The Journey In Marco Polo's The Travels
Marco Polo’s Journey In the late 13th century, a man named Marco Polo would embark on a journey around Eurasia that would be one of the greatest journeys ever made by any European at the time. In The Travels, Marco Polo shares his expedition with his father and his uncle as merchants trading goods as they moved along the Silk Road. They encountered many various providences that where large, small, and populated. In these towns Marco Polo studied and observed the different types of environments and people with their different customs, ideas, and religious backgrounds. One famous civilization he found interesting was located in Cathay (China), which was controlled by Kublai Khan of the Mongols. Even though Marco Polo’s travels may seem skeptical
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When he finally made it to China he had the privilege to met The Great Khan. He controlled so much territory throughout Eurasia and established Mongols posts in those providences. Marco Polo observed many luxurious and beautiful palaces owned by the Khan. He saw many fine palaces made from gold and marble and other ornamental stones (Polo 108). He was first introduced to the idea of paper money, which was something very different at the time in Europe were gold or silver coins were used. This paper money was issued to specific people with their names, which would be stamped and issued by appointed chief of officials of the Khan (Polo 147). The idea of “burning rocks” or coal was something he also found very interesting and lasted much longer than burning wood. The Great Khan was a very militaristic person who had many troops ready at any moment to fight and defend the Mongol territories. The Mongols had created a system of communication to warn the Khan of possible invasions or other important issues. This system of communication was similar to the Pony Express were a man on a horse would travel a long distances with an important message to the Khan. These messengers would stop at several posts miles apart with rested horses ready to travels off again until they reached the next post. Marco Polo was able to serve under the Khan court for seventeen years, were he learned so much in detail of the Mongol
When he finally made it to China he had the privilege to met The Great Khan. He controlled so much territory throughout Eurasia and established Mongols posts in those providences. Marco Polo observed many luxurious and beautiful palaces owned by the Khan. He saw many fine palaces made from gold and marble and other ornamental stones (Polo 108). He was first introduced to the idea of paper money, which was something very different at the time in Europe were gold or silver coins were used. This paper money was issued to specific people with their names, which would be stamped and issued by appointed chief of officials of the Khan (Polo 147). The idea of “burning rocks” or coal was something he also found very interesting and lasted much longer than burning wood. The Great Khan was a very militaristic person who had many troops ready at any moment to fight and defend the Mongol territories. The Mongols had created a system of communication to warn the Khan of possible invasions or other important issues. This system of communication was similar to the Pony Express were a man on a horse would travel a long distances with an important message to the Khan. These messengers would stop at several posts miles apart with rested horses ready to travels off again until they reached the next post. Marco Polo was able to serve under the Khan court for seventeen years, were he learned so much in detail of the Mongol