Bob H. Brenneman, aged 11, of Lancaster, PA for his question:
Who was Marco Polo?
For 700 years, the name of Marco Polo has stood for Adventure. It makes us dream of the fabulous orient, of jewels and wealth, of voyages and ,journeys filled with risk and excitement. For that is what he wrote about when life in the orient was new to the people of Europe. And Marco Polo knew what he was writing about, Even in modern times, a man who had visited as many places as Marco Polo would be considered a great traveler.
Young Marco was born 702 years ago in the colorful city of Venice. He wandered the limpid canals and dreamed by the city's wharves. He watched precious merchandise loaded and unloaded as merchant ships came and went.
When he was 15, a never‑to‑be‑forgotten ship returned home. She carried young Marco's merchant father and uncles. Their goods were fascinating and their stories even more fascinating. For they had come from far Cathay, from China. And the Mongol emperor, the great Kublai Kahn, had asked them to return,
In two years they were ready and, of course, 17‑year‑old Marco went with them. They sailed to Palestine and went the rest of the way by land, The destination was Cambalue ‑ modern Peiping, Trace that journey on the world map in your gift encyclopedia. You will agree that the Polos rate among the world's greatest of travelers,
They crossed Persia and the arid wastes of Afghanistan. They climbed the northern arm of the high Himalayas, They went over the plateau of Tibet and crossed the great Gobi desert. Marco was 21 when they arrived at the fabulous court of the Kublal Khan.
The Polos were popular, too popular, with the emperor, He showered them with wealth and power and for 17 years refused to let them go. Marco was sent on missions for the Khan to Burma, Indo‑China and Tibet.
He was made governor of a city, His sharp eyes missed nothing of the strange orient. In 1292, a mission for the Khan sent the Polos on their homeward journey. A young princess was to be escorted to Persia. The voyage took them through the Pacific to Sumatra, through the Indian Ocean to Ceylon and India. The princess was delivered safely to her Persian bridegroom and the Polos arrived home after being away 4 years.
For all his wealth, Marco returned to the sea, He was captured and imprisoned by Venicels rival city, Genoa. In prison he wrote a book that astounded the world. He told of his adventures. Many stay‑at‑homes refused to believe Marco Polo’s book. But we know that the great traveler was also a great and accurate reporter, He died in his beloved Venice at about 60 years of age.