like?
MARCO POLO: By the thirteenth century, the Silk Road had become very dangerous due to wars and bandits. We encountered blizzards and flooded rivers. In the Gobi Desert there was nothing to be found to eat, and it took a month to cross it at its narrowest point. At its widest, it was said to take a year to cross.
Finally, about three years later, we arrived at Kublai Khan's summer capital, where I met the great khan! He was delighted that my father and uncle had returned safely, and he welcomed me with enthusiasm.
FAYE MOSS: Tell us more about Kublai Khan! What was he like?
MARCO POLO: Not only did he rule a vast empire, which encompassed a large part of Asia, but he was also very interested in the world beyond his empire. He welcomed foreigners and the new ideas and knowledge they brought. He was also tolerant of different religions such as Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity. It may surprise you, but the Mongol Empire was quite cosmopolitan, with people of different cultures, languages, and religions living within it.
And, if I may say so myself, I impressed the khan with my intelligence. He made me his envoy, and I traveled around the empire and beyond, seeing the marvels of the world.
FAYE MOSS: Few Europeans had ever traveled to Asia before, so I imagine you saw things that were very different from Europe.
MARCO POLO: Indeed, Faye! In China the cities were well organized with wide, clean streets. Houses were heated with coal; people bathed every day; and wealthier citizens even had bathrooms in their homes. Oh, and they had paper money and beautiful porcelain dishes. It was very unlike Europe!
FAYE MOSS: You also traveled to Southeast Asia, where you saw many animals—like rhinoceroses, which you thought were unicorns!
MARCO POLO: Oh yes, those unicorns weren't at all what I expected. They had thick hair like buffalos, feet like elephants, and heads like boars!
FAYE MOSS: I want to know more about what you saw, but I don't think we have enough time. Your travels lasted 24 years!
MARCO POLO: I almost didn't make it home! Kublai Khan didn't want my father, uncle, and me to leave, and he refused to release me from his service. Eventually he agreed, but only because he needed us to escort a Mongol princess to Persia. We left around 1291, traveling by sea. It was a long and dangerous journey, but we arrived safely in Venice four years later. By then we'd been gone so long, that we struggled to speak our native language!
FAYE MOSS: You came home to war . . . and prison.
MARCO POLO: Yes, Venice was at war with Genoa, so I served my city by buying and commanding a ship. Sadly I was captured and thrown in prison. Prison wasn't too bad, but it was boring. I livened things up by telling stories of my adventures. A fellow prisoner, Rustichello da Pisa, was a famous story writer who wrote down my tales for a book—but he may have embellished some details to create excitement for readers. We published the book after we were released from prison around 1299. It became popular and was even translated into several languages.
FAYE MOSS: That's impressive, Marco—especially since back then every copy of a book had to be written by hand! But even though your book was widely read, some people were skeptical about the truth of your stories.
MARCO POLO: Yes. Some readers claimed I made things up, but they were wrong! I really had those adventures! I do admit, however, that I am not a modest man. I probably overstated a few small details about my influence at the khan's court. But the records of my travels are quite accurate, and I told only half of what I saw.
FAYE MOSS: Well, your book is certainly well loved—it's stayed in print for over seven hundred years. Thank you for setting the record straight and for taking another journey . . . this time through history!
MARCO POLO: I enjoyed my visit to your colorful land very much!
FAYE MOSS: Marco Polo spent the rest of his life raising a family and being a successful merchant in Venice. He died in 1324 at the age of 69.
Polo's book introduced many Europeans to the cultures and customs of Asia, and inspired and educated other explorers.
Thank you for joining us today. I'll see you next time when we talk with another superstar in history.