You've probably heard of Marco Polo, but how much do you actually know about him and his incredible journey? Marco was the original travel writer, whose trade contacts with Asia changed Europe, opening it up to new ideas and cultures. Marco Polo was born in the Venetian Republic around 1254.At the time, Venice was one of the most powerful trading cities in the world, and was ruled as an independent city state.Marco's mother died when he was young, so he was brought up by his aunt and uncle.When Marco was born, his brother (Maffeo) and father (Niccolo), who were successful merchants, were away on a trading voyage.They didn't get back until Marco was about 15. In 1271, Niccolo and Maffeo set off again for Asia, this time taking Marco with them.On a previous journey they'd met Kublai Khan (the Yuan Dynasty), and they were keen to establish trade links between Kublai's empire and Venice.The Polos sailed across the Mediterranean to Acre (now in northern Israel).Then, they traveled by camel to the port of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.Their plan was to sail to China but they couldn't find any good boats.So, they continued the journey overland, finally meeting Kublai Khan at his summer palace in Xanadu, about 275 kms north of modern Beijing.Marco was now probably 21 years ol The journey had taken over three years. The Polos had learnt a great deal about the world during their travels and so Kublai employed Marco as a government official.This gave Marco the opportunity to travel around much of Kublai's empire in China.In fact, Kublai found the Polos so useful that he was unwilling to let them return home.However, in 1292, the Polos eventually left, sailing from China and ending up in Hormuz again.The journey was extremely dangerous: of the 600 travelers who set off, only 18 arrived in Hormuz, including all three of the Polo family. The Polos finally returned to Venice in 1295, twenty-four years after setting off.They had traveled 24,000 kms.By this time Venice was at war with Genoa, its trade rival.Unfortunately for Marco, he was captured by the Genoese and imprisione However, he used his time as a prisoner to write a book about his family's travels: II Milione (known as The Travels of Marco Polo in English).It was the first book to tell Europeans about China and the East.No original copy survives, but there are several versions of it.Marco's writings influenced many other travelers, most notably Christopher Columbus, who carried a copy of II Milione with him on his voyage in search of Asia. After his release from prison in 1299, Marco rejoined his father and uncle in Venice.The family were now even wealthier than before thanks to the many treasures they'd brought back from the East.Marco financed many more trading journeys but never left the city again.He died in 1324 and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice. The passage is most probably taken from   _  .
a newspaper a geography book a history book a traveler's guide